Starting to feel messed up again, looking for some advice

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Hi all, hope your all ok

I haven't really made a thread for a while as I have been feeling somewhat better and not dealing with intense non stop anxiety as I was before. I used to post everyday about my symptoms and worries.

Anyway, I just wanted to ask a few questions as I am starting to get some symptoms and pains and not sure what to do.

Basically I came off Sertraline about 3 weeks ago after being on it for 6 months. I had tapered down to just half a 50mg tablet every 3 days before I stopped completely and didn't seem to have any withdrawal symptoms really, apart from a bit of a depressed mood.

Things have been going ok but in the past few days I have started to feel a bit strange, having chest pains (which I have had all along but I just seem to care more once off the meds) short bursts of head pains, slight dizzyness and just generally having no energy and feeling really weak.

Also in terms of my mood I have been really angry all the time, quite depressed, not so much anxious but I can feel the anxiety there and starting to creep back a little.

I really want to be free of the meds and start getting on with my life. I never felt normal on the meds by the way, always felt foggy and dream like.

Anyway, do you guys think this is just withdrawal effects starting to kick in or am I kidding myself and this is just old anxiety creeping back coming to get me again? Anyone else had similar effects from coming off meds?

I just hope this is just my body getting used to not having the medication instead of the anxiety all coming back. Obviously I no I am not cured of anxiety but I felt like I had got to a place where I could see things clearly and start to deal with the anxiety. The meds obviously helped get me to that place, but I feel that's what I wanted to used them for; to get me out of that dark place so I could sort the rest out myself.

Thanks for reading guys, what do you think?

[Pinktel]

I guess if you have come off the sertraline you will not have so much serotonin in your brain if that was an initial problem for you as your nerve endings will be up taking it all back in to themselves as they were able to before, so if your problem was an initial imbalance of the serotonin then the sertraline would have been addressing that imbalance for you. Is that what the diagnosis was?
What form does your anxiety take? And what therapy have you undertaken to rid yourself of the anxiety?

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Hi Pinktel,

No I wasnt dianosed with an imbalance of Seretonin or diagnosed with anything, I don't think my doctors really look that closely into it at first, they just perscribed me anti depressents because my anxiety was so bad and wouldnt let up. I havent had any therepy, I have asked to be refered for CBT but my doctor seems reluctant. I asked and the doctor said what makes you think you need CBT. Then the next time I was back at the doctors I asked again and they said well book another appointment and we can talk about that.

Its hard work with these doctors lol. But you say if my problem was in imbalance of Seretonin and the Sertraline would have been addressing that, does that mean that as soon as I come off the meds I would have a lack of seretonin again, or does it mean the meds may have sorted that imbalance for me and it may now stay balanced without the meds?

[Pinktel]

The way those SSSRIs work is by blocking the reuptake of seratonin.

When a message travels down a nerve in your brain it makes the end of the cell release serotonin. The serotonin fills the space between the first nerve cell and the next. When enough seratonin enters the second nerve cell it fires up its receptors which means the message can carry on its way. The original cell then hovers back up any left over serotonin left in the space. That is the reuptake.

Sertraline inhibits that reuptake from taking place so seratonin still remains in that space meaning the messages have a better chance of continuing their journey from nerve cell to nerve cell without issue.

Seratonin isn't the only neurotransmitter responsible for aiding mental health in our brain there are over 50, dopamine is another well known one, so now you begin to see how complex the system is and how hard it is for any medic to know just by looking at you what type of brain levels or imbalances you may have... If any!

I would personally check out cbt4panic as endorsed by this website as it is now being offered for free and is incredibly powerful as a programme if anxiety is your problem. If you think your problem is depression perhaps you need more discussion about meds?

[Gotagetthroughthis]

I will check that out, thanks Pinktel.

Anxiety is my problem, just the depression setting on because of coming off the meds i think. Feel so messed up today.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

For the first time in a few months I woke up and bang the anxiety was flowing through me. That intense feeling was back. I was trembling and my pupils like sourcers. Definitely haven't missed this.

This is it all coming back isn't it? Not just withdrawal effects?

Does anyone think there is a chance this will settle down and I will be ok or should I be thinking about going back on the meds already?

[Eek]

Maybe you should go and have that talk with your doc about CBT. Meds don't cure anxiety they just help with the symptoms, CBT can help you get anxiety under control and gives you tools to help deal with it. That said it's ultimately up to you, and if you want to go back on the meds then do.

[cattia]

Maybe you just came off your meds too soon. The first time I was on meds I came off after six months and my anxiety came back, but the second time I was on then for 18 months and when I came off them I was ok. I still suffer with anxiety but for me it's been a lifelong problem and I manage it now without meds, I have been off them for seven years and it hasn't got so bad that I have gone back on them, although I will in the future if I need to.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Thanks Eek and Cattia,

I have been feeling a little bit better the past couple of days, just seem to be up and down all the time now and im getting headaches and sharp pains in my head with slight dizzyness so I think my brain is still withdrawing and just getting used to not having no meds.

I don't want to go back on them, I want to be free from anxiety without the meds so I will see how it goes over the next few weeks. They say it only takes a week for the meds to be out of your system but I think from reading and my symptoms it definitely takes a lot longer for withdrawel symptoms to subside.

[cattia]

When I came off prozac I had withdrawal effects for weeks. When I came off it the secon time I was cutting the tablets in quarter so I was taking 5mg every two days. That did the trick and I didn't get any withdrawal effects that time.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Yea that's what I did Cattia I was taking half a tablet every 3 days before I eventually stopped, so I did take it really slowly.

My anxiety doesn't seem to be to bad at the moment but I just don't feel well, headaches, Diarrhea, no appetite, dizzyness.