Withdrawal

MeeOk

So due to various medical stuff that has happened over the last week I abruptly had stop taking anti-depressants. Yes I know you really aren't supposed to ever do that, but I started having god awful allergic reactions to something, and the ER Dr decided it was my meds.

In any case, this is the fifth day that I haven't taken them, and I am insanely shaky, eating makes me feel like awful (but so does not eating very much), my head hurts really bad, and my moods have fallen apart again. I had a very very mild version of this happen once when I went from ingesting a ridiculous amount of caffeine every day, to none. Any suggestions to help me keep my shit together, while basically de-toxing from my meds?

Sheep

Get a second opinion from your general practitioner. Tell him about the trip to the ER so he can proscribe you something new.

enderwiggin13

Exercise? I went through a period of depression for which I was medicated and afterwards I still get pretty down occasionally. Nothing helps more than going for a long bike ride or a run followed by 20-30 minutes on the punching bag. Upbeat music is also a must...no Elliott Smith et al.

MeeOk

I actually don't currently have a primary care physician. I just recently started having any medical stuff happen, and up until a couple of years ago I wasn't really.. allowed to go to Dr's because my parents and most of my family are Christian Scientists. I most definitely am not, but I am not very familiar with medical things. I was supposed to be meeting a Dr. on Friday, but they sent me to the ER instead. I have to wait until the current anti-depressant running through my body runs its course, to see if that really what was causing the reaction or not. I'll be going over details about stuff with my therapist on Wednesday, in any case.

Dman

If you've already made it 5 days cold turkey you should be over the worst of the withdrawal. Phone a pharmacist/doctor for more info. Googling the name of your med(s) is probably a good idea. Sunlight & exercise can often help with your mood although ymmv. If you have a buddy you can hang out with that would probably help, lonelyness = bad.

nuclearalchemist

I would say suffer through the withdrawal, it sucks, I know, but my wife recently went through something similar. She also had a reaction to the anti-depressants that she had been taking for a long time, and even though it sucks now, it should be okay in the long run. Let your new doctor re-evaluate you or refer you to a psych Dr, after you have gone through withdrawal, so that you can determine if you still need to keep taking the meds. Other than that, exercise, drinking plenty of fluids, and the normal stuff should help you out.

ihmmy

I know when I was out of my ssri's for a while and couldn't get a new prescription for a bit, I was really nauseas. I found Gravol (aka Dimenhydrinate) to be really helpful with that - warning though, it makes most people really sleepy (over the counter, just ask the pharmacist for it)

VThornheart

MeeOk, you should immediately go back to your psychiatrist/therapist and advise them about what happened. Don't delay. He/she should know about it right away so they can find an alternative and/or give you any help you may need through it. I know that some of these kinds of drugs can have bad side effects (such as the ones you're experiencing!) if stopped early! Definitely consider going over there as soon as you can.

MeeOk

I'm trying to grin and bear it, I just keep occasionally getting concerned/bemused looks from co-workers, because I'm ridiculously shaky. I was on Wellbutrin, but since I reacted weirdly to that, I'll have to try one that changes SSRI stuff, instead of the dopamine. Bleh

My poor friends who have been trying to keep up with the craziness in my head got to deal with a very weep-y, distraught person last night. I really do need to be on something though, because I intentionally over-dosed on a lot of painkillers last month, and was in a psychiatric ward for eight days. I am seeing a therapist weekly, but the... medications really were helping, until I started having the allergic reactions. *sigh* Nothing ever works, and my head is back to being broken.

I do appreciate the advice though, folks.

ceres

What kind of meds? I know SSRI withdrawals from experience.. I ran around like crazy for a week and tried to drink lots of water, but that's about all you can do. If you're stable enough that you won't hurt yourself, it's just a matter of getting through it. Try to get in as much physical activity as possible, and drink lots of water.

It sucks, but it'll pass. Just make sure you speak with someone qualified about your condition and mental state as soon as you can. You don't want to get off track if you can avoid it.

edit: ugh, wellbutrin. I can't really speak for that, but good luck. Medication-hopping to find the right one is the pits.

theclam

I had the same experience. It lasted a week and a half where I was hallucinating and I could barely walk. My psychiatrist got me a sample for a small dose of Prozac (not what I was on originally) which took the edge off the worst symptoms.

Your doctor may be able to help, but you still have to tough it out.

VThornheart

MeeOk wrote: »

I'm trying to grin and bear it, I just keep occasionally getting concerned/bemused looks from co-workers, because I'm ridiculously shaky. I was on Wellbutrin, but since I reacted weirdly to that, I'll have to try one that changes SSRI stuff, instead of the dopamine. Bleh

My poor friends who have been trying to keep up with the craziness in my head got to deal with a very weep-y, distraught person last night. I really do need to be on something though, because I intentionally over-dosed on a lot of painkillers last month, and was in a psychiatric ward for eight days. I am seeing a therapist weekly, but the... medications really were helping, until I started having the allergic reactions. *sigh* Nothing ever works, and my head is back to being broken.

I do appreciate the advice though, folks.

Did you tell your therapist that you stopped taking it?

Tell your therapist, it's very important that you do. Make sure they know how serious the symptoms are becoming, because they need to find you an alternative to what you were taking before so that you don't end up a bad situation... or a worse one than the one you're in as it is. Please make sure to tell them, so they can figure out what steps to take next.

RallyGirl76

Wow meeOk, its like we are as one! Stressful past, relationship heartaches and depression meds…

I recently had a similar situation, I take steroids for medical reasons and it conflicted with some anti-depression med's my therapist asked me to take after i suffered a completely debilitating panic attack. So I went on something else (little milder, added a natural vitamin and upped my therapy.) I have post traumatic stress, so it maybe a little different to depression, symptom wise. But treatment is the same…pretty much. I’m only new to these treatments and discussing this situation with others, but I feel for what your going through.

Like everyone else is basically saying, go and see a Doctor (choose one wisely and talk to them about everything your going through) your health is directly related to your state of mind, so eat well (even when it's not feeling wonderful), exercise, do something just for yourself (play a game, frolic in nature, go to a movie, whatever grabs you) and find people you trust to have a chat to (professionals or friends or even in here...)