Bonjour à tous,

 

 J'ai été mise sous traitements sans avoir d'antécédents/troubles psychiatriques ou psychologiques. Heureusement, j'ai assez (ou pas du tout assez) vite selon moi arrêté ces traitements, qui étaient en train de me tuer. 
 

Suite à une:

Crise de panique (anxiété sévère) fin aout qui m'a fait consulté sos medecins pour écarter tout probleme cardiaque, car je fais habituellement de la tachycardie et suis suivie par un cardiologue pour cela. Céphalées de tension associées depuis plusieurs semaines et rythme cardiaque à 120-140, tremblements et transpiration (le médecin a eu du mal a mettre les électrodes). 
Il m'a prescrit des anxiolytiques que je n'ai pas pris et m'a conseillée d'aller voir un psychologue. 
Je dois ajouter que c'est la 2eme "crise" de panique (si c'est ça) que je fais jusqu'à aujourd'hui, la dernière c'était en 2019 et c'était pour le même pb, je venais de perdre un travail (étant encore étudiante) et dans l'incertitude totale d'en trouver un autre. A l'époque j'avais été aux urgences et on ne m'avait rien prescrit, c'était passé tout seul peu de temps après. Cette fois c'était lié au fait que je pressentais grandement que la reprise allait etre mauvaise, mon titulaire m'a même contactée pendant mes congés en août. A cela je dois préciser il y avait comme terrain une fatigue extrême, physique et psychique (j'ai développé des mouches volantes visuelles en aout, ait failli contacter le samu suite à un coup de chaleur, et ait perdu le sommeil car je me suis inscrit dans un centre de vacances où je pensais enfin pouvoir me reposer et arriver frais en septembre, mais ca n'a fait qu'accentuer ma fatigue : dortoirs communs où on me laissais pas dormir et lever le matin a 7h tous les matins - je suis une grosse dormeuse qui a besoin de 9-10h de sommeil minimum pour aller bien-)
Mi octobre 5j de seroplex sol buvable 20mg (10ml) pendant 5j. Je l'ai pris suite à un burn out, j'étais énervée sans arrêt après tout et tout le monde et n'appréciais plus mon travail ni les patients (et je pleurais sur mon lieu de travail entre midi et 2 sans savoir pourquoi), et surtout après presque 2 ans pour le compte d'un titulaire chez qui je me suis investie à 1000%, m'étant complètement oubliée. 

J'ai arrêté au bout de 5j car la nuit du 4e j ca cognait fort dans ma tête a tel point que je n'ai pas fermé l'œil une seule seconde, et je suis sortie du lit le matin avec les yeux exhorbités comme les personnes sous drogue, j'ai sursauté en me voyant dans la glace !

Je m'étais dit plus jamais mais quelques semaines après, j'ai eu un genre de crise de panique (lié au sevrage je le sais maintenant), ou grosse angoisse, et je suis retournée à sos médecins. J'ai eu affaire à encore un autre médecin qui m'a dit que si je ne supportais pas le 1er tmt, j'allais pas supporter un autre. J'ai eu le malheur de lui dire que je n'avais pas pris les anxiolytiques en parallèle. Il m'a prescrit de la fluoxétine avec des anxiolytiques. J'en ai pris du 18 novembre au 9 décembre pour la fluoxetine liquide (20mg/10ml), et plus longtemps pour les anxiolytiques (lysanxia gouttes, 5 à 13 gouttes environ le soir pour dormir). Je n'ai pas plus supporter l'un que l'autre, mais à chaque fois on m'a dit "il faut persévérer plusieurs semaines", mais je ne savais même pas quelle j'étais sensée "guetter". Par contre je me souviens en avoir eu eu marre d'attendre "je ne sais quoi" avec tous les effets secondaires que je subissais en me faisant violence inutilement (quand j'ai eu le courage de demander les effets secondaires au pharmacien ou au medecin on m'a dit "une petite baisse de moral en début de traitement" ou "nausées et un peu fatigue", c'était mille fois pire que tout ça... donc j'en ai fait part à un psychiatre fin novembre, il ne m'a même pas demandé pourquoi on m'avait donné ces traitements, il a augmenté la dose à 30mg !!! J'ai fait ca sur 2 jours et la nuit du 2e jour, j'ai eu un flash d'automutilation (je me suis vue m'ouvrir les veines assises sur une chaise) !! Je suis restée tétanisée dans mon lit le matin, ne sachant plus si je devais en sortir!!! Je voulais arrêter net le traitement après ca mais c'est là qu'on m'a parlé de sevrage, donc je l'ai conservé encore une semaine à l'ancien dosage et ait diminué que sur 1 j à 2ml. D'après vos temoignages j'ai bien compris que c'était beaucoup trop rapide mais je n'en pouvais plus de prendre ces trucs.

 

Mes symptomes actuels sont: une depression profonde (anhedonie, incapacité à ressentir des émotions, perte du gout et odorat et de la sensibilité tactile, très difficile de sortir du lit le matin, fatigue extrême malgré 10h de sommeil, incapacité à se concentrer/ à faire beaucoup de choses). Jusqu'à aujourd'hui pleurs quotidiens mais ca passe. Vision accentuée, (lumière vive, impression de vivre en 3D), hypersensibilité à la lumière, aux sons.

brain zaps persistants et cauchemards intenses. Decharges électriques dans le corps, tete legere et "vide"...

 

Pour la perte de sensibilité tactile, mon psychiatre me dit d'aller voir un neurologue pour faire un EMG. Qu'en pensez-vous ? Ces saletés m'ont elle rendue handicapée à vie ?

 

j'en suis à 2 mois d'arrêt, vais je de nouveau etre moi même bientôt ? 😮‍💨

 

Merci de vos avis... 

[Admin note Google Translation of original post]

 

Hello everyone, I was put on medication despite having no prior history of psychiatric or psychological disorders. Fortunately, I stopped these treatments fairly quickly (or not nearly quickly enough, in my opinion), as they were killing me.

 

Following a panic attack (severe anxiety) at the end of August, which prompted me to seek emergency medical help to rule out any heart problems, as I usually experience tachycardia and am under the care of a cardiologist for this, I've had associated tension headaches for several weeks, a heart rate of 120-140 bpm, tremors, and sweating (the doctor had difficulty attaching the electrodes).

He prescribed anxiolytics, which I didn't take, and advised me to see a psychologist.

I should add that this is the second panic attack (if that's what it was) I've had so far. The last one was in 2019, and it was for the same reason: I had just lost a job (as I was still a student) and was completely uncertain about finding another one. At the time, I went to the emergency room, and they didn't prescribe anything; it resolved itself shortly afterward. This time it was related to the fact that I strongly suspected the return to work would be difficult; my supervisor even contacted me during my vacation in August. I should add that I was also experiencing extreme physical and mental fatigue (I developed floaters in August, almost had to call emergency services due to heatstroke, and lost sleep because I signed up for a holiday camp where I thought I could finally rest and arrive refreshed in September, but it only exacerbated my fatigue: shared dormitories where I wasn't allowed to sleep and had to get up at 7 a.m. every morning – I'm a heavy sleeper who needs at least 9-10 hours of sleep to feel well). In mid-October, I took 20mg (10ml) of Seroplex oral solution for 5 days. I started taking it after a burnout. I was constantly irritable with everything and everyone and no longer enjoyed my job or the patients (and I would cry at work between noon and 2 pm without knowing why), especially after almost two years working for a senior doctor for whom I had given 1000%, having completely neglected myself.

I stopped after five days because on the night of the fourth day, my head was pounding so hard that I didn't sleep a wink. I got out of bed in the morning with my eyes bulging like someone on drugs; I jumped when I saw myself in the mirror!

 

I told myself never again, but a few weeks later, I had a kind of panic attack (related to withdrawal, I know now), or severe anxiety, and I went back to the emergency medical service. I saw yet another doctor who told me that if I couldn't tolerate the first treatment, I wouldn't tolerate another. I made the mistake of telling him that I hadn't been taking the anxiolytics at the same time. He prescribed fluoxetine with anxiolytics. I took the liquid fluoxetine (20mg/10ml) from November 18th to December 9th, and the anxiolytics (Lysanxia drops, about 5 to 13 drops in the evening to help me sleep) for longer. I didn't tolerate one any better than the other, but each time I was told, "You have to persevere for several weeks," but I didn't even know which one I was supposed to be "watching out for." On the other hand, I remember getting fed up with waiting for "I don't know what" with all the side effects I was experiencing, needlessly pushing myself through them (when I finally mustered the courage to ask the pharmacist or doctor about the side effects, they told me "a slight dip in mood at the beginning of treatment" or "nausea and a little fatigue," which was a thousand times worse than all that... so I told a psychiatrist at the end of November. He didn't even ask me why I'd been given these medications; he just increased the dose to 30mg!!! I did that for two days, and on the night of the second day, I had a flashback of self-harm (I saw myself slitting my wrists while sitting in a chair)!! I was paralyzed in bed the next morning, not knowing whether to get out!!! I wanted to stop the treatment immediately after that, but that's when they talked to me about withdrawal, so I continued it for another week I was on the old dosage and it was reduced to 2ml over just one day. From your testimonies, I understand that it was much too fast, but I couldn't take these things anymore.

 

My current symptoms are: severe depression (anhedonia, inability to feel emotions, loss of taste, smell, and tactile sensitivity, very difficult to get out of bed in the morning, extreme fatigue despite 10 hours of sleep, inability to concentrate or do many things). I still cry daily, but it's getting better. My vision is heightened (bright light, feeling like I'm living in 3D), and I'm hypersensitive to light and sound.

I experience persistent brain zaps and intense nightmares. I also feel electric shocks throughout my body, and my head feels light and "empty"...

Regarding the loss of tactile sensitivity, my psychiatrist told me to see a neurologist for an EMG. What do you think? Have these awful things left me disabled for life?

I've been off work for two months now. Will I ever be myself again? 😮‍💨

Thank you for your opinions...

 

 

 

Hi poulette38

 

Welcome to the forum!

 

This is a volunteer-run, community forum aimed at helping those who are tapering and/or experiencing difficulties with psychiatric medications and withdrawl syndrome. We are not medical professionals and cannot offer medical advice. We simply offer support and opinions which you could use as talking points with a medical provider knowledgeable in withdrawing off psychiatric medications.

 

Please familiarise yourself with the forum rules and the disclaimer located here: Guidelines

 

Please make sure your signature is kept up to date with your drug history. This will allow members to see some basic information about your drug history and situation so that they may help you best. Information on how to do this is located in the FAQs section above, but here is a direct link: Update Signature

Once this is done, future posts made by you will have this signature turned on by default. For this reason please keep it clear but condensed as possible.

I'm so sorry to read about the tough time you've had recently you will find plenty of support here for sure.

 

Thank you for posting your introduction topic for us to read. Ive had to Google translate your post above as my French is well, not good!

 

Could you post in English please from now onwards? Worse case scenario use google translate if you need to, but perhaps tell us this is what you are doing, so we can take that into account when reading. Thank you 🙂 

 

From what I am reading you seemed to have had an adverse reaction to Escitalopram. Its not uncommon many of us do not handle these drugs well.

Immediate adverse reactions to ADs after only a few doses

 

Unfortunately once you have an ADR it sensitises your nervous system further and makes more drugs and dose changes likely to add to the harm. 

Have a read: Hypersensitivity and kindling

 

Your second round of antidepressants (fluoxetine) and Benzo (prazepam) were taken for 3 weeks and will likely have caused further issues for you. You will have probably gained dependance on the drug in that time and you stopped much too quickly and will likely be suffering from withdrawal. Tapering Information

 

Also as I said each of these events, new drugs, drugs changes, cold turkeys and so on only add fuel to the fire of the original injury that you likely sustained from your 5 doses of Escitalopram in October 2025.

 

Looks like your last dose of fluoxetine was on the 9th of December 2025. You've been off the drugs for a while now and were never settled on them in first place. For this reason if it were me (and I am not a doctor) I would stay off them now and wait to recover.

This can take some time and happens in a non linear way following the typical waves and windows patterns.

But people do recover and do go onto to live normal lives and you will too. 

 

The Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

 

"Is it always going to be like this?"

 

How Psychiatric Drugs Remodel Your Brain

 

What is happening in your brain?

 

I cant really comment on Electromyography and have no experience or knowledge of it. Others may chip in who have.....

 

In the mean time this is what I would do if I were you:

 

-Stay Hydrated 

 

-Eat a good clean whole food diet, avoiding processed foods and sugars.

 

-Stay away from caffeine, alcohol and antihistamines and any other psychoactive substances.

 

Supplements are to be avoided initially, as they often irritate our nervous systems. Try to get your nutrition through food.

 

Down the line, you may wish to introduce Fish Oil and Magnesium. Those who can tolerate them have found them calming to the nervous system. Be careful try one at a time and start low and see how you get on should you choose to try them.

 

A daily walk is very important as much as you can manage, if you can manage it. Gets you your fresh air and Vitamin D does wonders for your mind!

 

You are very welcome here and I hope you find the site supportive.

 

Chippy

Thank you for your answer.

I'm so sad.

38 minutes ago, poulette38 said:

Thank you for your answer.

I'm so sad.

Im so sorry @poulette38 It's going to be ok. We are here for you. Everyone here understands. We have all had our own difficult journey. We get it.

 

Chippy

Has anyone had a fairly similar experience and is now recovered?

How do you deal with not working? I haven’t worked since the shutdown, I won’t be able to. 

We are all waiting for a 'healing' because of a medication... It’s crazy... Our anger is legitimate because all doctors were hand in hand and avoided saying that it was poisons, that there would be withdrawal, that it was drugs, not medication... What hell!
Chippy, what makes you think of a serotoninergic syndrome with escitalopram? The doctor hadn’t told me anything...

5 minutes ago, poulette38 said:

Has anyone had a fairly similar experience and is now recovered?

Yes definitely there are lots of people who recover from similar to you. There are success stories on SA and a few on here too. This site is very new. Lots of people recover and arent on sites like these. Can you imagine how many people suffer with this and dont even know! Healing happens our bodies are designed for this.

 

6 minutes ago, poulette38 said:

How do you deal with not working? I haven’t worked since the shutdown, I won’t be able to. 

This varies from person to person Im afraid. Everyone's condition is a bit different some can work, some can't.

 

8 minutes ago, poulette38 said:

We are all waiting for a 'healing' because of a medication... It’s crazy... Our anger is legitimate because all doctors were hand in hand and avoided saying that it was poisons, that there would be withdrawal, that it was drugs, not medication... What hell!

Yes @poulette38 this is the situation. Doctors are still not very knowledgeable about the harms of these drugs and how to taper from the safely. I hope in time this improves. There are probably a lot of people in the world who are suffering with WD and think and are told that it is their 'mental health' only to be put on more drugs to treat the WD symptoms which then causes more problems. A spiral. 

 

10 minutes ago, poulette38 said:

Chippy, what makes you think of a serotoninergic syndrome with escitalopram? The doctor hadn’t told me anything...

I don't think you had serotonin syndrome. I think you had what would be just classed as an adverse reaction. Its common Im afraid there are a number of us who have had this from just a few pills.

 

I know this is a lot to take in. Did you know what had happened before my reply? I assume most have a good idea....

 

You will find lots and lots of support on here. Everyone is so nice and they will be along to say hello for sure and offer you some help and friendship.

Bonjour @poulette38. Je vous comprends très bien quand vous parlez de l'anhédonie qui vous accable. Même si mon cas est différent du vôtre, l'anhédonie m'empêche de travailler. Et c'est l'antidépresseur qui m'a mise dans cette horreur. Vous n'êtes pas seule, nous traverserons ensemble cet Enfer.

Svetla

Hello @skamen, which symptoms do you have ? 

Has your doctor agreed to a sick leave?

Mine won't !

Hi @poulette38. No emotions at all, everything is flat, I cannot feel my favorite music, cannot practice my hobbies, I have the feeling that my brain is completely out, as broken, it is a barrier inside of me. It is not myself. I am all the day on the coach doing nothing, it is awful, inhumane.

The psychiatrist doesn't accept the withdrawal symptoms, for him I am in resistant depression...

When did you stop your medication ?

A long time ago ? Maybe you need more time, your body need more time. I'm not an expert at all but you can take another advice from another psychiatrist. And also from another...!! There are very dangerous psychiatrists...

 

Edited February 8Feb 8 by poulette38

I was CT-ed one year ago from 3 psychotropics and since then the Hell doesn't stop. 

And you what symptoms do you have? Do you have anxiety?

 

The most important thing is that these poisons aren't in your system no more. I feel like a zombie all day. The most confusing thing is the hypersensitivity to the light, the feeling of seeing in 3D. Do you experience that too?

Hi @poulette38, me too, I feel like a zombie, in depersonalization, with brain fog, zero motivation, a deep anxiety increasing in evening and night, cortisol spikes during the night, and a morning terror... 

How long did you have these side effects ?

I am in my month 12 of withdrawal.

 

Ils takes more time I think in your case. I pray for you, you will win this fight ! 🙂

Hi @poulette38,

 

Nice to meet you, I’m G and I’m also an adverse reaction case, my drug was Citalopram but it doesn’t make any difference to the reaction.

 

I want to drop by and spread some hope that it does get better. I’m 6.5 months out and much better than I was. Likewise @VeraVa is another ADR case, she took ecitalopram like you and has seen great improvements.

 

The first 3 months were “acute” for me, it was horrific, you can read my thread from SA that’s linked to my introduction thread on this site to see my story and read my updates. Things do get better, it is slow but it does happen. Right now it is very important you stay away from any further psychoactive substances, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, medications, all the fun stuff has to wait, your brain needs stability right now to heal. This is an old but important and helpful website for ADR cases - https://antidepressantsfacts.com/reaction.htm.

 

Here are my top tips that helped me through these last 6.5 months that I’ve copied and pasted from another comment I made elsewhere. You may not be able to do all of it yet but in time these tips may help:

 

*Stay away from any and all drugs or mind altering substances right now - including caffeine! 
*Clean your diet right up, back to basics, we are cavemen giving our bodies what they need to heal themselves, my diet consists of fruit, veggies, meat and water. To say I’m bored of it is an understatement but I do think it has helped.

*Fake it until you make it, keep showing up, keep going to the social events that you can manage, keep community on your side, lean on people for friendship, distraction, love. Keep going to work if you can.

*Distract yourself any way you can, I’ve tried crosswords to try and hone my brain, painting, puzzles

*Going for a massage and spa day REALLY helped me.

*I turned my biggest corners after large happy social events - two weddings in fact! 
*Try to be with your symptoms, try to show yourself some compassion and your body some compassion, it’s working so hard for you, it’s doing its best. Try and accept this as a temporary circumstance. 

*nature - WALK WALK WALK. Spend time by steams, in forests, by the trees, touch them and feel nature. It sounds mad, but it’s our roots and it helps to ground your body back to the world.

*In times of real dispair, cold showers, cold water on your face or forearms, laying on the ground outside, taking your shoes off outside for grounding. 
*stay away from scary or horror filled stuff, no violent movies, news video games - I loved this stuff! Just got myself a switch so I can play really basic games to distract myself, back to basics - donkey kong! No more COD for me.

I am not a medical professional, this is just what helped me. 
 

All the best, G x

@Sparkling G, thanks a lot.

Do you feel exactly like the same person before the medication now? Or have you seen soleil things different ? 

1 hour ago, poulette38 said:

@Sparkling G, thanks a lot.

Do you feel exactly like the same person before the medication now? Or have you seen soleil things different ? 

Hi @poulette38,

 

How are you today? 
 

I’m sorry to say but no, I don’t. 6.5 months is still very early in healing and I am not yet recovered, though I am doing much better and maintaining a good quality of life. Don’t let this discourage you, it will get better for you, it is getting so much better for me. I also have some personal affairs that I feel are holding me back from reaching a higher baseline at the moment. I’m not really sure I will return to who I was, I had a baby before all this and was in the thick of post partum so I had lost my way anyway, in a way that doesn’t return until your children grow so it’s hard to gauge. I digress, even so, I still have a way to go but life is totally liveable right now. If I didn’t have such a high pressure job and a baby I would be quite happy just coasting through I think. But:

 

*I laugh, I joke, I cry appropriately. My sense of humour is the same and has returned, this is a big part of who I am. 

*I feel real pure love and wish to stay here with my people now

*I have fun

*I have real joy 

*I feel satisfaction in things 

*I recognise huge parts of myself again 

*I can be on my own in my house again

*I can socialise 

*I sleep every night as well as anyone else would (apart from being woken by babies and dogs!) 

 

Let me know if you have any questions ❤️

Only after 3 doses of citalopram ?! 6 months later, you're still feeling different ? Sorry but it's just horrible 😒 which symptomes have you still ?

40 minutes ago, poulette38 said:

Only after 3 doses of citalopram ?! 6 months later, you're still feeling different ? Sorry but it's just horrible 😒 which symptomes have you still ?

Yes, after just 3 doses. But I had a reaction to them, you can read my story on my thread and the link that goes through to my SA thread on my page. These are very powerful drugs and it takes the brain and body a long time to recover, but recover it will. 
 

Remaining symptoms are not really something I had thought about at length but off the top of my head:

*Increased baseline anxiety 

*Waves of doom / fear 

*Visual issues - I see blurry now and I have a blue light that hallucinates in the corner of my eye frequently. 

*Hair loss 

*Occasional DP/DR - not significant and I can usually snap myself out of it, it often happens when I’m in meetings and staring at the screen too long. 

*Occasional depression 

*Occasional heart palpitation 

 

Though these may sound significant I do want you to know they are mild for me in comparison to where I was and it is totally liveable at this level. If you read the link I sent above, a lot of people see much more healing by 12-18 months. Unfortunately, this is something that does just take time and it’s time that we have to get through as best we can, I am choosing to continue living to the best of my ability given that I have recovered to an acceptable level for me right now. All the best, G x

Welcome @poulette38

 

I liked how @RachelSusan called this "visiting people at their houses". That's what I'm trying to do to get to know people.

 

I am a soul sibling here. I've had most of the symptoms you describe and I know as I go lower, more suffering is on its way.

 

This community has grown so much in the weed or so since I joined! I have lots to read. Your story matters and I'm glad you are here.

 

See ya around the neighborhood.

One year of a whole life, for only "feeling better" (not 100% restablissed), it's very hard... if these medication are so powerfull, why doctors don't tell this ? It's just criminality, nothing more. 

 

Thank you @SparklingG and @Mars for your anxers, it's very kind. During the WD, did you feel always tailled ? Is it better now for this symptom?

* answers 😉