8 hours ago, poulette38 said:

Hey @Quelqu'un3! Just a quick note to provide my opinion on your palpitations/tachycardia: I am also young as you and always have these symptoms. My cardiologist said that beta blockers are avoided due to the young age! Sport, the hawthorn and you can try an herbal medication (the cardiocalm) for that. Don’t hesitate to see all this with your cardiologist.
Good luck... 

SVT and POTS are very common amongst people tapering. I had 120+ episodes in one year and was booked in for cardiac ablation. I reached a point where my body physically wouldn’t let me reduce any further and I had to hold my dose. I thought I was going slowly - I wasn’t. A lot of cumulative effects had built up and started to surface and they were brutal. Funny thing was when I held the dose the SVT disappeared. This nearly a year ago and the SVT has not returned. For me it was definitely because I was tapering too quickly. I didn’t need the ablation and didn’t have it, thank goodness 

On 2/17/2026 at 5:58 AM, Some0n3 said:

making a quick update here because i just realised something. not to get too explicit but i think that i might also have a bit of sexual side effects. not sure if its because im on the ssri or because of the wd symptoms but ive had it for quite a while now where sometimes when i ejaculate, i dont really get the orgasm part. especially if its a day where its not just a quicky and i do it for longer. its really weird because i can ejaculate just fine but at times i feel basically no pleasure from it. other times i feel some but not as much and for a much shorter period of time as i think i should be feeling which sucks big time. just writing this here because im wondering if i should be concerned about that as sexual side effects do exist with these medications.

@Some0n3 I came across this using AI search

 

High serotonin levels generally inhibit male sexual function, acting as a major contributor to erectile dysfunction (ED), reduced libido, and delayed ejaculation.Primarily, increased synaptic serotonin from medications like SSRIs/SNRIs triggers 5-HT2C and 5-HT2A receptors, which inhibit nitric oxide production and reduce dopamine release, both necessary for initiating and maintaining an erection. National Institutes of Health (NIH) | (.gov)

7 hours ago, Catbird said:

@Some0n3 I came across this using AI search

 

High serotonin levels generally inhibit male sexual function, acting as a major contributor to erectile dysfunction (ED), reduced libido, and delayed ejaculation.Primarily, increased synaptic serotonin from medications like SSRIs/SNRIs triggers 5-HT2C and 5-HT2A receptors, which inhibit nitric oxide production and reduce dopamine release, both necessary for initiating and maintaining an erection. National Institutes of Health (NIH) | (.gov)

thank you for letting me know. that would make alot of sense to be honest.

decided to give another update as ive been having some flareups since last week ontop of the persistent symptoms. ive been having headaches almost everyday which ive managed with ibuprofen. although ive tried to avoid using it for the mild ones. ive also had more weird sensations in my head, like closing my eyes would give me these tingly feelings in my forehead along other weird stuff more occasionally. vision occasionally gets more blurry as well, note that i do have some issues in regards to my far sight which i wear glasses for but ive noticed that even with glasses my eyes occasionally get blurry. light sensitivity might be a bit stronger? im not sure. visual snow is pretty strong now to the point where pretty much everything is covered in static and almost everything with light leaves afterimages. also getting a bunch of floaters. ive been feeling a bit more lethargic and a little more anxious but nothing too severe in terms of those. i also have had more of a tough time hearing what other people are saying although idk if its because of wd or if my hearing is just shit. i have to constantly ask people to repeat themselves. thats about it for me. wishing everyone in this forum a good week!

Edited March 2Mar 2 by Some0n3

26 minutes ago, Some0n3 said:

decided to give another update as ive been having some flareups since last week ontop of the persistent symptoms. ive been having headaches almost everyday which ive managed with ibuprofen. although ive tried to avoid using it for the mild ones. ive also had more weird sensations in my head, like closing my eyes would give me these tingly feelings in my forehead along other weird stuff more occasionally. vision occasionally gets more blurry as well, note that i do have some issues in regards to my far sight which i wear glasses for but ive noticed that even with glasses my eyes occasionally get blurry. light sensitivity might be a bit stronger? im not sure. visual snow is pretty strong now to the point where pretty much everything is covered in static and almost everything with light leaves afterimages. also getting a bunch of floaters. ive been feeling a bit more lethargic and a little more anxious but nothing too severe in terms of those. i also have had more of a tough time hearing what other people are saying although idk if its because of wd or if my hearing is just shit. i have to constantly ask people to repeat themselves. thats about it for me. wishing everyone in this forum a good week!

Thanks for checking in @Some0n3. It's quite the roller coaster all this isnt it. Its certainly not uncommon for symptoms to worsen or new ones to appear, unfortunately. Hope things ease soon for you!

I am with you in this journey, and know how frightening these symptoms can be. You have my thoughts today 🙏

1 hour ago, Some0n3 said:

decided to give another update as ive been having some flareups since last week ontop of the persistent symptoms. ive been having headaches almost everyday which ive managed with ibuprofen. although ive tried to avoid using it for the mild ones. ive also had more weird sensations in my head, like closing my eyes would give me these tingly feelings in my forehead along other weird stuff more occasionally. vision occasionally gets more blurry as well, note that i do have some issues in regards to my far sight which i wear glasses for but ive noticed that even with glasses my eyes occasionally get blurry. light sensitivity might be a bit stronger? im not sure. visual snow is pretty strong now to the point where pretty much everything is covered in static and almost everything with light leaves afterimages. also getting a bunch of floaters. ive been feeling a bit more lethargic and a little more anxious but nothing too severe in terms of those. i also have had more of a tough time hearing what other people are saying although idk if its because of wd or if my hearing is just shit. i have to constantly ask people to repeat themselves. thats about it for me. wishing everyone in this forum a good week!

@Some0n3 hearing issues, can definitely relate, my tinnitus is too loud to hear anything else at times as well as headaches which for me is likely stem from chronic stiff and painful neck/shoulders.

So sorry you are experiencing this, so uncomfortable, hopefully it will ease for you soon.

1 hour ago, Chippy said:

Thanks for checking in @Some0n3. It's quite the roller coaster all this isnt it. Its certainly not uncommon for symptoms to worsen or new ones to appear, unfortunately. Hope things ease soon for you!

thank you very much for the support Chippy. hoping the same for you if youve been dealing with rough symptoms recently. the good thing is that ive left out caffeine completely for the time being, if ive drank soda then ive always looked for ones with zero caffeine. im still on the cigarettes though as theyre a harder one to kick completely especially right now. 

19 minutes ago, Fullhealing said:

@Some0n3 hearing issues, can definitely relate, my tinnitus is too loud to hear anything else at times as well as headaches which for me is likely stem from chronic stiff and painful neck/shoulders.

So sorry you are experiencing this, so uncomfortable, hopefully it will ease for you soon.

thank you! and yeah i occasionally get some tinnitus in the ears but luckily it goes away relatively quickly. hoping the very same for you as well!

1 hour ago, Sminismoni said:

I am with you in this journey, and know how frightening these symptoms can be. You have my thoughts today 🙏

thank you for the support, we are all in this together so this peer support really makes a difference to me. wishing you the best

2 hours ago, Some0n3 said:

thank you very much for the support Chippy. hoping the same for you if youve been dealing with rough symptoms recently. the good thing is that ive left out caffeine completely for the time being, if ive drank soda then ive always looked for ones with zero caffeine. im still on the cigarettes though as theyre a harder one to kick completely especially right now. 

It's good to get things as cleaned up as best as you can IMO with diet and intake. Good effort. 🙂 

2 hours ago, Chippy said:

It's good to get things as cleaned up as best as you can IMO with diet and intake. Good effort. 🙂 

thank you. i agree with you!

Another update. hope everyone is doing alright, well as alright as one can while in withdrawal. my symptoms have been pretty stable in terms of no significant changes for the worse or the better. there have been some flare ups here and there but nothing too severe although my brain fog still remains with no real sign of letting up, meaning that i havent had a single second without it. ive noticed that my brainfog is usually about 8/10 in terms of strength but stressful situations can bring it up to 10/10 while also making me dissociate pretty hard. the brainfog sucks hard as its the most debilitating symptom for me right now and also the symptom which has decreased my quality of life the most overall. it can also increase in strength for no apparent reason. so far in terms of anxiety its been mostly the same as lets say the end of last year. id say about moderate anxiety and no panic attacks which is a good thing. i havent had a proper panic attack in quite a bit now which im happy about. the biggest things holding me back right now are the constant severe brain fog along with some disorientation, vertigo, occasional brain zaps and overall really weird and uncomfortable feelings in my head along with depression, lethargy, occasional anhedonia and more. i went to a doctor's appointment today to discuss some things since ive put my studying on hold. im supposed to resume studying after the summer, we'll see if i have enough strength for it since it was pretty hard last year with all these symptoms but i somehow managed. i talked to the doctor about these symptoms and she didint dismiss what i had to say which is good but she also admitted that she knew nothing about the topic and also at first asked if my brainfog might be due to my adhd which i denied on the terms of me developing it just after cold turkying the ad. if i start tapering hyperbolically at some point, im kind of on the fence if i should even tell my medical contacts about it or just do it silently which brings me to the topic of tapering. im probobaly not going to be doing it for a good bit but i just have a few questions relating to it. is it realistic to say that one could complete the whole taper with just turning pills into powder and taking them via empty capsules or is it necessary to go to liquid/make your own liquid at some point? also what is the last dose that one should be on before jumping off or is it individual to the person? the pills i have right now are not scored and theyre pretty small so i would assume that crushing them would be the best option. im also wondering just how much fluctuations are going to affect me considering that it might be incredibly hard to get an extremely accurate dose with the pills having filler and all that.

Edited March 24Mar 24 by Some0n3

@Some0n3 thanks for the update. 
 

I can see the brain fog is very bad still I’m sorry to hear that. How would you rate the other symptoms?

 

I agree I think you should hold a good while and get nice and stable. Find a good base line to taper from.
 

How are you making your 5mg dose up at the moment? Just using a pill cutter? If so you should get a set of scales so you can get your dose consistent each time. It’s very important. Pill cutters are not accurate enough. 
 

Here is our document on making up small doses.
 

Preparing Doses for Tapering - Weighing & DIY Liquids

 

When you are ready to taper; to start with you can continue with the tablet just shaving it down a little more and weighing it. 
 

As you get lower you will probably need to swap to a diy liquid. Don’t worry it’s all very easy when you get your head around it. 
 

Chippy

46 minutes ago, Some0n3 said:

im kind of on the fence if i should even tell my medical contacts about it or just do it silently

Many find they feel they have to do this. 

1 hour ago, Some0n3 said:

also what is the last dose that one should be on before jumping off or is it individual to the person?

This varies from person to person but really you should taper as low as possible. No point rushing. You want to step off rather than jump. One to deal with down the line though. 

44 minutes ago, Chippy said:

@Some0n3 thanks for the update. 
 

I can see the brain fog is very bad still I’m sorry to hear that. How would you rate the other symptoms?

 

I agree I think you should hold a good while and get nice and stable. Find a good base line to taper from.
 

How are you making your 5mg dose up at the moment? Just using a pill cutter? If so you should get a set of scales so you can get your dose consistent each time. It’s very important. Pill cutters are not accurate enough. 
 

Here is our document on making up small doses.
 

Preparing Doses for Tapering - Weighing & DIY Liquids

 

When you are ready to taper; to start with you can continue with the tablet just shaving it down a little more and weighing it. 
 

As you get lower you will probably need to swap to a diy liquid. Don’t worry it’s all very easy when you get your head around it. 
 

Chippy

i would rate the other symptoms between moderate to severe depending on the day to be honest, its a little hard to rate them definitively as they tend to switch up on severeness at times. id say though that my visual snow is pretty severe at all times, but that too can change depending on the day. i cant really say how severe the light sensitivity is. it definitely affects things and i sometimes have to wear sunglasses outside because my eyes tend to hurt when its really bright outside but other than that its manageable. the 5mg dose that im taking is a whole pill so no need to cut it. its the lowest dose available in my country im pretty sure. im happy to hear that about the diy liquid as the whole tapering process being really complicated was one of my main concerns, although even if it was, id still do it. but all in all i would say that going from 10mgs to 5 hasnt made that big of a difference in my wd symptoms which im relieved about as right now that means that i dont have to start measuring pills or anything and that i can just keep taking this dose with the only thing to remember being that i actually take it everyday. i will definitely invest in a scale or few when i start the tapering process though. thanks again for all that you do Chippy, sending you my support.

Edited March 24Mar 24 by Some0n3

40 minutes ago, Chippy said:

Many find they feel they have to do this. 

yeah i feel like being quiet would atleast ensure that i get a constant supply of medication so i wouldnt have to worry about that

37 minutes ago, Chippy said:

This varies from person to person but really you should taper as low as possible. No point rushing. You want to step off rather than jump. One to deal with down the line though. 

most definitely. im prepared that this could take years, id much rather spend a few years of my life tapering than to rush and possibly cause even bigger damage than i already have

2 minutes ago, Some0n3 said:

would rate the other symptoms between moderate to severe depending on the day to be honest

Im sorry to read that. Let’s definitely stay right here at 5mg for a good while. 
 

2 minutes ago, Some0n3 said:

5mg dose that im taking is a whole pill so no need to cut it

Perfect. Nice and simple. 😀

 

3 minutes ago, Some0n3 said:

but all in all i would say that going from 10mgs to 5 hasnt made that big of a difference in my wd symptoms

That’s good. The next 5mg are the hardest as they are stronger than the last. So very careful tapering from here. When you’re ready. 
 

4 minutes ago, Some0n3 said:

will definitely invest in a scale or few when i start the tapering process though.

Perfect. Theres time for that. There are some suggestions in that link. 
 

5 minutes ago, Some0n3 said:

thanks again for all that you do Chippy, sending you my support.

Always a pleasure and I appreciate that. 

3 minutes ago, Some0n3 said:

yeah i feel like being quiet would atleast ensure that i get a constant supply of medication so i wouldnt have to worry about that

It’s all you need from them. 

3 minutes ago, Some0n3 said:

most definitely. im prepared that this could take years, id much rather spend a few years of my life tapering than to rush and possibly cause even bigger damage than i already have

It’s a good attitude to have. If you can get nice and stable then it would be better to be stable and tapering then to rush off. Some spend a long time holding to get very stable. It’s been seen that this can lead to a smoother taper. 
 

Also when you come to taper there are options you can think about in terms of plans for dose reductions but we can worry about that later.  

11 minutes ago, Chippy said:

It’s a good attitude to have. If you can get nice and stable then it would be better to be stable and tapering then to rush off. Some spend a long time holding to get very stable. It’s been seen that this can lead to a smoother taper. 
 

Also when you come to taper there are options you can think about in terms of plans for dose reductions but we can worry about that later.  

yeah i agree. just gonna try to live life the best i can with all this haha. the fact that i havent seen improvement to the brain fog etc even after such a long time does worry me to be honest but im still holding out hope that maybe one day itll resolve. in the meantime i just have to coexist with it and accepting that fact helps quite a bit with coping

Just now, Some0n3 said:

yeah i agree. just gonna try to live life the best i can with all this haha. the fact that i havent seen improvement to the brain fog etc even after such a long time does worry me to be honest but im still holding out hope that maybe one day itll resolve. in the meantime i just have to coexist with it and accepting that fact helps quite a bit with coping

That’s the attitude for sure. It can take some time for things to resolve. I know this only too well myself. But the body is amazing at healing itself and you are young. You’ll get there eventually. But you are absolutely spot on with your attitude. Acceptance removes a lot of the suffering. I’m really impressed with your mind set. You’ve gained some good skills. They will continue to help you. One day you will be free of both the drug and the symptoms im sure of it. Time. 

Hi @Some0n3 very good to hear that you are relatively stable, I relate on the brain fog and eye sensitivity, not constant here but when it hits it's very disturbing, I hope it will fade for you soon, as for the rest, chippy summed up the majority honestly so not much to add except much success on the rest of your journey, go slowly and be attentive to your body, it will lead you in the right direction!, take good care, keep us updated.

 

Edited March 24Mar 24 by Fullhealing