14 hours ago, Chippy said:

I’ve read alot of people say this. And some doctors say it’s not a clinically significant dose at this level 🤷‍♂️🙈

 

Based on no evidence, as well.

I’m in a real state this morning. Yesterday I went to get a haircut — on the way there and during I felt really panicky. I did have a cup of strong milky tea beforehand. This morning I had a cup of tea and am now feeling hyper activated and panicky. Up until now I’ve been okay with 2 to 3 cups of tea a day.

 

I haven’t made any medication changes for weeks (except for trying a lower dose of Baclofen for one day). This is worst I’ve felt in a long time. I’m shaky, slept poorly and very depressed.

 

I’ve been on a keto diet for 2 months and I’m  uncertain if it’s a contributing factor.  
 

Any suggestions or words of encouragement very welcome 🥲

12 minutes ago, Catbird said:

Up until now I’ve been okay with 2 to 3 cups of tea a day.

It could be that the caffeine in the tea is affecting you.  So many things can cause an uptick in symptoms - sudden weather changes, change in diet, eating out, extra stress. Have you been completely avoiding alcohol and other mind altering substances?  

 

It looks like you just made a dose change to escitalopram at the end of January?  What day was this? It may be that your brain is trying to adjust to this dose change.  That is probably the main cause.  Hang in there.  Practice non drug coping techniques. 

Oh no, @Catbird, I’m so sorry! Feeling Panic is just Terrible. You are so steady in your taper and holding and now it feels like no progress. My heart goes out to you.

Actually, to me getting a haircut is a stressful thing. Not because I worry about my looks, but because people are so close, they fumble around on your head and I also don’t like if people stand directly behind me. So maybe you’re similar to that and that added to your stress. (by the way, the lovely girl that usually cuts my hair is in some kind of school for a year and since she started that school, I didn’t have a haircut. I trust her and feel kind of safe with herand now she’s gone. It’s difficult for me to go out and look for another. I look like a hippie….). 
 

Of course, it could also be the tea.maybe you can try cutting out the tea for a while. I do not drink black tea anymore, I could not take it during tapering. Makes me activated and shaky. Maybe that would help, even though it’s terrible, when there are more and more things that you cannot eat or drink. Keto is anyway a thing I suppose that needs a lot of discipline because there are so many things you cannot eat anymore. The change to keto is stressful for the body so maybe it adds to your imbalance?  By the way: I also have stopped drinking milk since I started with the taper, because it messed with my digestion, and I have always been drinking a lot of milk without problems. So maybe it’s even not the tea but the milk? You need some experimenting, probably, to find those things out.

what I can really recommend is 

Greek mountain tea, also known as shepherd's tea, made from the leaves, flowers, and stems of Greek verbena (Sideritis scardica).

since I cannot drink coffee or black tea anymore, this is new beverage. I drink about 2 L every day and to me it seems that my body really likes it. Also, it tastes good. 
 

Anyways, these are my suggestions and thoughts.

I hope that you will feel better soon. Sending warm thoughts and prayers your way!

 Nemina 

 

 

 

.

Thanks @Nemina for your support and thoughtful response 🤗

12 hours ago, Catbird said:

I’m in a real state this morning. Yesterday I went to get a haircut — on the way there and during I felt really panicky. I did have a cup of strong milky tea beforehand. This morning I had a cup of tea and am now feeling hyper activated and panicky. Up until now I’ve been okay with 2 to 3 cups of tea a day.

 

I haven’t made any medication changes for weeks (except for trying a lower dose of Baclofen for one day). This is worst I’ve felt in a long time. I’m shaky, slept poorly and very depressed.

 

I’ve been on a keto diet for 2 months and I’m  uncertain if it’s a contributing factor.  
 

Any suggestions or words of encouragement very welcome 🥲

Hey @Catbird

 

Im sorry to read this. Sounds like you’ve hit a bit of a wave. Yeah I’d watch the caffeine myself. Might not be helping. 
 

I can’t comment on keto other than to say I do believe in a well balanced diet to aid full recovery. These more specific diets worry me a bit but as I said I don’t have anything more to add than that. 
 

Hope this eases for you. 
 

Chippy

@Catbird Sorry to hear you are feeling that way. I empathize with you. Feeling panicky/depressed is such an awful state of being. The one good thing about it is that it always remits eventually. 
 

You mentioned you slept poorly, which doesn’t help:/ Take things day by day - hour by hour if you need. Those feelings always eventually fade. You’re just in a bit of a rough patch at the moment.

 

You’ll have a moment soon enough where you’ll say to yourself, “Wow that was intense, but I made it through.”
 

 

Thank you @TooNorth 🤗

I've encountered an a very undesirable effect of TCAs.  Due to their anticholinergic properties they cause constipation and they dry everything out especially mucus membranes like the lining of the gut. As a result I've encountered what's called post defecation leakage. It's a very distressing and potentially embarrassing side effect — dose related.  It's not a subject I ever thought I'd be sharing on a forum, but if it can help others I thought it worth mentioning.

I've found ChatGPT very helpful in providing the reason why it's happening and suggestions for managing the hopefully temporary situation.

20 hours ago, Catbird said:

I've encountered an a very undesirable effect of TCAs.  Due to their anticholinergic properties they cause constipation and they dry everything out especially mucus membranes like the lining of the gut. As a result I've encountered what's called post defecation leakage. It's a very distressing and potentially embarrassing side effect — dose related.  It's not a subject I ever thought I'd be sharing on a forum, but if it can help others I thought it worth mentioning.

I've found ChatGPT very helpful in providing the reason why it's happening and suggestions for managing the hopefully temporary situation.

Hey @Catbird Ive moved this into here. It would be good to have a Topic about this in the symptoms forum but we I think it needs to be a more formal written article in there. We are trying to keep the supporting threads more 'ever green' so they dont get too cluttered and hard to read. Perhaps if you get the energy ever you could consider writing something that you could post yourself? For the minute I think your intro topic is the best place for short posts about this.

 

Chippy

On 1/31/2026 at 11:02 AM, Catbird said:

It's not a subject I ever thought I'd be sharing on a forum, but if it can help others I thought it worth mentioning.

Thank you for sharing, @Catbird. Many people are and will be reading our exchanges to learn from our experiences and I think that your decision to open up about this will help others. I hope for fast healing for you, life is difficult enough..❤️

18 minutes ago, Nemina said:

Thank you for sharing, @Catbird. Many people are and will be reading our exchanges to learn from our experiences and I think that your decision to open up about this will help others. I hope for fast healing for you, life is difficult enough..❤️

Yes second this btw. Thank you for sharing it.

I’m dealing with terrible, horrible feelings of terror, deep depression, rage, anhedonia and suicidal ideation. Been like this for about a week. I think I’m in “an emotional wave”. For years I’ve felt blah interspersed with short bursts of fear, but this is something new.

What’s the general opinions / advice about dropping the dose in a situation like this? Should I wait until my mood and emotions level out or try and drop down a small dose? This is so foreign to me after years of numbness — it’s so incapacitating and hard to tolerate. 🆘

1 hour ago, Catbird said:

I’m dealing with terrible, horrible feelings of terror, deep depression, rage, anhedonia and suicidal ideation. Been like this for about a week. I think I’m in “an emotional wave”. For years I’ve felt blah interspersed with short bursts of fear, but this is something new.

What’s the general opinions / advice about dropping the dose in a situation like this? Should I wait until my mood and emotions level out or try and drop down a small dose? This is so foreign to me after years of numbness — it’s so incapacitating and hard to tolerate. 🆘

Hey @Catbird

 

Sorry to read this.

 

Stability is key. Id not make any cuts until you feel more stable. When was your last drop? Coupe of days looking at your footer? Might be worth a small updose if it doesnt settle......

 

Hope this eases soon.

 

Chippy

Oh, @Catbird, I am so sorry, that you feel so terrible 😞….my heart goes out to you. This wave sounds really awful. I wish I could do something for you.

I have no recommendation regarding tapering, usually the advice is to stabilize and hold when things get shaky, but of course you know this.

I wonder if the keto diet is not good for you. It’s two months now, right? Have you had any better days since starting the diet? 
All I can do is tell you, that you are not alone. We are here in this with you. Sending you peace and love,Nemina ❤️

8 hours ago, Catbird said:

I’m dealing with terrible, horrible feelings of terror, deep depression, rage, anhedonia and suicidal ideation. Been like this for about a week. I think I’m in “an emotional wave”. For years I’ve felt blah interspersed with short bursts of fear, but this is something new.

What’s the general opinions / advice about dropping the dose in a situation like this? Should I wait until my mood and emotions level out or try and drop down a small dose?

It looks like you just dropped your dose down by 3% at the end of January.  This is probably why you are having these terrible feelings.  Yes, it sounds like you are in a wave.  You do not want to change your dose so soon again.  It is never a good idea to change our dose in a reactive state to feeling bad. We must be very deliberate and rational in our decision to change our dose.  What your brain needs right now is stability. It is probably trying to adjust to the change in dose you just made at the end of January. It would help if you put the specific day in January you made the dose drop, to be more specific. The thing to do now is hold on your current dose of 1.049 mg of Lexapro.  Lexapro is a very powerful drug, at least 2x to 3x stronger than other SSRI drugs, and it gets harder to taper in the lower doses, which you are.  In the meantime, use non drug coping strategies for coping with the symptoms.  

 

Important topics about symptoms, including sleep problems

 

 

 

Techniques for Managing Withdrawal 

Here is a thread about neuro emotions.  

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forums/topic/28492-neuroemotions/#comment-810

I’m sorry it’s so hard for you right now. I hope you will stabilise again soon. Take good care of yourself.

2 hours ago, getofflex said:

It looks like you just dropped your dose down by 3% at the end of January.  This is probably why you are having these terrible feelings.  Yes, it sounds like you are in a wave.  You do not want to change your dose so soon again.  It is never a good idea to change our dose in a reactive state to feeling bad. We must be very deliberate and rational in our decision to change our dose.  What your brain needs right now is stability. It is probably trying to adjust to the change in dose you just made at the end of January. It would help if you put the specific day in January you made the dose drop, to be more specific. The thing to do now is hold on your current dose of 1.049 mg of Lexapro.  Lexapro is a very powerful drug, at least 2x to 3x stronger than other SSRI drugs, and it gets harder to taper in the lower doses, which you are.  In the meantime, use non drug coping strategies for coping with the symptoms.  

 

Important topics about symptoms, including sleep problems

 

 

 

Techniques for Managing Withdrawal 

Thanks @getofflex I’ve been microtapering (BM Slide) since July last year. It’s been weeks since I changed my dose.

20 minutes ago, Catbird said:

It’s been weeks since I changed my dose.

This is different from what your drug signature says, which is that you reduced your dose at the end of January, so I assumed you only reduced a few days to a week ago.  You might want to clarify in your signatue what date in January you reduced to 1.049, it will help people help you better. 

Edited February 4Feb 4 by getofflex

Hang in there @Catbird! I know exactly the feelings you describe. You are not alone. 
 

Some times all you can do is lay in bed and breathe. Hour after hour if you need. 
 

If you can - make sure to go outside, even for 5-10 minutes and get some sunlight on your face. 
 

Remember - feelings like that always fade. They won’t last forever. 

3 minutes ago, TooNorth said:

Remember - feelings like that always fade. They won’t last forever

🌈🧡

30 minutes ago, getofflex said:

This is different from what your drug signature says, which is that you reduced your dose at the end of January, so I assumed you only reduced a few days to a week ago.  You might want to clarify in your signatue what date in January you reduced to 1.049, it will help people help you better. 

I’ve been micro dosing, so multiple decrements in a month. I’ve been only putting the current dose at the end of the month. I can see how it’s confusing. Thanks for feedback. I’ll give some thought to how I can better document. 🙏

@Catbird I'm so sorry you're not feeling well. I have felt what you're describing for several months last year and it truly is awful. I saw some snippets of an interview Angie Peacock did recently with a keto expert and it was highlighting (as well as the many benefits) that ketogenic diets can accelerate the clearing of medications which might lead to withdrawal symptoms. If this is the case holding until you stabilise and adjust to your new metabolism might be the best option.

 https://youtu.be/hppyFCLZckU?si=7PMNSY0MmyoqsVrt

I did low carb (not keto) for a month last year and I felt mentally a lot worse although it was great for my blood sugar.

Edited February 5Feb 5 by molloi

1 hour ago, molloi said:

@Catbird I'm so sorry you're not feeling well. I have felt what you're describing for several months last year and it truly is awful. I saw some snippets of an interview Angie Peacock did recently with a keto expert and it was highlighting (as well as the many benefits) that ketogenic diets can accelerate the clearing of medications which might lead to withdrawal symptoms. If this is the case holding until you stabilise and adjust to your new metabolism might be the best option.

 https://youtu.be/hppyFCLZckU?si=7PMNSY0MmyoqsVrt

I did low carb (not keto) for a month last year and I felt mentally a lot worse although it was great for my blood sugar.

Thanks @molloi it's good to have people around who've experienced similar things. That's interesting about the clearing of medications, another aspect is that ketosis is GABAergic - I can tell that the sedative drugs I'm on have been potentiated. There's so many positive benefits to keto I'm noticing — my gut is so much better (I've suffered constipation from Amitriptyline and now I don't even need psyllium), my cognition has markedly improved, the arthritis is my hands is no longer noticeable, all my metabolic markers are fantastic (except for LDL-C — I'm getting my apoB tested soon) and it helps diminish the gnawing hunger from TCAs.

I'll have a look at the video which I really appreciate. Another good YouTube channel is The Metabolic Mind.

How's your metabolic health these days? 🤗