Hello Everyone, 

I'm stepping up to introduce myself even though I am feeling very foggy and not very smart cognitively today as most days of late.  I'm 53 years old (have 4 children; youngest is 12) and have been on SSRI's and SNRI's for roughly 25 years.  I had tried to quit them unsuccessfully over the years and decided at those times that it just wasn't the "right time" (having young children and other life stressors).

I came across some of Dr Chris Palmers research and listened to some of his interviews and was like, I want to do this!  That was back in 2023 and at the time I couldn't find a lot of practical information on how to do it and didn't feel confident.  But last spring after attempting to get help again from local psychiatrist and simply getting prescribed an increase dose of SNRI and adding an antipsychotic I was driven to find my own answers.  (I don't recommend this approach, but I felt I had done enough research and found more practical information on how to do metabolic ketogenic diet successfully).  To complicate matters I had a complete hysterectomy including ovary removal in 2024 which put me into instant menopause.  I did not have good aftercare and was not given any hormone replacement for 4 months.  

Initially being in a state of ketosis was fantastic and I had a lot of energy.  I began walking every day and lost the 30 lbs I had put on after the surgery.  Fast forward to today, I am struggling with lack of energy, anxiety, fuzzy thoughts, inability to organize my thoughts, loss of emotions, loss of motivation, apathy, no interest in my former activities, my formerly organized home is a bit of a wreck etc.  I also get a lot of "muscle weakness" and my physical endurance really waxes and wanes.  These look like the symptoms of depression, and was considering re-starting SSRI's, and admitting defeat.  When I started looking online for answers and found patients talking about PSSD and though I don't have the sexual side effects, the cognitive, emotive side effects certainly seem to fit the description.  I am also concerned that these symptoms I am having seem to fit the early stages of dementia.  

So I think that's it for an introduction.  

I have been reading a bit of other people's signature lines and I will have to work on mine a bit more as I find more details that are part of the journey.

 

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.

 

14 hours ago, hardheadedwoman said:

I'm stepping up to introduce myself even though I am feeling very foggy and not very smart cognitively today as most days of late.  I'm 53 years old (have 4 children; youngest is 12) and have been on SSRI's and SNRI's for roughly 25 years.  I had tried to quit them unsuccessfully over the years and decided at those times that it just wasn't the "right time" (having young children and other life stressors).

Thank you for taking the time to do this and tell us little about you. 🙂 

Im sorry you had trouble trying to come off your drugs over the years, this is common. People often try to taper too quickly or stop them abruptly. In over 50% of people this will give them WD symptoms which will be often misdiagonsed as replase. They will then go back to the drugs assuming them just 'need' them.

 

14 hours ago, hardheadedwoman said:

I came across some of Dr Chris Palmers research and listened to some of his interviews and was like, I want to do this!  That was back in 2023 and at the time I couldn't find a lot of practical information on how to do it and didn't feel confident.  But last spring after attempting to get help again from local psychiatrist and simply getting prescribed an increase dose of SNRI and adding an antipsychotic I was driven to find my own answers.  (I don't recommend this approach, but I felt I had done enough research and found more practical information on how to do metabolic ketogenic diet successfully).

Its great you found Dr Palmers work. He knows his stuff! Im sorry your psyciatrist told you to increae your dose rather than to offer you safe tapering options. This is also sadly common.

 

Many have found Keto helpful, well done for putting in the work to research this.

 

14 hours ago, hardheadedwoman said:

To complicate matters I had a complete hysterectomy including ovary removal in 2024 which put me into instant menopause.  I did not have good aftercare and was not given any hormone replacement for 4 months.  

My wife has been through this so I understand a lot of what you are going through. Makes things more complicated for sure. She has had a number of problems since which we think are due to hormones.

 

14 hours ago, hardheadedwoman said:

Initially being in a state of ketosis was fantastic and I had a lot of energy.  I began walking every day and lost the 30 lbs I had put on after the surgery.

Im glad you found keto benifical for you.

 

14 hours ago, hardheadedwoman said:

Fast forward to today, I am struggling with lack of energy, anxiety, fuzzy thoughts, inability to organize my thoughts, loss of emotions, loss of motivation, apathy, no interest in my former activities, my formerly organized home is a bit of a wreck etc.  I also get a lot of "muscle weakness" and my physical endurance really waxes and wanes.  These look like the symptoms of depression, and was considering re-starting SSRI's, and admitting defeat.  When I started looking online for answers and found patients talking about PSSD and though I don't have the sexual side effects, the cognitive, emotive side effects certainly seem to fit the description.  I am also concerned that these symptoms I am having seem to fit the early stages of dementia.  

When did all this start for you?

 

From your signature;

2025 May quit Cymbalta after a brief unsupervised taper.  

2025 May quit Benzos (was taking .5mg every day at bedtime)

 

Can you give more information about these tapers in May last year? It sounds to me like you are in WD from Cymablta and possibly the Benzo too? Could you confirm also which benzo you were taking?

 

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.

Thank you Chippy!  🙏

After reading a lot of people's stories last night, I can see there is much more I had forgotten about over the years (I also lost my first husband 10 years ago, which created another cascade of stress - kids were 2, 4, 13, 17).  I will be digging in to look for more clues that may help get a fuller picture.  Today has been a slog of fuzzy cognition, and mini bouts of full body anxiety and instead of fighting I leaned in to the fatigue and fog, and accepted the anxiety and asked my Higher Power (for me it's God) for Grace to be with it and to heal my nervous system.  I think it's the first time I have had a taste of a deeper compassion for myself than I have ever had(?)  I think reading other's stories and having compassion for others and recalling similar events/details in my own life have given me some permission to be compassionate to myself as well.  I tend to berate and am abusive in my self-talk.  Those who have been so open with the sharing of their stories and journeys have opened something up in me to be compassionate to myself as well.  

Many of the experiences I have had, such as the derealization, I have never had the right words for!  I feel like I've opened up an encyclopedia and perhaps can learn to understand and use some language and terminology beyond "depressed mood".  

I am also in 12 step recovery Alanon-and have found a few other members who have felt that was helpful; I was glad to see them identify themselves 🥰

 

I am grateful to have found this community.  I am so appreciative to those who are giving of their time and resources.  Much love from Canada.

Hardheadedwoman

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Other health issues do complicate things, however poor cognition and fatigue absolutely can be caused by psychiatric drug withdrawal as well. The full body anxiety is also pretty "classic" withdrawal.

 

At my worst, I could not understand television programmes at all, could not do a jigsaw puzzle, struggled with basic food prep (because making a sandwich is a process with steps that must be done in order and correctly) and so on.

 

Likewise, I suffered with severe fatigue to the point of being bedridden, then overwhelmingly housebound for a long time.

 

These symptoms are recoverable in time, if they are caused by withdrawal. If there are other considerations then it can be difficult to unpick what is what and although I'm not a doctor and nothing I say should be considered medical advice, I would say that my opinion (which could be completely useless and not worth listening to for all you know, given that I am a stranger), is that it is worth having non-invasive/low-risk medical tests such as a blood panel and speaking to a qualified clinician about your results. It could potentially underlying health issues AND withdrawal.

 

Withdrawal tends to get better in time for most people if they stay off of psychiatric medications, even though it can be a huge amount of time. Other health issues? We can't say.

 

Alcohol has exacerbated withdrawal symptoms for many, this is something repeatedly observed in withdrawal communities. I am assuming that this is what you're referring to with your 12-step programme. We strongly recommend not consuming it during withdrawal, until you have been well for quite some time. Obviously if you're fighting addiction to it, that's easier said than done, but it's worth it based on this.

 

I hope you find a supportive community here and that the information here is helpful to you.

On 3/9/2026 at 6:13 PM, hardheadedwoman said:

Fast forward to today, I am struggling with lack of energy, anxiety, fuzzy thoughts, inability to organize my thoughts, loss of emotions, loss of motivation, apathy, no interest in my former activities, my formerly organized home is a bit of a wreck etc.  I also get a lot of "muscle weakness" and my physical endurance really waxes and wanes.  T

Hi @hardheadedwoman my withdrawal symptoms were put down to menotouse but HRT didn't make a jot of difference, even at higher doses, with testosterone added as well.

 

My withdrawal has immense feelings of sluggishness, like I can't even sit up at a desk because my muscles are weak and heavy. I can't read or focus, it is like a thick soup in my head a lot of the time. Literally nothing can be planned or organised. My sense of time is off too, it is hard to think ahead to the end of the week or next month.

 As Luke said, it may be worth having tests, including hormone levels (I did). But everything you describe is not only possible, but common in withdrawal.

2 hours ago, hardheadedwoman said:

Much love from Canada

Welcome @hardheadedwoman

Love Cat Stevens. Was raised in Ontario, now in Victoria.

Kindness, compassion and self love are vital in this process. We are worth the investment. Sounds like withdrawal to me. 

Do you experience a wave/window pattern as well?

https://antidepressantrecovery.org/topic/179-are-you-in-a-wave/?do=getNewComment

 

Glad you found the site. ❤️🙏

16 hours ago, hardheadedwoman said:

fter reading a lot of people's stories last night, I can see there is much more I had forgotten about over the years (I also lost my first husband 10 years ago, which created another cascade of stress - kids were 2, 4, 13, 17).

Im so sorry to read this. That must have been very hard, with the kids so little too. My heart goes out to you.

 

16 hours ago, hardheadedwoman said:

Today has been a slog of fuzzy cognition, and mini bouts of full body anxiety and instead of fighting I leaned in to the fatigue and fog,

 

Yes It does sound like WD to me.

 

16 hours ago, hardheadedwoman said:

Many of the experiences I have had, such as the derealization, I have never had the right words for!  I feel like I've opened up an encyclopedia and perhaps can learn to understand and use some language and terminology beyond "depressed mood".  

 

I empathise with this. I have felt alot of weird things I didn't have words for in WD too.

 

16 hours ago, hardheadedwoman said:

I am grateful to have found this community.  I am so appreciative to those who are giving of their time and resources.  Much love from Canada.

Hardheadedwoman

You are welcome. 🙂 

 

What you do next is up to you. It was a while ago you stopped your Cymbalta and Benzos (May 2025). How would you rate the severity of the feelings you are getting since stopping? out of 10, 10 being the worse you could imagine.

 

Our bodys are designed to heal and adapt and with time you improve and heal from any WD/injury you have suffered.

 

Chippy

Hello @hardheadedwoman , I just came by your thread and was wondering how you were doing. I hope you have found a good way for yourself. 🙂