@Sminismoni, @Sonia2, @LostinCanada omg I didn’t know those things! I will never take that medication again. When I took it, it made me extremely angry and agitation also. I will start logging my blood pressure for now on. Today I’m doing ok just feel weak. Today I have to do some cutting as I only have 1 dose ready to take for tomorrow of Lexapro, better do it while I’m not feeling so bad. Just went and picked up prescribed vitamin D2 1.25 mg because my blood test showed I was low in vitamin D. Has anyone had any issues with taking a prescribed dose of that? It says take 1 capsule per week. 

1 hour ago, Journey said:

picked up prescribed vitamin D2 1.25 mg because my blood test showed I was low in vitamin D. Has anyone had any issues with taking a prescribed dose of that? It says take 1 capsule per week. 

Please do not take this. Vitamin D can be hugely activating.

Wait for this first situation to settle.

What are your Vit D numbers?

If you decide to take a bit d supplement, starting with a non prescription size is advised.(your prescription is way to high for withdrawal)

Starting with a very low dose by cutting a pill or taking a small amount of liquid is the way to go.

The sun is a great way to get natural D....10 to 30 minutes, 4 times a week is sufficient. Google how much sunshine a day in city, state, do I need to get vitamin D.

Make sure you do not use sunscreen and have skin exposure.

Edited April 12Apr 12 by LostinCanada

@LostinCanada okay good I am getting sun during my walks then that should be good for me thank you for the information. I don’t know my exact numbers for vitamin D,  I will have to ask at my next appointment. At my next appointment if my vitamin D is still too low , I will do as you recommended and take a non prescription dose and maybe taking a little at a time if needed. I’ll update when that time comes. This doctor has no idea what is going on , why would she give me all of these prescriptions knowing my withdrawal state, so frustrating! I’m so thankful for everyone here , I can’t say that enough. We just went out to eat with our boys, I was able to eat finally. Today is our 18 year wedding anniversary! 

Happy anniversary @Journey

I am glad you were able to go out and have a bite to eat.

16 minutes ago, Journey said:

. This doctor has no idea what is going on ,

Most don't. You are in a highly sensitive place right now. Don't hesitate to run anything by us. Big hugs. ❤️🙏

Hi @Journey I also want to wcho what @LostinCanada said about the Vit D. 1.25mg is a huge loading dose (50 000IU) for people severely deficient (like living in a cave for 2 years without sunlight). Most "healthy" folk living in the Northern Hemisphere are merely "insufficient" in their levels and at best need around 0.1mg per day (4000IU daily or 0.7mg per week i.e. not 1.25mg) to stay on top of things. If you do want to take a supplement I would suggest getting a ultra low dose daily tablet from the health food store, that you can take once and see how you tolerate it, before adding it in as a daily thing. I take a daily 1000IU tablet which is 0.025mg and it seems to suit me fine.

9 minutes ago, Sminismoni said:

Most "healthy" folk living in the Northern Hemisphere are merely "insufficient" in their levels and at best need around 0.1mg per day (4000IU daily or 0.7mg per week i.e. not 1.25mg) to stay on top of things

Exactly. I was taking 1000 IU a day for a few years and it put my blood levels over the safe limit....we only need 400 IU daily. So once you build up your store, it is about careful maintenance.

 

 

@Journey sorry about your recent hospital visit. Must have been very traumatic. As others have said, could be a reaction to the recent meds. Keep an eye on it but I’m sure it was a one off. Certainly good to be very careful now, your system will be very sensitive and needs to be looked after. You’re doing great. Keeping asking on here if you are unsure. 

Not much sleep last night. Vomiting this morning. Depressive mood all day. Still managed to go for a short walk. What are your thoughts on fish oil for mood improvement? 

I would wait till your body settles from the stress of the previously added drugs. It takes a sensitive CNS longer to heal. 

If you were to add something now and had a reaction, it would be difficult to know if it was the fish oil or residual fall out. 

@LostinCanadaI was afraid of that also. Will do thanks friend. 

Just wanted to update my page, I like to come back to it and see how I was feeling on certain days. This afternoon I felt really good! For the first time in a very long time I was able to listen to music and enjoyed it! The morning was a little rough but after my walk at about 10:30am everything changed for the better. I don’t know how long I will have this feeling but it was great. I wish everyone well and good days. 

Edited April 15Apr 15 by Journey

46 minutes ago, Journey said:

Just wanted to update my page, I like to come back to it and see how I was feeling on certain days. This afternoon I felt really good! For the first time in a very long time I was able to listen to music and enjoyed it! The morning was a little rough but after my walk at about 10:30am everything changed for the better. I don’t know how long I will have this feeling but it was great. I wish everyone well and good days. 

Thanks for the positive update! Great to see 😀

 

Nice window there. You’re doing great. More to come. 

11 hours ago, Journey said:

Just wanted to update my page, I like to come back to it and see how I was feeling on certain days. This afternoon I felt really good! For the first time in a very long time I was able to listen to music and enjoyed it! The morning was a little rough but after my walk at about 10:30am everything changed for the better. I don’t know how long I will have this feeling but it was great. I wish everyone well and good days. 

Good for you. It's a long process but days like this show us we are healing. ❤️👍🙏

I can't remember if I mentioned this before but off when I have a beaming headache, making a DIY rehydration drink often helps. 2 cops water, 1 tbsp maple syrup, 1/8-1/4 tsp pink Himalayan salt

It has even helped with nausea. ❤️

@LostinCanada i will definitely try that recipe next time my headache comes back, thank you. For the past 4 days i have been feeling relatively well i’m almost afraid to say it. The only complaint i have is hot sweats still mostly in the morning. I am still battling high blood pressure but with no headaches. I’m unable to get the blood pressure down and stabilize. My daily walks are not enough to bring it down unfortunately. I’ve been reading about it and some people say beet root powder, so I’m going to try that tonight. Also high potassium rich foods so I have that coming in tonight also. But other than that I really have no symptoms right now. I take my Lexapro at the same time everyday and I go on my walks the same time everyday. I worry that I’m not getting the right 1 mg Lexapro everyday because the scale gives me inconsistent readings at times. I weigh the pill 4-5 times and sometimes it says something different everytime. It’s frustrating because I want to be consistent as possible with my doses. But I guess it’s working because I feel fine these past few days but that is something I worry about. I hope everyone is doing well and is having good days.

@Journey I only came across a post of yours just now. I’m intrigued by how quickly you’ve reduced your Escitalopram dosage. Has it been smooth sailing or have you been beset by WD symptoms? I notice your last post indicates quite a few nasty symptoms? How has the rest of the taper been? 🤗

16 minutes ago, Journey said:

For the past 4 days i have been feeling relatively well

Great to hear. I know we all worry about accuracy. Sometimes, if it is really humid here, my scale can jump a bit....but in the long run, it is all in the same range. We have to work within imperfect parameters.

19 minutes ago, Journey said:

hope everyone is doing well and is having good days.

It's been sunny here and I have been doing a bit of gardening.... distraction is good.

Hope you get that blood pressure under control. ❤️🙏

@LostinCanada good to hear you are able to do some gardening! I love gardening it is therapeutic. @Catbird I have had horrendous wd symptoms since reinstatement. I think I actually just started to level out a bit these past 4 days I have had no symptoms except for hot sweats in the morning. I hope these good days continue. I have been following your story, I hope you are having better days.

@Journey When did you reinstate? And from what dose? I had shocking WD symptoms at one stage including 120+ episodes of SVT in 12 months - but I managed to largely stop it.

3 hours ago, Journey said:

@LostinCanada i will definitely try that recipe next time my headache comes back, thank you. For the past 4 days i have been feeling relatively well i’m almost afraid to say it. The only complaint i have is hot sweats still mostly in the morning. I am still battling high blood pressure but with no headaches. I’m unable to get the blood pressure down and stabilize. My daily walks are not enough to bring it down unfortunately. I’ve been reading about it and some people say beet root powder, so I’m going to try that tonight. Also high potassium rich foods so I have that coming in tonight also. But other than that I really have no symptoms right now. I take my Lexapro at the same time everyday and I go on my walks the same time everyday. I worry that I’m not getting the right 1 mg Lexapro everyday because the scale gives me inconsistent readings at times. I weigh the pill 4-5 times and sometimes it says something different everytime. It’s frustrating because I want to be consistent as possible with my doses. But I guess it’s working because I feel fine these past few days but that is something I worry about. I hope everyone is doing well and is having good days.

Good to read Journey! I hope you can get your BP down though. Don’t sweat the scales too much. I’ve found putting at 10g weight on the scale with the dose, ‘loads it up’ and just helps get it in its operating range.

Glad things are looking good for you!

2 hours ago, Chippy said:

I’m unable to get the blood pressure down and stabilize. My daily walks are not enough to bring it down unfortunately. I’ve been reading about it and some people say beet root powder, so I’m going to try that tonight. Also high potassium rich foods so I have that coming in tonight also. But other than that I really have no symptoms right now. I take my Lexapro at the same time everyday and I go on my walks the same time everyday.

Hi @Journey Sorry to hear you're still struggling with some symptoms. My blood pressure is all over the place sometimes — very low in the morning and very high in the evening, but not every day. Some blood pressure meds are potassium sparing, so awareness of other sources of potassium especially in supplements is important.

@Chippy Thanks , I will try that with my scale and see if it stabilizes it. @Catbird I reinstated March 17 but did my dose too high then lowered it over the following days. I was bedridden for quite a while with many wd symptoms. These past 4 days have been heaven for me except for the blood pressure. I just took my first dose of beet root powder tonight so I will continue with that every night and see if it brings down my blood pressure over the next week or so. Thank you for the info.

Update: I took a dose of beet root powder with juice last night and this morning and my blood pressure is down 113/85 it hasn’t been this low in a long time , the downside is I have had a migraine all day. Tomorrow I’m going to see the neurologist just to check things out.

That’s great @Journey !! 🤗

@Catbird Thank you so much!