Hi @Billford81,

 

How are you doing ? 🙂 

Hi Sophia, I'm not great to be honest. My emotions and stuff are the same and it's demoralizing. I miss being enjoying movies and games, immersing myself in fictional stuff. I used to get excited for things now everyday feels the same, so dull and pointless. I actually felt a little better a couple weeks ago, my emotions were still flat but I looked forward to things and enjoyed them even without the feeling of joy. However that's over plus I'm having some health problems. My only hope is that it's been only four months and I'll be better when more time passes. I hope that I can recover in a year or two and all these months will just become a bad memory. Sorry for writing a lot, I hope you improved. Wish you well

8 hours ago, Billford81 said:

actually felt a little better a couple weeks ago, my emotions were still flat but I looked forward to things and enjoyed them even without the feeling of joy. However that's over plus I'm having some health problems. My only hope is that it's been only four months and I'll be better when more time passes.

Sorry you’re having a hard time still. Just wanted to say this will all pass. Feeling a better at points is a great sign. In time you’ll get more of this. Chippy

I feel like at this point if I get my feelings back I wont be able recognize them. I have gotten so used this state, I dont thinks I can even remember what ıt used feel like to have emotions. the worst part is that I'm not even sad or mad about it because I don't care about anything

13 minutes ago, Billford81 said:

I feel like at this point if I get my feelings back I wont be able recognize them. I have gotten so used this state, I dont thinks I can even remember what ıt used feel like to have emotions. the worst part is that I'm not even sad or mad about it because I don't care about anything

Have you Seen any changes or small improvements?

28 minutes ago, Billford81 said:

I feel like at this point if I get my feelings back I wont be able recognize them. I have gotten so used this state, I dont thinks I can even remember what ıt used feel like to have emotions. the worst part is that I'm not even sad or mad about it because I don't care about anything

I completely know what you mean... I wanna grief this, but i cant even feel sadness or anxiety about my own situation. I notice I also cant listen to music, it doenst sound the same to me :(

I am almost 7,5 months off... really hope to see improvements this year. How do you pass the day? Do you still work or study? Do you meet up with friends?

Well Sophia I dont have any friends nor a job or school, lol. I went to Universty but it wasnt for me. Maybe after everything is back to normal I'll get a two year degree or look for a job at a store or something. I usually watch videos, play games or write. Feels sort of pathetic to say when you are writing it down. I also go outside once i na a while of course.

No please dont feel that way! I hope you see improvements soon ❤️‍🩹

I hope you do too, how is your head?

It was debilitating the last five days. Today it seems to be a bit better, thank you for asking! You never have weird head symptoms or sensations?

I do have weird head sensations but they have been going happening before the pills

I feel like the worst I have ever felt, both physically and mentally. I don't why I'm so sick is it related to withdrawal or something else. My emotional blunting never gets better and I don't know If it ever will. At least I can cry a little even though I never feel anything.

2 hours ago, Billford81 said:

I feel like the worst I have ever felt, both physically and mentally. I don't why I'm so sick is it related to withdrawal or something else. My emotional blunting never gets better and I don't know If it ever will. At least I can cry a little even though I never feel anything.

Sorry you’re struggling @Billford81. If I’m reading your signature right it seems like you’re still in the early stages of all this so there’s plenty of scope for recovery. Hang in there 💜

It's been six months, I guess that's relatively early. I just feel lost I am unwell almost every day but the test results are almost always clean. I don't know if withdrawal is actually affecting my body or I have something wrong with me that I don't know.

I am so sorry friend… I relate to what you experience?

What are all your symptoms? Maybe we can help navigate you if it’s a well known symptom in withdrawal? ❤️‍🩹

3 hours ago, Billford81 said:

It's been six months, I guess that's relatively early. I just feel lost I am unwell almost every day but the test results are almost always clean. I don't know if withdrawal is actually affecting my body or I have something wrong with me that I don't know

A lot of us on here have physical symptoms ranging from mild to severe, so it’s very possible that it’s withdrawal. If you’re comfortable sharing more details about your symptoms you might find others who have the same issues and can share coping strategies and that sort of thing. I hope things start to ease for you soon.

Well some like breathing difficulties, chest pain, increased heart rate, my head hurting, nausea started before the pills. Others like stomach issues, swaying, weakness started after I took the pills. This month is particular everything became worse.

14 hours ago, Billford81 said:

Well some like breathing difficulties, chest pain, increased heart rate, my head hurting, nausea started before the pills. Others like stomach issues, swaying, weakness started after I took the pills. This month is particular everything became worse.

I’m sorry @Billford81 that sounds really hard. The symptoms you say started after the drugs are things I’ve seen others talk about as withdrawal symptoms. Also, in my experience withdrawal can make preexisting issues worse — for example, I used to get migraines at most once every couple weeks, and now in withdrawal I have headaches most days.

If you’re concerned about other conditions you should of course get the appropriate tests done — but if everything looks normal then I think it’s safe to assume that WD is causing or exacerbating a lot of your symptoms. Which also means that they will likely improve in time. 💜

What to do when your general doctor is pushing psyc drugs?

Refuse!

I've gone so far as pointedly asking the following:

"What is your experience working with patients who are experiencing SSRI/SNRI withdrawal?" (I leave out the word "protracted" because most don't believe in it, but it is more accepted that there is some withdrawal from psych meds, so I stick to that)

Have you done any continuing professional development in the last 2 years on psychiatric drug deprescribing or withdrawal? (I ask this because The Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines were published in 2024 and this is a topic doctors should be becoming aware of).

If they demure and say "Well, not specifically but we know these drugs help many and are safe blah blah blah", I would say

"Sorry, but I can't trust that you are making treatment recommendations for me based on up to date clinical knowledge. So I cannot give weight to them"

It went down a treat with my ADHD medication prescriber when she wanted me on Lamotrigine in early WD. She was confused and offended in equal measure.

Stand. Your. Ground. We have been victimised enough in this system and only we can pull ourselves out of the victim position.

You are a psychiatrist yourself right? @Sminismoni

Don’t they trust your experience a little more based on your profession and personal experience with this withdrawal? 🥹

40 minutes ago, Sophia said:

Don’t they trust your experience a little more based on your profession and personal experience with this withdrawal?

🤣🤣🤣🤣 I wish.

by general doctor I mean internal medicine. I have been having health issues but the tests dont show anything, because of this she is telling me its a mental issue

Edited July 8Jul 8 by Billford81

6 minutes ago, Billford81 said:

by general doctor I mean internal medicine. I have been having health issues but the tests dont show anything, because of this she is telling me its a mental issue

Hi @Billford81 I went through the same testing journey during my withdrawal. They always came back negative or something far more minor than what my anxiety was telling me it was.

When I decided to taper Paxil, I was polite but firm with my doctor. I told him I was tapering the drug and didn't want to take any more anxiety or depression meds. But I was also able to tell him I was seeing a great therapist who was teaching me CBT and other coping methods, so it wasn't like I was just stopping the meds and hoping for the best. My doctor accepted my decision with no arguments.

So what should I do? She told me I should rule out mental stuff even though I told her it wasnt mental and I dont want drugs