I have been on Celexa for several years. I cut back a little last year, by 1/4 of my original dose. It was HORRID, but I got through it on the third try.
Right after Christmas I started cutting back again, slower than last year. I am now at 1/2 my original dose. Been there for 4 weeks.
A couple weeks after cutting back, I developed pain in my lower back and both hips. Feels arthritic. Also had slight pain in my arms, but not as bad. Reminded me of Lyme pain.
So this has been going on for 2 months. I thought it was a symptom of discontinuation syndrome. But it is relentless.
Does anyone have information on this? I've done research and I'm concerned that it's an immune response. I'm beginning to get concerned that this is permanent.
Who has experience with this or knowledge?
SG
Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :
Hey S girl,
I've watched and cried many tears with several Lyme patients going through this withdrawal and it is beyond horrible. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
It can take years to wean off the meds from what I've seen and the entire time the patient can't tell if the withdrawal or tick borne diseases are what causes the problems. It is a constant battle of dreadful proportions.
I don't know if there are solid answers to say if it is autoimmune or what? But I do know it is bad stuff.
And I do know that it can be done. I just can't stand to watch the misery associated with it in the process.
Wish I had better answers, or somewhere you could go to get more info, but I am assuming you've been there and done that.
Posted by sutherngrl (Member # 16270) on :
Yep Tincup, last year was really rough for about 3 months, then things started to gradually get better. I waited another 6 months to cut back again because I needed a break from the misery of it.
I'm only guessing that this hip pain is a withdrawal side effect, since the timing of it seems to fit. Although who would correlate pain with SSRI withdrawal. My concern is that the pain has settled mainly into this one area.
I was reading that 70 to 80% of people have severe withdrawal, but doctors and pharma say it's only 5%. I personally have never heard of anyone that had an easy time of it.
Anyway, maybe someone will chime in with a great suggestion. I'm going to try adjusting my diet and see how that goes.
I have some 5-htp on hand, just in case the mental part gets too rough. I'm also taking magnesium and fish oil and some other supplements. But the worse part is this pain.
Posted by bcb1200 (Member # 25745) on :
I originally went on Prozac before I was diagnosed with Lyme because all of the docs told me I was "depressed and stressed."
Fortunately, Prozac has a very long half life so it was easy to come off of. You just stop taking it.
Sorry to hear about your withdrawal issues.
Posted by paulieinct (Member # 17514) on :
Could be your Lyme flaring due to the stress of withdrawal. Any stressor will cause a flare. I would go even slower on tapering off. Is there any urgency to get off it?
Posted by sutherngrl (Member # 16270) on :
Paulieinct, I considered that, but not sure if you can relapse after a couple of years. However, it's possible I never was 100% well.
i considered myself well, but who really knows.
Posted by MichaelTampa (Member # 24868) on :
A number of people have posted on here that they considered themselves well but relapsed after a couple years.
Posted by tulips (Member # 44773) on :
Sorry to hear about what is going on with you. I tried meds for anxiety once, didn't like the way it made me feel and after 3 days, stopped cold turkey. In reaction, it made me so nervous and jittery, I swore never to take antidepressants again.
I'm taking NOW NAC N-Acetyl Cysteine. Lots of people take it for anxiety or depression. It has a lot of health benefits; chelation, destruction of biofilm. It raises Glutathione levels but most incredibly, it gives one the most profound sense of peace that it must be the world's best antidepressant.
Now, that I have gotten on top of Lyme, I don't need an antidepressant anymore, but I'm on board with NAC. Whenever I take a break from it and stop taking it, there are no side effects but I don't think I would take it at the same time as antibiotics or anything that a physician gave me for anxiety, etc.
I don't mix official meds like abx, etc. and herbs or even supplements. Official meds are serious business. Feel better soon.
Posted by Judie (Member # 38323) on :
For me, before I took an SSRI I was in physical pain too.
I was told that physical pain drains seratonin. The SSRI can mask physical and emotional pain.
I was also able to ween off and SSRI (not easy, I have no words for the headache pain that came about).
I had to keep my seratonin up when I completely weened off and physical exercise helped even though I was in pain. I did a lot of walking. I had to stop walking up hills (that made the hip pain worse).
If you can swim, that might be helpful or just walk in a pool.
I also do herbals for pain and go to a pain management clinic where they do laser treatment.
Good luck.
Posted by LaniMo (Member # 37384) on :
I had a similar withdrawl from Cymbalta, and it took me six months after it was out of my system (with a verrrry slow taper) to feel normal again.
I remember it being hellish: insomnia, anxiety, palpitations, electrical sensations, depression, etc. And this was BEFORE I had Lyme!
I ended up having to go on a different antidepressant anyway -- one that works better for depression and anxiety, but doesn't help with pain.
Now my doc wants me to go back on Cymbalta for pain relief, but I'm holding out for an alternative.
Good luck. I know how long and awful the withdrawl can be. Don't listen to anyone who minimizes it.
Posted by sutherngrl (Member # 16270) on :
Too bad docs don't tell you about withdrawal. It is so brutal to every aspect of our well being.
I'm reading "The Mood Cure", and hope to never use SSRI's again. It will probably be another year before I am completely free of Celexa.
I'm also taking Xanax, but will deal with that one later. I have done a Xanax WD before and it's easier than SSRI's for me.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
quote:Originally posted by Judie:
For me, before I took an SSRI I was in physical pain too.
I was told that physical pain drains seratonin. The SSRI can mask physical and emotional pain.
- Right .. it was likely masking pain that you didn't know was there. I would bet that Lyme is not the problem.
I took a year to get down from 150 mg of trazodone to 25 mg. Stayed there for another year until the traz began to REALLY affect my heart .. so I finally got off of it about 3 months ago. I feel much better now.
My doctor had told me to reduce from 150 to 100 in just a few days and OMG!!! .. My body said NO WAY. So I developed my own plan and just took my time. What's the rush?
Posted by sutherngrl (Member # 16270) on :
Lymetoo, I went from 40mg to 30mg last year. Stuck there for months. Thought I would die for the first 3 months. Should have gone slower.
Then started after Christmas doing 30/20 every other day per docs suggestion. Now I'm doing 20mg per day and plan on sticking at this for several months or possibly the rest of the year. Definetly not gonna rush.
It's amazing what the WD can do to your body. I seriously thought I had LD this second go round. Such similar symptoms. I guess it's hard after Lyme, not to expect pain and fatigue to be Lyme.
I have noticed that my hip pain feels slightly better today. Hope that's a good sign. Mentally I'm feeling better than I expected.
Lymetoo, you were right to develop your own plan for WD. So many doctors think it's easy peasy to get off these meds.