Posted by bleauberry on October 16, 2008, at 16:45:01
In reply to Intense Anxiety 3 weeks off Celexa...Help Please !, posted by LisaDC on October 15, 2008, at 13:00:54
Good ideas have already been mentioned. I would like to reiterate some of them and add to it.
Low dose intermittent prozac.
Low dose zyprexa intermittent as-needed.
Calming teas...chamomile, passionflower, skullcap, or the herbs themselves even better.
An as-needed trial of klonopin instead of xanax.Some of us are much more sensitive to the withdrawals than others, as our bodies have a harsher time readjusting. You did a great job of long slow weaning. But still, after that final dose things can still go bonkers.
Sometimes I wonder if psychiatric drug use leads to more psychiatric drug use, independent of the condition being treated. Do the drugs cause brain adaptations that make it hard or impossible to return to where we started?
In my roughest withdrawals, they were fierce like you are feeling for about 3 to 4 weeks, then milder for another month, then milder yet for another month, and actually not totally gone for a solid 3 months after that final dose. Not to discourage you, but just to show you are not alone in this, you are not the first to feel, and that yes, there is actually an end to it.
In the meantime, you really do need to take every calming anti-anxiety strategy you can to protect your nervous system, adrenals, and thyroid from the intense stress of it all. If there is a naturopath in your area I am sure they can help with some good herbs that smooth out the adrenal/cortisol/norepinephrine/friek-out stuff you are feeling. Siberian ginseng + astragulus for example. Ashwaghanda. Reishi mushroom extract. They all help to balance out and smooth the very stuff that is causing your symptoms.
This will sound weird. Before bed each night, eat a baked potato with its skin (not fried or mashed or french fries, has to be baked or microwaved). And a glass of milk with it. Long story short, it makes a ton of serotonin, improves sleep, and does some overall calming. Really.
poster:bleauberry
thread:857572
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20081016/msgs/857802.html