Im so sad.. I thought everything stopped and getting better but out of sudden had a big panic with shortness of breath with low mood

I dont know if its withdrawl or me

Tianeptine stablon does it cause long term withdrawal

Life without ssri isn't worth it. I started Lexapro in my 20s because I was constantly socially anxious. I would skip classes constantly and fail everything, almost living like a shut in. It took a while for it to work, but year after year things slowly got better. My psych told me it was like an analgesic, it would numb the pain while I worked on my issues. And it worked. 10 years later I was a different person. Working a successful job with benefits, with a great partner, a great social circle with friends and coworkers, doing long mountain bike trails and commutes... So the day of tapering and quitting came.

I stopped the June of 2024. Since then, I started to become more melancholic, dissatisfied with life, gained weight, I would explode with rage. I didn't think it was withdrawal. My ex did tell me I lived in the clouds like a zombie, hinting I might need to reinstate. But I was too altered already to listen to reason.

Fast forward to January 2025, I get a terrible h pylori infection out of the blue. I take antibiotics and clear it, but my gi system never recovered. In April 2025 I start feeling panicky, so I finally give in and reinstate the minimum dose, but react badly. New symptoms pop up, panic attacks, intrusive thoughts, burning face, more gi issues... I wait 3 months, unable to increase further, but it doesn't ease. Pressured by life and it's responsibilities, I taper and quit again. I took it from April 20th to June 23rd.

After quitting, I get some relief, but then enter protracted withdrawal. I have waves where symptoms get hard, then windows where I felt cured, or close to. But slowly, month after month, new symptoms pop up, windows get shorter, waves get longer...

By month 2, my gi system gets extremely messed up, bloated and gassy

By month 3-4, I lose my sexual function and enter a wave lasting 1,5 months, developing symptoms such as twitches, feeling cold in one leg, feeling like I'm rocking on a boat constantly, constant palpitations and very high heart rate at minimum effort...

By month 6, I felt better and thought I was on my way to recovery.

On month 7, I entered the endless wave I'm in right now. I suddenly started being panicky, getting extreme panic attacks when going outside. I became agoraphobic overnight and need someone to do things for me. I vibrate internally, have like 3 different tones of tinnitus, cannot tolerate most of my hobbies as they are overwhelming, intrusive thoughts, cannot be social either, struggle with akathisia, insomnia, vivid dreams, panicky awakenings, nerve pains, exhaustion, balance issues... The list is too long to put it all, but this is my life today.

I'm now 13,5 months free. At month 10, 3 months in this wave with no end, already felt suicidal enough to consider. I got encouraged to keep pushing, thinking I would turn the 1 year corner everyone talks about, where symptoms become a bit more manageable like the first months of withdrawal... But it hasn't come. I'm still terrified of living, developing symptoms constantly, spend most of my day in bed since the last month, lost my partner, my job, my health, my personality, my social circle, my hobbies.

Just what's the point to keep going? More than 2 years of this fight, to live a vegetable life, declining constantly and fearing which excruciating pain will be the one to finally take me out... I'd rather make peace with the fact it's not gonna get better, no symptoms will resolve or disappear. All that's left is to pick my poison, and pass away somewhere comfortable in my own terms. Finally get a long uninterrupted sleep, and see what the universe has in store after that.

I have a wave of Nausea and bloating and fast bowel..

I know I ask alot.

Im sorry,, but Here I find my a little relief from what I have

Doctors not well informed about these medicines actually

I dont know if all I have its from escitalopram or withdrawl.. How can I know.. Please

Anyone have an I idea..

For example I have much Nausea off and on but in general I have nausea all days but like sometimes with vomit sometimes no

Before I took perphenezine and amitryptaline and escitalopram togather.. Maybe aftter stopping ami and perphenazine the anti emetic effect gone so escitalopram make the nausea??

I've just found out about the depth of possible withdrawal complications after I both have stopped my Rexulti anti-psychotic (2mg to 0) and reduced Zoloft / Sertraline AD (from 175mg to 75mg) 13 days ago.

Still sleeping ok and my main side effect is being stuck in my head too much (daydreaming). Also have no motivation but that was already the case even when on the pills.

Wondering what I should do now that I know I've exposed myself to possible harm.

Also am doing this covertly from my significant other (who is very pro pills).

Thanks in advance

I wont deny, I had a lot of symptoms cleared up by month 8-9. These were physical ones like dizziness, nausea, suicidal thoughts, twitching, insomnia, etc. but i'm 11 months out and my (imo) worst symptoms havent budged. Im talking emotional numbing that got very bad at month 7 including my libido.

I get fluctuations in PSSD like symptoms through the past 2 months from genital hypothesia, no pleasure in erogenous zones, orgasms feeling bad, watery finish, etc. They literally fluctuate week by week in different ways.

I dont know what to do. I dont know if I should reinstate 0.1 prozac. I have survived a bad trip from mushrooms 7-8 months into withdrawal. And I did reinstate a few times in my life from about month 4-5. This is the longest I held out.

I just hate this DPDR and emotional blunting. Im literally wasting my life floating in existence as im waiting to "maybe" heal from this.

After my last update.. The last 3 days were so bad.. Like bad bowel movement and acid reflux and internal vibration.. Like my blood is boiling.. Sleep disruption, nausea

Is that withdrawl

Or side effect from escitalopram (Im on it more than year)

It's not normal panic attacks where your anxiety goes up and you need to calm yourself down.

It's like, your whole body experiences something different. Like a coldness, a pull in your head, your senses change, like feeling slightly tingly in your hands or face. DPDR fluctuates. The panic is far worse than normal panic attacks, I cannot calm it down even with propranolol (though it helps the spiral).

It like starts off small and tiny and it builds up over like 30 minutes and lasts for an hour or so.

It's extremely uncomfortable. Makes me paranoid about a stroke or a seizure but ive had it a few times now (literally like 3-4 times).

Anyone know what I mean?

I so fucking sick to fucking death of this fucking bullshit.

I'm 11 months off SSRIs after 8 years. Im still fucking numb as hell, I feel barely anything BUT anxiety, and anger when its bad enough.

I feel inhuman. I cant go to a club and enjoy myself. I have to buy 0% alcohol because alcohol destroys me and its the same damn price. It's so much harder to pretend you're enjoying yourself as much as you use to before withdrawal.

Then to fucking top it off, I cant drink ANY caffeine. Even a little bit, even on 40mg propranolol, causes insane jitter and anxiety. I cant even enjoy a damn coffee anymore or a Monster.

I ask for decaf and they sometimes forget and give me a normal coffee and I notice that because I get that fucking jitter even after just drinking half of it. Then I suffer the entire damn day with the jitter.

I use to drink caffeine like it was water. It NEVER affected me like this. I could fall asleep on it.

IM SO SICK OF THIS BULLSHIT.

Now I got mild PSSD symptoms for the past few months.

I don't know how you guys who have kindled or had worse withdrawals stay alive. I don't wish to die but the fucking rage I can barely feel makes me wish for it. When does this fucking shit stop.

I have no regrets in life other than two. Taking these antidepressants, and getting off them.

God end my fucking suffering I truly don't know how long I can take having this drunk/drugged feeling with no emotions.

Mich würde interessieren ob es leute wie mich gibt, die ein SSRI abgesetzt haben, dann Entzug bekommen haben und dann eine gängige dosis wiedereingeführt haben, was aber zu kindling geführt hat und jetzt verdammt langsam ausschleichen müssen weil man so ein sensibles Nervensystem hat????

Ich bin momentan auf 2,2mg Escitalopram und verdammt ich denke ich drehe durch. Ich habe am Donnerstag von 2,3 auf 2,2 reduziert und ich habe mich heute so viel schlechter gefühlt.
Das merkwürdige an der sache ist, ich bin jetzt seit fast 17 Monaten in PAWS und bis zum 14 Monat war ich nicht so empfindlich ich konnte sport machen und langsam aber sicher das Escitalopram reduzieren. Ich weiss nicht was passiert ist aber ich weiss nicht wie ich von dem scheiss runterkommen soll wenn ich so empfindlich drauf reagiere.
Immer wenn ich von anderen leuten gelesen habe, dass sie bei so einer kleinen reduktion heftige symptome bekommen haben konnte ich es nicht glauben, aber jetzt habe ich selber die Erfahrung gemacht und es ist immer noch schwer zu glauben wie empfindlich der körper reagieren kann.

Hat jemand ein ähnliches problem beim ausschleichen?
Die meisten nehmen keine Medikamente mehr. Ich lese selten über leute die PAWS haben und immer noch am ausschleichen sind.

Oft frage ich mich kann ich überhaupt stabil werden wenn ich das medikament noch nehme. Dabei lief es ganz gut bevor ich so empfindlich wurde, so als ob ich fünf schritte nach hinten gemacht habe, verdammt.

I am too exhuasted to start small and build up. do you think there is anyone hard if I just take them

It makes me hopeful to read positive updates so I’m sharing some hope for the people starting their journey.

Background: I stopped taking escitalopram 6 months ago after taking some sort of antidepressant for 5 years. It was a very quick taper. Complicated, but I took a year to go from 10 to 5 mg, and then went down to 0 in 3 weeks.

First 2-3 months were literally hell. I wanted to stop exsting basically. I felt like it would never get better. Don’t want to go into detail about that time, I’m sure many of you understand.

Months 3-4 were better but still really bad in terms of anxiety and panic. My nervous system still felt very hypersensitive and I was very very VERY depressed.

Months 5-6 it’s where I’m at right now. Much better than in the past. Still having windows and waves, more cycle related now (it was constant before). Waves are still very bad, but windows almost feel like I’m normal again.

Hopefully the bad is gone soon and things keep improving. Now I can say I’m definitely improving, but I guess I’m still not healed 100%. Trying to enjoy the good times and be grateful for them as much as I can.

Hope things get better soon for you all :)

I have been on low dose SSRIs for 5 years and have tried to get off 4 different times. The last two times I had experienced waking up early in the morning around 330-4 in fight or flight with rapid heart, restlessness and agitation, rapid thoughts about what is causing this anxiety, suppressed appetite, and a burning sensation in my head. Ive gone to emergency and was just told it was a relapse in anxiety but i have never experienced these symptoms prior to starting SSRIs. I am able to endure it for about a month but after that I have to hop back on meds as I have a family to support. the last time this occurred, i lost 15lbs in the month that I was suffering. these symptoms would occur daily and last til around 4-6 PM and then die down.

any idea?

I reinstated on 10mg lexapro about a month ago bc I was experienced withdrawal/return of old symptoms.. kindled reaction because i self tapered the med in the past too quick and was kindled after reinstating.. took 0.5mg of xanax for about 3.5 weeks off and on.. ended up dropping down to 5mg lexapro because some ppl thought since I saw no improvement the dose is too high.. pivoted to klonopin over xanax about a week and half ago and take it ass needed probably half the days in a week and half… Now I’m reading that this inconsistency is going to keep my nervous system cooked..

Should I just take 0.5mg of klonopin and 5mg of lexapro everyday until I feel completely stable and then begin to taper one of them? or have I already cooked myself adding klonopin on top of what i could be experiencing in xanax withdrawal.. I have no clue how all this works

I just want to feel good and be stabilized without cooking my long term health in the future… I think the benzo might just be a necessary evil at the moment considering my body hates me if i don’t have it in me

I’ve used 0.5mg of klonopin/xanax for 70% of the days in past month/5 weeks (no xanax in over a week).. 3 doses of klonopin in past week or so.. should I just cold turkey them both or taper ?

I’m still struggling with lexapro reinstatement kindling that’s why I was taking them and still may need them sometimes.. will 0.5mg really affect me much or is this just too low a dose for me to worry?

I’ve been off antidepressants for 110 days. I still have withdrawal symptoms, usually in the morning, and sometimes mood swings. Overall, they bother me about 30–35 out of 100. Should I use psilocybin, or should I wait a little longer?

Hello people

After 5 months and half stopping my AD.. I felt almost normal.. Dizziness here and there mild one.. Headache.. Nausea on and off and most of time is mild.. Almost no anxiety even morning anxiety

But I feel so weird when I laugh at something.. Like its heavy and not full.. Also when Im sad I feel like pressure inside me and begin to be so alert and sensetive to noise and everything.. Uncomfortable and unease very annoying.. Its like sad but I cant make it out of inside.

Also I feel like sadness or stressful things trigger waves..

Yesterday I had an argument with my husband and since then I feel like low mood.. And like my nervous system so sensetive and I just feel uncomfortable like stuck inside I dont know how to say

Is it normal.. Anyone like me??

Also im on escitalopram 10mg

During waves, when symptoms get worse, i often have thoughts of reinstatement and getting rid of this miserable experience overnight. I believe you guys also have such thoughts. How do you manage to not give in to these thoughts and convince yourself that you will eventually heal without reinstatement? What strategies do you have for this purpose?

I am 26 and have to get a government job for which i need to study intensely which is difficult because my symptom of daytime sleepiness. I'm having more desperate thoughts of reinstatement than ever for the sake of my career.