deeschmee Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 Someone just told me that they had gone into inpatient for 28-day cleansing to get all drugs of all kinds out of their system. Not a detox but just to eliminate the antidepressants and all the side effects they were causing. Has anyone ever heard of this and how would I approach my P doc about this? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarn Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 Can I ask why you want to? I am possibly not up on everything going on, but it seems like things have been pretty rocky lately - would going off all meds make that worse? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeschmee Posted July 17 Author Share Posted July 17 Things have been quite Rocky for me. It all began I would say almost a year ago with pretty bad side effects from Effexor. Doctors began treating me for each of my symptoms not even realizing that it was Effexor. So June 4th I went to the ER because I hadn't slept very well in a few days thinking it was physical and they kept me for 3 days because I said I was going to drive my car off a cliff if I didn't sleep. That being said in the short time that I didn't have any Effexor I literally felt the best I had felt in my whole life. My mind was clear I felt like I could live again. I felt alive. But that only lasted for a few days and the side effects punched me in the gut in the head in the brain and in the nervous system. So now I'm on Pristiq 25 mg and some of the side effects are beginning again including insomnia and depression. The only thing that seems better is the feeling of steel wool on all my nerve endings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeschmee Posted July 17 Author Share Posted July 17 I'd like to add that I feel heavily medicated on this drug. I am also taking 05 clonazepam to help with the insomnia. So I'm extra drugged. The feeling I had immediately after stopping Effexor was so great that I want it back. Just knowing I have the possibility to feel that way makes me want to achieve it. But these medications are effing with my brain 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basuraeuropea Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 for me at least, and i've only been hospitalized once and it was voluntary, but i would never do it again. it was more traumatizing than it was helpful and the doctor realized this and discharged me the next day. with that said, i'd never go IP again and would just work with my psychiatrist to figure out medication as i'm doing now. if you don't think you can do that, however, or feel you are a danger to yourself or others, then yes, IP is the best choice. impatience regarding drug removal might not be justifiable to many, and i'm not sure how they would solve this in an inpatient setting without serious distress as it's best to remove medications slowly to avoid terrible withdrawal. partial hospitalization programs may also be an option for you. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeschmee Posted July 17 Author Share Posted July 17 Thank you @basuraeuropea I'm just sick and tired of feeling sick and tired from the side effects 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceberg Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 2 minutes ago, deeschmee said: Thank you @basuraeuropea I'm just sick and tired of feeling sick and tired from the side effects What does your doctor say about the pristiq? If you just started the issues may become less severe with time. Have you tried other classes of antidepressant 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeschmee Posted July 17 Author Share Posted July 17 @Iceberg I've tried every class. And if there is a listed side effect I'll get it in volumes Since I went 37 days without Effexor my pdot gave me .05 clonazepam and told me to lean on that but the side effects were severely intolerable so I asked to be put on Pristiq. But this isn't much better. I'm as depressed as before and my head feels like I have the flu and took some codeine cough syrup. I feel drugged. But I am going to get spravato treatment and have to be on an antidepressant while doing so. so since I'm out of work I might as well just put up with it but I'm a literal lump on my couch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basuraeuropea Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 40 minutes ago, deeschmee said: I'm just sick and tired of feeling sick and tired from the side effects believe me, i am too. i'm undergoing changes to an ssri right now as well and it's not fun waiting as i'd rather just be off the drug or on a much lower dosage, but from past experiences i know that if i CT the drug i'll be in a much worse position. def contact your psychiatrist about what you're going through and don't let him/her dismiss any of what you're experiencing. make sure it's crystal clear to him/her that you're in a lot of distress. 35 minutes ago, deeschmee said: Since I went 37 days without Effexor my pdot gave me .05 clonazepam and told me to lean on that but the side effects were severely intolerable so I asked to be put on Pristiq. But this isn't much better. I'm as depressed as before and my head feels like I have the flu and took some codeine cough syrup. I feel drugged. But I am going to get spravato treatment and have to be on an antidepressant while doing so. so since I'm out of work I might as well just put up with it but I'm a literal lump on my couch oh, also, i never in a million years thought that lamotrigine would be effective at all for me, but it has been. since you mentioned spravato, maybe other glutamatergic drugs would work. some of the aeds, including lamotrigine, perhaps memantine if your doctor is savvy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeschmee Posted July 17 Author Share Posted July 17 @basuraeuropea I'm sorry your going through that as well....it makes daily life very difficult. I see Mighty Duck on the 27th. So I do plan on letting him know what's been going on. Also I am allergic to Lamictal I get the rash😞 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basuraeuropea Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 it's quite unpleasant, i agree. also, the first time i was placed on lamictal i got a rash, but not *the* rash. i was pulled off it anyway. this time around i went through a painstakingly slow titration and didn't develop a rash. there are other medications out there, though, if you don't respond well to ssris/snris. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeschmee Posted July 17 Author Share Posted July 17 Well you've been so helpful! I appreciate your input...thank you 🤗 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceberg Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 1 hour ago, basuraeuropea said: believe me, i am too. i'm undergoing changes to an ssri right now as well and it's not fun waiting as i'd rather just be off the drug or on a much lower dosage, but from past experiences i know that if i CT the drug i'll be in a much worse position. def contact your psychiatrist about what you're going through and don't let him/her dismiss any of what you're experiencing. make sure it's crystal clear to him/her that you're in a lot of distress. oh, also, i never in a million years thought that lamotrigine would be effective at all for me, but it has been. since you mentioned spravato, maybe other glutamatergic drugs would work. some of the aeds, including lamotrigine, perhaps memantine if your doctor is savvy. I just learned this, but many ketamine clinics (IV at least) suggest that if you’re in lamictal at a higher dose it can reduce ketamine effectiveness 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeschmee Posted July 17 Author Share Posted July 17 That's pretty interesting. It's such a new treatment I'm sure they're learning about it all the time. I'm on Pristiq 25 mg and they told me not to go off of that so hopefully no interactions fingers crossed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basuraeuropea Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 i've never used ketamine or esketamine and i'm not sure if it would work for me as i tend to do better with daily medication for the disorders that i have, but i can see how it would help someone with unipolar depression. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeschmee Posted July 17 Author Share Posted July 17 Sure! I'm just desperate at this point to try anything. I hope you continue to feel better 🤗 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basuraeuropea Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 1 hour ago, deeschmee said: Sure! I'm just desperate at this point to try anything. I hope you continue to feel better 🤗 if you can try it, go for it! and thank you! i'm wishing you well, too! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blahblah Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 On 7/17/2022 at 7:05 PM, deeschmee said: Things have been quite Rocky for me. It all began I would say almost a year ago with pretty bad side effects from Effexor. Doctors began treating me for each of my symptoms not even realizing that it was Effexor. So June 4th I went to the ER because I hadn't slept very well in a few days thinking it was physical and they kept me for 3 days because I said I was going to drive my car off a cliff if I didn't sleep. That being said in the short time that I didn't have any Effexor I literally felt the best I had felt in my whole life. My mind was clear I felt like I could live again. I felt alive. But that only lasted for a few days and the side effects punched me in the gut in the head in the brain and in the nervous system. So now I'm on Pristiq 25 mg and some of the side effects are beginning again including insomnia and depression. The only thing that seems better is the feeling of steel wool on all my nerve endings. @deeschmee What were the main side effects you had from Effexor? Did it help you in the beginning? I very much relate. You'll see on here, I've tried everything under the sun. Over time i can't tolerate the feeling I have longterm (after increasing doses). The brain fog, fatigue, mental dulling, inability to concentrate, no interest, emotional flatness/ apathy....Like being dead inside. You describe the initial state well, the "feeling of steel wool on all my nerve endings." that's just the beginning... I tried to do a full med detox (by myself not supervised), researched & bought loads of supplements (took throughout the day) I was completely off everything (successfully) for 2 months. The initial withdrawal was annoying. I took it easy, tried to avoid all stress, began to feel a glimpse of clear-headedness......Then BAM. Some sort of short circuit was triggered (dunno even what to call it). My nervous system gave out and I was overcome with distress, depression, anxiety attack (which i never have) which snowballed into insomnia, dissociation. It was *not* a relapse of original symptoms, but more than that. On 7/17/2022 at 8:20 PM, deeschmee said: @Iceberg I've tried every class. And if there is a listed side effect I'll get it in volumes Since I went 37 days without Effexor my pdot gave me .05 clonazepam and told me to lean on that but the side effects were severely intolerable so I asked to be put on Pristiq. But this isn't much better. I'm as depressed as before and my head feels like I have the flu and took some codeine cough syrup. I feel drugged. But I am going to get spravato treatment and have to be on an antidepressant while doing so. so since I'm out of work I might as well just put up with it but I'm a literal lump on my couch To stop the episode from worsening, I was given Seroquel & Ativan (2 meds I typically refuse to take longterm). They make you sleep, but i feel horrendous on them. Sedated, more depressed, sleeping more than 13 hours at times, heavy headed, like I've taken lots of flu medicine. What's worse is since I've been on them for nearly 3 weeks, I fear dependency. Talk about worse than Square 1. It's as if I've been punished for going off my meds & I feel like a failure. Can't even be put on an antidepressant for another couple weeks. So I get to continue being a useless crying lump. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeschmee Posted July 19 Author Share Posted July 19 My side effects from Effexor was racing heart high blood pressure hot flashes extreme sweating terrible insomnia anxiety stomach aches and diarrhea. And my doctors wanted to treat each one of these symptoms separately as if there was something else going on with me. So then I got medicine to help my heart rate and blood pressure medicine to help me sleep and more medicine for my stomach. If I took everything they gave me all at once I don't think I could ever leave my bed I would be an absolute lump of a human being. 6 minutes ago, Blahblah said: What's worse is since I've been on them for nearly 3 weeks, I fear dependency. Talk about worse than Square 1. It's as if I've been punished for going off my meds & I feel like a failure. Can't even be put on an antidepressant for another couple weeks. So I get to continue being a useless crying lump. I'm so sorry you're going through this. I really hope you are able to get some relief. I've read somewhere that antidepressants can change our brains forever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogMan Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://monashhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/APARCS-A5-Booklet-template-third-draft_v2_Feb-2021-Final-docx-002-002.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwi8ko7V84T5AhXbumMGHSDABFkQFnoECAQQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1gX8Kn0iX9jwYaoJTN9U9a Do you know if your city has something like this? Med discontinuation is a long time to not be permitted a real fork, or shoe laces etc. I don't know if you have access to a happy medium 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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