Please Help a Mom Trying to Get off Benzos and Antidepressants

HI TL,

I'm so sorry you're going through this. I have not gone through this myself but had a close family member deal with something very similar and I actually spent all day every day with her until she was detoxed. You have so many chemicals running through your blood stream there is really no way to know exactly what to do.

The remeron is one of the mildest but it is still potent. All psychotrophic drugs have horrible side effects and usually get worse when you try to come off of them. Depression is only one of the side effects on them and when coming off of them.

I am not familiar with the product from Xango but it would be worth the research. I give my panicky dog valerian root when it's storming and it calms him. I know it works but it is not meant to be used in combination with pharmaceuticals. You do need to take an absorbable multivitamin/mineral complex so your body can get strong enough to go through this withdrawal. I can recommend one if you like.

Research naturopaths in your area. Call around and see if any specialize in detoxing the body. Blood replenishes itself about every 90 days so if you are able to get off the drugs, then you can have the ND do some blood work and see if there is a physical reason why you have anxiety issues. Vertigo is a physical ailment and usually an immune response that can be dealt with easily. That was the starting point where the doctors went in the wrong direction. The woman I mentioned earlier started with vertigo as well. Doctors think ear tubes are a quick fix for so many things and they are quite damaging as you have figured out.

Feel free to get back to me if you need help...

M.

PS Valerian root needs about two weeks in your system before you will start seeing any results.

Well, I am no doctor and am in no place to give a stanger advice as far as anti-psychotic meds go. What I can do, however, is tell you about my own experience, and strongly suggest that you not make ANY changes to your meds without the advice and direction of your psychiatrist.

I was on Wellbutrin SR for about 5 (after being on countless other meds since my teen years) years when it stopped working for me. I was sitched to Lexapro and stayed on that for about 8 months...until I became pregnant with my 3rd child. I had to completely go off of it (along with my ADD meds) cold turkey. I had TERRIBLE withdrawls and actually went through a detox period of about a week...which didn't start until I had already been off of the meds for about 10 days. I was convinced I would have a nervous breakdown and had anxiety attacks multiple times a day...sometimes over something as simple as dropping my toothbrush onto the floor (darn pregnancy butterfingers, lol). It took me a good 3 months before I began to feel "normal" in the least bit, and even after that time, I still had times when I felt like I was losing it. By about the 7th month into the pregnancy, I finally felt confident that I could manage without the meds...at least for the time being. I knew that I had quite a while before I'd be able to resume my meds since I was planning on nursing, and I was terrified to learn what the postpartum days had in store for me.

To my surprise, once I had every trace of meds out of my system, I began to realize that things were not as bad as I thought they were, and I often wonder (even now) if the meds didn't make things worse on me. It was September 2007 when I stopped taking the meds and I haven't been back on them since...and not only did I manage that pregnancy and birth, I also had another baby...18 months after the 3rd one :) Now, I am looking forward to restarting my ADD meds, but honestly feel like I can do without the antidepressants. I have no desire to be on them again.

My point is that you may go through a bit of a rough patch and feel like you just can't handle it...but if you don't give yourself the choice, you may be surprised to see the result. Please talk with the doctor who manages your meds and seek the best option for you and your situation. Best of luck to you.

I can speak from experience because in my mid thirties I went through the same thing you are. Out of nowhere, anxiety, panic attacks, agoraphobia, I was living a nightmare. I like you tried many different medications and had severe side effects. Are you sure the vertigo came from ear problems because with me the anxiety would make me so dizzy there were days I felt I couldn't even walk. Anyway, once I found a medication that worked for me I got my life back. I decided I didn't want to be on meds anymore because of the stigma that went along with it so I decided to stop. I ended up in the emergency room after one solid week of vomiting, diarrhea, no sleep and literally feeling like my skin was crawling. I was completely unable to function. So I went back on the medication and stayed for about 5 years. My life really changed and I was in a much better place. Then I the doctor said they were discontinuing making the meds so I would have to try something else. I was not willing so under the doctors care I weaned off of medication and have not needed medication since then. But as I said I was on for about 5 years. I just turned 50 have absolutely no anxiety, or panic at all. I truly believe my problem was a hormone imbalance because there truly was no other explanation. The same thing happened to my mother. She was literally homebound and hospitalized as well. Go to your gyno and have a hormonal work up done or an endocronologist, it could be thyroid, or another glandular issue. I did try natural products and they did not work. I know it is a nightmare trying different meds, but if you know what type agrees with you maybe you can stick within the same formula. In the meantime try to exercise, eat healthy, and when thoughts come into your head keep busy. One thing that helped me was my internal voice. I had to reassure myself that I was okay, I wasn't going to die, these terrible feelings will pass, and they did. Trust me have faith and try to keep positive as difficult as it is. If you need emotional support please reach out and I will be a shoulder if you need one. I know how lonely it can be, my husband was very supportive but he just didn't get it. People who have never suffered though this think you can just make it go away. If it were only that simple. Tylenol PM did help me to sleep and calm down, because if you are not sleeping that will also add to your negative feelings. Good luck and keep us posted!!

You need to wean off of it under Doctor supervision.
Don't do this yourself...

Hi There,
You may be well on your way to overcoming anti-anxieties and depressive meds by now but thought I would respond anyway. I was on valium and a form of anti-depressants for over 20 years. Last March I started to wean off of the valium and completly stopped last May. About 30 days into the withdrawal symptoms I tried Velarian and Melatonin I think. Actually got worse. Reason being I think is Velarian is similair in nature but my body wanted the stronger, real stuff. The syptoms lasted several months. During this time I started to wean off of Celexa and have been completely off for about 12 weeks. I was actually harder then the valium. I had to keep telling myself "This too shall pass". I still have days that are kind of sucky, I do not want to be beholden to doctors any longer and do not want to be addicted to meds either. I try to remember those things and again it is tough. Somewhere deep inside of you there is strength in your soul that you can tap into. Best thing I found is to find a personal space for me and quiet down. Calming yourself is the key. It has to really hard with 3 kids but if you have a support system don't be afraid to ask for help. 20 minutes a day amybe a couple of times a day really helps.

What diagnosis did you have for the vertigo? I have benign, paroxsymal, positional vertigo (BPPV). I may have the two middle words transposed. It's caused by debris in the canal. I read that anxiety can go along with vertigo and not just the BPPV variety. I do have difficulty with anxiety. Physical therapy reduced the amount of vertigo that I have and eventually my anxiety lightened. During the worst of the vertigo and anxiety I started taking lorazepam, generic for Ativan. That helped a lot. I now only take it occasionally. I've begun to feel just a bit of dizziness and notice that my anxiety level has increased and so have started it again with a half dose.

I also have humming in both ears, most probably caused by firing my gun on the range without ear protection. I am mostly used to the sound but I've noticed the humming contributes to my anxiety when I'm not rested.

I don't know about tubes in the ears and vertigo but I wonder if you might still have some mild vertigo. Right now mine is so mild that I'm unaware of it until I slow down and start to wonder why I'm feeling a bit light headed.

I've only had a couple of mild panic attacks but I've struggled with depression my entire life. I found that for me it's best to stick with a medication for a couple of weeks and if it doesn't help to wait a couple of weeks for some medications before trying a different one. I've been in close contact with my doctor whenever trying medications. Because you mention trying to wean yourself off of Klonopin and didn't mention a doctor assisting you with that, I wonder if some of the difficulty you are having might be caused by you trying to treat yourself without listening to your doctor and letting him guide you.

One reason that I try the medication once my doctor says that it's the right thing to do is that most side affects go away in that length of time. Then the only question is does the medication relieve my depression and anxiety? Usually answering that question takes another 2-3 weeks gradually increasing the dosage until my body has adjusted to a helpful amount.

I know the panic you must be feeling and having insomnia guarantees that you have difficulty thinking things thru. You desperately want to be rid of all of this. The panic, anxiety, and sleep deprivation makes it very difficult to be patient with the process.

I'm glad that you're going to the clinic to look into the endocrine side of this. I hope that they are able to help you. I encourage you to work on letting go of the sense that you need to be in control of everything related to your illness. A feeling of lack of control is part of the illness and I've found it difficult to find a way to relax. Through experience, I've learned that doing things to help me relax is the most effective way to handle my anxiety and depression, second to medication and talk therapy.

My heart goes out to you and wish that you find a way to lessen the anxiety and depression.

This sounds so frustrating for you. I obviously can't tell you what to do about your official meds besides keep working with your doctor.

I can tell you that I got rid of most of my own panic attacks and anxiety issues and depression through change of diet. It turned out that I had severe gut damage that was effecting my uptake of various things needed for brain chemistry.

I spent a while studying detox methods, and used various of them. And I started ordering Peptizyde and Zyme Prime from amazon and taking them with every meal. I eliminated wheat from my diet, as well as almost all processed foods. I started eating organics almost exclusively. And because of getting rid of wheat, also go rid of several preservatives which are problems for some people. I stopped using high flash point oils other than butter, and started trying to eat mostly raw plant material and organic meats with lots of fish. I also switched to sea salt.

It's been very difficult to change that many things about what and how I eat, but the end result has fixed various depression problems, as well as migraines and a pain disorder and various other manifestations of the gut damage problems that I suffered from.

I would bet money that in all that messing with your ears, there were some rounds of antibiotics. Any antibiotic use can be a trigger for a genetic tendency toward celiac disease or other such digestive problems. I have known enough people who suddenly had to stop eating wheat after a major fight with infection using antibiotics, or major surgery, that it would personally be a first suspect for me, for things to try changing in your life, to hopefully make it possible to get off the meds and not need them anymore.

Good luck to you. It's not easy.