I haven't found much being talked about #ssriwithdrawal here on #nostr so I'm bringing my story to the #nostrverse

Part 1

18 years ago, my mother was dying and I was in a very unhealthy marriage. I was mentally and emotionally unwell. I went to the doctor. I wish I had never made that drs appointment. But I did.

I was prescribed an SSRI. My doctor never gave me the full details to really understand what I was getting into. To be fair, I've also learned that big pharma tailored their trials and info to not actually inform the doctors either.

The drugs helped numb some of the negative emotions. But what I needed was real community and support, not medication to numb me from my life experiences.

Four years later, I had left my marriage and said goodbye to my mother and grieved that loss. I decided I was tired of the side effects from the medication and wanted to get off them. I followed my doctors advice and came off "slowly"... It is was no where near slow enough.

The panic was unbearable. I could barely function. I had gone back to university and thought I was going to have to drop out when I was so close to getting my degree. I went to my doctor and was diagnosed with a panic/anxiety disorder. So back on the meds I went.

I didn't understand at the time that I was experiencing SSRI withdrawal, and not a new diagnosis. I now know what was happening.

I'm going to split my story up over the coming days. This was just the beginning of experiencing how horrific SSRI withdrawal could be.

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Part 2

#ssriwithdrawal #lackofinformedconsent

I tried four times to come off of the SSRIs. Each time things spiralled out of control. Horrible panic. I couldn't leave my apartment. I would spend literal hours listening to Calm meditations every day to try and find some kind of peace from it all. These symptoms were nothing at all like my original "condition". Yet every time, the doctor would tell me I was relapsing and needed to just take the meds.

So I'd go back on, because I couldn't live with what I was going through.

The last time I tried to come off was the worst. I ended up with severe insomnia. For about 3 months I averaged about 2 hours of sleep a night. I would wake up with nocturnal panic attacks. I could barely keep food down. I lost a huge amount of weight. (Even though I'd love to lose the weight I gain on these meds... I lost SO much weight). Then the akathesia started. I couldn't sit still. I would just run on the spot for hours a day to try and just turn off the strangest energy coursing through my body. It felt like my body had an electrical fire going on. It was the most terrifying experience of my life.

So once again... I went back on the meds. It took about a month and I stabilized. I still have issues sleeping. But it's drastically improved.

But being told this was just relapse infuriated me. It made no sense. So I started researching. I read and read and listened to podcasts. I came across Dr. Mark Horowitz and Dr. Josef. I found stories of others who had experienced ssri withdrawal. It finally all made sense.

The next step... Was getting the courage to talk to my doctor and convince him what I knew to be true. That doctor's appointment went sideways. But had a positive ending. I'll share that in Part 3.

nostr:nevent1qqsxt3npdaug3qjrt207xult65e62fh7va0mqgxyskm3hwfnux8z4rczyrs2sk08eqcachukmark3nd754yxh2yrpe5jcrh596wnanrl0ypx6qcyqqqqqqglzktxd

I love you so much for sharing this. 🧡

Awww thank you nostr:nprofile1qqsw5x5edj8sd9gavpwujnzp9p0sz55c74pr44fkxs6v7n26k5yf95sprfmhxue69uhkummnw3ezucnfw33k76twd9ehgtn0wfnszxmhwden5te0dehhxarj9e6x7mmvwvhxwmr0vfskctnfvskvwt6r for saying that. I'm convinced there are many people suffering because of this - and I want to get the word out. There is hope. It will take me probably three years to taper off the rest of the way. But I believe I will be able to finally get off these drugs!

❤️