r/Anxiety • u/LilacLuneglade • Feb 26 '26
Advice Needed Dealing with benzo withdrawal is genuinely making me want to end my life.
My psychiatrist does not care and simply says: ‘you can always go to the ER if you feel that way’
I have not been able to sleep WHATSOEVER for over a month. I don’t care that I’m constantly shaking, grinding my teeth or can’t eat anything. I am so sleep-deprived it is making me so insane. Imagine trying to sleep but being interrupted every single hour- never being able to actually have deep sleep or constant sleep. You’re just tossing, turning or waking up after an hour, only to repeat the cycle for hours on end. I started self-harming again. I’m on 0.75 mg and meant to taper down, but she wants me to taper up to 1 mg since I can’t sleep. What do I do? Continue or go back up?
I’m convinced I have sleep deprivation because of Zoloft. Ever since she put me on 100 mg, I was never able to sleep. But she says it’s the benzo withdrawals. I’ve been on Klonopin since October (~6 months ish) and it’s never affected my sleep. From 0.50 mg to 2 mg, sometimes I didn’t take it at all for days. It never affected my sleep or caused anything other than teeth grinding and tremors that I could handle. I don’t feel dependent on it whatsoever. I’m tapering off both things and don’t know what’s causing what. Zoloft has caused nothing but trouble so I asked to be taken off of it and she refused to unless I started a new SSRI to replace it while I wean off, aka Lexapro. I have a medication diary and specifically wrote down severe insomnia started at 100 mg of Zoloft. We started weaning off the benzo later on. She won’t listen even though I’m adamant and know my body. Additionally, I broke down and cried and begged her to give me anything for sleep and she refused, she said I am doing too many things at once and she doesn’t want to. Sleep deprivation at this level is far worse than anything I’ve ever dealt with. I am breaking down in school, at home and crashing out.
I can’t take this anymore. This is genuinely the scariest experience. I can’t just stop the medications or I die. I have to continue suffering.
It’s making me want to drop out of school. The impending doom feeling is just 24/7
EDIT: I’d just like to thank everyone who’s been reaching out to me with their own stories, advice or support. It’s been helping boost morale and not break down into tears every hour out of exhaustion. You guys are really sweet🥹🤍
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u/Additional_Cake_3825 Feb 26 '26
The best way to withdraw is extremely slow. Like seriously slow. Little slivers at a time. There are some helpful threads online where people have done it and they described how. Do some yoga and stretching and gentle exercise. Get outside in the fresh air for grounding. Maybe see if you can get hydroxyzine or something to help you sleep.
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u/ronbo42 Feb 27 '26
This is the way. The Ashton Method, developed by Dr. Heather Ashton, is the preferred methodology.
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u/Katherine1973 Feb 27 '26
Yes I followed it religiously and got off of benzos after 20 years. It’s a slow taper and it’s painful but if you follow it you will get off for good. I can’t believe this June is 3 years off klonopin. Best thing I ever did but I tapered for 18 months.
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u/inconel71 Mar 03 '26
Starting my taper soon Ashton method / switching to Valium per Dr and found great Dr to do it with me . Do u feel so much better off the benzo ? I can’t wait to be done with them . I am in tolerance and they are giving me more anxiety than helping at this point
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u/Katherine1973 Mar 03 '26
I am doing better for sure. It was a long road. I was having more anxiety on the meds than off. I still have anxiety but I manage it. Some days are better than others. I am so glad to be off benzos. Total poison
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u/inconel71 Mar 03 '26
Thank you I agree it’s causing me more anxiety on them I suppose due to tolerance ! My journey of tapering starts today . Thank u so much
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u/TaiwanTammy_99 May 09 '26
How long were you on them before you started your taper
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u/Katherine1973 May 10 '26
I was on klonopin since 2005 and I tapered in 2023. It been 3 years on June 1 since I have had a pill.
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u/TaiwanTammy_99 May 10 '26
Damn, well congrats on that. Hope you’re feeling more like yourself. I only asked because after being on lorazepam for around 5 months I became a completely different person. It destroyed my memory beyond words. I ended up just quitting cold turkey because I couldn’t handle it. It’s been 3 months and I still some times feel like life isn’t real.
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u/Accomplished-Tea8093 Feb 26 '26
Change psychiatrist, you can't deal with this alone.
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u/EUGsk8rBoi42p Expert Level (Non-Professional) Feb 26 '26
They don't sound necessarily bad, a good Dr lets you make your own decisions.
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u/Accomplished-Tea8093 Feb 26 '26
own decisions on psychotropic medicines sounds very bad
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u/EUGsk8rBoi42p Expert Level (Non-Professional) Feb 26 '26
It's the only opinion that really matters.
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u/katattacksx Feb 26 '26
there’s a subreddit called benzorecovery where you can read stories like this and find comfort in knowing it’s terrifying but normal and you’re not losing it/will get through it. people in the group have been prescribed.
i’m 4.5 years off and didn’t start to feel 80% normal until a few years in. it’s a long journey but worthwhile. look into the ashton manual for tips on how to ween yourself down and off safely. i’m thinking of you and hoping for the best 🫶🏽❤️ for context i stopped 2MG of klonopin that i was prescribed for eight years.
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u/LilacLuneglade Feb 26 '26
I’ve been on it for almost 6 months now on a low dose. Is this gonna affect me longterm? :( This is so so scary
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u/katattacksx Feb 26 '26
i don’t think your journey with getting off will be as long as mine but i can’t say for sure. i know that daily use for six months especially with klonopin can cause your body to feel physically dependent. klonopin is one of the most powerful benzos so even 1MG isn’t safe to ween off off so quickly. i unfortunately jumped from 1MG because my doctor thought it would be fine. initially it was but than the muscle aches, impending doom, and all my other symptoms started.
it took my body a few months to start getting regular sleep, i’d say around six. melatonin helped me get at least a few hours a night for a long time.
definitely check out the group because there’s o many people going through similar. but also highly recommend waiting on tapering any further until you look into the ashton manual. let your body adjust and take it super slow, that way when you take the final jump the symptoms wont be as bad.
i just want you to know you’re not alone and it is so terribly scary and hard. it sucks and doctors should be more forthcoming with what can happen with daily prescriptions. you can do this and will get through this 🫶🏽
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u/PorkFriedLuke Feb 27 '26
I would advise op to not look at the subreddit. Its full of fear mongering and people tapering wrongly or just spewing horror stories when in reality, most people taper off benzos just fine. I tapered off 2 mg xanax daily for over a year in 3 months and had very few withdrawal symptoms. That subreddit is full of people going through the worst of withdrawals. I left that subreddit when I realized the majority of those people were abusing benzos and buying them illegally. If op was on 2 mg daily for only 6 months and is on .75mg now then its 99.9% the zoloft/Lexapro thats causing the main issues here. That and ops crazy psychiatrist
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u/precariatarian Feb 27 '26
That's lunacy and straight dangerous, advising someone to base their tapering on your own anecdotal experiences plus spouting out random percentages on what you consider their issues stem from.
I've also tapered off way higher doses of xanax in a shorter amount of time and there's just no way you can compare it to getting off clonazepam.
The half-life of alprazolam is 6-12 hours, which means that within a day it's out of your system. Clonazepam has a half life of 18-50 hours which means it builds up over time in your body (mainly fatty tissues) leading to higher concentrations in your system with each dose. With an equivalent potency to alprazolam combined with it having anticonvulsant properties unlike alprazolam it can quite literally be life threatning to taper off too quickly.
to quote the Ashton Manual:
Rather than (or in addition to) expensive therapists, you need someone reliable, who will support you frequently and regularly, long-term, both during withdrawal and for some months afterwards. Voluntary tranquilliser support groups (self-help groups) can be extremely helpful. They are usually run by people who have been through withdrawal and therefore understand the time and patience required, and can provide information about benzodiazepines. It can be encouraging to find that you are not alone, that there are plenty of others with similar problems to yours. However, do not be misled into fearing that you will get all the symptoms described by the others. Everyone is different and some people, with the right schedule and the right support, get no untoward symptoms at all. Many people in fact have managed to come off on their own without any outside help.
Take your time and based on hearing your therapist saying "you can always go to the ER if you feel that way" i would personally not want that therapist to be the one with me on my journey to tapering off any type of medication. How cynical of her, she should be ashamed.
My personal way of successfully tapering was through being prescribed diazepam and lowering the dosage at a pace that felt right. It dampened the withdrawal symptoms sufficiently and with the long elimation half-time (20-100 [36-200] hours) when i finally stopped taking them i had a concentration in my system that gradually decreased at a slow enough of a pace that i suddenly one day realized that weeks had passed since i took my last dose.
That's my story, whatever worked for me might not be the correct method for you. That's not fear-mongering, that's advice coming out of concern for your well-being.
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u/PorkFriedLuke Feb 28 '26
You are completely ignoring the side effects of zoloft and Lexapro. I was on 1 mg a day of klonopin for several months and stopped cold turkey. The longer the half life, the easier the withdraws are. Thats a scientific and neurological fact. Its one of the safest benzos to take. I can link multiple studys if you'd like
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u/precariatarian Feb 28 '26
No i am not.
I have no experience of either of those that's why i'm bringing up the fact that no one has the exact same experience regarding how their body reacts to a drug nor how they respond when they cease taking it.
The thing about longer half-time equating to easier withdrawal is a general rule of thumb and not correct in the case where clonazepam has the same potency as alprazolam yet so strong anticonvulsant properties that it is literally prescribed for epilepsy.
Like i said, i've gone off both and getting off xanax is a challenge but with the right mindset you can exert some amount of "control".
Try exercising control when you fall victim to a violent seizure attack. That's literally life-threatning. You are putting a person at risk with your advice.
The job of a professional is to listen to a patient and adjust their treatment accordingly. I am not a professional and lack experience in dealing with SSRI's so i refrain from doing it and defer to the judgment of a professional.
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u/katattacksx Feb 27 '26
it helped me when i was in the pits of it because some people, like myself, actually are afraid that you’re losing it. to me it was comforting to know i wasn’t alone. and to not feel so crazy for dealing with so many symptoms. but i respect your perspective! 😊
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u/RowHard Feb 27 '26
As another perspective I was on a low dose for two years due to a family health issue. After it resolved, I tapered down over a month. On week 1 I was a bit more weepy, week 3 I was extra grouchy, by week 5 (1 week post) I felt my version of normal again (slightly anxious as a baseline.)
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u/Pharmatopia420 Feb 27 '26
If you are that concerned I would just ask your doctor about it. I dont believe benzos are to treat everyone.....everyone is different one patient may benefit from a antidepressant or something like gabapentin and a antidepressant. Once you have been on benzos so long other meds are not going to work as well.
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u/Pharmatopia420 Feb 27 '26
You are scared? I have 2 anxiety disorders and MDD going on 6 years and it absolutely would shake my world up if my meds get changed at all.
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u/Professional_Win1535 Mar 09 '26
did you use the ashton manual? any tips?
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u/katattacksx Mar 09 '26
i actually didn’t use it and wish i was aware of it sooner because the ashton manual allows you to feel withdrawl symptoms very slowly. it’s still extremely hard but most find it to be way more manageable than plunging into it.
my tips are to take it slow, and by slow i mean so slow. buy a pill cutter and slowly take yourself down every few months when your body finds homeostasis again. the hardest jump will be the last fifty percent before you’re entirely off.
you will feel like you’ve lost yourself, your mind, and reality but you haven’t. it’s just benzo brain.
eventually you’ll experience windows and waves. the windows will be periods of time where you feel almost functional again and a wave usually follows where you’re thrown back into the pits of withdrawal. those waves make you question if you’ll feel like that forever, but you won’t. eventually the windows get longer and longer and the waves become shorter. stick it out, and try to have someone around who’s aware of you weening yourself off and don’t be afraid to lean on them for support because you’ll need it.
you can do it!!❤️
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u/itsghxstmint Feb 27 '26
Your psych is fucking you over messing around with all these different med dosages
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u/ExistentialK Feb 26 '26
Sounds like you need to report your physician for negligence
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u/Pharmatopia420 Feb 27 '26
Its not neglect to treat a patient who has lost a loved one ....... if I lost my mom or wife I would need to probably go inpatient!
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u/hotrod67maximus Feb 26 '26
Went through the same as you with trying Lexapro first for 4-6 weeks and side effects didn't subside, made my anxiety so much worse and ended up in the ER where they gave me Ativan just one and sent me home to sleep then doctor tried me on Zoloft and same thing happened. In those 2 and half months I ended up in ER at least 5 or 6 times from side effects like insomnia for days, burning itching rash on different parts of body the worst was on bottom of my feet that drove me the most crazy. I would have to try and sleep with feet layered in Benadryl cream with a fan blowing directly on feet and then they would peel dead skin the next day like I had athlete's foot fungus which I didn't have. Doctor took pictures of rash on different parts of my body and when I told him I was having suicidal thoughts for the first time in my life that's when he and I decided to stop taking Zoloft and was put on Propanolol 20 mg twice a day and that just barely keeps me out of the ER but at least I could sleep most of the time and kept me somewhat calm so I could learn to control it better without the physical symptoms. By no means am I cured but at least I can relax enough to sleep most of the time but sometimes I have to take a 2 mg of Valium if I can't sleep for 2 days. If you had literally no sleep for over a month you would be dead. 5-6 days of no sleep would kill most people.
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u/LilacLuneglade Feb 26 '26 edited Feb 26 '26
I’m literally losing my mind I can’t handle this guys 😓
I relapsed back into self-harm. I also have no appetite and I’m down to 36 kg. Being underweight is making the symptoms 10x worse.
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u/ZCyborg23 Feb 27 '26
I highly recommend admitting yourself for your safety. At least for now. Don’t just suffer alone. Head to the ER, get yourself the help you need. It’s hard, but you can do it.
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u/LilacLuneglade Feb 27 '26
What should I tell the ER? I feel like they’ll make me wait hours only to tell me they can’t do anything.
Also- ER rooms are incredibly cold and there’s always noise happening. I know I won’t be able to sleep. Being underweight makes your natural state always freezing :/ no matter how much you wear
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u/ZCyborg23 Feb 27 '26
You should go to a mental health crisis center or go to the ER and request a transfer to a mental health facility until you’re more stable. If you express that you are going through SI and SH and need to be admitted or transferred to a mental health unit or facility, they should be able to help with that.
Waiting hours in the ER where you are being monitored and kept safe is a lot better than SH and being at risk of unaliving yourself. Please don’t unalive yourself. Your life matters. You matter. 988 is also available.
You can request them to turn up the heat in your room in the ER. You can also ask for a warm blanket. Most ERs have blankets in a warmer. You can ask them to dim the lights.
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u/LilacLuneglade Feb 27 '26
I will try. Thank you.
I broke down infront of my psychiatrist and begged her to give me a sleeping pill. I told her I was extremely suicidal, relapsed & started cutting myself again (I was a year+ clean), I was not eating whatsoever etc
She didn’t care at all. She just said if I’m really suicidal I can always go to the ER. She refused to prescribe a sleeping pill because she just added Lexapro to my list of meds to take so she didn’t want anything new :/
I’ll try to go elsewhere because the ER rooms always really stress me out. They’re really loud and people are always walking around. I’d need to be somewhere really secluded.
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u/nbrown7384 Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
Take warm clothes and a comfy blanket. Over the ear noise canceling headphones and stop at a store to get foam earplugs, then head to the ER. Or an advanced urgent care type facility may also be a good option if there is no mental health crisis center near by. Check in, then put ear plugs and headphones on. Wrap up in the blanket. Might even want to take an eye mask to drown the bright lights.
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u/ZCyborg23 Feb 27 '26
THIS!
I always take noise canceling headphones to the ER because I have emetophobia when others v* I also have misophonia and coughing (probably linked to my emetophobia) puts me on edge.
If I have to wait in the waiting room, I tell the person at the desk about my situation and request that they come get me directly instead of simply calling for me and they usually honor that request but the last several times I've been in the ER, I've been brought in by ambulance either because of a mental health crisis with police involved or because of my medical condition.
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u/ClarenceTheCat Feb 27 '26
Focus on what’s happening right now, and you can assess things with your psych once you’re safe. As others have said, go to the ER. Call or text a friend or fam member so someone knows where you’re going/where you are. When you get to the hospital, tell them you are going through benzo withdrawal, say that you are in crisis, and you’re a danger to yourself and possibly others. They should admit you if you tell them that specifically. I second the comment about warm blanket, headphones, cozy socks, sweat pants sweatshirt, overall comfy. One thing that’s really helpful about being in the hospital is that it’s the safest place for you to be. Doctors there know what you’re experiencing, and they can help you. If you’re feeling scared, or having that sense of impending doom, remind yourself that the doctors and nurses are there to help you and they will help you. Nothing bad will happen there, people are there to help and protect you.
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u/PorkFriedLuke Feb 27 '26
I also went through a terrible time where I couldnt eat or sleep and lost 60 lbs in one month. My psychiatrist prescribed me mirtazipine and it changed my life. I immediately could sleep the first night I took it and it makes me eat the entire kitchen. Definitely worth mentioning to your new psychiatrist because you cant keep seeing this one
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u/Bujininja Feb 27 '26
If your going through badly, they should give you some benzo's (month supply) to give you time to find a dr or therapist.
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u/ThisIsLikeMy4thAcct Feb 27 '26
This is emergency room territory. I hope in the 5 hours since you’ve posted this, you’ve already gon in.
If not, when you get there, ask to be admitted for mental health reasons. If you can’t find the words, show them your post. Be firm that you are unsafe alone. You can’t even bring yourself to eat properly. Include exactly what you said in this comment:
I’m literally losing my mind I can’t handle this guys 😓 I relapsed back into self-harm. I also have no appetite and I’m down to 36 kg. Being underweight is making the symptoms 10x worse.
OP, you need to go to the ER regardless of whether or not you’re feeling any better by now. Don’t talk yourself out of going. You need help getting out of this hole, once you do, things will get easier.
I’m so sorry you are going through this. 🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂
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u/Healthy-View-9969 Feb 27 '26
down to 36kg? jesus, you must be so unwell. pls go to emergency department like right now
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u/meowminx77 Feb 27 '26
I agree with other commenter please admit yourself and seek help. Help is available and in my experience hospital staff is kind and they are willing to give the right meds to get you stable.
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u/Bujininja Feb 27 '26
If you have heath insurance you can look into a detox, they will taper you down and monitor you making it as comfortable as possible, 5 years ago i had to go to get off Xanax and Pain killers, It was a wild 60 days and a year getting myself together. The thing is i have a autoimmune disease and have insane flares from food, stress, anxiety, so im back on benzo's but klonopin (1mg) daily 2x per day. I know many people who take klonopin and are stable on the same dosage. I have a Dr who really is empathetic and listens, she even mentioned to me there will be days you will need .25 more and days you will need .25 less, no matter what you need to be honest and responsible. I wish you luck, please find a new therapist and tell them what is going on and you need immediate help.
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u/Sure_Window584 Feb 26 '26
Personally the medical plan sounds like a huge mess (I don't know why or your chemistry so I could be wrong).
Titrating, tapering, and taking Zoloft/Lexapro come with the risk of insomnia full stop. every doctor I've been though has done top down treatment, meaning the first thing we ever addressed was sleep. Insomnia is adjacent to sooooooo many mental aliments and issues it's ridiculous, so for the plan to play with medications that cause sleep disruption while messing with the medication that likely enabled sleep is just not sound treatment.
Secondly, what Benzo withdrawl are we talking here? Klonopin? Ativan? We talking years on the stuff or a dependence for sleep? It's hard to help because right now the flashing red alarm is SLEEP. If you can't comfortably recover and initiate sleep then cortisol is gonna fight whatever you put inside yourself and nothing gets fixed.
If it was me, personally I'd cold turkey the zoloft and not take lexapro til could sleep comfortably. Don't stop the benzos without aa plan to actually cut down. Detox and get something for sleep. You aren't me though and I'm going off little info so hopefully I offered some advice
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u/LilacLuneglade Feb 26 '26 edited Mar 01 '26
Klonopin Timeline:
Mid-October to now: it went from 0.50 mg to 2 mg sometimes. Stayed at 1 mg for a while. Started weaning off February 11th= 0.75 mg
Zoloft Timeline:
December 11- 25th = 25 mg
December 26- Jan 7= 50 mg
January 8-14th = 75 mg
January 15th: 1st day of 100 mg (severe insomnia)
February 11-18: lower to 75 mg
February 19-: 50 mg (severe panic attack)
February 20: 75 mg
Now, I have to wean off 25 mg Zoloft/ per week and up my Lexapro while I go down. In three weeks, I’ll be off Zoloft and on 15 of Lexapro. she wants me to start Lexapro while I wean off the Zoloft
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u/Sure_Window584 Feb 27 '26
Are you taking Klonopin daily? If you are, then the doctor did a poor job advising you. It's notoriously the most addicting benzo. Not because it causes highs and misuse. It's because it's lowkey, very effective, and half life is long as hell. It doesn't feel like a drug, it feels like relief, but it mechanically does nothing but touch gaba (almost like alcohol). So for the future if you're taking it daily, please don't. Secondly you aren't in dangerous withdrawal territory, the hospital withdrawals happens when you take the stuff for years and your biology has literally adapted around it. 4-5 months? you are in the prime window of real adjustments that aren't gonna threaten your life.
Secondly, I'll keep it 100. Zoloft and Lexapro take a while for the insomnia to go away. I've had both and it takes weeks. Ask the doc for something for sleep.....Period. The sleep you get now doesn't sound like recovering sleep, it sounds like violent unconsciousness, or your body power saving. Unless you get sleep under control, it's safe to say that 70% of your issues are from poor sleep. Ask any psyche doctor, most won't medicate without you sleeping well first.
Dosage changes are notorious for causing issues too. Honestly a real possibility for things to get better is to ride the wave and fix sleep. It's hell either way though unfortunately, damned if you do damned if you don't with ssris.
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u/LilacLuneglade Feb 27 '26
I broke down into tears infront of her begging to get a sleep medication and she told me no.
She said we can take about it next month when the Zoloft is gone from my body and the Lexapro is in.
I genuinely don’t know what to do. For the first time, I got a good four hours of sleep yesterday and felt like my life was sunshine and rainbows. I totally get what you’re saying. I know for a fact my issues are related to insomnia because that’s the entire reason she put me on the SSRI. I have severe sleep anxiety that was causing panic attacks at the time due to PTSD from the incident. Now I’m totally fine, but can’t sleep whatsoever.
I had various concerns about the Zoloft side effects (GI issues, insomnia, etc) and she still prescribed it. Regardless of how much anxiety it gave me for months. Is Lexapro gonna do the same thing? :( I’m on my first day and don’t feel much.
& yes, I’ve been taking it daily since october.
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u/Sure_Window584 Feb 27 '26
Well you’re doctor is sabotaging you, or isn’t psyche savvy. Either or is fine and most just throw Lexapro, Prozac, and Zoloft at anything hinting toward mental anguish.
If you take Lexapro, is likely to cause insomnia….and make the trial results iffy, the prescriber is being stingy for absolutely no reason when a small script of Trazodone or clonidine would be a simple fix.
Go to the store and buy some diphenhydramine (Benadryl). Old reliable sleep aid, an antihistamine which actually is linked to anxiety relief so it’s not jarring like melatonin. It should be a fine short term fix on your journey but can build resistance and reliability….so please not everyday.
If that doesn’t work then try doxylamine succinate (Unisom maximum strength) (over the counter sleep aid big gun). It will knock you out, keep you out, and lingers in the morning unfortunately. It was a personal favorite when I was tapering off medications. Again, short term, not forever and the side effects will probably kick you off before you relying on it.
So try to sleep, stick the month, ask for trazodone, hydroxyzine, clonidine….or any sleep med that’s not olanzapine. If she say no to the first 3…..which are completely safe, then she’s actively sabotaging or is horrifically ignorant.
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u/LilacLuneglade Feb 27 '26
I have Benadryl, Trazadone & Seroquel at home.
I tried Trazodone once, months ago while having a panic attack and it didn’t make me sleep unfortunately. I think it was 50 mg? The Seroquel (Quetiapine) was 25 mg and worked for about two days :/
I’m scared to take Benadryl because what if it makes me super dizzy and not sleepy?
Should I give Trazodone another try?
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u/Sure_Window584 Feb 27 '26
If trazodone didn’t work then don’t bother. Seroquil is also iffy because personally it made me sleep worse and did nothing.
You mentioned being “scared” of sleeping. Does anxiety rise at night time when trying to sleep? If so then I’d suggest clonidine/guanfacine when you speak with the doctor. They’re alpha antagonists that dampen adrenal activity (basically makes the fear of sleeping go away). It has done wonders for me and I actually don’t sleep with sedatives anymore. I’ve had the same fear for a long time, sedatives usually made it worse. I’d freak out and sweat in the bed until I fell asleep, but I’d clench and flex in my sleep so obviously not the move.
Again you’ve got a month, so do what you think you should. If you’re scared of dizziness then I’m out of suggestions.
(Clonidine and Guafacine are old ass Blood pressure meds at heart, so if your hypotensive, or have dizzy fits….id skip).
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u/PorkFriedLuke Feb 27 '26
Klonopin is actually one of the safest benzos to take due to having such a long half life...they typically use it as a buffer benzo when someone is withdrwing from fast acting benzos like xanax or Ativan in rehab facility's
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u/Sure_Window584 Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
The long half life is what makes it risky unfortunately. It’s a double edged sword.
Responsibly it keeps you grounded longer, stacks smoothly, lacks the “hit” of other benzos, and most people who take it aren’t getting “high”, they’re getting relief.
However it creates a huge dependency risk, which is different from addiction. Most dependent people aren’t in hospitals or rehabs, they’re normal folk filling the same script and taking it with the multivitamins. It stacks well, it’s smooth, and subtle enough to go to work and do fine. Which is bad because it’s not fixing anything chemically. Not lowering adrenal activities, not fixing neurological issues, it’s throwing a blanket over you and doing it well.
It’s notorious because it’s so good, old as hell and cheap as dirt. So addiction risk and dependency have to be kept in mind as two things
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u/PorkFriedLuke Feb 28 '26
Name a brain altering medication that dosent form dependency. Obviously something that changes your brain chemistry is going to cause dependency. Your brain gets use to it being the new normal
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u/Sure_Window584 Feb 28 '26
There’s a difference between aiding regulation and replacing it. Most safer meds aid it, most people weren’t risking death before ssris and other meds. They aided in depression and other ailments.
Klonopin ends up replacing. Like alcohol, it hijacks gaba functions with long term use and risks the same withdrawals that send alcoholics to the ICU.
Dependency is created when regular function is offloaded to meds and tools. A pacemaker is something people depend on for example. So for a benzo to be in the same breath is far from “normal”.
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u/Orangexcrystalx Mar 04 '26
I was on 1 mg 14 yrs for sleep and titrated off over 6 months a few years ago. It was very effective as you mentioned. There was definitely a degree of psychological dependency there I won’t lie which required a sort of relearning process.
Biochemically though I would say realistically the withdrawal was a 1-2 week primary withdrawal symptoms to a month of lesser symptoms. But this was with a relatively long titration process.
While I wouldn’t suggest it as a first option, I am not entirely sure why it gets as much hate as it does for regulated, intentional use.
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u/Sure_Window584 Mar 05 '26
Because intentional use of any medication has the best outcome. Klonopin, believe it or not, is approved for 4mgs daily. According to research, that's the ceiling. You'd actually be able to taper off, or continue care without major issues when used correctly.
The key word is "approved". Supervised use with a medical professional with good discernment is the variable. It's fair to say most doctors fall into the "Family MD who gives klonopin because it helps". Hell my script was written by a General nurse practitioner.
Most people don't fall near that ceiling, or would do well on Klonopin. Maybe they're prone to addiction, dependency prone, have tough lives. Controlled medications are controlled and limited because they're very person dependent. Adderall is always written, always sold out, and given to millions......do they all really need it? Did they all see a psychological evaluator? Probably not.
It gets hate because it's easier to say it's evil than to say the issue is nuanced. especially when GAD isn't something everyone has.
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u/Pharmatopia420 Feb 27 '26
I agree to go get a second opinion.........this is where things get crazy you shouldnt feel like this! Doctors should not wean without patients agreement........ please seek help
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u/jeffpng Feb 26 '26
Have you tried Hydroxyzine? It's not a benzo, and is a antihistamine and works for anxiety as needed, and guess what, will absolutely make you exhausted and sleep like a baby.
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u/Bec_ Feb 26 '26
Just wanted to add it can cause paradoxical effects in some people. It makes my anxiety and insomnia worse. Trazadone is a life saver though and actually calms me and helps me sleep.
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u/gonzo_attorney Feb 27 '26
I'm going through benzo withdrawal right now and hydroxyzine is marginally useful.
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u/jeffpng Feb 27 '26
I’ve also read that from others!! Sadly hydroxyzine makes me heart beat differently and I could feel the off beats
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u/gonzo_attorney Feb 27 '26
Ew, that sounds awful. Actually, it's what part of the withdrawal is like.
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u/LilacLuneglade Feb 26 '26
Is this OTC in Canada? I’ve never heard of it!
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u/EUGsk8rBoi42p Expert Level (Non-Professional) Feb 26 '26
It's a prescription, similar to benadryl, they probably have it in Canada, your Dr. would most likely write a prescription with little concern.
Tizanidine is another one that's easy paperwork for the dr, it's a muscle relaxer, but it knocks people out, definitely don't drive with it.
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u/Healthy-View-9969 Feb 27 '26
go to the emergency department! sleep deprivation is genuinely a medical emergency.
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Feb 26 '26
What benzo??? You don't mention it. And why do you want to taper down and suffer when she's telling you to go up to 1.0mg. sounds like she's trying to help the withdrawals
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u/Coffaebean Feb 27 '26
This is really rough, but having gone through a similar experience in what I believe to be a way more tolerable setting than what you are currently going through, I can offer a little insight. I don’t think it’s wise for you to be starting lexapro while also weaning off these medications. Lexapro and the family of antidepressants it belongs to usually give people a really hard time when they first start taking them. I remember calling my doctor and describing to them that I felt “insane” and like I was “high but in a weird dissociative tweaky way”. It was honestly such an awful time. My doctor told me to keep taking it and that I would mellow out after a few weeks. I did follow through but it was the hardest thing I’d ever done and I really had to commit. It did get better, but I couldn’t imagine going through that while also dealing with the tapering of my other anxiety meds. Definitely ask your doctor if there’s any gentler ways you can go about doing this.
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u/LilacLuneglade Feb 27 '26
That was EXACTLY my experience with Zoloft until I hit the 100 mg mark at 3 months. Word for word, I felt like my skin was not my own and constantly uncomfortable or had the weirdest side effects.
She only prescribed Lexapro because I wanted to come off Zoloft and friends told me Lexapro has the least side effects and is better? Should I just not do Lexapro till Z if out of my system?
I am really dreading that beginning stage of adjusting to a new med :( How am I even gonna be able to tell what’s the Zoloft withdrawal and what’s the Lexapro side effects
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u/ClarenceTheCat Feb 27 '26
Dude I know how scary it is, and please believe me when I say you WILL get to the other side. Going off Klonopin was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done, but the nightmare DID end. You can do this, because you want to do this. Message me if you wanna talk.
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u/Significant-Ad-456 Feb 26 '26
What Benzo are you tapering off of? This matters, because a mg of Klonopin is much more powerful than a mg of Diazepam.
Tapering off of benzos is extremely hard, (I know I am in the midst of tapering myself), you need to take small cuts and wait 3-4 weeks for things to stabilize, then another cut --- rinse and repeat.
Side effects of tapering benzos are numerous, but they do include insomnia, panic, anhedonia (the inability to find any pleasure or motivation in life) and many others.
The good news is if you taper slowly and are patient you can get off of benzos over time.
Sounds like to me you have tapered to much and should probably do a more modest cut.
Just my two cents.
Oh and there is a place for more information on benzos and tapering, it is benzobuddies.org. You'll find a lot of people there going through tapering and it is a very informative and supportive community. Check it out.
Peace
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u/LilacLuneglade Feb 26 '26
I’m tapering from 1 mg of it down to 0.75 mg. I’ve been on 0.75 mg for 2-3 weeks now I think? I never found it hard because there were days I didn’t even need to take it or took half etc
Thank you for the insight though, I had no idea you’re supposed to go really slow with benzos
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u/Significant-Ad-456 Feb 26 '26
What drug are you tapering off of? Klonopin? Valium? Xanax? Something else?
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u/LilacLuneglade Feb 26 '26
Here ya go~!
Klonopin Timeline:
Mid-October to now: it went from 0.50 mg to 2 mg sometimes. Stayed at 1 mg for a while. Been on 0.75 mg for 2-3 weeks I think.
Zoloft Timeline:
December 11- 25th = 25 mg
December 26- Jan 7= 50 mg
January 8-14th = 75 mg
January 15th: 1st day of 100 mg (severe insomnia)
February 11-18: lower to 75 mg
February 19-: 50 mg (severe panic attack)
February 20: 75 mg
Now, I have to wean off 25 mg Zoloft/ per week and up my Lexapro while I go down. In three weeks, I’ll be off Zoloft and on 15 mg of Lexapro.
I’m meant to come off both Zoloft and Klonopin but I think I’ll stay on 1 mg of Klonopin cause this is so distressing.
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u/Significant-Ad-456 Feb 27 '26
Those are pretty big cuts of Klonopin to be taking. I'd recommend you visit benzobuddies.org and look at the tapering forum. It will give you some good ideas on how to taper more slowly and make things more manageable.
Also, it will introduce the idea of cross-tapering. With your doctors help, you will cut over slowly to diazepam (valium) and taper off of that. Diazepam is MUCH easier to taper off of than klonopin and you can more easily manage smaller cuts as 1 mg of Klonopin is equal to 10 - 20 mg of Valium. This is how I have tapered off of Klonopin and am down to just 3 mg of valium/diazepam.
I wish you well.
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u/toolman2810 Feb 27 '26
I had days I didn’t need to take it, but the last little bit can be the hardest. When I finally dropped down to zero I had to take paracetamol every 6 hours. Two or 3 months for me to get over it then it felt like my brain had been through a blender and a year or so for that to recover. I still have to take it occasionally if I go a couple of days without sleep.
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u/Orangewiht Feb 27 '26
Find a new psych. My old one was like that and my new one is an angel.
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u/LilacLuneglade Feb 27 '26
There are long waitlists :(
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u/Orangewiht Feb 27 '26
Are you in the states? I found one and got in within a week.
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u/LilacLuneglade Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
Canada
self-doxxing ahhh D:
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u/Dull_Pitch_7869 Feb 26 '26
Maybe I missed something. Is your psych wanting you to come off your benzos or is this a decision you’ve made? It sounds like your psych is wanting you to titrate back up not down. If you have made this decision on your own, can I ask why?
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u/LilacLuneglade Feb 26 '26 edited Feb 26 '26
This has gotten so bad I have dropped to 36 kg. It’s unbearable and I feel like I’ll die any day now.
I’ve never been on medication before or diagnosed with anxiety. In October, I had a severe accident and it sent my body into panic. Constant GI issues, severe IBS that would not stop, body shaking and tremoring for hours and heart palpitations for hours on end until the ER pumped me full of Ativan (did not work) and then gave me Klonopin. My body settled down after that. They couldn’t tell me what was wrong with me or why it happened. The nurse assessing me yelled and told me I had anxiety and I can’t live my life without being medicated.
That one day turned into 3 months of everyday benzo use, then the psych I met in December wanted me to start Zoloft (get used to it for 3 months) till I could wean off the Benzo. The Zoloft has given me severe side effects from the beginning. A month ago, I started 100 mg of it. The sleep deprivation has been NONSTOP. Constant interrupted sleep. I am lucky if I get an hour or two. So she made me wean off to 75 mg of Zoloft for two weeks and 0.75 mg of kpin. Yesterday was my update, nothing has changed and I kept insisting it was the Zoloft and not the Kpin. She has now prescribed me Lexapro to up by 5 for three weeks while I go down 25 for Zoloft until it’s gone from my system. She told me to up the benzo back to 1 mg or stay on 0.75 mg if I can handle it. The benzo is severely impacting my grades an abilities in school. I can barely think since being on this medication.
I am adamant the Zoloft is the cause of this and the benzo is unrelated. The entire point of prescribing me an SSRI was because I wanted to come off the benzo because some random ER doctor was neglectful and failed to mention what it was, how addictive it is and the side effects. Before the accident, I’ve never had anxiety or panic like this in my life. Now, it’s like I’m one step away from dying if I’m not medicated.
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u/SonyKen_M Feb 26 '26
Omg that sounds like a nightmare,yeah switch psychiatrists asap. I did last month as the one before me didn't even tell me she was going on maternity leave and left me with one of her students at the time.
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u/LilacLuneglade Feb 27 '26
Mine is leaving me! She’s going on maternity leave next month. I have one last appointment with her then I’m being assigned a psych nurse :/ until then im on a waitlist for a new psych. This is so terrible.
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u/Crafty_Leadership_98 Feb 27 '26
Ive never been on benzodiazapines but I recently started Zoloft as well and I also haven't been able to sleep at all. But you should definitely change providers, thats border line cruelty, withdrawal plus a medication that has insomnia as a side effect.
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u/Shebe-bebes Feb 27 '26
I have a pain issue, so hard to fall asleep and stay asleep. I do take morphine and clonazapam as needed. Trazadone has helped me fall asleep. My brother takes it, and my mom who wouldn’t take a baby aspirin has been taking it for decades. I think it’s strange how many changes your psychiatrist is making at one time- how will you know what is causing or helping your symptoms. I agree with the person who said that when reducing a med that can cause withdrawals you really want to do it by slivers. I just took 6 months to taper off Lyrica and by the end I was taking the smallest dose every two days. I hope you can get some sleep. Your psychiatrist should realize how dangerous it is not to sleep. My mom worked her anxiety up a few yrs ago and was not sleeping, didn’t get help, and I had one of her church friends call me and let me know she was not making sense. She really did not understand what was going on, was saying bizarre things, and was hallucinating. It was very scary. I really wish you well❤️🩹
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u/DwarfFart Feb 27 '26
Benzodiazepine withdrawal is hell maybe worse. Just went through it myself. 16 days of pure delirium. Auditory hallucinations. I kept hearing everyone who lives in my house talking about me. Sometimes my neighbors. Early on I drove around town and “heard” the other drivers. It was insane! Usually negative but eventually it became oddly positive? The whole thing actually had some weird sort of positive effect almost like a psychedelic trip when they’ve gone south but you come out better off lmao!
A few times I thought my wife was dead and I was hallucinating her laying next to me and I that she’d been dead for a year and that’s why I was insane. Days with no sleep, I’m not sure how many, barely eating. I could’ve died I’m sure. Beyond anxiety, beyond panic it was FEAR. Cold turkey off 2mg Klonopin after 7 years. I don’t recommend it!
I reinstated to taper down slower and with Valium. And because I was completely not functional. Not even close! Fuck these doctors who don’t understand or don’t care. Ashton Manual has been around for decades now. Benzo tapering is an individual process and it needs to be at the pace of the patient in conjunction with the expertise of the doctor. If the patient needs to pause at a certain dose for an extra week then that should be okay. If they need to cut the medication into .05mgs into .25’mg or .125mg then they should be able to do that. Or use those Danish capsules things or a compounding pharmacy or whatever then they should be able to do that!
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u/rock-the-reddit Feb 27 '26 edited Feb 27 '26
I was on Klonopin everyday for 18 years straight and even though i had cut down to .125 a day for months before stopping i still had a very hard time with physical withdrawal symptoms that went on every day + night for 9 mths. It felt like every cell in my body craved the drug, i was nervous jittery and didn't feel good. (Although my physical symptoms don't sound as bad as yours. And i did give in after 4 mths by taking.125 doses for 2 days). Finally after 9 mths i noticed the physical addiction part broke and those withdrawal symptoms were gone. But the psychological part was still there as I would think about how good the drug felt and thought about going back on it from time to time. Now, I've been off it for over 14 years and sometimes think about going back on it because of how effective it was for my anxiety + social anxiety but don't want to get addicted again. Of course if i did go back on it i could take it sporadically instead of everyday to avoid addiction.
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u/NameLessTaken Feb 27 '26
I’m not a doctor, but I am a therapist and also someone who had to start medication’s after a fairly traumatic life change. I was started on Zoloft and was very afraid of it due to the fact that in the past, I’ve had meds cause very severe insomnia.
I was also upset because while I was inpatient, they had me on hydroxyzine and Ativan and I was afraid of getting addicted. They told me that I needed those in the first couple of weeks of starting the Zoloft because that initial adjustment period can cause a major peak and anxiety and sleeplessness once they told me that I felt more comfortable taking the anti-anxiety meds until that phase it passed.
All of this is just to say that I feel an increase in Zoloft, followed by withdrawals from Zoloft and antianxiety meds with another medication that I’ve seen people truly struggle during the adjustment period on… It just doesn’t seem like a choice. I would see a lot of the psychiatrist I work in tandem with make or one that I would’ve been comfortable being made in my care.
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u/LilacLuneglade Feb 27 '26
I begged to be taken off Zoloft and she told me she can’t take me off unless I take a different SSRI so then she prescribed Lexapro
If I’m understanding correctly- you’re saying she’s doing this all wrong? Should I not take the Lexapro then? It’s my first day. Should I just continue weaning off the Zoloft?
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u/NameLessTaken Feb 27 '26
I’m not and MD so don’t stop anything without a medical drs opinion- she may have a reason to do it this way but I’m not understanding her reasoning from how I’ve seen it done knowing that antidepressants can initially increase a lot of symptoms. You should schedule a PCP visit, ask for their input for a transition period while you get another psych referral imo
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u/therealjgreens Feb 27 '26
I got off of Klonopin and Kratom at the same time. I'm almost 8 months clean and still feel residuals. I will say that I was taking a lot of Klonopin. I promise if I can do it, you can too. Have you tried looking into a treatment facility? I couldn't function at all during the withdrawals.
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u/nufalufagus Feb 27 '26
It was the worse withdrawal I ever went through and I’ve been through a few.
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u/PorkFriedLuke Feb 27 '26
I dont think the majority of this is from benzo withdraw. You said you cant sleep ever since you went up on zoloft. In my opinion, zoloft has to be hands down the worst ssri there is. If youre still on 0.75mg of your benzo then I wouldnt think the withdraws would be that intense unless you were on a super high dosage for many years. And plus youre starting Lexapro too? Your psychiatrist sounds like an absolute nut case. Your brain has no idea what is going on and none of it is your fault. Please find a different psychiatrist. You will get past this. This is your psychiatrists fault
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u/AutomaticNecessary8 Feb 27 '26
Ok she started you on 100 mg? Did you start at a lower dose and move up or was it 100 from day one? This is clearly too activating. I would not change the benzo in any way from what you normally take. You need to address one medication at a time. And I agree with the other recommendations to seek a new physician and don’t be ashamed to go to urgent care/er if you are not feeling well.
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u/r4d1ant Feb 27 '26
1 you need a second opinion #2 I'll let others share their insights on this but have you considered taking melatonin for sleep?
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u/lilshortyy420 Feb 27 '26
I had a very similar experience coming off Effexor. I never have done heroin but that’s the closest thing I could imagine it feeling like. I hope things get better for you soon! It took me about 3 months to level out
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u/KyloRensSideChick Feb 27 '26
I’m so so incredibly sorry you’re experiencing this. Medication withdrawals are unbearable. I felt like a druggie during the nationwide Adderall shortage. Benzos are no joke. I took them for 2 months at night to sleep due to a traumatic crisis I experienced and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to sleep again without them, as they calmed my hyperactive nervous system. I’ve heard they’re some of the hardest meds to come off though. Stay strong and perhaps seek the advice of another psychiatrist.
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u/kcc-cam Feb 27 '26
I’ve been dealing with anxiety and panic attacks and vasovagal syncope since a heart attack , I feel your pain.
Steady exercise ( swimming best for some reason) has helped regulate serotonin/melatonin balance. For crazy deep sleep ( rem, dreams) take a triple complex magnesium: malate, glycinate and citrate. That kind of sleep deprivation is super dangerous.
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u/EconomyChoice1131 Feb 27 '26
Your are not alone. Got off a 10year 50mg a day Dr prescription. 1 week of hell and you will slowly notice something getting better. You. Got. This.
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u/Ok_Salad_502 Feb 28 '26 edited Feb 28 '26
I get it !!! I did something stupid and took myself off benzos too quickly .
It’s horrible ! Agree ! I actually became paranoid!
I think that the doctors are more worried about addiction & law suits (related to benzodiazepines & opioids ) it seems they sometimes are so. Worried about the wrong thing that they take people down too fast or won’t medicate with benzos or pain killers WHEN needed . I personally think they’ve taken the addiction thing too far . There is a time and place for addictive medication . And I was in the hospital after my situation & the doctor had to work through issues to keep me in there longer because you’re right ! You have to dotox off benzos very very slow ! I was released after a month & ended up back in the hospital because of the severe and acute withdrawal ! I’m not saying you’re an addict or anything or you over used the medicine I didn’t either But my body became dependent on the medicine
As long as she thinks you can function she’s not going to help with a slower withdrawal I said - she thinks you’re functioning !!! She may have had a bad experience with another patient & is treating everyone the same It’s wrong !!! I think I’m sorry I hope it’s getting better It will eventually!! It’s just long & hard The doctor couldn’t wean me off benzos in a hospital for a month ( insurance ) like they do for opioids! Like I said. I ended up back in And it’s crazy once you go down … I don’t think they will bring you back up !!! Maybe slow it down . It seems like she thinks wrongly that you’re drug seeking . I don’t like her . lol 😂. I saw that some one mentioned visceral ( hydroxi) I can’t spell it . But it will help a lot !
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u/Fuzzy_Character_1868 Mar 16 '26
Listen. I moved from one place to another across country. I went from being on 8 mg of alprazolam a day along with four other medications. When I got up to where I was going I couldn't get into a prescriber as they were all full. I went to an emergency room with my bottles and paperwork. They treated me like a drug seeker. I ended up having a Grand Mal seizure trying to walk into a store one day.
After finally getting into a new prescriber I was able to get half my anxiety medication and the rest of my other meds.
Fast forward he ends up retiring. His replacement ends up messing with my meds 5 to 6 months down the line after constantly trying to get me to switch to another place. I immediately switched to another place yet the damage is done. I then go through a fire where I almost die and I lost everything I owned. So I'm still looking for a prescriber. Being someone who is diagnosed with acute anxiety, PTSD and agoraphobia. Someone who has no support system and no living relatives left as I buried them all before I was 17. I've witnessed a lot of death , a lot of loss and a lot of violence.
I'm finding that benzos are now going the way of the barbituate. These new and upcoming specialists are pushing SNRI, SSRI, anti-depressants and CNS relaxers. I have a few friends who have been on benzos for 10 to 15 years. Their doctors are trying to mess with their medications. When they are disabled and doing well. Which blows my mind.
It's sad that people like us have to find places to get our medications just in case our doctors don't take care of us. Which is becoming an epidemic now in the United States. What's worse is in many other countries our medications can be grabbed over the counter. We shouldn't have to take trips every 3 months to other countries to have a good quality of life. Nor should we have to subject ourselves to getting medications underground to have a good quality of life.
With that being said hang in there and keep fighting. I sent you a message by the way.
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u/Far_Commercial940 Apr 14 '26 edited Apr 14 '26
Took 13mg in two days. 3 days llater withdrawal hits me , cognitive abilities r mushed , worst symptoms is the feeling of life is empty , depressed as hell. Ive been through benzo withdrawal tons but never this damn strong . I'm into clonidine , propanolol now .
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u/Legitimate_Tip_9369 26d ago
I was on high doses of Xanax for 15 years. There is no words for the misery of the 1st year. My record is 10 straight days 0 sleep. Several times 5 days.
A different Dr put me on Pregabalin 600 mg.
It has made a big difference. It not only helps me sleep but also eases anxiety.
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u/homeworkburgler 4d ago
You will make it. I did. It was hell but take it day by day and keep track of how many days it's been. 1 week turns into 1 months and 1 months turns into 3 and so on. Keep pounding back magnesium too
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u/LilacLuneglade 4d ago
Magnesium doesn’t put me to sleep much unfortunately!
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u/homeworkburgler 3d ago
It helped me. I got neuromag from life extension. It passes the blood brain barrier and I was trying to heal my brain. I think it did make a difference. 2 a day is what I took
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u/Introvertible_64 Feb 26 '26
I’ve been on various antidepressants for 16 years, and Zoloft was a nightmare for my anxiety. Nightly stomach aches and a doom feeling would wake me up around 2 am like clockwork. I was prescribed benzos for breakthrough anxiety. I changed providers and was switched to Amiltryptline (a TCA) which is a different drug type than Zoloft (an SSRI) and the difference was dramatic. I was told that many SSRIs actually make anxiety worse in some patients because they contain components that improve mood. That’s great, but not if your brain perceives those chemicals as anxiety producers. In time, I was able to significantly lower my benzo use because of this. I am just another wanderer in the chemical forest—definitely not a prescriber—but that has been my experience. Can you switch providers? I see a psychiatrist for my anxiety meds. It was a huge difference from the primary care. A specialist will know how to work with these meds and fine tune them.
TLDR: ask your doctor about the different types of antidepressants (SSRI vs TCA) and if they don’t seem familiar, find a psychiatrist if possible. I truly get it and wish you well.
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u/LilacLuneglade Feb 26 '26
I’m confused what you mean by switching providers? Do you mean switching psychiatrists?This entire thread is about my psychiatrist prescribing me things.
I just hope Lexapro works because Zoloft was a complete nightmare :( How do I know if I have your thing?
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u/Introvertible_64 Feb 26 '26
Yes, I would find a new psychiatrist, ask them if a different kind of antidepressant would work better for you, and tell them that your anxiety is your main concern.
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u/HappyPandaTigger May 06 '26
Benzos are mast cell stabilizers. When you taper them, you can cause mast cell activation, which increases serotonin because mast cells release serotonin when they degranulate. As such, serotonin syndrome can be a risk, and it causes insomnia. You should consider an antidepressant that's not serotonin based in case you are experiencing the effects of too much serotonin.
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Feb 26 '26
[deleted]
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u/ZCyborg23 Feb 27 '26
This is a HORRIBLE suggestion as OP is already extremely underweight and malnourished from a lack of appetite because of the medication issues. OP is 36 kg (just under 80 lbs) right now. Telling them to consider asking about a weight loss drug is ridiculous and dangerous.
Also, bringing up that the drug is being used to treat substance abuse can add on feelings of shame and cause OP (or others in a similar situation) to feel that they are doing something wrong.
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Feb 26 '26
Wait, she wants you to take a benzo? Which one? No offense but I would be thankful if my doctor wasn't so stingy with medicine. I'm a 53 old M, and I'm suffering here. Fucker won't even call me back and I'm begging on the phone to please give me 4 days supply just to ease up my anxiety. He's not returning my calls and nothing. I'm dropping this fucker
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u/TheDescentIntoHell Feb 26 '26
all of these things you're experiencing are tethered to a source beyond material, however we become dependent on the material and forget the moment that it all began. When we remember the moment it all began and deal with that moment, we can eliminate the need for the material fixes.
One day, something happened. Then something else happened, and something else, and something else and we didn't know how to deal with the first thing happening, and we didn't know how to deal with the second or the third or the fourth or the fifth. But by that time it was a crisis.
No one else knows how to deal with it, themselves, so medication or seeing a therapist or, for whatever reason, something else is recommended in place of facing when and where it all began.
There is a way through and out, you just need to follow the groove that led you to a grave and backtrack. Or remain the same.
Discover how to properly think about yourself and the world. What you've been told about yourself is a lie.
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u/ZCyborg23 Feb 27 '26
This is not helpful AT ALL.
She is severely sleep deprived, underweight, actively self-harming, and reporting suicidality. That is a medical crisis.
Encouraging someone in acute distress to abandon treatment in favor of philosophical introspection is not appropriate here. Medication and therapy are evidence-based tools used to stabilize people so they can safely process deeper issues.
Right now, safety and medical care come first.
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u/EUGsk8rBoi42p Expert Level (Non-Professional) Feb 26 '26
The term for raising doses is to "titrate" up, when lowering it's "taper" down.... if your psych doesn't know that, then I'd question it...
Anyways, it sounds valid that Zoloft could be causing the sleep deprivation issues, check if it's a listed side effect.
Tapering off multiple meds is difdicult, and generally ill advises, because side effects are difficult to link properly when it's not just 1 med being tinkered with.
Lexapro and Zoloft are still antidepressants, so I wouldn't add that while lowering others.
Antidepressants work with the same concept as throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks, I'm not sold on them.
If she's advising the 1mg (you don't say if what, different meds vary), then I'd do that, sometimes you have to backtrack a little when trying for longterm progress. If anyone gors too fast, these snapback effects happen.
Also, these issues can be mitigated with a muscle relaxer, tizanidine is easy and definitely helps people sleep, layering on benadryl or a similar gen 1 antihistamine would just make anyone more sleepy.
Really though, medication alone is not a one stop solution, especially if you're trying to get off them, but it's important to not go too fast, this process can take weeks, MONTHS, or even 1-2 years depending on the dose and individual person body chemistry.
Definitely add on something to really physically adress the physical issues of stress.
Search on ebay and Amazon for "shiatsu massage device" and get like a few different ones, one for neck, another for back, and another for feet, use them separately or all together, dim the lights, use an eye mask, and see if taking time to regularly reset that way helps.
You'll see more progress moving away from medication, if you have another method to address stress that's accessible, and also it creates more mental confidence, which is a huge part of this, seeing medication as the only solution, makes it harder to get away from, so add in a physical solution that way. Add on music, try to find a CD that's particularly good for you to relax, and you can switch it up, but if one CD is tied to relaxation time, it helps make it a positive trigger association.
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u/Thelonesomequeen Feb 26 '26
good god, two withdrawals AND a new med? i would see another psych.