Want to get off meds but struggling

[shel]

Thanks for message, iggy. I am on 35 mg Celexa and 1 mg Klonopin. I am planning to taper the Celexa first because it is causing a constant headache. I will add a sig soon to clarify my history and where I am at now.

How are you doing today? My thoughts are with you too!

[Moui]

Hi, fellow citalopramer.
It's curious you said your headaches are around your left eye/temple area. My pain episodes (headache/migraine and something else) have always had that element in them. Odd pressure, scooping sensation around left eye/temple area, felt like an invisible spoon digging my eyeball out.. not exactly, but close enough.

I try not to view your experience through mine. For me going down in dose ended that pain. You said the quick drop made it worse. And you mentioned this headache proneness.. I've only had this happen while on citalopram.
So it started when you upped the dose and got worse again when you tried to drop. To me it sounds like your cns just might not enjoy all the changes. Drugs, doses.. So parroting the others.
Long slow tapers and as few switches as possible seems to work the best often. In some ways this reminds me a bit of Aberdeen from PP.. If I remember right she went c/t paxil into WD - tried different drugs, ended up staying on something not helpful (escitalopram or citalopram?) and then just riding it out and slowly tapering. She seems to be doing better now, still tapering but lower dose. Idk, it might not be the same, just came to mind.
Welcome and I wish you much healing.

[shel]

Hi Moui,

Thanks for reading and posting in my journal! I appreciate your thoughts/insights. So sorry you too have dealt with this awful headache pain but so happy to hear that going down in dose helped for you - that is wonderful news! Indeed, my CNS is extremely sensitive - I get headaches when increasing medication as well as decreasing. I clearly just need to get off of these medications but I just have not been able to do it. I have read Aberdeen's story on PP and it does sound similar to mine in someways. It is encouraging she is doing better now and is tapering. I think because I am so very sensitive I have to try a micro-taper, even smaller than my previous attempts which were pretty slow - I tried 10% and then 5% both didn't work for me.

Thank you for the welcome and I wish you much healing as well!

[PAROX2010]

Hi, fellow citalopramer.
It's curious you said your headaches are around your left eye/temple area. My pain episodes (headache/migraine and something else) have always had that element in them. .

Me too, and also tingling in the left cheek.

Well, actually I have had headaches since I was a teenager.
I had a lot of headaches while decreasing the paxil / seroxat. After taking my last dose I had a headache every day for 3 or 4 meses.Yo almost always took ibuprofen (sometimes paracetamol). I often woke up with headaches, and persisted throughout the day.
At present I have only occasional headache .. I think you have given good advice on how to reduce, especially listen to your body.

hugs

Tina

[shel]

Me too, and also tingling in the left cheek.

Well, actually I have had headaches since I was a teenager.
I had a lot of headaches while decreasing the paxil / seroxat. After taking my last dose I had a headache every day for 3 or 4 meses.Yo almost always took ibuprofen (sometimes paracetamol). I often woke up with headaches, and persisted throughout the day.
At present I have only occasional headache .. I think you have given good advice on how to reduce, especially listen to your body.

hugs

Tina

Interesting that you too had left-sided headache pain with your taper and afterwards, Tina. Thank you for sharing that - it does help to know that this is something others have dealt with. I haven't even started tapering yet and my head is hurting so badly. It really scares me to even think about what reducing will do but hopefully keeping the decreases really minimal will at least not make things worse. How are you feeling these days, Tina? I was originally put on ADs for stress too. I see that you also tapered a benzo. I will have to combat that after Celexa. That may be years down the road which scares me to stay on a benzo for so long but I don't really have a choice at the moment.

[Moui]

Parox that is interesting. I wonder what's going on with that left-sidedness. I've seen it mentioned in other threads and forums.. in the previous WD my left cheek was sometimes numb. I always thought it was because of some sort of muscle tension as I was subconsciously clenching my jaw often.

[shel]

Yes, the left-side thing is interesting, for sure. Even before my AD use, whatever problems I had, including headaches, were always on my left side so it could just be that for me this is the side that is more vulnerable for whatever reason. I am left handed as well, although I don't know if that has anything to do with it.

[Moui]

Well, I'm right handed.. but I have some left sided tendencies. I liked to snowboard the other way around than most right handed people. I had some interesting drum setups too when I used to play them. Might be overthinking this whole thing..

[Luc]

It really scares me to even think about what reducing will do but hopefully keeping the decreases really minimal will at least not make things worse.

I'm pretty sure that once you start the taper, you will start to really believe it is possible. The first step is very often the most difficult one, Michele.

[shel]

I sure hope you are right, Luc. I think I am really "gun shy" as I've not been successful thus far after several attempts to get off of AD medication - even with slow tapers. But maybe the tapers were still not slow enough and this time I will be able to do this. Thank you so much for your words of encouragement, Luc.