Posts by Edward Long4

Brandon Lopez6 said:I just wanted to reach out and share what happened with me. I stopped taking my antidepressant and antipsychotic cold turkey—because, surprise, nobody told me that wasn't a thing you do—and honestly? I felt fine. Just totally nothing. I kept taking Xanax, which I think actually saved me from the worst side effects. Then again, I never really felt like the Prozac was doing much besides making me sleep like a baby, so maybe that played a part too. It was the lowest dose, once a day, for maybe 8 or 9 months.

Tapering off the Xanax, though, was a total nightmare. This past summer, I got down to 0.25mg four times and I just couldn't go any lower. 🙂

Anyway, I just wanted to say that coming off antidepressants doesn't have to be a disaster for everyone. The more you dwell on the potential side effects, the more likely you are to actually feel them. Try to stay chill—some people have a rough time, sure, but there are plenty who barely even noticed they were stopping. 🙂

shadowfox75 said:I respect that.👍 I am just hoping I can endure this, because the fear I'm feeling is honestly overwhelming. My biggest concern is that I might inadvertently reinforce my own symptoms through autosuggestion. I'm going to head over to YouTube now to see if I can find some helpful information.

Anthony Lopez8 said:I went through the process of tapering off a massive dose of Effexor—which is notorious for its revolting withdrawal symptoms, including those very "brain zaps" you mentioned—and somehow, I made it out the other side. My approach was to gradually reduce the dosage, though I won't lie, it was an incredibly unpleasant experience. In fact, the "electrical" sensations became secondary to the other physical symptoms I had to endure. But, the trade-off is that I am currently entirely medication-free, and once those symptoms finally subsided, they stayed gone. Taking a full year to do it is a sensible strategy, especially if your symptoms are as intense as yours sound.

One thing many people in our situation consider a "miracle cure" for those brain zaps is taking high doses of Omega-3 fatty acids. I discovered this relatively late in my journey (and it was a bit difficult to source quality supplements since I don't eat animal products), so I can't say for certain if they are truly miraculous, but I would strongly suggest you look into it. Many people find it remarkably effective at mitigating those specific issues. If you decide to go that route, I might be able to help you look up which dosages tend to be most effective, though I don't have the specific numbers memorized right now...

As for psychiatrists, you hit the nail on the head—most of them seem to have absolutely no concept of the physical dependency these psychotropic drugs create (or perhaps they simply choose to ignore the reality of it, though I couldn't say which...).

redranger2 said:Auuuu, honey, you were absolutely screwed over. 😢
To go that long without anyone uncovering the actual diagnosis makes one wonder what kind of medical professionals we're even dealing with here.
It’s a relief you made it out alive, and now that you have your treatment plan and regular checkups in place, things should stabilize.
Just stay strong; the worst part is behind you. 🙂

redranger2 said:"Quote"

I find myself feeling quite perplexed by this entire situation. My impression is that the physicians initially misread the situation entirely, misdiagnosing you with a nervous disorder and prescribing antidepressants when, in reality, the issue was a serious cardiac condition. Now you bring panic attacks into the equation, which leaves me wondering where exactly the doctors fit into this narrative. Regardless of how the pieces align, you should certainly pursue psychotherapy.

redranger2 said:Don't let fear get the better of you. If those symptoms happen to resurface—heaven forbid—you always have the option to seek further help.
It might be worth considering a course of Prozac, particularly if you've previously found relief from those debilitating panic attacks.
Look, there are solutions and medications available for just about everything; the real catastrophe would be if antidepressants and antipsychotics didn't exist at all, because then we'd truly be in trouble.
People have always struggled with these kinds of shadows, even back when they had no idea what was actually happening to them. There was just this profound, quiet suffering in the dark. Nowadays, we have everything laid out for us—instant access to the internet, endless forums, modern medicine, and specialists who can actually put a name to the pain.

Yawning is the least of our concerns here; it’s merely a lingering side effect that follows once everything else has already gone wrong.
It’ll pass. If you’re truly that opposed to medication—though I fail to see the logic behind such a stance—perhaps you could try Prozac instead.
You really ought to look into psychotherapy, and for heaven's sake, start taking some B vitamins—they are absolutely essential for stabilizing your nerves and regulating your appetite.

Anthony Lopez8 said:It definitely caused some weight gain for me, though nowhere near as much as what I experienced with Zyprexa. To be honest, none of the antipsychotics really hit the mark for me, but if I had to choose, I found Seroquel to be slightly more effective than the others.

redranger2 said:Ever since I started taking Q-pin, I’ve been having such ridiculous dreams that it feels disconnected from
my own brain. In one particular dream, I was actually being interviewed by the President of China, who
ended up kicking me out of the room simply because I didn't speak Chinese.
The rest of them are far too nonsensical for me to even bother recounting. 😍

Oh, thanks for the reply! Honestly, I was starting to think I was the only one dreaming up this kind of nonsense... but clearly, there are more of us out there :P

shadowbear9 said:It isn't crap to me,🤷 though I suppose everyone reacts differently, so I agree there. For me, since starting Cerson, it feels like I'm on needles. What I was trying to emphasize is that even higher doses don't keep me asleep anymore, whereas before, just two pills would do the trick. I suspect I'll have to ask my cardiologist for a replacement for Sanvale, but maybe just something short-term to break this tolerance. I honestly don't even know what other hypnotic is similar to it?
I do agree that meditation is incredibly effective, but frankly, for most people, it’s just too difficult! Every time I try to meditate, I just fall asleep...🙂it just exhausts me mentally, so I don't really bother with it much...

Matthew White4 said:Physically speaking, I’m officially and mostly fine, if you don't count my knees and heart acting up a bit, my neck being trashed from too much time behind the wheel, or my ribs protesting after hauling heavy kegs around a bar... I could probably keep listing things, but honestly, nothing's really broken.

They just need to fix my head.

Jason Vaughn482 said:No way, I spent twenty days taking half of a 50 mg dose and I didn't feel any better than before, so I just quit; perhaps I should have pushed through it.

Anthony Lopez8 said:It was actually quite the opposite—I commented on your post specifically because of the context you provided (you were responding to blacx and disagreeing with them, only to then bring up those points). I walked away with the impression that you were trying to suggest these medications aren't effective—or, as you put it, that they're "crap"—simply because they didn't work for you personally. I cannot agree with that logic, as I believe anxiolytics and sedatives are definitively among the most effective psychiatric medications available; after all, they fulfill their exact intended purpose.

Yes, we are all aware that medications aren't exactly "healthy" for the body, but most of us will still reach for an Advil when a headache strikes. The reasoning is likely simple: the perceived health risk is far less significant than the unnecessary suffering we would endure if we chose to forgo the medicine.

Regarding the physicians, I mostly agree with you there—if a psychiatrist prescribes a medication that you don't actually need, or if you actually require something entirely different, then it seems obvious that the failure lies with the doctor, not the drug itself. 🙂

Anthony Lopez8 said:Look, I think we can all agree that every single medication carries some level of side effects on the body. But from what I can gather, blackx wasn't even claiming these drugs were "healthy"; he was simply pointing out that they are actually effective when used precisely for their intended purpose. 😉

Anthony Lopez8 said:Mary was taking medication for kidney issues. Those drugs didn't resolve her symptoms. Later, she discovered that her condition wasn't renal, but actually cardiac. Mary concluded that the medications she was taking were ineffective.
Do you see the flaw in that logic? 😁

Timothy Wood38 said:Honestly, enough with the constant bashing of Xanax and similar medications. These are incredibly effective drugs that serve a vital purpose in medicine when used correctly. They aren't some "street drugs" or whatever labels you want to throw at them. Take Ativan, for instance—it belongs to the same class, and it isn't inherently better or worse; it just has its own specific niche. For example, Xanax is far superior for managing panic attacks and acute anxiety compared to almost any other benzodiazepine on the market, which is why it’s consistently the first line of defense for that diagnosis. The issue isn't the quality of the medication itself; it's how people choose to use it. Telling someone to go looking for Ativan instead of Xanax or Valium is just plain wrong. Please, just stop. You aren't doctors.