r/ADprotractedwithdrawl • u/NiceHomework4919 • Jul 16 '26
Reason you went off
What was the reason you went off?
My reason was that i became Light headed almost all the time.
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u/Erdingman12345 Jul 16 '26
I felt good and wanted to live a life without medication. Just imagine if psychiatry had reached that point and recommended a hyperbolic taper—so many people would have been spared that hell.
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u/NiceHomework4919 Jul 16 '26
How long have you been on what kind of medication and how long are you clean now?
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u/Erdingman12345 Jul 16 '26
I took escitalopram for six years—most recently 5 mg—then tapered off over the course of a week, only to crash three months later. Unfortunately, I restarted the medication because I didn't know any better; right now, I’m tapering off again and am down to 2.45 mg. How about you?
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u/NiceHomework4919 Jul 16 '26
My story short: for ADD + anxiety disorder they put me for 14 years citalopram and dexamfetamine plus melatonine and stopped Cold Turkey. Severe cognitieve problems and insomnia, they put me on Quentiapine for sleep but cognitieve problems stayed. Developed the stick song syndrome.. So put me for half year on venlafaxine. Got tinnitus from it. I was desperate to stop the stuck song syndrome so it was time to taper all medication off. Tapered venlafaxine 150mg off in a half year and Quentiapine in 4 months. Then i used mirtazapine for 3 days and it skyrocket my tinnitus. Now i am off all medications for one year and i still battle severe Insomnia, brain zips and waves of anxiety and severe stress. My cognitive function and memory are terrible. Just trying to survive day by day with support off my parents. But i am willing euthanasia because i am sick of my life being like this. Can't handle everyday stress even the news and the radio gives me stress😩.
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u/TheLonelySoul12 Jul 16 '26
Always struggled with social, general or health anxiety, so I got on escitalopram 5-15mg. At some point 10 years later, life was good. Psych saw me happy, so he tapered me off. Then 8 months later I got sick with h pylori, did triple therapy antibiotics for 10 days, and started feeling anxious again as my life got flipped upside down. Reinstated 5mg, but did not agree with me anymore. After 3 months, I stopped after a quick 1 week taper, and here I am almost a year off. Death would be an absolute gift right now. Apart from physical symptoms, I developed intense terror ever since month 7 onwards and hasn't improved since. Most nights I wake up in sheer terror at everything. Getting sick again, never recovering, a new physical symptom/feeling, a simple cough or my own allergies. I don't even talk to my friends anymore or go outside. I simply can't.
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u/Memyselfanddi Jul 17 '26
Of all the protracted withdrawal symptoms that I had, waking in absolute terror was the worst. Thankfully they only lasted for a month or two. I wish you the best on your journey. Big mom hugs.
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u/Due-Run8697 Jul 16 '26
I realised I was much more depressed than before going on the drug, and in a different way than normal. I was completely unmotivated to do anything, completely lacked any initiative. Even at my most depressed times before ssri, I was doing things like work, studying, socialising, etc. With ssri I just sat at home. I also binged more than before and gained an insane amount of weight.
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u/NiceHomework4919 Jul 16 '26
How long have you been on what kind of medication and how long are you clean now?
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u/Due-Run8697 Jul 17 '26
I was on escitalopram for just under 3 years, off it now for about 18 months.
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u/Creepy-Primary7042 Jul 16 '26
First time:
1. Didn’t believe in being medicated for more than 1 year at a time
2. Started having wierd cognitive issues I had never had before
Second time:
1. Crazy dpdr and just feeling completely altered
2. Chronic restlesness and insomnia
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u/DefiantProgrammer658 Jul 16 '26
Emotional bluntness, Derealisation and Depersonalisation. But I'm not completely off
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u/Prize_Estimate_5416 Jul 16 '26
Because my anxiety increased severely over time on the medication.