Date: Tue Apr 3, 2001 9:45am Hi Charly and Cynthia, I'm going to answer the last question 1st. I found you by doing a search in Yahoo! Groups under the name Celexa. Now for the rest of what I'm dealing with. In April of last year I discovered some info about my marriage that was extremely painful. My Dr.'s wife is a very close friend of mine and she has been a very strong support person for me as I deal with some very painful changes in my life. In late August or early Sept. things became unbearable and I crashed emotionally. My husband called my friend for help, and her husband knowing the details of what was going on in my life put me on Celexa. I have never done very well with any med, and ended up taking 10 mg every other day, just to get my body adjusted to it. Eventually I worked up to 20 mg daily. From the start I noticed a drop in appitite. To begin with, I am already very small... 4 ft 11 in and usually between 105 and 110 lbs... Since going on the Celexa, I have gone from a lady's size 8 jeans to a size 4 jeans and am even wearing a girls size 14 that I found in a hand-me-down bag for my 11 yr old dd. About a month to 6 weeks ago I began having head- aches from time to time... nothing major just an annoyance. However they gradually got worse, to the point that for the last 2 weeks the headache have been accompanied at times by tunnel vision, and other symptoms that almost put them in a migrane category. I am also having word finding problems, extreme fatigue, and dizziness. I thought I had my problem all figured out... I had lost so much weight, that my body just kinda decided to shut down... I was finally able to get into the dro on Wed of this week only to find I have only lost 6 lbs since I was in there last time... In June... and am still weighing over 100 lbs... (Not sure where the flab that was around my tummy and hips has gone... I apparantly have gained weight in my toenails, knee caps and hair folicles...lol) The Dr. did some blood work, checking my thyroid, liver, iron, etc... He should have the results on that back today, and if there are problems there, he w/ call me. He is considering the possibility that it is related to the Celexa, and has pulled me off cold turkey for 2 weeks to see if the headaches, word-finding problems, and dizziness are relieved. His thought was that if this was side effects of the Celexa, it probably would have shown up before now. That is where I am right now...not sure what is going on, and wanting to know what to expect in the next 2 weeks... Rhonda Date: Tue Apr 3, 2001 1:51pm Hi everyone, I just wanted to give an update as this msg was written last Friday. My blood tests apparantly came back o.k... showing no problems w/ thyroid, iron, liver...etc. On Fri nite h and I had some meetings in a town 15 miles from home. I was extremely tired and had slept most of the day... but I really wanted to get to this meeting. When I got in the shower, things started spinning, but I made it through, and was able to sit and rest for a few minutes b4 we left. HOWEVER when the van started backing out of the driveway the world started spinning. From reading some of the posts, I know this is very normal for many of you now... but this was the 1st time this had ever happened... By the time I got to my meeting, I was in tears (thank heavens everyone there knows me well!) One of the ladies at the meeting insisted I call my Dr. He first suggested a possible inner ear infection...aaaggghhhh. I told him I was quite sure it was Celexa. He then suggested dramamine for the diziness... so h went and bought some... b/cause I am so small, and have had problems taking meds in the past Dr. put me on about 1/4 adult dosage... Fri nite I didn't see much difference... matter of fact the trip home was worse because it was raining... the windshield wipers just kept going back and forth and back and forth .... even closing my eyes didn't help. Again in tears by the time we got home. Sat am... I woke up and was fine for about 90 min then got dizzy again, so I took another dramamine... this time it zonked me out... I slept for about 4 hours... We called Dr back, and he decided maybe cold turkey wasn't such a good idea... so he called in an RX for Celexa... back on 20 mgs.. The dizziness isn't as extreme, and I made the trip to town for church on Sun w/out crying, but the worship center...oh boy... big and people clap.... I haven't left home since, but I am suppose to take my dd to piano lessons this afternoon... about a 7 mile drive... Yesterday I had ony a couple really dizzy splls, but the headaches came back with a vengance last night. I am now having some problems w/ queesy stomach, and insomnia when I go to bed at night... also very hot feet! These were all symptoms I had when I first went on the Celexa...so I'm thinkin I'm still having a few w/draw symptoms as well as the side effects from reaclimation... plus the headachs that were there from being on the med... Dr. wants me to stay on 20 mg for 2 weeks... and then.... well I really don't have a clue what he wants me to do then... I know many of you have been dealing w/ this for a long time... but it is all very new to me... sorry for moaning and groaning so long... thanks for listening, Rhonda Date: Tue Apr 3, 2001 2:54pm Response1: I can totally relate to this Rhonda. For me, my senses are all way overstimulated. Sights, sounds, smells, everything is just too much. When I'm driving, I have a tough time because everything seems like it's speeding right by me. It especially gets bad in my peripheral vision. Windshield wipers are the worst because my eyes tend to follow them and I space out and get dizzy. I also tend to be jumpy as all hell and any little sound makes me jump out of my skin. Sometimes this is bad when I drive as well, because with the window open, the sounds of loud cars, trucks, etc. startle me. Take care all, Robin Date: Tue Apr 3, 2001 5:50pm Response2: Rhonda, it took about a year and a half for the Paxil to really make me lose it. You may have 'tolerated' Celexa well (in shrink-speak), but for how long? Where does it say that if a side effect doesn't occur immediately, then it never will? Tunnelvision, extreme fatigue, you don't seem to be tolerating it! From my personal experience I also underwent a physical change, I believe because of thyroid interference from these drugs. While I spent most of the time on Paxil slightly overweight, when I started to become mentally undone, my body became more muscular with less fleshy female fat. I also started to develop ovarian cysts, hairs on my chin, menopausal-like symptoms, so it appears that the entire thyroid/hormone system is interfered with by these damn drugs. You may not be there yet, but why wait to see if you get the same reaction? I too was extremely fatigued (what am I saying, I couldn't get out of bed at all!) So it wasn't from working out that I lost this weight! It was only much later that I was able to make sense of the little things. You're doing the right thing, hang in there, take care of yourself, and I promise you'll get better. Why not dump the shrink and find a marriage counselor or psychologist? That way you'll still be under the care of someone, just not a perscription writer. That's all they have to offer, and I assure you its all you'll get. You're already half way there in detecting the problem and taking action to get off the Celexa. Let us know how you're doing. Heather Date: Tue Apr 3, 2001 7:06pm Hi Robin and all, > I also tend to be jumpy as all hell and any little > sound makes me jump out of my skin. Sometimes this is > bad when I drive as well, because with the window > open, the sounds of loud cars, trucks, etc. startle me... I've been having this problem also.... And I'm a SAHM... homeschooling my 2 oldest ages 11 and 8, also have a 5 yr old who runs around the house singing all the time...(usually wonderful, just right now off key really makes me shirk). My 11 yr old is also on week 3 of violin lessons... it is a dream come true for her... but at times a night mare for me. I tend to be a dramatic type of person... when I began jumping out of my skin when the back door slamed shut... I thought..."Geez Rhon, get a grip You have got to stop making such a big deal out of everything!" Thanks for sharing that with me Robin...It is affirming to know that this isn't just a character flaw that has become extreme! PS: I made it home from my dd's piano lesson...1st time behind the wheel in almost a week... The 'down' side of the hills were definintely the worst. I really felt like the earth was dropping away...slightly wet gravel roads to boot... I'm sooo thankful I'm home and all my children are still alive! Rhonda Date: Thu Apr 5, 2001 1:03am Hi everyone, I'm really struggling here today. last nite around 10:00 I got this tingely sensation up the right side of my head, it started at the neck and then just moved pretty quicky up my head...kind of like goose bumps but only on the right side of myhead...since then I have had not complete numbness, but, well the best way I can describe it is after you put bengay on a sore muscle... and the sensation has almost worn off, but not completely... I also have a very slight droop in the right side of my lip. Called Dr. around 10:30 last night and he thought it was the beginning of a migrane, but ordered a CT scan which I had today. No results back yet. Also he told me that there WERE some problems w/ my blood tests taken last week. My hemo-globin is very low, and my red blood cells that I do have are smaller than they should be, indicating (I think... still loopy and not sure I understood what he was saying) that my hemo-globin level had dropped rapidly. For women this often happens w/ bad periods... but my cycles have been prettynormal, except for the last one that was exceptionally light... Today after the CT scan, I felt drugged... similar to the 'sensation' you get just b-4 a surgery... while in your room they give you an injection that makes you kind of out of it, but still awake... Then they put you on the gurney and wheel you around all the coridores in the hospital to the OR... Maybe 1 step above a twilight sleep. I came home and slept for 3 hours. been up for 3 now and am feeling really groggy again. Can anyone tell me, is iron loss a common symptom of this SSRI stuff, or is this something else that I'm dealing w/? Thanks, Rhonda Date: Thu Apr 5, 2001 3:17pm Response1: Hi Rhonda I'm sorry you're having a really bad day today. Just hang in there - it will get better. I get funny tingley sensations like what you prescribed but I have always associated mine with the seizures that developed whilst I was on Prozac. The help line that I am involved with has also had a lot of people reporting these type symptoms in relation to their SSRIs and I can assure you that it is quite common even if the doctors won't admit it. I'd be very surprised if the scan does show anything up because what we usually find is that they don't show anything up when it's a drug induced effect. Prozac can also cause havoc with the blood (Look at the prescribing information given by the drug companies to the doctors as opposed to the patient information leaflets which are very economical with the truth). If you have trouble obtaining this and would like copies, send me your address to my private email and I will gladly send you the information, although it may take a while as I am unable to go out of the house at the moment as I'm having a bad time with seizures. I developed abnormal bleeding whilst I was on Prozac and this worsened during withdrawal and I'm still not right yet over three years after becoming completely drug free. I presume that it will be similar with any of the SSRIs. Try and get a lot of iron with your diet as that should help. Iron can be found in:- Nuts, especially pistachio Wheat products such as bran Wheatgerm Pumpkin seeds Legumes, especially aduki beans and soybeans Kidney and haricot beans Sesame seeds Sunflower seeds Dried peaches Tofu Vegetables, especially courgettes Cabbage Guiness I know that some meat products are rich in iron but as I am vegetarian, I wouldn't have a clue where to start and I wouldn't want to give you any wrong information. Also, if you can, try to stick to an organic diet as much as possible. My alternative therapist said that these drugs make people particularly sensitive to the chemicals in foods. Hope this helps. Let us know how you get on and I hope you are feeling better soon. Ramo Date: Thu Apr 5, 2001 12:55pm Response2: Hi Rhonda. I had weird problems with taking Tylenol or any over the counter pain medicine. I would almost go into a day long asthma attack, and I've never had asthma before. I haven't touched any kind of medicine since I stopped taking the junk. Which SSRI were you on? How long? The weird head tingles, etc. that you are experiencing are normal for withdrawal. I am now at 24 weeks drug-free and I had been cruising along pretty well up until 2 weeks ago. I had a lot of emotional junk going on in my life and I guess it helped contribute to the setback I've now been having. Last night for example, I went to my chiropractor, something that in the early days of withdrawal was a great relief to me, but last night I couldn't wait to get out of there! I had so much anxiety and whenever anyone touched me, I wanted to jump out of my skin. When I was driving home I just felt "strange", out of it, Twilight Zone time. This morning I woke up with that intense pressure in the middle of my brain. It's like someone is squeezing my brain. I am also trembling and shaking like a leaf. I just hope that no one here at work notices. I have no idea how I managed to drive here this morning. How often do these setbacks happen? My mental state is really shaky right not, because I HAD been doing so well and now this. Any suggestions, guys? Take care, Robin Date: Thu Apr 5, 2001 2:56pm Response3: O my gosh, I had the facial numbness for a month or so, it was awful! the only way i could describe it was like getting hit in the face with a handball, there is also someone on the prozac survivor who also had this, hugs, Cynthia Date: Thu Apr 5, 2001 3:16pm Response4: If an SSRI drug wasn't involved, wouldn't this be a sign of a stroke??? I have heard this complaint over and over again, and I think it's time to find out why this happens. Has anyone talked to their doctor about this? It's a known fact that Paxil CAN cause hemorrhagic brain bleeds, but that is a MASSIVE stroke. I'm wondering about "little strokes" or "silent strokes." What do the doctors say about this facial numbness? Trisha Date: Thu Apr 5, 2001 9:48pm I have been on Celexa since August... been mostly at 20mgs until a week ago yesterday when Dr. jerked me off cold turkey... he weanted me off cold turkey for 2 weeks to see if the symptoms I was having were AD related.... He put me back on 3 days later and now can't decide how much he wants me on... Last Sat... he told me he wanted me on 20 again... then when I called him about the facial numbness he told me to cut back to 10 mg... Told H today when he called in the results of the CT scan... he wants me on 10 through the weekend, the back up to 20... and he wants me to stay on it for at least 3 more months?????? When asked why 3 more months, he said while we are trying to figure out why she is having all these symptoms, we don't want to change too many variables. The good news is he is sending me to a neurlogist... April 23... CT scan did show everything normal like you predicted Ramo... When he calls about the blood work, I am going to ask him to refer me to a Dr. who deals more w/ AD's... I get the feeling that anyone who would jerk someone off cold turkey doesn't work with them much... The facial tingles have eased up quite a bit today... but the headaches and fatigue are extreme today. Thanks for your insights everyone! Rhonda