Am I going through withdrawal? Please help me, I'm miserable...

hissyfit101 · 11-14-2007, 08:16 PM

Hi. This is my first time posting on here...So here it goes!
I had been on 75mg of Anafranil for about 2 months. It wasn't helping me and I was having some bad side effects so my doctor decided to change my meds and start me on an MAOI. I tapered the Anafranil to 50mg for a week and then 25mg for a day or so. Because I was feeling so depressed and suicidal, my doctor wanted me to just stop taking it so I could be ready to take the MAOI which required me to have everything out of my system. Now, it's been almost 2 weeks with nothing in me and I feel constant nausea. Horrible headaches. Occasional vomiting. I stayed home from work because I felt so sick. When I asked my doctor, she said I shouldn't still be feeling sick from withdrawal because my dose was so low. She said it could be the flu. If so, this is the longest flu of my life. I don't know what to do. I have an appointment with an internist, but I'm doubting they will be able to do anything for me. Does anyone else have any withdrawal experience with ananfranil or another tricyclic? Was my dose so low that I shouldn't be experiencing this physical reaction? I'm so confused as to what's happening to my body. I can't even evaluate how I feel without any antidepressant in my system (for the 2nd time in 10 years) because I feel so physically crappy. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

Jenn4508 · 11-14-2007, 08:41 PM

hissyfit101 - Sorry for all the pain you are going through both physically and mentally... I had to go off of my meds for BiPolar for two weeks so I could start a new one.... I have not found one yet that works in over a year... I have just been crying everyday... I started my new med about a week ago and am very aggitated on a very low dose, severe headaches and can't eat. I am hoping it will go away as time goes on. I know that as the dose increases in another week and then two weeks after that, that there is the possibility that the same thing can continue...

Can your doctor not give you anything for your anxiety because it sounds like you have quite a bit of that going on... I know my doc let me continue that. It sounds like to me your doc is just putting it off on something else, (the flu) and if that was the case if they could have given you something for that in the first 48 hours to decrease the length of time of the flu.

When do you start your new med? What new med do they have you getting ready to take.... The least the doc could have done is give you something for the nausea, like phenergan or something.

Please let us know how you are doing, we care... Jenn

hissyfit101 · 11-14-2007, 09:10 PM

Jenn-
Thanks so much for your response. I'm sorry to hear that you are dealing with med problems as well. I hope that your new medication will start to work for you. It's so frustrating when physical side effects can detract from any possible benefit that a medication has to offer. It's all such a guessing game, isn't it?
Originally she wanted me to take Parnate, but after reading everything about the interactions, I kinda backed out of that choice. I have very picky and weird eating habits, so it just sounded like it would make an already complicated situation even more so. So now I am going to try Emsam ( the MAOI patch ) which at the lowest dose doesn't require any dietary restrictions. But I have been reluctant to start that. I have been on some kind of medication (so many different ones!) for the past 10 years and I guess I just want to know what my mind and body feel like without anything in my system. I'm not sure what I'm expecting, but I just feel like I need to know what I am like "au naturel" after all these years. And if it gets to the point where I am suffering even more, I will start the Emsam. I honestly wasn't expecting the worst part of being off the meds to be the physical feeling. I guess I feel like my doctor doesn't seem to know for sure what's happening to me and I need to know for sure. That's why I'm here.
As far as anxiety meds, I have some Xanax I could take, but it just knocks me out. It's the nausea that is the worst problem for me right now.

Kiasmama · 11-14-2007, 10:46 PM

LOL@ docs and "you shouldn't be" I think it's certainly plausible that you are still feeling withdrawal. Your body has to get back to normal. Just because the drug is out of your system, doesn't mean the body is back working normally. I hope you get sorted out soon. I know it's a pain. Good luck.