i cant do this anymore...

[daydreamer2314]

hi everyone,
i had been on 10mg paxil since the age of 13 and stayed on it for 7 yrs.
i had trouble coming off and the doctor prescribed a low dose of klonopin to help ease the withdrawals(big mistake). to make the story short i weaned off paxil in 2 months and the doctor never informed me to wean off klonopin that i took daily for 3 months, so i pretty much got off Klonopin within a week. its been 19 months and i havent been able to get more than 3 hrs of sleep.if im lucky sometimes i get 4 or 5 which is not often and i NEVER HAD SLEEPING PROBLEMS BEFORE, this all happend once i got off the meds especially the klonopin. im only 21 and this has been so hard on me i feel as though im going to die if i dont start sleeping soon. all i do is cry all the time its been hard on all my friends and theyre all losing patience with me especially my family nobody understand why im not sleeping. i barely ever get that drowsy feeling and i have no idea what these meds did to my poor brain.
i did get my neurotransmitters tested and my serotonin and gaba levels were very low. and the glutamate was high as well as dopamine.
if anyone can give me advice on what i can take or do to help my situation or know of any good doctors in the los angeles area i would really apreciate it . thank you

i did get my neurotransmitters tested and my serotonin and gaba levels were very low. and the glutamate was high as well as dopamine.

Where did you get your neurotranmitters tested? I wasn't aware of any tests or what would be considered high or low, but that is tellin you something right there. If you have medical proof you have low serotonin and gaba then you need something to fix it.

Did your doc that tested you propose a way to increase the levels? i am assuming since you are on this site your no longer want to take SSRIs or Benzos. There are suppliments like 5 HTP for serotonin and there is a bunch of GABA supps, you find alot of stuff on GABA in bodybuilding forums. The problem with supps is they are not monitored by the FDA and there are so many conlicting reports if any of them actually cross the blood brain barrier. I guess since you have a way to get tested you can try some suppliments and see if your levels go up.

Please give me the details on the transmitter testing, I would be very interested in getting mine tested.

[pax80]

there's a med called socian / solian in europe that works on dopamine and has very little side effects. do some research on it. I don't think it's available in the states...

[Shane24]

I've never heard of low seretonin and neurotransmitters. i don't know what that means, can anyone explain this to me, i'd like to know if mine is low

[scotty]

Originally Posted by daydreamer2314

i did get my neurotransmitters tested and my serotonin and gaba levels were very low. and the glutamate was high as well as dopamine.

Brain serotonin is not able to be tested for. Platelet serotonin can be, but doesn't reflect the level of serotonin in the brain.
In withdrawal we can "assume" that serotonin is low due to the mechanism of ssri's. Attempting to raise that level artificially puts you back in the same situation that ssri's created.
Leaving your brain to heal and stabilize the neurotransmitters is the only way to full recovery. They will level out given enough time.

[scotty]

If you could test for serotonin the science behind ssri use would be confirmed and not the "theory" that it is.

[Rachelina]

So sorry you are going through this. You tapered off both Paxil and Klonopin much too fast and it sounds like you are having prolonged withdrawal from both of them. Everything you are feeling, including the insomnia, is totally normal in your situation.

As far as what to take, many of us on here take magnesium for anxiety and fish oil for depression, so you could give those a try. Some people take melatonin for insomnia but I don't know much about that. The main thing though is time. Your brain knows how to heal itself; you just need to be patient with yourself and give it lots of time.

[daydreamer2314]

i got my neurotransmitters tested by ****************they take a urine sample to the lab and send your results in 2 weeks. im trying to raise my serotonin by taking zenbev its all natural pumpkin seed that contains 44mg in each scoop at times it helps other times its useless. i just hope my brain learns to sleep again cause i am completely exhausted to the point where im homebound pretty much everyday.

[scotty]

Originally Posted by daydreamer2314

i got my neurotransmitters tested by *********************they take a urine sample to the lab and send your results in 2 weeks. im trying to raise my serotonin by taking zenbev its all natural pumpkin seed that contains 44mg in each scoop at times it helps other times its useless. i just hope my brain learns to sleep again cause i am completely exhausted to the point where im homebound pretty much everyday.

This is the biggest scam out there. Anyone who is "testing" urine and then selling you something to fix what "they" found out in the testing is scamming. This is NOT legitimate medical testing

I've removed the commercial link. And zenbev is tryptophan...available at any store and a much lower cost.Tryptophan should never be taken in combination with an ssri.

[Songbird]

As Scotty said, it takes time for the brain to rebalance itself, time is the biggest healer. The brain has an amazing ability to heal, but it is not quick about it!

Have a look in the "Methods of Wellbeing" section, as some people have found supplements that help, for example, magnesium, taurine, valerian, melatonin, etc. Some people have reported good results with undenatured whey protein. Unfortunately it is trial and error as to which may work for you, as everyone is different and some people can be very sensitive to supplements post-withdrawal.

Also some people have tried other treatments such as acupuncture. You can also use relaxation techniques, breathing exercises, yoga, meditation, etc. which can be very beneficial.

There are lots of ideas of things you can look into, unfortunately there are no easy answers, everyone has to figure out their own individual path through this. It is difficult when people close to you don't understand, but at least here we do understand.

[granturissimus]

daydreamer maybe you could get on an antipsychotic like seroquel to make you sleep. i too lost my ability to sleep thanks to SSRIs, and i can only sleep when i take an antipychotic... they are very sedating, but they just sedate me enough to sleep. my sleep is still problematic but its much better than nothing. others will prolly advise you not to get on more drugs, but i know how sleep problems can suck, and antipsychotics are not evil like SSRIs or benzos.

[scotty]

Originally Posted by granturissimus

and antipsychotics are not evil like SSRIs or benzos.

I feel like the voice of doom, but antipsychotics have a worse side effect profile and potential permanent effects. Diabetes and tardive dyskinesia are just two of the potential permanent risks of antipsychotics.

The use of seroquel for sleep is using a drug for it's side effects, not it's intended effect, which is never a good thing. Seroquel is "approved" for schizophrenia and bipolar, not for sleep.

[Mixter]

Phenergan is ok for sleep and does not damage so bad as the antipsychotic.

I know how you feel. I feel the same now.

I wish I had known the truth. Now it is much more difficult. Years of pain. For nothing. I just feel like ending it. But I cant. I try every day to go on. It is just too much for me sometimes. With the move.

[runtime89]

antipsychotics are not evil like SSRIs or benzos.

I cringed reading that.

My family has experience with tons of psych drugs, from SSRIs to benzos to antipsychotics to lamictal to lithium... and trust me, antipsychotics are the worst of them all. Antipsychotics caused permanent facial twitches in my dad, which they even acknowledge in the commercials for them. They can cause a huge range of permanent problems, diabetes being the most well-publicized one.

The death toll from antipsychotics is huge and mounting, which doesn't even take into account the mind toll. Antipsychotics like Abilify, Seroquel, Risperdal, etc. are big Pharma's new Prozac. Stay away from them at all costs, I say.

[Songbird]

I took Seroquel for sleep for a few months, it gave me muscle twitches which I still have four months after finishing with it. SSRIs, benzos, anti-psychotics, to me they are all risky.

[granturissimus]

antipsychotics are demons too... ic

[alivehope]

I can feel you guys, I wish GSK liars experience withdrawal, so they come up with something to treat the mess their meds create.

[Zant808]

I would say that the majority of my brain damage was caused by the antipsychotics and mood stabilizers I was given. I would say the biggest offenders were Zyprexa and Depakote.