Stress Center Peer Support

I'm new at this so bear with me.

I just got a book called, "Break your Prescribed Addiction" by Billie Jay Sahley. It talks about
how long term use of SSRI drugs further depletes an exhausted system. SSRI drugs raise the circulating serotonin in a artifical way and potentially causing permanent harm to your brain.

I attempted to wean myself off 10 mg. of Lexapro
with the prescribed GABA, 5-HTP but got hit with a serious bout of anxiety/panic attacks that don't allow me to sleep.

I plan to see a M.D. in another week (HMO's make your wait!).

I truly want to do this in a natural way.
To compound things my Dr. told me I'm in the peri-menopause phase (in my 40's now) and that's
throwing things off with giving me episodes of jitters.

I'm so tired of the anxiety.
I hopped around on the program because I wanted to hear everything important. But I know I should retrace my steps and start from the beginning. I just want to be anxiety free, happy, healthy and looking forward to good life again after an unsuccessful 10 year marriage to an abusive, addicted former husband. I'm divorced since been since 2002, a while. But I'm trying to get on my feet and find someone who is more deserving of me. Should I wait to switch to natural alternatives? Any suggestions.

Would love to hear from anyone who can help me.
It gets pretty lonely with this condition.
One of my favorite things to do though when I need it, is cuddle with my dog. She's a blessing. Smile.


God Bless all here going through this with me.

Just wanted to say hi. I really can't help. I was addicted to several meds incuding topamax and klonopin. I can't find the right combination for me now but know right now I need some medical help and even with it am sometimes almost suicidal. I ended a 11 year marriage to an emotionally and intimately closed off man 3 years ago. I married my husband now after a short dating period. He's a caregiver and been there to catch me for the most part. I am very lonely like this also. I stay at home with our baby and live 45 minutes out in the country. Thanks for sharing.

Hi Peacefulgirl,

I wanted to encourage you. I know sometimes it is necessary for some people to take meds- but if it is at all possible, it is probably better if we can learn the coping skills and maybe try to go the natural route (my personal opinion - no pressure here

I have not taken and do not take any meds (though I did take Lexapro for about 3 days once). I try to rely on things like Melatonin for help with sleep and calcium/magnesium supplements, and other natural things as needed.

Most of the time I don't need anything and just take Calcium/magnesium regularly. I have to say that doing the program faithfully has decreased the need for meds. I also attribute my faith to this as well.

Anyway, I hope you find what works for you. I think you're on the right track by going back and doing the program in the order it is given and really take your time with it. I know you'll find that it helps alot!

Blessings...

Hey Peacefulgirl, I did the same thing as you in the beginning with the program. I skipped ahead to what I thought I needed help with at the time. I have been taking a natural product for the past 3 months. It's a powder shake which is healthy food for your cells. I am weaning myself off my meds but last night needed anxiety med cuz I was having much anxiety. I listened to the relaxation CD over and over. No matter where we are in the program I still can have bad days. We all can and must accept that. Since finishing the program, I don't do it consistently now. I have the spiritual workbook and started out good but am on lesson 5 and sloughing off. Consistency is not one of my traits. Well I gotta keep on and so do you. Get back to the lesson you're supposed to be on and see it thru. If you're interested in knowing more about the product I'm on you can PM me. I so know what you mean about cuddling with your dog. Mine is a godsend to me and when I'm depressed and sometimes lay on the floor crying he comes and licks my tears. Sometimes he'll keep on till I start laughing. It's like a touch of God's love thru my pet.

Peacefulgirl,
Yes, I have heard the exact same things about SSRI's (and other meds- Nexium, for one, depletes your body of calcium and/or makes it more difficult for your body to absorb). I have also read that after an extended amount of time on one Rx, your body can start to mimic symptoms of what that very drug is supposed to eliminate.

I'm currently on a TON of drugs for stress-related issues, and like you, want off! Unfortunately, I don't know where to begin. I started taking supplements to help taper, but developed acid reflux and had to stop. Two of the supplements that I used (and my siblings currently take them) are passion flower for anxiety and tart cherries for sleep; you can also use a combination of the two for moderate/severe insomnia. I found this information and these products at <A HREF="http://www.theroadback.org" TARGET=_blank>www.theroadback.org</A>. The vitamins are a little $$$ but are pharmacutical quality (both worked well for me, and I've been on anti-anxiety meds for nearly 9 years!).

I also did the same as you with the program. For the first couple weeks I tried to complete everything as planned but it became all-consuming and I got overwhelmed. Someone posted a suggestion to simply listen to all the cd's (one per week) and post daily, which is what I've done. Like you, I've now listened to all and am ready to go back and complete the workbook. I still don't plan on keeping a journal (I do PLENTY of writing with my job!) and I've always read for pleasure, but I'm going to try and be more faithful with daily devotionals. (I like Max Lucado; have you heard of him? My friend also gave me a really great book called Simple Abundance- A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach. It's not entirely related to religion but also focused around history, literature, philosophy, famous people... plus, the passages are only a page long!).

Like you, I would really appreciate hearing from someone who's successfully gone the natural route. I posted about this earlier, and didn't really hear much (?). I'm also curious about your experience with GABA, 5-HTP.

Hope to hear from you soon,
fischee

I LOVE to cuddle with my dog, too! ;*)

The slower you wean the better from what I have experienced. The best natual approach for me was joining a cbt group and learning how to counter my thoughts in the tea forms. They teach how to live in the moment and get out of your head where anxiety gets the best of us.

I think slower is best. CBT is what got me better and the TEA forms work great if you dedicate yourself to working on them. Life is a lot more fun to live when you are in it rather than watching it and surviving each moment.

Hey I am also new here but I have and am trying a natural herbal alternative right now. I have been on Lexapro, Zoloft, and a few others with little or no success. It turns out that I have a hormonal imbalance and there is hope. I have found a program called Women to Women where you can get specific things to relieve your symptoms. When I began taking them there were side effects but after a while maybe a week or two I actually started feeling better. Then of course I got lazy and stopped taking them so I am back to square one again. I plan on being more consistent this time. The program is set up great with lots of help along the way. There are even people to talk to however I've been chicken and not done that step yet. They send you a book for nutrition and help you to deal with what you need to eat in order to feel better. I have to give up my favorite things: chocolate and caffinee but if it will make me feel better I figured anything is worth it. It is very afforadable too about $165 for a three month supply of supplements. Try it and see. They have a web site also I can't find the address now but just google it. I hope that helps!

I still don't plan on keeping a journal (I do PLENTY of writing with my job!)

Fischee,

In my opinion, journaling is a requirement for getting better, not an option. You have no idea how powerful jouraling can be. It pulled me out of severe clinical depression which caused a major reduction in the amount of meds I now take and got me back onto the workforce for a while.

Our thoughts create our feelings. Journling our negative thoughts, dealing with them, and coming up with replacement thoughts has the power to change the chemical reactions in your brain, take away the old emotions of fear, and enable you to recover.

Like the workbooks says, "We are creatures of habit, we don't break habits wtih knowledge and information alone-practice is essential." Trust that these folks know what they are doing and follow the program as prescribed. That doesn't mean to get overwhlemed. This program has been put together and refined over years through experience and feed back.

Thoughts create emotions. Getting the old thoughts on paper and finding new ones to replace them helps reprogram our brain which reprograms our emotions and greatly facilitates our recovery.

Journaling is vital and if you can lift the thoughts that contain the thinking errors that cause your anxiety and depression from your journal and counter them in a TEA form it will speed up your progress even more