Hello everyone...just found this fantastic site which has given me some hope. I will try to make this quick...
On lexapro for ~5years for depression and social anxiety, doctor reduced to 15mg due to excess fatigue - had some minor DPDR, so he tapered me off - 10mg first week, 5mg second, 0mg after...immediate intense DPDR, memory loss, fatigue. One week later, went back on 20mg and held for 2 and a half months. NO relief from DPDR or significant fatigue. Doc added wellbutrin, only took for week and noticed nothing so stopped taking it. He then switched me to celexa, which I am now on 17.5mg for ~2 months, with still no relief of DPDR and significant fatigue.
So it has been over a year that I have been tapering down slowly and having constant dPDR and fatigue, memory loss, etc. Have seen countless docs, one said i have lyme (tests were negative), other said depression coming back, others just want to add harder medications. The only other thing that occured around the time I began my taper was two weekends in a row of heavy drinking and blacking out. It should be noted I sleep 10 hours a day and am immensely tired throughout my day...
I am starting CBT next month, I eat very healthy, i exercise 4-5days/week. I have stopped alcohol/weed. I have been thinking over the past year that this is a result of the fast taper off AD, but i am beginning to question things.
I am desperate for any advice...should I try another AD? Is this even AD related? Is it relapse depression (I never had DPDR prior to the SSRI or while on it)? Could it be a side effect of the AD and I should taper off quickly? Any nootropics to try? just keep coming back to the fact that I was 100% fine until my doc llowered my dosage, at which point I began the DPDR. I even went back to my initial dosage of 20mg for 2 and a half months, with no relief whatsoever.
Any advice is greatly appreciated..I have a doctors appt at some point next month and would like to figure out the best option...