~He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has~ Epictetus
I'm not into violence against humans, so if I had a dummy right now, I'd be strangling it. Nausea, "electric zaps" in head, dizziness, headache, insomnia, fatigue, loss of appetite, sweating, fever, chills, depression, anxiety, irritability, aggression, vertigo, blurred vision and vivid dreams. This is a list of withdrawal symptoms from Paxil that I've been experiencing in the last week. It's aggravatingly annoying. I had less severe symptoms when I went on the drug in the first place for PTSD back in November during inpatient treatment. I've been taking 20 mg a day for the last couple months.
I've experienced withdrawals from anti-depressants, pain meds and alcohol before when I stopped taking everything prior to rehab, but I was on so many different drugs that I didn't know which withdrawal symptom was connected to which drug. Since I was on only one drug this time, I think all the worst withdrawal symptoms that I experienced at that time were ironically from the anti-depressants. When I was in rehab, taking Paxil was the best option as I didn't have access to buying vitamins and minerals. Since I've been out, I've decided that the best option for my body is to do natural healing. When I tell people this, I sometimes feel guilty or crazy because it's so contrary to Western medicine. I feel like people think I'm practicing witchcraft or alternative crazy stuff. It's kind of too bad and a bit sad. I was born into a culture that practices Eastern medicine which focuses on healing the soul as well as the body. It's been their way for thousands of years, but we're so into quick fixes here.
I'm not advocating not taking medication. If a combination of diet, exercise, vitamins, minerals and other natural things don't work for me then I'll go back to taking anti-depressants or whatever is needed. My chiro who happens to be a fellow adopted Korean believes in natural and holistic healing, too, so she gave me a list of options, I'll be taking vitamins and minerals daily. Thankfully, they're yummy chewable ones. I will also be taking Fish Oil which helps with depression and anxiety, preventing cancer, promoting heart health and prevention of Alzheimer's and Parkinsin's Disease. She ordered me a bottle that doesn't make your burps and farts smell like fish. Apparently, that's a common problem. Since I have roommates, I will be respectful in order to avoid eviction. She also recommended 5-HTP which is a natural supplement to help with minor depression and it's also known to help control appetite, insomnia, mood and fibromyalgia. Also, I've completely cut out caffeine in the last few days. Caffeine reduces serotonin which is the "happy messenger" in the brain. I learned in treatment that it can take the brain about 3 hours to recoup the serotonin levels lost by ingesting caffeine. How do most of us start out the day? It may explain a lot about stress.
So, gratitude. We talked about that at Celebrate Recovery tonight. As I wrap this up quickly because I'm feeling more nauseous, I'm happy that all of the support programs place an emphasis on gratitude. I'm thankful for the toilet that I'm about to puke in, Kleenex for wiping my tears, friends for making me laugh, my electric blanket for my tummy, a comfy bed, pilllows, furnaces, warm bath, sleep...Ok, tummy is grumbling and my head is zapping, gotta go. Night!
I'm not into violence against humans, so if I had a dummy right now, I'd be strangling it. Nausea, "electric zaps" in head, dizziness, headache, insomnia, fatigue, loss of appetite, sweating, fever, chills, depression, anxiety, irritability, aggression, vertigo, blurred vision and vivid dreams. This is a list of withdrawal symptoms from Paxil that I've been experiencing in the last week. It's aggravatingly annoying. I had less severe symptoms when I went on the drug in the first place for PTSD back in November during inpatient treatment. I've been taking 20 mg a day for the last couple months.
I've experienced withdrawals from anti-depressants, pain meds and alcohol before when I stopped taking everything prior to rehab, but I was on so many different drugs that I didn't know which withdrawal symptom was connected to which drug. Since I was on only one drug this time, I think all the worst withdrawal symptoms that I experienced at that time were ironically from the anti-depressants. When I was in rehab, taking Paxil was the best option as I didn't have access to buying vitamins and minerals. Since I've been out, I've decided that the best option for my body is to do natural healing. When I tell people this, I sometimes feel guilty or crazy because it's so contrary to Western medicine. I feel like people think I'm practicing witchcraft or alternative crazy stuff. It's kind of too bad and a bit sad. I was born into a culture that practices Eastern medicine which focuses on healing the soul as well as the body. It's been their way for thousands of years, but we're so into quick fixes here.
I'm not advocating not taking medication. If a combination of diet, exercise, vitamins, minerals and other natural things don't work for me then I'll go back to taking anti-depressants or whatever is needed. My chiro who happens to be a fellow adopted Korean believes in natural and holistic healing, too, so she gave me a list of options, I'll be taking vitamins and minerals daily. Thankfully, they're yummy chewable ones. I will also be taking Fish Oil which helps with depression and anxiety, preventing cancer, promoting heart health and prevention of Alzheimer's and Parkinsin's Disease. She ordered me a bottle that doesn't make your burps and farts smell like fish. Apparently, that's a common problem. Since I have roommates, I will be respectful in order to avoid eviction. She also recommended 5-HTP which is a natural supplement to help with minor depression and it's also known to help control appetite, insomnia, mood and fibromyalgia. Also, I've completely cut out caffeine in the last few days. Caffeine reduces serotonin which is the "happy messenger" in the brain. I learned in treatment that it can take the brain about 3 hours to recoup the serotonin levels lost by ingesting caffeine. How do most of us start out the day? It may explain a lot about stress.
So, gratitude. We talked about that at Celebrate Recovery tonight. As I wrap this up quickly because I'm feeling more nauseous, I'm happy that all of the support programs place an emphasis on gratitude. I'm thankful for the toilet that I'm about to puke in, Kleenex for wiping my tears, friends for making me laugh, my electric blanket for my tummy, a comfy bed, pilllows, furnaces, warm bath, sleep...Ok, tummy is grumbling and my head is zapping, gotta go. Night!
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