Antidepressants Blog

Andrew, aged twenty-nine, was prescribed Ativan eight years before for examination nerves. He was not sure why he carried on taking them. He had increased the dose twice during those eight years, but had not changed it during the past two years. He was then on 6 mg per day.

He complained to a friend (a dentist) that he had burning spinal pain, numbness, pins and needles in his limbs, and blurred vision. The friend said that it sounded like multiple sclerosis, and urged him to seek medical help. His doctor sent him to a neurologist who said he could find nothing wrong.

The doctor and neurologist suggested a holiday. During Andrew’s second miserable week, he saw a report in a local paper about a support group for people having trouble with tranquillizers. It was explained to him by the group that his body had become accustomed to the drugs, and that he was having withdrawal symptoms, even though he was still taking the tablets.

Three months after complete withdrawal, the spinal pain and other symptoms had disappeared. He made a weekly telephone call to the support group for reassurance when he felt down, or had the occasional panic attack. He cut down on coffee and cigarettes, and ate a balanced diet with vitamin and mineral supplements. He feels that swimming helped him to recover, although he admits it was a tremendous effort at first to go to the local pool twice a week. He is now very well, and supporting (by telephone) several people in his area who are withdrawing.

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Sound

The hypersensitivity to sound causes many family arguments. The sufferer has to turn the sound on the television so low that no one else can hear it. Doorbells are often disconnected, and telephones covered with blankets or cushions. Sounds not normally noticed, like the click of a light switch, or a clock ticking, can be distressing to some.

Touch

Some people complain of pain when they are touched, or of discomfort when they touch a rough fabric. Others do not feel pain, but say everything feels odd—water feels like slime, objects that should feel rough feel smooth. For a time, one woman could not cook because everything felt like jelly. Even if the joint of meat was burnt black, it still felt like jelly when she put a knife in it.

Taste

Loss of taste or altered taste sensation is common. It may be a surprise to find chocolate tasting salty or something savoury tasting sweet, but it is only a temporary nuisance. Enormous numbers complain of a metallic taste in the mouth, others say it tastes bitter, sweet or creamy.

After several months of loss of taste, one woman was delighted when she could taste sprouts. Gradually the number of foods she could taste increased (so did her weight).

Smell

Some users report loss of smell, but others say even pleasant smells like perfume become unpleasant. One man had a smell like petrol in his nose for several weeks.

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This means using your imagination in a positive way to cure symptoms of depression (or any illness). You may wonder how this simple measure could help, but try it and see—it takes time for the body to react to the positive images but it does work. By imagining scenes where you look well and confident, you are stimulating the chemicals necessary for your well-being. A woman in hospital who was immobilized after an accident, made a remarkable recovery when she started using this technique. In most of her waking hours she imagined she was playing tennis and her body responded to these positive images.

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We all have a part of the brain that works to keep us normally restless and anxious at an acceptable level. During stress and illness, this mechanism may become over-stimulated, so we become over-anxious.

The body reacts to the chemicals poured into the bloodstream, and this gives us the distressing physical feelings which we associate with anxiety: heart beating wildly, stomach churning, shaking and sweating.

If your arm was injured and needed rest, you would put it in a sling. You can learn to give your exhausted nervous system the same kind of comfort and rest.

Dr Claire Weekes gives excellent advice in her books and tapes. In Self-help For Your Nerves, she asks you to accept your nervous illness, float through, and not fight against the physical symptoms and let time pass. This may sound difficult, particularly if you are coping with misery in your life. However, her advice is sound. If you fight your symptoms, you will further stimulate your over-sensitized nerves, and end up even more exhausted and ill. Accepting your fear may be the hardest thing you have ever done, but think of the rewards.

If you have a weak chest, catching a chill, or getting over-tired, could result in bronchitis. In the same way, if your nerves are over-strained, an unexpected gas bill or even a door banging may make you feel ill.

It could be that the anxiety feelings are too much for you to cope with so you retreat (although not consciously) to ‘not being you’. If this is very severe the sufferer may hallucinate, ‘seeing’ themselves or their faces. As anxiety decreases the feelings and hallucinations completely disappear.

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