Hi, I'm Catina! I was a member of Surviving Antidepressants and served as a Peer Mentor.

I started taking psychiatric drugs back in 1994 for severe PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder) because I was under the impression I had "low" serotonin. I have a complex history of many cold drug switches and going on and off different ones with no knowledge that it could do me any harm. When I finally reached menopause and the PMDD was no longer an issue, I began my first attempt to withdraw from the two drugs I was taking at the time - Prozac and Trazodone - and ended up in a psychiatric facility due to severe withdrawal symptoms. I had no knowledge about proper tapering or withdrawal effects, and no doctor ever informed me. I promptly restarted back again on the two drugs. After some time passed and I was experiencing anxiety - which in hindsight was from my failed taper - I asked my doctor to try Effexor as it was an antidepressant I hadn't tried before. BIG MISTAKE! I didn't realize what could happen if you missed a dose, which is what happened to me in October 2019. I experienced severe withdrawal symptoms for three months and went through utter hell. It was then that my eyes were finally opened to the dangers of these drugs and I knew I had to break free once and for all. Surprisingly enough, I was able to taper off lorazepam (Ativan) without any major issues. However, tapering an antidepressant has proved to be the most challenging thing I've ever endured. I'm currently taking Trazodone and Venlafaxine, the latter of which I have been trying to taper since March 2020. My nervous system is very sensitized and dysregulated due to decades of psych drug use, cold switches, failed tapers, and kindling. Hopefully one day I'll be able to write my success story about how I won my battle against chemical neurotoxins. My Thread at Surviving Antidepressants: https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forums/topic/25810-catina7-effexor-withdrawal-destabilized-central-nervous-system/