• The Dark Side 💕 Welcome Guest 💕
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    Notable Threads Urgent Hotlines
    Bereavement Mindfulness
    Suicide Support Anger Management
  • TDS Moderators: AlphaMethylPhenyl | paranoid android

Brain damage, Lexapro withdrawals, and more

B

beverage enjoyer

Greenlighter
Joined
Jan 20, 2011
Messages
4
I'm a 21 year old male, and I think I have severely fucked up my brain, and life. I've been a chronic binge drinker since I was about 16/17, and I've noticed my short term memory has been abysmal for a fair while, but I think ecstasy and amphetamines also contributed to this. I was able to deal with my short term memory loss. It was very irritating, but I have always considered myself very intelligent (believe it or not), and I still had the brain power to function very well.

HOWEVER, on NYE (20 days ago), I went and got drunk. I usually get very drunk, and I wasn't any more or less drunk than a typical night out. However, I guess I must have really fucked something in my brain up that night, seeing as the foggy, spaced out, cloudy feeling I woke up with extended long past my hangover. Since then I struggle with complex reasoning (sometimes even simple reasoning), terrible memory problems, communicating, dealing with stress, etc. I started taking Omega-3 fish oil, in hopes that it would help my brain (too little too late probably), but I'm still retarded.

However (this is were two issues merge), I have been on Lexapro 15 mg for over a year, and exactly one week ago I stopped cold turkey. I have been feeling constantly dizzy, confused, spaced out, emotionless, numb and just plain stupid. I am aware that stopping cold turkey can fuck with your head quite badly. But I am now confused as to what effects are the brain damage, and which are the Lexapro withdrawals. I guess the two combined are making my brain really, really odd at the moment.

I don't exactly have any specific questions at the moment. I guess I would just like to hear if anybody else has experienced anything similar to this. I've been reading up on ARBI (alcohol related brain impairments), and some sites say that it usually permanent. So in other words I've fucked up my life.

Also, I am trying to quit alcohol completely. I've been out a couple of times since my brain has become fucked, and I've managed to only have a few drinks (which is insane for me). I'm trying to stop 100%.

Sorry if this is poorly written, I'm really stupid now.
 
If I were you bro, I would stop using all drugs including booze and weed, and concentrate on eating a balanced, nutritious diet, and exercising.
 
Yes, I am looking to quit drinking entirely. I would appreciate it if anybody who has experienced anything similar to my story posted in this thread.
 
Could this be a combination of lexapro withdrawals and whatever symptoms lexapro was treating returning?

I'm no expert, but isn't it possible? You might very well have done damage to your brain with your chronic drinking, but is it really possible to have such serious damage from one drinking session till the next?
 
mukaki said:
Could this be a combination of lexapro withdrawals and whatever symptoms lexapro was treating returning?
Click to expand...

This was my first thought upon reading the OP. Just stopping lexapro isn't recommended, and it's best if you ween off of it gradually, or you can end up with some really strange side effects. I took celexa (citalopram, VERY similar to lexapro which is escitalopram) for close to 2 years and had some weirdness even after tapering off of it. I think the post I quoted is probably what is most likely going on --- even with years of binge drinking and some other drug use, you are only 21 and young enough for your brain to repair itself, more easily than someone much older than you who has abused various drugs for longer.

Also, a lot of the drugs you were playing with can seriously screw with your head while on an SSRI. I've never taken MDMA, but any sort of amp didn't feel quite right and alcohol made me sick and close to suicidal. Eating healthy and staying away from substance abuse for a while is probably your best shot at the moment --- the SSRI withdrawal weirdness can go on for quite a while, it's been about 4-5 months off now and I'm still experiencing some stuff like an extremely low libido.
 
Your post was well-written, coherent, and with good punctuation and no spelling mistakes. Clearly your brain is still functioning at a fairly high level.

It sounds to me like you've been considering the side-effects of certain of your habits for a little while now, perhaps growing increasingly worried. You've begun interpreting phenomena that may have been with you for a while as new symptoms.

Your concerns about the long-term effects are warranted. However, since you're young, I would guess that if you took steps now to stop, you would recover.

You should see a doctor to assess whether something really did happen that night - and to assist you in recovering. This isn't something you'll be able to answer for yourself by research on the internet.

Omega-3 isn't a magical nutrient that can replace other vitamins and minerals. Eat regular, balanced meals, on a consistent basis.

Talk to your doctor about all of this, and take what he says seriously.

Be very specific, and very realistic, when you make plans for changing habits. Don't simply say to yourself, for instance, "I'll see a doctor at some point." Say, "I will call and make an appointment to see a doctor now, and I will make the appointment." Don't say "I'll eat better." Say "For breakfast I'll have some orange juice, milk, and cereal, for lunch I'll have xyz, and for dinner I'll have abc."

You have to be really specific about the ways you're going to change. It's the difference between actually doing something, and just wishing that you would do something. The bridge between the two is specificity.

Good luck, and I think you have reason to be optimistic.
 
ssri withdrawals can be a bitch and cold turkey especially so which is why you feel so off right now

it would be impossible at this point to tell you what aspects of this are withdrawal and which are "you"

it can take 6-18 months for people to recover fully from ssri withdrawal

if you want to know how much damage you have done you gotta stay sober for about for that long to see your new baseline
 
Yes withdrawals are a bitch. I feel like shit and find myself treating people close to me like shit. I just want to realise the actual scope of the damage.

Are there any tests that would reveal the extent of te damage, such as a CT scan or something?
 
Hey thanks alot for that link. That's very worrying to me, but at least it suggests some form of recovery may be possible. Time for that one year abstinence period. I've kept sober from
alcohol, but I do smoke marijuana about once a week, which is something I also want to cut out along with cigarettes (easier said than done.)

I just realised how many brackets I use in the first post. That can't be good. Certainly not.
 
Some people just write better or rather think they write more clearly with brackets. I do it all the time :)

It's good that you're not as frightened anymore.

Marijuana and cigarettes are not known for causing brain damage (they cause other kinds of damage), but if you're feeling spaced, then it might be time to quit the MJ.
 
I'm currently in your position minus the lexapro withdrawals but I am taking it still though. The best way to explain your situation is that when coming off lexapro or if you skip it for a few days is that the brain does exactly what you've specified.

When coming off Lexapro you're meant to do it over a few weeks or perhaps even 2 months considering you've been taking it for so long. So maybe cut down to 10mg for 3 weeks then 5mg for 3 weeks and then 2.5 for 2 weeks and then take 2.5mg every second day. This is mainly due to your body being used to intaking the meds daily thus it now needs to retrain itself to go without it.

I have had this issue before where I skipped taking the meds for 3 - 4 days and then would also endure extreme foginess as well as being spaced out etc.

You are still young and the brain can heal itself over time. As others have suggested eat healthy, drink less. More or less A healthy body is a healthy mind.

All the best with it all and let us know what the outcome is.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top