History/Timeline Early In Life, I Suffered From Bad Motion Sickness

Question: History/Timeline

Early in life, I suffered from bad motion sickness. This mostly went away as I got older and would seldom have any of these issues.

At age 14 I was diagnosed with Migraine with Aura. I only experienced them roughly 1-2 times per year. The symptoms for these migraines included visual aura, one-sided numbness, head pain, and nausea/vomiting.

At the age of 20 I was diagnosed with Panic Disorder and was given Benzodiazepines along with an SSRI.

At the age of 29 I decided to slowly get off the Benzodiazepine. I should note at this point I suffered from a horrible Protracted Withdrawal Syndrome.

At age 33 I decided to slowly get off my SSRI (Cipralex). As I tapered the drug I started to notice an increased frequency of the symptoms stated below. At 6 months off the drug, they became more frequent and much more severe. I also developed a slew of sensitivities which are also stated below.

Current state, issue, and symptoms:
For the last two years, I have not been able to hold a job and have been hindered from living a normal life.

I get episodes of illness roughly 27 days per month. An average of 2 - 5 hours per day.

Symptoms during the episodes can include:
(Top 8 are most common)
-     Excessive yawning
-     Cognitive impairment (Finding words, Comprehending)
-     Motion Sickness feeling, leading to nausea.
-     Fatigue (not sleepy, just weak and feel the need to lay down)
-     Pain within head when head is shaken. (No head pain otherwise)
-     Fuzzy vision (words look slurred or distorted). *Vision tests are up to date
-     Confusion
-     Head Pressure
-     ------------------------------------------------
-     Dizziness
-     Upper jaw, teeth and face pressure
-     Off-Balance
-     Slurred Speech
-     Cold/tingling tongue
-     Increased urge to urinate

About twice a month I am woken out of my sleep within 1 to 1.5 hours of falling asleep. With the following symptoms:
-     Cold patches
-     Tingling
-     Numb limbs, usually only one but have had both arms numb.
-     Waves of odd sensations traveling through the body.
-     Confusion
-     A feeling of not enough blood flow to my brain (as odd as that sounds)
-     Panic
-     Visual distortions

Sensitivities that bring on symptoms:
-     Driving or being in a vehicle for more than 15-30min
-     Scrolling the internet on a phone or computer. *Symptoms start within minutes.
-     Various foods which I was never sensitive to before (I have lost 50lb due to forced diet changes)
-     Bright Light
-     Strong Odors, mainly chemical in nature such as cleaners or perfume
-     Stress
-     Caffeine
-     Alcohol
-     Lack of sleep or disrupted sleep patterns.
- Physical Exertion

Questions
I am hoping you can shed some light on what I am experiencing. Also, the best form of preventative treatment. Diet and lifestyle changes don’t seem to be enough on their own.

I greatly appreciate your help,


Yannick Harwood

History/Timeline

Early in life, I suffered from bad motion sickness. This mostly went away as I got older and would seldom have any of these issues.

At age 14 I was diagnosed with Migraine with Aura. I only experienced them roughly 1-2 times per year. The symptoms for these migraines included visual aura, one-sided numbness, head pain, and nausea/vomiting.

At the age of 20 I was diagnosed with Panic Disorder and was given Benzodiazepines along with an SSRI.

At the age of 29 I decided to slowly get off the Benzodiazepine. I should note at this point I suffered from a horrible Protracted Withdrawal Syndrome.

At age 33 I decided to slowly get off my SSRI (Cipralex). As I tapered the drug I started to notice an increased frequency of the symptoms stated below. At 6 months off the drug, they became more frequent and much more severe. I also developed a slew of sensitivities which are also stated below.

Current state, issue, and symptoms:
For the last two years, I have not been able to hold a job and have been hindered from living a normal life.

I get episodes of illness roughly 27 days per month. An average of 2 - 5 hours per day.

Symptoms during the episodes can include:
(Top 8 are most common)
-     Excessive yawning
-     Cognitive impairment (Finding words, Comprehending)
-     Motion Sickness feeling, leading to nausea.
-     Fatigue (not sleepy, just weak and feel the need to lay down)
-     Pain within head when head is shaken. (No head pain otherwise)
-     Fuzzy vision (words look slurred or distorted). *Vision tests are up to date
-     Confusion
-     Head Pressure
-     ------------------------------------------------
-     Dizziness
-     Upper jaw, teeth and face pressure
-     Off-Balance
-     Slurred Speech
-     Cold/tingling tongue
-     Increased urge to urinate

About twice a month I am woken out of my sleep within 1 to 1.5 hours of falling asleep. With the following symptoms:
-     Cold patches
-     Tingling
-     Numb limbs, usually only one but have had both arms numb.
-     Waves of odd sensations traveling through the body.
-     Confusion
-     A feeling of not enough blood flow to my brain (as odd as that sounds)
-     Panic
-     Visual distortions

Sensitivities that bring on symptoms:
-     Driving or being in a vehicle for more than 15-30min
-     Scrolling the internet on a phone or computer. *Symptoms start within minutes.
-     Various foods which I was never sensitive to before (I have lost 50lb due to forced diet changes)
-     Bright Light
-     Strong Odors, mainly chemical in nature such as cleaners or perfume
-     Stress
-     Caffeine
-     Alcohol
-     Lack of sleep or disrupted sleep patterns.
- Physical Exertion

Questions
I am hoping you can shed some light on what I am experiencing. Also, the best form of preventative treatment. Diet and lifestyle changes don’t seem to be enough on their own.

I greatly appreciate your help,


Yannick Harwood

Thank you for the response.

I would like to clarify that my withdrawal from Benzodiazepines was 6 years ago

Most of my current symptoms started after withdrawing the SSRI, two years ago.

It seems suspicious this would all start after stopping the SSRI. My understanding is that SSRI's can affect serotonin and can possibly be used to prevent migraine.

Based on my history with migraine and the circumstances surround the SSRI withdrawal I took note of the following:

A number of my current triggers and symptoms seem to coexist with ailments such as Silent Migraine and
Vestibular Migraine.

I was thinking of trying another SSRI to see if it would help.

What is your opinion related to Silent Migraines and Vestibular Migraine ?

Is it possible I need more healing time from the SSRI ? And perhaps should not reinstate yet.


Thank you.

Thank you for the response.

I would like to clarify that my withdrawal from Benzodiazepines was 6 years ago

Most of my current symptoms started after withdrawing the SSRI, two years ago.

It seems suspicious this would all start after stopping the SSRI. My understanding is that SSRI's can affect serotonin and can possibly be used to prevent migraine.

Based on my history with migraine and the circumstances surround the SSRI withdrawal I took note of the following:

A number of my current triggers and symptoms seem to coexist with ailments such as Silent Migraine and
Vestibular Migraine.

I was thinking of trying another SSRI to see if it would help.

What is your opinion related to Silent Migraines and Vestibular Migraine ?

Is it possible I need more healing time from the SSRI ? And perhaps should not reinstate yet.


Thank you.

Thank you for the advice regarding SSRI's.

Amitriptyline would be my prepered option.

As a patient that took an SSRI for 14 years, based on your experience what would be a fair timeline to give my brain/body time to go back to normal ? (or close to it)

I want to give myself a fair amount of time before starting a new medication.


Thank you.

Thank you for the advice regarding SSRI's.

Amitriptyline would be my prepered option.

As a patient that took an SSRI for 14 years, based on your experience what would be a fair timeline to give my brain/body time to go back to normal ? (or close to it)

I want to give myself a fair amount of time before starting a new medication.


Thank you.