The List Goes On
UPDATESWITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMSKETAMINE
8/1/2026
The List Goes On
Today was hard to get through. I had a lot of derealization. I tried to do some breathing and grounding exercises, then cleaned my house a little. Eventually, it did get a little better, but I still feel "not quite right." On top of that, I have been feeling incredibly discouraged lately. I texted with my mom and listed off all the things I've tried over the last two years to help this process, and I realized it's a lot. I'm going to share that list below.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
TMS
Ketamine (several types)
Red light therapy
Infrared sauna
Upper cervical chiropractic care (for the dizziness and brain zaps)
Acupuncture
Supplements (this will have to be a whole other section)
NAD+ injections
Tirzepatide
B12 injections
Glutathione injections
Psychiatrist-prescribed medications (this will also have to be another section)
Hormone Replacement Therapy
Oxytocin
Out of all the things above, the one thing I'm unsure about is whether it had any significant positive impact: hyperbaric oxygen therapy. I did a rather large taper of Lexapro during those treatments. I remember the taper not being super horrible, so now I'm wondering if the HBOT actually helped with the withdrawal symptoms and healing. In theory, if severe withdrawal causes something similar to a traumatic brain injury, it could help heal the brain. I would really like to do it again now, but it is just so expensive. If I knew for sure it would help me get off this last 2.35 mg, it would be worth it, but I don't want to waste any more money.
The tirzepatide has helped with more than just the withdrawal symptoms. My overall inflammation is down, my allergies and arthritis are better, and my Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) seems more under control. Also, I have not needed my inhaler for asthma since my first dose, which is crazy. So I continue to take it at smaller doses. The one downside I have noticed is that it can make me feel a little "blah" and unmotivated if the dose is too high. That can contribute to the anhedonia, which is definitely not desirable. I have been splitting my doses into smaller but more frequent injections. Right now, I'm at 2 mg every 3–4 days, but I may lower it a little more in the near future.
Everything else on this list didn't seem to have a significant impact on my withdrawal symptoms. I had high hopes for TMS, but it didn't seem to do anything at all. The ketamine therapy has been hit or miss. I feel like it really helps sometimes, but other times it doesn't do anything helpful, so the jury is still out on that one. I am going to continue with one more series through Mindbloom and then stop if I'm not seeing significant improvement. It just isn't worth the cost.
Where I Am Now
My psychiatrist is trying to help me with the withdrawal by adding low-dose medications to ease the worst symptoms while tapering. We tried a very low dose of Abilify (1 mg), but I couldn't sleep at all, so that was discontinued. I have now started Lyrica (25 mg twice a day) to see if it will help with the current withdrawal symptoms and waves. I have tolerated Lyrica before and have come off it without any issues, but if it doesn't help in a significant way within a few weeks, I will be stopping it.
The only other medication that seems to help with the anhedonia, at least slightly, is Adderall. I take a very low dose (half of a 7.5 mg tablet) once a day, and it does help. But I also hate being on stimulants, so I don't take it every day.
I feel like I'm running out of things to try. And, if I'm being honest, I'm about ready to stop thinking about tapering and just accept that I may never be off Lexapro. I am just getting so tired of this process.