# My Head Hurts #2: *16 August 2025* ![A graphic, inspired by Lester Beall, symbolising the side effects of antidepressant withdrawl](mhh-2.webp) **It's important to say, I'm not a Doctor. The following is my personal experience, please speak to your GP before you make any changes to your medication.** *I'm aware that these posts could turn into a lengthy treatise on how dreadful I feel, and I'm not a skilful enough writer to make that entertaining. But the context is relevant, so, I'll do my best not to labour the point too much. The first post in the series: [[My Head Hurts]].* My head hurts. I gave up not trying to look at the clock, in the middle of the night, weeks ago. I'd read that not knowing the time helps you to get back to sleep. It may work for some people, but it doesn't make much difference to me. So, I can tell you it's 3.38 am on Saturday 2 August 2025. I imagine I can hear my wife sleeping in our bedroom. I still think of it as 'our' bedroom, although I've been sleeping in the spare bedroom for a while now. It didn't seem fair to both of us to be awake. We are very fortunate that we have a spare bedroom, or this would be far more unpleasant for both of us. ## A Quick Recap At the end of the last post, I'd been cutting down my Amitriptyline for some time. I was taking 6 mg a day, together with 30 mg Fluoxetine. I was reducing the dose by 1 mg every two weeks. At 2 mg, my eBay scales were not accurate enough to measure a single milligram. So, with some trepidation, I stopped the Amitriptyline completely. ### *"…spontaneous orgasm maybe fun, but not in this context…"* This post has taken me a while to write. So, that was four weeks ago. Without being overdramatic, these few weeks have been awful. I thought the side effects were unpleasant before, but they were nothing compared to going cold turkey. Before I put you off of the prospect of cutting down your medication. It's important to say, that everyone's experience is different. Some people suffer only very mild side effects. The symptoms tend to be worse the longer you've been taking the medication. I had been taking Amitriptyline (it's quite nice to be able to say 'had'), for over 25 years. The UK mental health charity, Mind, has a [list of possible side effects](https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/drugs-and-treatments/antidepressants/withdrawal-effects-of-antidepressants/) of antidepressant withdrawal. With the thankful exception of spontaneous orgasm, which maybe fun, but not in this context, I think I've experienced all of them. ## Where I am now The worst aspect, for me, is the constant aches and the resultant inability to sleep. At times, it feels as though my whole body has a small electric current running through it. Some nights, I get up multiple times, trying to stretch, quietly wandering the house. I've tried taking paracetamol, ibuprofen and Nytol (an over-the-counter sleeping tablet). None of which seems to make much difference. Sleep deprivation is so pervasive, it overcomes everything else. Under its suffocating blanket of exhaustion, my other side effects may be reducing, but I'm not sure I could tell. I said last time, that I thought Fluoxetine was causing many of my side effects. I've since realised, that I started taking it at the same time as cutting down my Amitriptyline, so I can't be sure. Although, my gut feeling is that the Fluoxetine is, at least, partially to blame. About this time, I had a call from a woman at the local Mental Health Team, asking me if I was happy with the help I'd received. I explained, as politely as possible, that they hadn't provided any help. We went through the whole thing again. She said she'd call back. Five minutes later, she asked a bunch more questions and told me she'd discuss it with her Supervisor. The Supervisor called; we started from scratch. When I described the pains in my legs, he said he was concerned about my sodium levels. Apparently, SSRIs can cause reduced sodium levels which does, amongst other things, cause muscle pain. I've since had a blood test and my sodium levels are fine - which to be honest, I'm slightly disappointed about, it would be great to understand what's going on. If you're taking an SSRI and experience muscle pain it's worth checking out. ## Where next? I mentioned before, Dr. Mark Horowitz, who wrote the book on antidepressant withdrawal. He says that less than 5% of people continue to experience side effects after nine months. At only four weeks in, that seems like a long wait! Other than that, I'm not sure. I discussed with the GP cutting down the Fluoxetine and she thinks it's a good idea, but I'm nervous. At the moment, I don't need to add to the complications. Mark Horowitz's [website](https://markhorowitz.org/) offers the most practical, professional advice I've found online. I found the academic papers impenetrable, but he has useful [links to newspaper articles](https://markhorowitz.org/media-articles/) which explain things in layman's terms. The UK mental health charity, [Mind](https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/drugs-and-treatments/antidepressants/withdrawal-effects-of-antidepressants/), is also a good resource. Take care out there. Nigel <br><br> > [!Comments] > As yet, I don't have any way to accept comments directly on the blog. Feel free to [email me](mailto:[email protected]) and I'll post your comment below. > > If you want to email in confidence, that's also perfectly fine - just make it clear in the email.