u/yeahnoforsuree

Hi everyone, I’ll try to keep this short.

I have been on lexapro most of my adult life, on and off for 15 years. There were periods in between that where I was on zoloft before going back to lexapro. i’ve been on 20mg for years.

I was feeling really tired, struggling to sleep, sluggish etc for so long that I wanted to try to move off it. Lexapro helps with my gastritis a lot, but I was hoping there might be more options for me.

My mom died in october which adds a whole new layer to this. There’s PTSD and traumatic grief in the mix since she died unexpectedly from an accidental overdose.

I had been having health issues and i was sick of doctors continuing to gaslight me saying it was probably my lexapro making me gain weight and be sleepy etc. It seemed every problem I had they blamed lexapro, which ultimately led to my decision to switch to something else and see how it went. Regarding the medical stuff, it turns out I have pernicious anemia. Treating that has helped a lot too. (iron infusions, b12 injections every other day.

When I tapered off, I was cross tapering onto Pristiq 50mg. The first few weeks I felt a lot better energy wise. I wasn’t near as sluggish and I was finally sleeping normal / good. After 2-3 months off lexapro, my stomach issues had returned and my depression was still really bad.

ultimately we went back to a small dosage (5mg) of lexapro to stabilize my depression and stomach. for a minute it felt like it was working but the last 3 weeks are awful. emotionally blunted, no sex drive, constantly tired, takes hours to fall asleep etc. The symptoms line up with starting lexapro but I told my psych I never thought pristiq did much for me regardless.

next week i start tapering off pristiq (dropping to 25mg for a week, then off) and i told her i want off lexapro and to try something else, like prozac.

Has anyone ever experienced this? I feel crazy. i’m so exhausted and sad and feel like nothing is exciting. im irritable all the time. there was a glimmer of hope around may where my energy was returning post iron infusion and i was feeling so much happier and stable. then it just like, dropped? my baseline hasn’t been super consistent since being on pristiq and 100mg gave me insane side effects.

After knowing what i could feel like, i cant stand being in the state im in.

as a note im also diagnosed with adhd and take vyvanse for that. ive noticed the efficacy dropping when my mood hits a low like this. it keeps me more regulated emotionally. but i’m also forgetting things more often now in a borderline worrisome manner.

Anyone else experienced worsening depression on an SNRI?

TLDR; doctors blamed lexapro for health issues like exhaustion and weight gain, i got sick of that so i switched to something else. got a diagnosis for an autoimmune disease called pernicious anemia, but was 3 months into pristiq at that point. had to go on 5mg of lexapro due to awful depression and stomach issues even tho the pristiq helped with energy. 2 months into adding in the low dose of lexapro i feel so depressed that im crippled by it.

Hi everyone. I’m looking for advice or shared experiences from other people with pernicious anemia, especially anyone who has dealt with suspected silent reflux/LPR, low stomach acid, PPIs, or severe GI symptoms after starting reflux medication.

Apologies for the long post, but I’m very upset and frustrated. I feel like I’ve been isolated on an island and left to suffer because none of the doctors I’ve seen seem to understand the full picture. I’m turning to community for support and lived experience.

I was diagnosed with pernicious anemia in March of this year and started weekly B12 injections. I also had an iron infusion on April 10 because I was anemic. I already have celiac disease, which I’ve had for 15+ years, so my diet is already limited. I was tested for H. pylori in November and again in February, and both tests were negative.

After starting B12 injections and getting the iron infusion, I started to feel better for a bit. Then, about two weeks ago, a new symptom appeared: trouble breathing and constantly needing to take deep breaths. I also had post-nasal drip, throat clearing, and irritation. At first I assumed allergies, but allergy meds did not help. Then I wondered if it was asthma, even though I have not had issues with asthma in ages, but my inhaler did not help either. I also tried DayQuil, Advil, Mucinex, and other OTC options, but nothing consistently worked.

Eventually I went to urgent care. My oxygen levels were fine, my chest X-ray was clear, I had no fever, and no obvious infection symptoms. They gave me a steroid inhaler, which did not help. They also gave me a steroid shot for possible lung inflammation. Mucinex seemed to help the first day, then the symptoms came back and worsened. They later prescribed a steroid, which also seemed to help briefly for the first couple of days, but then the symptoms returned again.

I finally went to an ENT to see if something else could be going on, including silent reflux. The ENT thought it looked like silent reflux/LPR. I have many of the symptoms, including the “lump in throat” globus sensation. I genuinely feel like I cannot breathe, even though my oxygen is fine. My body keeps wanting to take deep breaths and yawn constantly.

The ENT prescribed me a PPI, omeprazole. I asked if he knew anything about pernicious anemia and low stomach acid because that was my primary concern with being prescribed a PPI. I had previously tried an H2 blocker, but it made several symptoms worse, so I stopped taking it. He said he was not familiar with PA, but that trying a PPI for 30 days was the standard approach.

I skipped a dose on Saturday, and by Sunday the throat/breathing irritation returned, which made me think reflux may be part of the issue. So I restarted the PPI on Sunday. Since then, the abdominal pain has continued inconsistently. At times it comes in severe waves that make me feel like I might pass out. I’ve also had fatigue and very low appetite, so I’m not sure if this is a stomach virus, a medication side effect, reflux-related, PA/autoimmune gastritis-related, or something else entirely.

After doing more research, I saw that PPIs can sometimes worsen symptoms in people with low stomach acid, and that endoscopy is often recommended after a PA diagnosis to assess for autoimmune gastritis/atrophy and related changes. I reached out to my GI to request an appointment, but I have not heard back yet. I also have an appointment with Mayo Clinic at the end of May, but I honestly do not know if I can wait that long with how my symptoms are progressing.

I feel stuck. If I stop the PPI, my throat/breathing symptoms seem to come back. If I take the PPI, I’m worried it may be contributing to severe abdominal pain and diarrhea. The ENT’s guidance was to wait 30 days and see how I do, but I do not feel like I can wait it out if the stomach pain is a side effect. I went to another urgent care yesterday and they were stumped. They said a hospital may be a better option because they can do more testing and try to figure out what is happening.

Has anyone with PA experienced anything like this? A few specific questions:

• Have you had silent reflux/LPR symptoms with pernicious anemia or autoimmune gastritis?
  • If so, was it related to low stomach acid, non-acid reflux, bile/pepsin irritation, gastritis, or something else?
• Did PPIs or H2 blockers make you worse?
• If you had severe abdominal pain or diarrhea after starting reflux medication, what ended up being the cause?
• What testing helped you figure out what was actually happening?
• Did endoscopy, biopsies, pH testing, repeat H. pylori testing, gastric emptying studies, or anything else give you answers?
• How did you manage reflux/throat symptoms without making GI symptoms worse?

I’ve seen people online mention things like apple cider vinegar, betaine HCl, pepsin, and other low-acid approaches, but I do not want to self-medicate or cover up the problem before a doctor can help me understand what is actually happening.

I’m not looking for a diagnosis, just trying to understand whether other PA patients have experienced this and what helped them get answers.