However, I was not warned of any side effects and suffered a great amount of emotional trauma over a period of 7 months as this drug altered my reality making me feel like life itself wasnt real - a major stress that i suffered every second for months without knowing what was happening to me.
Life Itself Isn't Real — Depersonalization-Derealization
This feeling you have that "life itself isn't real" might well be the mental condition called
derealization.
A closely related condition is
depersonalization (where it feels as if your body or mind isn't real). A few ME/CFS patients on this forum suffer with this.
More info here:
Depersonalization-derealization disorder Definition - Mayo Clinic
For
depersonalization, one study found that the drug
naloxone is effective:
Effect of naloxone therapy on depersonalization: a pilot study
"
In three of 14 patients, depersonalization symptoms disappeared entirely and seven patients showed a marked improvement. The therapeutic effect of naloxone provides evidence for the role of the endogenous opioid system in the pathogenesis of depersonalization."
Naltrexone treats
derealization:
An open trial of naltrexone in the treatment of depersonalization disorder
"
In this prospective open treatment trial, 14 subjects were recruited and treated with naltrexone for 6 weeks to a maximum dose of 100 mg/d (first 7 subjects) or 10 weeks to a maximum dose of 250 mg/d (next 7 subjects). Mean naltrexone dose was 120 mg/d. There was an average 30% reduction of symptoms with treatment, as measured by 3 validated dissociation scales. Three patients were very much improved, and 1 patient was much improved with naltrexone treatment. "
Naloxone and naltrexone are very similar drugs, and one may be able to substitute the other.
Many people on this forum use naltrexone for ME/CFS, and this drug is easy to buy online at prescription-free pharmacies.
Dysregulation of endorphin systems are suspected of causing derealization and depersonalization.
It is very hard to explain but I now feel very numb, flat or blank all day, the feelings of anxiety, dread and fear feel different although still very profound. I am also experiencing sensitivity to noise, sometimes a conversation can deeply irritate me asif someone is shouting directly into my ear.
Numb, Flat Or Blank All Day
Would you say this feeling of flatness you have is a weak emotional response, or weak emotions? If so, then you may be suffering from the condition
blunted affect (emotional flatness).
If the flatness relates to not deriving pleasure or enjoyment from normal daily activities, then you might have
anhedonia.
You may have both, because anhedonia and blunted affect are two conditions that often appear together.
In anhedonia, the experience of
pleasure from daily activities, and the sense of
reward on completing tasks, is weak or absent. People with anhedonia will feel no sense of pleasure in doing things they once found rewarding.
In blunted affect, it is life’s normal
emotional responses to situations (love, sadness, compassion, guilt, anger, joy, surprise, etc) that are weak or absent.
One treatment that is helpful for anhedonia is very low dose
amisulpride.
Sensitivity To Noise
The sensitivity to noise (hyperacusis) is common in a number of conditions, including ME/CFS, Lyme disease, Addison's disease (an adrenal gland disorder), PTSD.
Anxiety And Intense Dread And Fear
It's possible that your anxiety and intense dread and fear are manifestations of
generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
I myself suffered from extreme GAD, and eventually successfully treated it with the supplements detailed here:
Completely eliminated my severe anxiety symptoms with three supplements!
Trying some of these anti-anxiety supplements might be a good first step, because once you have calmed your mind down, you may be able to think more clearly and so then will be in a better state to further pursue you health issues.
You might also want to consider some pharmaceutical drugs to treat anxiety, at least in the short term, such as those listed in
this post.
When my GAD was severe (it became incredibly intense after I had viral meningitis), I would also often be pacing up and down around the house and garden for hours, because the anxiety was so extreme.
Endocrine And HPA Axis Dysfunction
You might also want to follow the suggestions
@poppythecat gave earlier, which is to look into endocrine testing, because some of your symptoms may derive from endocrine and HPA axis dysfunction.
For example,
this study found that depersonalization and derealization are related to cortisol stress responses.
And I believe hyperacusis might be related to low adrenal function.