antidepressant withdrawl

[Alvin2]

OP, I had forgotten about this book by the Dr Breggin i mentioned earlier, with much useful information, available here
http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/803-dr-peter-breggins-10-taper-method/

If it was me, I'd just cold turkey and face withdrawal like a man, personally.

This can lead to permanent brain damage.
Manly men don't ruin their own lives to be more macho

 

[eljefe19]

OP, I had forgotten about this book by the Dr Breggin i mentioned earlier, with much useful information, available here
http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/803-dr-peter-breggins-10-taper-method/


This can lead to permanent brain damage.
Manly men don't ruin their own lives to be more macho

Prove it first of all. You've got me all wrong bro I'm not being macho, I prefer quick and intense withdrawal to long drawn out somewhat miserable withdrawal. Going cold turkey off Lexapro hardly "ruined my life" though it did suck temporarily.

 

[Alvin2]

Prove it first of all. You've got me all wrong bro I'm not being macho, I prefer quick and intense withdrawal to long drawn out somewhat miserable withdrawal. Going cold turkey off Lexapro hardly "ruined my life" though it did suck temporarily.

I already did, though you will have to do some reading, Peter Breggin's book explains quite well, and some of his newer books are even more eye opening.
Some people have had such serious akathisia while taking, withdrawing or post withdrawal from various neuroleptics and antidepressants they took their own lives to end the untreatable torture. This is extremely rare but does happen

 

[Skippa]

"Withdrawal can be hell."

Give me hell any day over withdrawal. A living nightmare.

Echoing @caledonia

I'm on SSRIs for life, can't afford to miss any more years of life screwing around with this crap.

Although I may one day try slowly tapering from 10mg (escitalopram) to 5mg.

We'll see. *shudder*

 

[SK2018]

Why are you on anti depressants for ME anyway ? It's not a depression disorder

I'd like to come off my Fluoxitine (prozac), but i tried to before and it was too difficult because of the withdrawal effects. I want to ask a question to anyone else who has withdrawn from these drugs.

I'm on 20mg and want to know, would for example, taking a pill every second day have the same effect as switching to 10mg?

Cause i'm not sure if i can get 10mg pills in the UK.

are

 

[paul80]

Why are you on anti depressants for ME anyway ? It's not a depression disorder

are

When my symptoms were getting worse i suffered from anxiety, and that was all my doctors would give me to help it. That was my old doctors surgery which was neglectful.

My new one is much more friendly and helpful but still, all the doctors there seem to think it's important to be on ADs, i don't know why. The first thing they suggest to me is to up my dose to 40mg.

I'm going to withdraw as slowly as possible, because i know the torture it can cause.

 

[paul80]

Only problem is i'm about to start midodrine from my cardio so i'm sure if i want to start two different things at once. Might wait till after.

 

[caledonia]

Going cold turkey, spacing out pills etc. are all very bad ideas. I can't emphasize this enough.

Granted, most people (like 60-70%?) will have lesser problems getting off SSRIs. But the other large minority (like 30%) will have a very difficult time.

You don't know if it will be you, until it happens to you. Then it may be too late. If you cold turkey and can't reinstate the med or find another way to calm your nervous system, you're looking at possibly 3-5 years of horrible withdrawal symptoms.

Go to survivingantidepressants.org and start reading people's stories there.

I had a friend who started Zoloft and was only on it for a few weeks. He developed akathisia. His doctor didn't understand and cut off his supply of clonazepam, the only thing which was helping. A few weeks later, he shot himself dead.

I didn't understand what happened, until it happened to me too. Then it all made sense.

Since then, I've done a lot of research on the topic. The Breggin book might be the best one.

Some people, due to genetics, epigenetics or whatever, are more sensitive than others. It doesn't have anything to do with being a man, or willpower or whatever.

I did an adrenal saliva test during withdrawal and my cortisol had gone from very severe adrenal fatigue, so low it was almost zero, to five times higher than normal. It was so high, it went off the top of the chart. No human being should have to endure this level of cortisol for a protracted period of time. I believe this is what produces the horrible symptoms.

If you follow the survivingantidepressants.org taper instructions, then you can find out in a systematic way if you're ok to taper fast, or need to go slower, without any nasty surprises.

 

[Tunguska]

I had a friend who started Zoloft and was only on it for a few weeks. He developed akathisia. His doctor didn't understand and cut off his supply of clonazepam, the only thing which was helping. A few weeks later, he shot himself dead.

I don't know how you survive a year like that and stay human. I've had to go through prolonged ordeals that defy imagination so it's hard to surprise me. But a couple times I had a week or two of akathisia and nearly lost my mind. Every second is an eternity. A year is unimaginable. It really is that bad.

 

[IreneF]

I've gone on and off several psych drugs--maybe a dozen?--and only one was a problem. IIRC, that was Effexor. Did a taper just fine until the last dose; then I spent three days lying on my bed without moving, because every time I moved I would get electric shock sensations in my head. Afterwards, my doc said I should've called her and she would've prescribed something to ease the transition, tranqs maybe. I think you need a really sympathetic doc for that.

 

[SK2018]

When my symptoms were getting worse i suffered from anxiety, and that was all my doctors would give me to help it. That was my old doctors surgery which was neglectful.

My new one is much more friendly and helpful but still, all the doctors there seem to think it's important to be on ADs, i don't know why. The first thing they suggest to me is to up my dose to 40mg.

I'm going to withdraw as slowly as possible, because i know the torture it can cause.

Best anti anxiety treatment I ever tried was a cup of strong cat nip tea ,yeah just like your cat sniffs right from the pet shop,works wonders try it and you'll know

 

[Tunguska]

Best anti anxiety treatment I ever tried was a cup of strong cat nip tea ,yeah just like your cat sniffs right from the pet shop,works wonders try it and you'll know

I was going to ask are you sure it's not just having a cat that helped. But I put "catnip tea" in the search bar... The more you know.

 

[paul80]

Never knew that, interesting.

 

[Mary]

I did an adrenal saliva test during withdrawal and my cortisol had gone from very severe adrenal fatigue, so low it was almost zero, to five times higher than normal. It was so high, it went off the top of the chart. No human being should have to endure this level of cortisol for a protracted period of time. I believe this is what produces the horrible symptoms.

This sounds like what has been happening to me since I finished tapering off of 1 mg. lorazepam a few weeks ago. I'd done it quite slowly but the last 0.125 mg left me with insomnia from hell (averaging 4-5 hours a night). My blood pressure also went up 15 to 20 points (fortunately it was not high to begin with!) The 4 to 5 hours was after taking most of the supplements below. Without them I probably would have managed only 2 -3 hours.

I think 2 things were happening to me: (1) high cortisol and (2) my thyroid seemed to work better, not because of the lorazepam taper, but because of andrographis so I think I became a little hyperthyroid, had to cut my med by 1/4.

Last night I finally got 7 hours of sleep I think - I am now taking an insane amount of supplements, but it worked. Hopefully it will work tonight too! for high cortisol, I'm taking Seriphos (original formula, phosphorylated serine) in the morning on an empty stomach and Relora, after dinner and before bed and in the middle of the night. Also am taking rather high doses of niacinamide (for GABA) and niacin and l-theanine. Also take 150 mg. 5-htp, and sublingual melatonin. Also, kava kava - I was taking everything else but really didn't start to sleep until I added in the kava kava. However, I think I will try the catnip tea! I had it years ago. Also, vitamin C- helps ameliorate excitotoxicity. I also take inositol and l-glycine

It's crazy and expensive but it's the only way I'm able to sleep. I tried low dose trazodone (1/5 of a 50 mg. tab) and it left me tired and drugged an entire day, could not stand it. 1/4 baclofen tab (2.5 mg) also left me drugged and tired for 2 days. So I really don't tolerate prescription meds in general (except for lorazepam ) Anyways, am glad to be off it. And my blood pressure is back to normal.

 

[lilpink]

There's a petition on the Scottish Parliament website which some may wish to sign? NB you can be from any country to sign

"Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to take action to appropriately recognise and effectively support individuals affected and harmed by prescribed drug dependence and withdrawal."

http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651


Background information for this petition:

"Affected patients are finding themselves with apparently vague diagnoses (perhaps only discovered if they ask for their medical notes) such as ‘medically unexplained symptoms’ or ‘functional/somatic system disorders’. These are essentially psychiatric diagnoses attributing various debilitating and disabling symptoms to patients’ own anxiety, beliefs, etc.: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/medically-unexplained-symptoms/Pages/Somatisation.aspx."


Plus comments posted relating to MUS as well as to debilitating drug side-effects.....worth supporting this IMO.

 

[Thinktank]

This sounds like what has been happening to me since I finished tapering off of 1 mg. lorazepam a few weeks ago. I'd done it quite slowly but the last 0.125 mg left me with insomnia from hell (averaging 4-5 hours a night). My blood pressure also went up 15 to 20 points (fortunately it was not high to begin with!) The 4 to 5 hours was after taking most of the supplements below. Without them I probably would have managed only 2 -3 hours.

I think 2 things were happening to me: (1) high cortisol and (2) my thyroid seemed to work better, not because of the lorazepam taper, but because of andrographis so I think I became a little hyperthyroid, had to cut my med by 1/4.

Last night I finally got 7 hours of sleep I think - I am now taking an insane amount of supplements, but it worked. Hopefully it will work tonight too! for high cortisol, I'm taking Seriphos (original formula, phosphorylated serine) in the morning on an empty stomach and Relora, after dinner and before bed and in the middle of the night. Also am taking rather high doses of niacinamide (for GABA) and niacin and l-theanine. Also take 150 mg. 5-htp, and sublingual melatonin. Also, kava kava - I was taking everything else but really didn't start to sleep until I added in the kava kava. However, I think I will try the catnip tea! I had it years ago. Also, vitamin C- helps ameliorate excitotoxicity. I also take inositol and l-glycine

It's crazy and expensive but it's the only way I'm able to sleep. I tried low dose trazodone (1/5 of a 50 mg. tab) and it left me tired and drugged an entire day, could not stand it. 1/4 baclofen tab (2.5 mg) also left me drugged and tired for 2 days. So I really don't tolerate prescription meds in general (except for lorazepam ) Anyways, am glad to be off it. And my blood pressure is back to normal.

Congratulations on your succesful taper! I've been through hell during and after a slow clonazepam taper so i know how you're feeling. I'm now 18 months off but still suffer from overstimulation and a few other side effects.
Kava kava, niacinamide and probably relora are GABAergic, you want to avoid taking anything that downregulates your gaba-a receptors otherwise you're just prolonging the post-withdrawal effects.
L-theanine is ok, it's more of a NMDA antagonist. You might also want to take a look at bacopa monieri which can upregulate your gaba-a receptors. Magnesium malate or any other form can also be very benificial being a NMDA antagonist.
SOmething that helps me with sleep is antihistamines, 5mg cetirizine. If you need something stronger try benadryl.

All the best!

 

[lilpink]

I've been through hell during and after a slow clonazepam taper so i know how you're feeling.

These drugs ARE hell to withdraw from. Do please consider signing the Scottish petition above (my previous post) .....open to people from any country to sign

 

[Mary]

Congratulations on your succesful taper! I've been through hell during and after a slow clonazepam taper so i know how you're feeling. I'm now 18 months off but still suffer from overstimulation and a few other side effects.
Kava kava, niacinamide and probably relora are GABAergic, you want to avoid taking anything that downregulates your gaba-a receptors otherwise you're just prolonging the post-withdrawal effects.
L-theanine is ok, it's more of a NMDA antagonist. You might also want to take a look at bacopa monieri which can upregulate your gaba-a receptors. Magnesium malate or any other form can also be very benificial being a NMDA antagonist.
SOmething that helps me with sleep is antihistamines, 5mg cetirizine. If you need something stronger try benadryl.

All the best!

Thanks @Thinktank! Well, since I posted the above, things have changed quite a bit. (never a dull moment!) My sleep got worse and my protocol listed above stopped working. Kava kava stopped helping, I did try Benadryl, without much luck. Benadryl helped me before but it seemed nothing would touch this particular insomnia. Then I read about decreasing glutamate as opposed to trying to increase GABA, and read about calcium pyruvate and resveratrol which are glutamate scavengers.

So I started the calcium pyruvate first, and slept better that night, it was great. Then some days later the resveratrol arrived and I added that in. In the meanwhile, I stopped my calcium supplement because I had read that glutamate was the "gun" and calcium was the "bullet" or something like that.

So then I found myself sleeping 7 - 8 hours, but then I realized that was I feeling drugged and tired during the day, and paradoxically, my BP was going up, higher than it had ever been (150/___). Plus I was feeling rather numb, like a zombie. I finally realized last night after a rather bad day that I needed to cut what I was taking, so last night cut the calcium pyruvate in half and stopped the resveratrol and feel a bit better this morning, though still extra tired. so I will play with this some more --

Also I'm going to restart some of my calcium, I think I need it for my bones etc. (I do take a lot of magnesium glycinate)

When you say that kava kava and niacinamide and probably relora are GABAergic, are you saying it's not good to take things that affect GABA? Wikipedia said that GABAergic just means something that affects GABA but doesn't say in what manner.

Bacopa monieri looks interesting, I've never heard of it before, thanks for the suggestion.

FWIW, I have found that I have developed an extreme reaction to MSG in all its forms, causes severe insomnia - e.g., I made fish tacos the other night, had bad insomnia and then found "modified food starch" on the label of my green taco sauce - it had never affected me before. So you might try avoiding sources of msg, if you haven't already.

Oh - and I cut out the Seriphos, it wasn't helping (plus it's expensive!) (it did help years ago when my cortisol was high in the middle of the night, before I even started lorazepam)

Well, good luck to you and congratulations on your taper!

 

[Mary]

These drugs ARE hell to withdraw from. Do please consider signing the Scottish petition above (my previous post) .....open to people from any country to sign

I just signed your petition - thanks for posting it! I think it might be good to do a separate thread about it so that more people may see it --

 

[lilpink]

I just signed your petition - thanks for posting it!

I'm not the author but thanks for signing it