Search the Community

Hi , I am Andra. Thank you for this amazing site. It is very useful. I am helping my 23 years old daughter to taper off clonazepam, risperidone and sertraline. The doses were not so abysmal, however the psych recommended ECT. When we refused the psychiatrist ramped up the dosage to maximum. From cannabis induced psychosis the diagnostic morphed into MDD with psychotic elements. Under a different psychiatrist’s supervision we began tapering of the benzo . Starting tomorrow August 4 , it will be 0. The next is The AP and then the AD.

Hello everybody. I am a 54 year old male living in Europe,( nordic countries). I was unfortunately having a manic episode in august-september 2019 after being healthy for 12 years, and not using any medicines then. I was prescribed Risperidon, which I used for 3 months, first 3 mg for about 5-6 weeks, then 2 mg for 4 weeks, then 1 mg for 2-3 weeks. Then I stopped Risperidon. I didn't realise when taking it, but afterwards I did realise that it caused me to have heart problems, persistent atrial fibrillation. Before that I never had any heart problems in my life, not a single time, no palpitations ever. Later, I've had two cardioversions, and have been in regular sinus rhythm since June 2020, but I am using heart medications for it,( tambocor and metoprolol). While using Risperidon autumn 2019, I was experiencing depression,( which i had a feeling was caused by the medication). I went to a mental hospital in February 2020, stayed there for 10 days( I was not psychotic). There I was prescribed Deprakine,(Depakote) and zyprexa 10 mg. I stopped zyprexa when returning home, and after a while Depakote too. But I restarted Depakote march 2020 due to anxiety and used it to June 2020, about 3 months). The dose was 1000mg,( 1300 mg one week). Of course Risperidon destroyed my libido, but it returned 3 months after I stopped it. However I didn't realise that Depakote would also destroy my libido and sex life. That I knew again afterwards after doing some research about it. Now 7 months after stopping Depakote libido and sexuality has not returned. I am also feeling depressed. I think Depakote caused this, has anybody experienced something of the same?.I also experience anhedonia, I am not the person I used to be. I think Risperidon caused some kind of autonomic dysfunction, and Depakote again made it worse. If I had knew about the side effects of Depakote I never would have taken it, ( the same goes for Risperidon, I would have stopped it sooner). I am curious, have anybody had these experiences, and have you recovered?. I hope that I could get my life back.

Hi, My name is Usman and I'm from Pakistan. I'm new to this community. I have been on risperidone for more than 2 years now, it was prescribed for bipolar disorder (I don't know if I have or had bipolar, I was just very sick). This drug is ruining my life, I feel so disabled and find it difficult to work or be productive. I want to stop taking it but my psychiatrist wants me to continue. Where should I get help from? I have fear that If I stopped, my old symptoms might come back & I don't want to lose my mind again. But at the same time, I want to stop taking it as I know the damage these drugs can cause. So please, I want as much information as possible on how I can safely stop taking this drug. Should I consult a regular doctor and have him take me off? Please advice, Thanks.

Hi, my name is Roberto! You can call me Rob. I'm 23 and I'm from Venezuela. :'3 Sorry for my English! I started with this psychiatrist in late September and since day one she told me that I had to take risperdal 2 mg and carbamazepine 200 mg (the first one to organize my ideas and get a better sleep, the second one to stabilize my mood)... I started to take them in early October and then around early November she dropped me the Risperdal to 1 mg because I was feeling extremely exhausted . The side effects were hurting me a lot ( problems with my memory & libido, apathy , low energy, feelings of slowness) and since I was taking the meds for only one month I thought that quitting cold turkey both of them wasn't going to destroy me! I was wrong... I lasted 7 days cold turkey, the shivers and suicidal thoughts were heavy! This time I had to take Risperdal/Risperidone 3mg and Carbomazepine 400 mg( day and night) and seeing more mg really hurt me! TnT My psychiatrist doesn't want me to stop taking them, but I want to stop... Just that I don't know how! I was thinking in going 2.50 mg of Risperdal and then 2 weeks after 2 mg then 2 wks 1.50 then 2 weeks and take 1 mg until I get to 0... But is that too fast??? I'm feeling slow, emotionless, struggling with my memory,really afraid of all the plans that I had planned and that now were sabotaged! 😢 I want my life back!!! I want my spark!!!! I want my creativity! Please, help me!!! I send you a huge hug for reading my story!

just want to thank everyone here who posts. I am managing my daughter's withdrawal. She doesn't speak much so i have to gauge her withdrawal by her eating and sleeping habits as well as when we 'see her old personality' show up for a few minutes a day. When she can concentrate on a video or a movie, play Uno, or listen to her spotify.....we know she is feeling better. THe tapering is so slow and i want her off this med, but watching her body is my only key. It is an amazing process to see this sweet child who has no idea why this is happening, go through this process. Those of you who can speak and share are my light. Peace

I believe in the Love of God, which I intuit because of what is good in this world, and that Love will always conquer Evil, with faith and hope, but the greatest of these is Love to go through this infernal suffering of the decrease of these drugs!

Link to father's topic: paranoidandroid Hello everyone, Iv'e actually been looking at this site for quite a while now to get me through and decided to make an account now I feel in a slightly better place to do so. Currently I'd just like peoples opinions on my situation.. do you think I'll ever fully recover? My history in the signature sums it up quite concisely so if you want to ask any questions please do. I believe I will but I just want to hear it from other people, as you may know this can be a lonely place to be. I wasn't aware for all this time how damaging these drugs are and assumed my visual snow and DP was just related to anxiety. But now I have no doubt in my mind they caused these symptoms. I may not go back to exactly how I was 6 years ago, which is upsetting, but as long as going forward I'll be able to make a better reality for myself, then I think I'll be okay. I'd also be very interested in what people think of my diet and if you think I should refine it in any way.

Hi all, found this forum via google searches many a night on how to cope with withdrawals! Like many others on here and I am sure everywhere in the world, I started on on anti-depressant and it just spiraled into larger and larger doses then multiple meds and meds on top of that for side affects. So a general summary was that I went to the Dr around 14 years ago for depression. I was put on Cymbalta 30mg straight off the bat. The side affects were unpleasant but I don't recall specifics of what they were, just that I did NOT like how they made me feel and I stopped them cold turkey. Withdrawals for several months of course, though fairly mild with major brainzaps being the one I most remember. Somewhere along the way I then went onto Mirtazapine. 15, 30 and then up to 45mg over a short period of time, maybe a year or so ramping up? Basically a result of going to the Dr, saying that I wasn't feeling the best on these meds, so they just increased them. I stayed on 45mg for probably 5 years or thereabouts. During that time my personality changed a lot (on retrospection I see how much). I became anxious, paranoid, ALWAYS tired, I started having panic attacks, grumpy, short temper making me snap at people for little, and isolated myself a lot. This went on for years. Each time the Dr would just tell me 'its not a magic pill' and leave it at that. Along the way my marriage fell apart and I moved to a new city. To 'cope' with the enormous increase in anxiety and stress, Dr gave me Olanzapine.... I took maybe 3 doses ever, as that stuff turned me into a zombie. I found a new doctor who I discussed how I felt on Mirtazapine and was switched over to Effexor XR. Ramped up from 37.5 to 150mg in the space of a few months. Generally felt 'good' but then noticed side affects that were persistent, sexual side affects galore, my BP sky rocketed, and hey look my anxiety was still very much around and panic attacks were a semi frequent occurrence. Dr's response was to switch to Paxil - which resulted in a heightened state of anxiety and rolling panic for days until I stopped them completely. Went back onto Effexor, despite the side affects and stabilized. Mirtazipine was then added to the Effexor for 'californian rocket fuel' - still anxious, still having panic attacks.. My BP was now concerning my Dr so was given a Blood Pressure pill, which then became two sets of BP meds, then three. My Blood Pressure still stayed high. Propranolol was added on top to reduce the heart rate and stress on my heart in general. This year was the hardest, I was referred to a psychiatrist, who every 6 weeks would get me to start a different drug. So I went from Effexor to Pristiq 50, then 100mg, Pristiq + Mirt, then onto Pristiq plus Seroquel at night (which made my anger turn into rage), then over to Luvox and some Respiradone and Valium to 'help' with the panic. Luvox basically kept me in a state of permanent nausea for 5 or 6 weeks - the dose was also increased to 100mg. So I spent around 4 months going through a cycle of drug withdrawal and startup over and over. I couldn't cope with being nauseous and feeling awful ALL the time anymore. At which point I had my next appointment with my Psychiatrist who just told me to 'just take half a dose for a few days and then stop them'. I asked that just ceasing any and all anti-depressants after FOURTEEN YEARS on them sounds very dangerous, she just shrugged. So I cancelled any future appointments with that practice, and after much research decided to cross taper from Luvox over to 15mg Mirtazapine and taper down from there. I chose Mirtazapine for several reasons - one was it stopped that permanent nausea everyday from the Luvox immediately, two it was a med my brain and body knew well and would tolerate almost immediately (which it did) and three i knew precisely what I would feel and how it would change me. After around 4 weeks of brainzaps and mild gastro issues as my body cleaned the last of the mix of drugs out of my body, I started to work my way down on Mirtazapine. Have currently gone from 15 > 7.5 > 3.75 with 6 or so weeks between drops. I will stay here until I stabalise again. So far the steps down have been very mild and tolerable (brain zaps for a day or two then fine), so my body is tolerating the 50% drops ok. 10% is recommended here, but so far for me personally its been ok dropping at 50% each time and stabilizing. The only noticeable (and expected) WD would be insomnia. My sleep quality has really tanked. Though interestingly enough despite low doses of Mirt meant to INCREASE your sleepyness, it has had little affect at all. So thats where I am currently at. I'm taking supplements like Vit C, Fish Oil and Vit B in the mornings and the small dose of Mirt at night. From here, I may need to look at a compounding chemist to begin tapering more slowly on the lower dosages, as cutting a tablet into 8th's is getting very difficult, even with a pill cutter. So the methods of diluting in liquids or a compound chemist will be the plan for the taper slow down (if needed) from here and my goal of being drug free hopefully within the year the final target.

Hello, Im 24 years old, in february i had an psychosis and was put on 6mg Risperdal a day. In the first month i felt nothing from the medication but in the second month i experiencend wirred conditions like my brain was melting.... since this time i lost all my Feelings interests and sexuality.... i cant even watch tv or read a book, the only thing i can do is starring at the wall all day...its awful. its the 4th month im off risperdal and still there is no change in my condition.... im thinking about suicid all day and had a lot of attempts. I really need a recovery story beside charliebrowns because i think his symptoms werent as bad as mine.

hello. I decided to make an account on this forum because of my problems definitely caused by antidepressants. I was taking escitalopram 10 mg and amisan 50 mg for a year and 3 months due to severe neurosis and drug seizures. Immediately I felt that the drugs had a strange effect on me because I was too aroused, Kind of like hypomania. I wanted to stop taking them but I couldn't give them up and every attempt ended with a strong drug and a heavy feeling of well-being. Unfortunately, my girlfriend left me after 2 months since I started taking these drugs and wanted to stop taking them. Unfortunately, it was hard because when I tried to stop taking drugs, I started to suffer more for it. So I was influenced by their actions for a year and 3 months, and only then we managed to put them off. It was ok for a month but then I started driving with my medications. They were even larger than before taking medications. I do not remember if my feelings and emotions were in some way matted then because I had strong emotions then, but after a few months I had to go back to drugs because I couldn't stand it. After the break, I took escitalopram 10 mg for 2 months and amisan 50 mg for 3 weeks, which is the previous mix. 2 weeks After we stopped taking escitalopram in November, I realized that my expression is not as strong as it used to be. There were feelings because I was suffering for my girlfriend, but I realized that I did not feel so intensely everything as with drugs. The problems have started and they are getting worse week by week. Stress has been killing me for a year and now it's getting worse due to the emotional contamination. Every day I think about what I used to feel, I can imagine it in my head but I can't feel it. I saw my ex-girlfriend's profile on social media yesterday. Now I suffer even more because I imagine how happy life is. She feels what I can't feel anymore, she has a man and she is in love, I can't do it because my anhedonia is getting worse. I used to be very emotional and nostalgic, now I'm smudged and have maybe 20-30% of my old feelings. I wonder if I got PSSD because I also had a sexual problem from quitting drugs a second time, but in the last few days it started in this respect for a few months. I also got strong mood swings. Depressive mood and anxiety, and in time a strange peace and good mood. I can't bear the fact that I can't feel life anymore and fall in love like my friends. Can someone advise me what I can do? I read that it should slowly get down from the dose and I, according to my doctor's recommendations, started to take half a tablet for 2 weeks and then stop taking it, so it's probably too soon. But I'm afraid to go back to medication because if I don't have PSSD then I can get it, or if I do, it might get worse. I'm afraid to mess in my brain already. Please help because I am dying inside. I apologize for any errors as English is not my first language

I'm really unwell and frightened. Please be patient with me, I'll explain my dilemma here. I'm just terrified and desperate... Be warned, I'm also autistic. This might effect how I express myself. TL;DR - 1. Can Sertraline side effects stay permanently if I went cold turkey before getting past them? 2. Can taking another antidepressant get rid of these withdrawal symptoms? 3. So far 5 months of emotional flatness, consistent dissociation and disturbed sleep (insomnia). It's been a long 5 months since quitting Sertraline back in March. I have gone through a cluster of withdrawal symptoms ranging from uncomfortable to disabling. And after waiting this many months, I'm now caught between my options. Either 1. waiting it out, or 2. taking another antidepressant, or even 3. (which is a risk) reinstate with a smaller dose of Sertraline. Now in an ideal world I should be able to speak to a psychiatrist and seek their help, instead of being stuck here trying to figure things out on my own. A few weeks ago I found old notes of mine from 2016 regarding similar issues I'm having today, inability to feel tiredness, inability to sleep, anhedonia, detachment from myself and surroundings. This was after a negative reaction to Riseridone, a drug I tried using in 2016 to help my symptoms (anxiety, depression). It was a drug that I couldn't stick with as it tightened my throat and made things hurt. At the time I didn't have access to a psychiatrist who would help me taper off the medication, instead I resorted to calling NHS 111 on April 10th 2016. I was told it would be safe to go off cold-turkey. Afterwards got thrown into heavy insomnia and my emotions flattened. Yet here is the catch. Around the same time I was prescribed Sertraline, and this means I'm now trying to figure out whether those symptoms were caused by stopping Riseridone or starting Sertraline. I'm hoping next week to retrieve my notes and see what date my prescription was given, as if the Sertraline didn't cause those issues I'm wondering if restarting that medication in March and stopping brought back my Riseridone withdrawal symptoms. And this isn't all. I'm also trying to establish whether I was on a too high of a dose, because when I was first prescribed Sertraline I was given 25mg to begin with for 4 weeks before increasing up to 50mg. This time I started immediately on 50mg after being told by someone that "25mg is a child's dose". I shouldn't have taken Sertraline in March... but then again I shouldn't have taken 50mg and instead taken the lowest possible dose. I'm even trying to make a comparison between an experience I had when starting on 100mg Sertraline back in late 2016. Jumped from 50mg to 100mg and immediately felt awful and detached. Put myself back down to 50mg and those symptoms cleared up. Same symptoms I had when restarting on 50mg this year... so now I wonder if there's any possible way to break through this. So far it's been 5 months of nonstop Hell and this needs to be stopped somehow. First I'll find out when I was prescribed Sertraline. If those are Riseridone withdrawal symptoms (insomnia, dissociation) then I might try 25mg and go upwards. (This is because I'm out of options, I'd rather go back onto an antidepressant to stop these symptoms and then taper off properly). I heard insomnia from SSRI can eventually fade out. The last time I had the insomnia and anhedonia I was taking Sertraline and eventually everything returned. I'm going to be taking a risk. I don't want to make things worse or prolong the withdrawal syndrome (since I've already overcome the worst of my mania). I don't want to take anything if things are slowly improving (if I could be SSRI free until March next year and have regained most of my brain, that would be a relief -- not because antidepressants don't work, but because I wouldn't need to use any to alleviate these issues). And I don't want to take Sertraline if a drug like Fluxoetine can get rid of these problems (if Fluxoetine or any other medication can get rid of these issues, I'd stay with it for a while, so long as the pros outweigh the cons.) I just want my head back... And just as a note. When I ingested 50mg in March, I wasn't expecting those symptoms. I wasn't expecting to feel instantly messed up. This is what scared me. I noticed the insomnia and detachment creep in shortly after and hoping that going cold turkey would prevent this from being an issue. I thought, "the sooner the better". Not realising that withdrawal symptoms can go dormant for a while, when it comes to Sertraline you can stop and feel fine for a while. Between 2019 (September) - 2020 (March) I was absolutely fine. Perhaps it reinstated the Sertraline withdrawal? Maybe my body went into shock from not taking it for so long. Who knows.

Hello there, I'm Zodd, I'm 27 and here's my sad little story. Some things to know about me; i've always been introverted, emotionally calm, something I have been praised for at work and other areas. I held a trying position and dealt with distraught and drunk people fine in my line of work every day and came home to help with my mother who suffers from lung cancer. My emotions have never been out of my control, something I prided myself on, as the rest of my family sometimes seem to only run on emotions. Before May of this year I'd never had any form of psychiatric help or medication. I don't drink and quit smoking cigarettes last year. And drugs are bad, mkay. I had an episode where I thought I had recovered memories of physical abuse as a child. With it came a great deal of paranoia and some strange ideas about myself. When my family couldn't correlate what I was saying with reality, they insisted I seek medical treatment. At first I refused, but decided it couldn't hurt if it would get them off my back and actually listening to me. I felt less paranoid when talking. After a few failed attempts to get my hospitalized, I agreed to be admitted to a place that ended up taking me far from my home. I expected I'd be given a thorough verbal evaluation about my mental state before being administered something. I was wrong. The hospital was far removed from what I had imagined. I was in a new and strange place and the paranoia was strong. Worse, it was Friday night, and I wouldn't be seeing the psychiatrist until Monday morning. I refused medication for the first few days, being informed by my sister over the phone (which they shut off at 8pm, and I'm a night owl) I wouldn't probably leave unless I agreed to be medicated. So when the psychiatrist finally came, I immediately agreed to be put on whatever he recommended and agreed to whatever he said so i could go home. He prescribed me something called risperidone. I didn't notice any affects immediately. Except i was very indecisive, having trouble deciding what i wanted even for breakfast, something very unusual for me. So after a few days, he ups my dosage. I start to settle into the routine of the place by now, feeling more comfortable. But the indecision is getting worse, so a few days later I agree to up the dosage again. Now I just feel kind of buzzed and tired, like I'd had a few beers. I expect this is the affect they are looking for and tell them I'm feeling better. I found if I just ate everything they had, I didn't have to make a decision, and boy was I always hungry. I'm still having the paranoia but with the medicine I feel medicated and don't really care. Finally after a week in the place I can see my family again. This is the first time I show any emotion to the doc, which was apparently what he was looking for all along. We talked about my prognosis and how he hoped this was a one time episode and could soon get off this medication with the support of my family. So finally I'm free. We set up med management with the local hospital. I was only given a few pills and didn't know how long i needed to be on them for. The nurses were nice at the new place as i described my symptoms and problems. They prescribe me a huge number of pills, enough for a month! The label says something like "Take 2mg twice daily; one half as needed for anxiety." I figure this is the necessary step in getting off them, so I take them as prescribed. I get over the tiredness but still feel the drugged property. I'm still recovering more memories daily, more rapidly in fact, and due to the medication, being awake much earlier than I'm used to. But now that I'm home I feel the paranoia less. Unless I need to make a major decision, like where should I seek support, or should I seek this help or the other. Then the paranoia comes back ten fold causing me to be very agitated and rapidly changing my mind about the choices I make. Fear that I was making the wrong choice. This goes on until my next monthly meeting with med management. I talk with them about how my this isn't working. They and my family suggest I just give it longer, more time. My family in particular guilt me into keeping my medication going, as I can't be putting stress on my mother, who I said has cancer. My family's peer pressure keeps me on the medication for another month. This time around I know its not helping, and we hint about changing medications. Maybe trying to split the dosage up over the day would help with the other side affects I was having. The idea of a different medication scares me more than staying on these pills (that's a big decision) so .... Splitting the dosage was the wrong idea. One half a pill every four hours was more than I could keep up with. I started missing dosages. My indecision was reaching a peak, to the point where I couldn't decide over what bottle of juice I wanted while in the supermarket. I get agitated really easily. The idea comes that even taking my pills is something I should be weary of. The only person around is my mother, as my siblings suddenly are without a vehicle. She is more introverted than I am. Finally I've had enough, with no one around to talk sense into me, some weeks from my next med management appointment, I stop taking my meds. I'm not sure it was intentional. These moments of outburst of emotion start happening. Moments of extreme emotion following some thoughts. Mostly over thoughts of how I've made the wrong decision. They'd affect me so bad, I'd start crying and eventually even screaming because I couldn't get the feeling to stop. I'd realize I made a mistake with my meds, and take a pill, after the outburst. The indecision was still sharp, so usually I'd end up debating for a while before grudgingly dry swallowing the sucker. After which, another outburst would happen, because I'd feel I made the wrong decision. It's a viscous cycle. And the feel of an outburst coming on seems ever present, just behind my eyes. My mother, being the introvert she is, doesn't inform my siblings this is happening and in this state, I don't want to talk to them. They're not around to witness my behavior, so it goes by the wayside. I realize, perhaps too late, that I've made a huge error in judgement in stopping my meds. Without my siblings to keep me in check, I feel they have abandoned me. Like it's the One Ring, I spend most of my day on the couch, pill in hand, debating to take it. I realize this pill has created some kind of addiction in my brain, because even when I decide to not take it, the urge to take it wakes me up in the night. I regret ever having stopped. So i start taking the pill regularly again. I'm all prepared to explain how things are getting so bad at the next meeting. The outbursts aren't stopping, but I'm learning the thoughts that cause them. I bring my mother in to testify on events. On the way to the appointment, I realize I've missed a dose. Talking about my medication is one of the triggers that sets off the hyper feelings. As I'm fumbling my way to explaining how I need a new medication, and how I feel I might have permanently damaged my brain by stopping, can't focus or sit still any more, I admit i missed a dose to the psychiatrist. And I realize the more i try to explain myself to her, the worse it looks. She gets this nice mule look in the eye. I bring up the topic of how I wasn't supposed to be on this medication this long, that the original psychiatrist had said so. They have no idea what I"m talking about. Apparently I never signed a release form between the two hospitals, so they never got the memo I was supposed to be off it. I didn't learn that risperidone is an anti-psychotic until that visit. I thought I was taking an anti-anxiety medication. Such as my bottle says. This brings me up to present. My next appointment is the 9th of November. --- Wow, I can't believe I wrote all that. Maybe that was too much info. If anyone has any insight into my symptoms I've described, I'd enjoy hearing them, because I only see the psychiatrist for ten minutes. If i can recover anything, i'm hoping its the ability to sit still for more than five minutes.

Hi all, I appreciate this page. I recently decided to taper off of Risperidone by reducing the dosage by 5-10% per month. I got an oral solution manufactured that way. I had previously thought of making my own solution but found that Risperidone is not soluble. (Please correct me if I’m wrong.) Anyway, I stored the oral solution provided by the pharmacy in the fridge at 37 degrees Fahrenheit. However, the bottle says it should be stored at around 68- 70 ish degrees Fahrenheit. Has anyone had the experience of storing their medication at this temperature and not experiencing any difficulties?

Sweet scallydaddy is in the hospital after falling then being confused. He is uninjured but has been hospitalized for several weeks because recovery from the fall is complicated by previously diagnosed early or middle stage dementia. While in the hospital, the dementia sometimes results in confusion about where he is and he gets "agitated." The first instance of agitation resulted in the "as needed" administration of zopiclone and trazodone. After an extremely unproductive cycle of late night PRN dosing that left him slurring his words well into the next day and too weak to do the brief physio recommended exercises, I asked that they pick one medication and provide it regularly. Thank you to all here at SA who helped me educate myself about this. Somebody (I've yet to find out who <grrr> ) started him on trazodone with dinner and citalopram with breakfast. WTAF?? Major interaction effects which include confusion, fever (dangerous for someone with a diagnosed arrhythmia), and increased risk of arrhythmia. Fortunately he's been stable on that for 10+ days until a confused agitation episode today. After the early "cocktail," I knew enough to ask about PRN (as needed) meds in the event of agitation. The PRN med that will be administered is halo-effing-peridol which, imagine your surprise, interacts in major ways with both trazodone and citalopram. It's beyond me how anyone thinks that's going to help him recover to a condition for safe discharge. I anticipate talking with his doctor about next steps and will ask, "Sometimes medications interact with each other. Are there effects we should be concerned about with Dad's prescribed meds?" Not sure what I need from other members of SA or the moderators. I guess the good news is that I've learned a few things and that it's early enough to interrupt predictable negative outcomes. Teasing out which symptoms are dementia progression and which are iatrogenic might not be possible until he's off all the meds.

I was put on risperidone 3,0.5mg in the morning and 2mg at bedtime for 3 months, but not only that i was misdiagnosed and its been 4 months off it now and I also cant feel anything, happiness, sadness, creativity, joy, zest for life is gone. my scense of wonder is gone and I have alot of cognitive problums now to like not being able to think right, im slow. I used to love music but now it dosent stimulate me. i cant feel ciggeretts or injoy video games like I used to. im loseing all my friends because there like WTF man and im only 24. I doubt an antidepressant is going to do anything. I was on Celexa but stopped it after 3 weeks because what im feeling is from risperidone not depression. now I also have an inability to communicate, I dream EVERY NIGHT. I cant stay focused anymore I used to build projects from wood but nope, cant do that anymore ither. I used to laugh love injoy parties some of my friends even said i was the life of the party. well, not anymore thats for sure. I dont evin remember what I did a half hour ago. this drug ruined my life so far: my birthday, christmas, family events. my family is wondering what the hell happend to me. I NEED TO RECOVER. ive been chemically lobotomized. at least I can still type to find support on the internet. if i knew they were antipsychotics i would of never takein them. the doc never explained anything to me!, the only things I do feel really is worried i wont come out of this, and being hungry, all i think about now is why did i take these meds and will i ever recover. someone please respond with something positive did anyone recover from this and how long did it take. I ended up in the psyc ward because I smoked weed that was soaked in bleach and I tripped out. never knew the weed was tampered with at the time and then I was misdiagnosed with psycosis. I dont think the bleach weed did any real damage because when I woke up in the hospital I was ok but I was givein risperidone and sent home I should of never took the risperidone. but I did for three months, anyway. long story short I need support in knowing if ill get my emotions and personality back.

I have depression and anxiety. My former prescribing ARNP started me on Latuda to augment sertraline (an off-label use) but I didn’t notice any effects. We then switched 150mg sertraline to 20mg trintillex from November-December and I felt good but I had eye twitching and found out it was expensive so I decided to try an ADHD medication as recommended by my prescribing ARNP. I lowered my trintillex (I think to 10mg) and started the ADHD med but I was anxious and nauseous on it so I stopped and went back up to 20mg trintillex. A few weeks after that, I started having severe symptoms (see below). I have a feeling that increasing the trintillex caused my current symptoms but Latuda is not covered by my insurance so I want to get off it as well. I know I need to titrate slowly but I don’t know which one to start with. I was working with an ARNP and we discussed starting sertraline and then decreasing trintillex but she dropped me after I asked started asking questions about and wanting to change the tapering schedule. She discouraged me from stopping the trintillex alone and said my depression would get worse. Since January 11th, I have been experiencing debilitating anxiety, crying uncontrollably (for the first two weeks), nausea, vomiting, racing heart, heat sensitivity, insomnia, stomach pain, suicidal ideation, obsessive thoughts, memory issues, cognitive issues, itching, agitation, feeling detached, irritability, waves of panic, self doubt, and constipation. My questions are as follows: Should I start decreasing the Latuda or the trintillex first? Do you think decreasing the Latuda could help my anxiety symptoms even though it didn’t seem to have a positive affect on me when I started taking it? Would it be unsafe for me to start decreasing trintillex without adding another SSRI? Would it be safe for me to start on sertraline before dropping the trintillex? To the best of my memory: 2006-2010: sertraline 2006-2007: risperidone 2010-2016: took fluoxetine and citalopram as mono therapy 2016: trial Effexor for a few months 2016-2020: escitalopram (polyrugged with Wellbutrin) 2016-2020: Wellbutrin, months on and months off May 21-Nov 21: tapered from escitalopram to sertraline 150mg August 21: trial of lamotragine (rash) August 21: started latuda (off label) at 20mg, then up to 40mg and 60mg but back down to 40mg November 21: two week taper from sertraline to trintillex 20mg, experienced eye twitching and itchiness (5mg trintillex for 5 days, day 6 decrease sertraline to 100mg, day 10 decrease sertraline to 50mg and increase trintillex to 10mg, day 14 stop sertraline, 10 days of 15mg trintillex and then up to 20mg trintillex) December 21: quick taper down on trintillex to I think 10mg and trialed dextro-amphetamine for a week, 10-40mg, anxious and nauseous (1/2 of 40mg pill in am, then 1/2 pill am and 1/2 pill pm, then 20mg am and no pm, then 20 mg am and 1/2 pm, then maybe 20 mg am and 20 mg pm) December 21: quick taper back up to 20mg trintillex, some lip and foot twitching January 22: lorazepam for a few days January 22: clonidine .1mg-.4mg per day, currently taking .1mg am and .1mg pm January 22-March 22: ashwagonda, L-theanine, and probiotics Current medications: Latuda 40mg Trintillex 20mg Clonidine .1mg am and .1mg pm Fish oil Vitamin D Levothyroxine .112mg

Moderator note: link to benzo forum thread - Miko789: Xanax withdrawal/tapering Hi, I'm new to the forum, I have some questions I want to ask. My doctor prescribed effexor for depression, in 2009. Now I'm free of symptoms and I managed to come off with withdrawal symptoms though. That's with the antidepressant. Now I'm on Risperdal consta from November 2013 and seroxat 10mg. My doctor prescribed with risperdal consta 3,3mg/day long acting injection every two weeks. From February 2015 he lowered the dosage to 25mg/every 2 weeks equals 1,66mg/day. I tried to lower the seroxat 10mg but after 40-45h I have withdrawal symptoms vertigo, dizziness. Is it possible to cut down seroxat? How about the Risperdal consta (long acting injection). Has anyone tapered off completely without withdrawals? I read about the 10% harm reduction procedure to taper off and I'm going to tell my doctor and follow. thanks in advance

Please I’m having some expyramidal effects and I’m scared it might be permanent. Does this symptoms ever go away

Hi all...... I am new here. Searched google 'how to recover from risperidone' and found this site. I don't know how things work here, but I am sharing my experience. I was misdiagnosed with Bipolar disorder and took the medicine for 3 months. The details of the drugs are in my signature. Its been almost two months since I quit the medicines cold turkey. I am now suffering from withdrawal symptoms. Sexual dysfunction, ie.. no sex drive which is driving me crazy. I watch porn, but not able to get excited now. I am deeply depressed. Suicidal thoughts are coming to me thinking about my life. I have just completed graduation in B.tech in engineering. I was not able to write the final exams well because of memory problems, no interest to study, which was during my medication period. Now i am thinking what I will become in life, I can't function properly as a human being. In the morning I feel like sleeping more. I feel tiredness while trying to become active after waking up. So after breakfast I lay in bed again. In the evenings I will become more active till I sleep. Is this normal? Will I be able to lead my normal life back? If so how much time will it take to recover? Reply please........ I am in need of help.

Link to Armorall's Success Story: armorall-got-my-dancing-shoes-back-on I don't know how to put the medication history as a tag, so I guess I'll just put it at the end. Hi everyone! So, I started on 3/21/19 with the Bupropion and Risperidone after being hospitalized for suicidal ideation. I had been resigned for some time because of difficult changes that had been going on in my life socially for the past year, and I was responding angrily and with frustration (internally) until I was pushed to the limit. After hospitalization, I’ve had some transformative thinking around how I interact with people socially, which has led me to an ease with the situation that I hadn’t known before I was hospitalized. I still struggled with social interaction but I am much better and not feeling overwhelmed by my situation as I once was. Although the initial usage of Bupropion and Risperidone I had trouble sleeping the first week, everything seemed fine after that. I had some flare ups of anger, but I was working through it and seeing my psychologist twice a week. In May, my psychiatrist saw that Risperidone was elevating my hormone levels, and he wanted me off of it. I started taking Abilify as a substitute in July. Towards the end of July, the panic-like symptoms I would get from just sitting still was too much for me. I went off of it. He then put me on Latuda. I was on for two days and still had similar effects and I couldn’t sleep. I came off of it, all the while having a lot of withdrawal symptoms- profuse sweating, getting hot, panic. I still couldn’t sleep. I started supplementing with benadryl (at the suggestion of the nurse for withdrawal) then later melatonin. After talking to my psychologist, she suggested that I may have insomnia from the actual Bupropion. Because Risperidone makes some people groggy, what she thought was that the Risperidone masked the activating effect of Bupropion. After I stopped taking the Risperidone, the Bupropion was keeping me awake. She had several clients that had to switch to something else because of the Bupropion keeping them awake. So, I quit cold turkey on the Bupropion, and similarly all the other drugs. I guess my psychiatrist didn’t think I needed to taper from the Risperidone because I had only been on it for 3 months. I thought all was well, but I now have these rushes of anxiety that come over me for around 10-20 minutes at a time. It started after I dropped the Latuda, I believe I was having them even before the Bupropion was dropped but hadn’t noticed a pattern of getting them until the Bupropion was dropped. I get a few (5 or 6) rushes a day. When the rush is over, I'm still usually uneasy for a bit of time after that. I also have some light depression in the mornings, but that has dropped off. The possibility of the anxiety rushes usually stop after 6-7pm at night now (this is a newer development). I go to bed around 10-11pm, so now I can this period the “golden hours” where I feel completely myself and don’t feel like the onset of either a depression tinge or an anxiety rush will happen. So, it’s been technically a little over a month since I CT’d Bupropion and two months since I CT’d the Risperidone. I took both medications from 3/21-7/1 and only Bupropion (and Abilify) from 7/1-8/10. So total I was on medication for about 4 months. What do you think? Will the anxiety rushes fall away? When I am outside of them, I definitely think I can handle this, but when I am getting washes of them, I feel hopeless like it is not going to end. It is unlike anything I ever experienced before taking medication. I would get anxious from various scenarios in the past, but not this random, involuntary rush that occurs for no reason. I look to the writings on here about neuroplasticity (I am 44 years old) and how healing happens every day with building new neural pathways not that I’m off of everything, but I am scared that I am doing this for nothing. Also, I did everything CT, so how does that impact my withdrawal? Thanks for reading, Armorall 3/21/19 started Bupropion XL 150 mg 3/21/19 started Risperidone 2mg 7/7/19 start Abilify half dose 5 mg. discontinue Risperidone 7/9/19 full dose Abilify 10 mg 7/29/19 discontinued Abilify due to panicky side effects 8/2/19 Began Latuda 20 mg 8/5/19 discontinued Latuda due to similar side effects 8/10/19 discontinued Bupropion after realizing it was causing the insomnia From 8/10/19 no drugs whatsoever Withdrawal symptoms coming in and more acute in September

I have now been off all medication for 3 years 1 month 6 days..... I got off of benzos first then tapered off of Risperdal and finished the taper on September 12th 2017. It has been a long hard road but I would like to report that I am almost back to normal. I think if I quit smoking cigarettes I will be 100% and completely back on track in life. While I was on medication I had anxiety and paranoia so bad I couldn't leave the house or talk to anyone and ended up on disabilities from it in my mid 20s. Now I am on track to become a Youth Minister at a large church and have 0 problems talking to people or public speaking. I actually initiate conversations and go out of my way to talk to people now and help people out whenever I can. The biggest key to my recovery was God. He put me on this path and let me know it was for a reason even though I didn't believe it at all and thought I was going to snap and end up back on medications MANY times during the first couple of years. When I first came off the medications I slept like 2 hours a night most nights for months on end and had to learn to reframe distressing thoughts and feelings as a temporary nuisance for long term gains. I also went from 240 pounds to 145 pounds in a matter of less than 3 months which shut down my gall bladder that I had to have removed. I became gluten and lactose intolerant due to all this and have had to completely change my habits but I don't miss my old habits at all. If you want to survive don't stick to the same things you have been doing day in and day out. Pay close attention to your sleeping habits and what you eat or do to see if anything is causing issues. DO NOT use any supplements of any kind and be VERY careful about using literally anything that can have a mental effect on you even exercise. I can still go into mild waves if I overdo it by doing too much work or exercising too much. My only lingering symptoms are massive fatigue and nerve pain that comes and goes but I know all my triggers now and sometimes do them anyway and just accept the consequences. But even those symptoms are becoming less and less and there is hope they will vanish one day. I hope this message helps anyone out there who thinks all hope is lost, because there is a light at the end of the tunnel as long as you stay diligent about just accepting that there is nothing that can speed up the process and just do what you can to make it day by day. Link to Razmuk's Introduction Topic: Razmuk: getting rid of Risperdal

Hi Everyone, I'm glad this site exists. As it says in my title I'm trying to eventually come off all psychiatric medications that I'm on. I currently take: 0.375 mg Risperdal (after about 1.5 years at 2 mg) 50 mg Lamictal 100 mg Zoloft Right now I am trying to taper off of Risperdal. I just spoke to the compounding pharmacy today and should have the liquid form in three or four days for more precise tapering. My history: I entered therapy when I was 18 as a senior in high school in February 2010. I started taking Welbutrin, then added Zoloft, then stopped taking Welbutrin. In the summer of 2012, after my sophomore year of college, my psychiatrist let me decrease my dose of Zoloft from I think 100 mg to 50 mg. In March 2013, I was admitted to a mental hospital and put on Lithium, Risperdal, and Cogentin, and my dose of Zoloft was increased to 100 mg. In December 2013 I came off the Lithium cold turkey. I think I stopped taking the Cogentin (meant for shakiness/muscle spasms) then as well. So from December 2013 to June 2014 I only took 2 mg Risperdal and 100 mg Zoloft. In June 2014 I was suicidal and put on 50 mg Lamictal. In August 2014 I graduated college (George Mason University in Fairfax, VA-- Northern Virginia) and returned to the Philadelphia, PA area where I'm from. I'm currently enrolled in a Dialectical Behavioral Therapy program here. I meditate daily and that has helped me a lot. If you have any questions about me feel free to ask! Thanks for reading!

I will try to make it short, I am in desperate need of help. I used risperidone (1mg) for almost a month when it started to seriously affect my quality of life and mental capabilities. that was almost a year ago. My psychiatrist only told me then to take half the dose for two days and then stop completely ( I fear now that this was completely insufficient for withdrawal). So far in, I still feel completely impaired, as if I were still taking the medication. My memory and concentration are in the gutter, I feel severely tired and incapable most of the day, my mind is uncontrollable and disorganized, my intellectual ambitions are all dead. In most of this period of recovery I trudged along through life like an undead, performing basic tasks and sleeping a great part of the day. Only recently, the last three months, have I tried to combat it with a regular daily routine, carefully taking note of the day's activities and making sure I do as much as I can for the exercise of my brain. This only shows mixed results, as my mental activity swings wildly from full depression to some semblance of creative euphoria and with these swings come also overwhelming, crippling emotion. I make no real progress. My mind is in shatters. I think that either my withdrawal was improper or my brain reacted badly to the medication, causing severe change. I am completely alone, as my family dont really believe me, and I can get no medical professional to listen to me. I saw a neurologist recently that dismissed any possibility of the drug causing a significant effect and thinks I simply have a sleep disorder, recommending a drug called vigiline and sending me to do a polysomnography. I have tried neither yet, as I despair of ever using any medication for my brain and the exam is still pending. So here it is, I have nowhere to turn to besides an internet forum. I want my mind back and there is no way I can get it back alone, if it even still exists. I have no idea about the fuctioning of the brain, but I would suppose that the drug, and possibly poor tapering, caused an imbalance in the production of neurotransmitters, and the integrity of my brain is forever compromised, even after the use of a small dose in a small period, it would seem. I would also suppose that it reacted negatively with the poor habits I kept earlier and a possible depression.

Hi, In March I had received as an inpatient an depot injection paliperidone 125mg, and 75mg a week after it. My diagnosis was a psychotic episode. During this episode, I called the ambulance in a panic attack. I did not have hallucinations. My injection has been discontinued outpatient and I receive now 2mg risperidone tablets which I have been taking for only three weeks. I have trouble with my memory, and I need it desperately for my daily life as a student. I've read the injection gradually weans off, however, I'm still taking the tablets orally. I feel like going to 1mg (breaking the tablet) or go to 1.5mg using a pill cutter. The pills aren't easy to cut however and the doses could vary that's why I am considering jumping to 1mg. I am still in the process of setting up an appointment with my psychiatrist, best I could speak to him this week or next week. I'm not sure if he is cooperative in weaning off my medication. I'm eager to start weaning off.

Hello im lany im 24 year olds n I ve been taking 2 mg risperidone for 3 years . I have 2 different brands of medicine to take in 3 years . Because my doctor sale the meds for me n he’s the only one have that med from USA . I have no choice . But I’m very lucky to find out this forum n I feel happy bout it. Because I want tapering off med soon maybe after one month . But I worry that I’ll get different brands of med while I’m tapering . Is it a cause of withdraw symptoms!!!! Pls guys help me with it I heard after u tapering it’s a right choice u must do for ur life ty for reading . Am I the only one with schizophrenia from vietnam here lol 😂