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Hi everybody I'm Soren from Denmark, 50 years old, and just started tapering 18 years of Mirtazapine-use. Earlier I have tried to withdraw from mirtazapine three times and every time by doctors instructions (50% two weeks, 50% of the remaining dose two weeks, then stop), and the last time I nearly hurt my beloved cat in rage. It was the most frightening out of control experience and periode in my life. I'm not long into my taper (down to 20 mg from 30 mg) and my taper it is going well at the moment (5% every three weeks). As almost universally experienced by other mirtazapine 'withdrawalees' I suffer day 4 or 5 after a reduction, but come day 8 and I am stabilized and on day 10 I feel a little better than before the reduction. I will write more about my experience with both citalopram, brintellix (trintellix), and mirtazapine later but for know I just want to say thank you. You see I have for over 6 months been browsing survivingantidepressants and even though I can feel the heartbroken, desperate loneliness in peoples struggles, I feel that you are a little more non-lonely when when you are visible for each other. More importantly I will no longer just be a browsing antidepressant surviver. If I (and everybody else who are anonymously browsing) continue to free ride on sites like surviving antidepressants the real magnitude of the antidepressant problem will never be known and the work you do never be recognized (enough). I have seen somewhere (maybe a YouTube video) that survivingantidepressants.org has over 14.000 members. My guess is for every site-member in the withdrawal community (on FB-groups, twitter, RxISK, innercompass etc) there are +1000 more browsing non members out there. So here you have one more grateful member so you hugely important work can become a little more visible. Soren from Denmark

ADMIN NOTE Please read this entire topic for tips about tapering vortioxetine. There are many reports on the Web about withdrawal symptoms from vortioxetine, despite their being overlooked by drug companies. Vortioxetine appears to have a withdrawal syndrome similar to almost all the antidepressants and should be tapered slowly to avoid severe or prolonged withdrawal symptoms. See Why taper by 10% of my dosage? According to https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/vortioxetine#section=Top According to https://www.drugs.com/pro/brintellix.html , Brintellix is available as 5mg 10mg 15mg 20mg film-coated tablets. It has a very long half-life, somewhere around 66 hours. There is no ingredient in or coating on the tablet to make it extended-release, that would be unnecessary. (In May 2016, Takeda changed the name of this drug from Brintellix to Trintellix in the US to avoid confusion with another drug.) More biochemical detail about vortioxetine at DrugBank. Vortioxetine is metabolized in the liver by several liver enzymes; however, enzyme cyp 2D6 is very important in its metabolization. Taking vortioxetine with other drugs that are metabolized in the liver, as many psychiatric drugs are, can lead to drug-drug interactions, particularly if the other drugs utilize cyp 2D6. From https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/vortioxetine#section=Drug-and-Medication-Information Check for drug-drug interactions. Reduce by splitting tablets Depending on your daily dosage, you may be able to taper by dry-cutting tablets. For example, if you are taking 20mg per day, you may request that your prescription be filled with a combination of 10mg and 5mg tablets with the intention of splitting one 5mg tablet into fourths (1.25mg per quarter tablet). This will enable you to reduce from 20mg to 18.75mg, 17.50mg, 16.25mg, 15mg, 13.75mg, 12.5mg, 10mg -- all reductions within the 10% guideline. (Your doctor will have to specify the reason, such as "take x mg in the a.m. and x mg in the p.m.", for most insurance to cover this type of prescription). At 10mg, you will want to get your prescription filled with two 5mg tablets. At this point, to maintain a reduction rate of 10%, you will need to either 1) use a digital scale to weight tablet fragments of 1mg active ingredient (mgai) or less; OR 2) convert one 5mg tablet into a liquid to measure with an oral syringe. (See below.) Use a digital scale to measure doses If you are very sensitive to dosage reductions, you may wish to weigh tablet fragments, see Using a digital scale to measure doses Taper with vortioxetine liquid Measuring a drug for tapering by 10% at a time is easier using a liquid formulation. Since vortioxetine is available in fairly low dosages, you can take part of your daily dosage as a 5mg, 10mg, or 15mg tablet and add the rest as a liquid until your dosage is less than 5mg, where you would take your entire dose as a liquid. Taking part as a tablet and part as a liquid makes it easier to switch from a tablet to a liquid. Vortioxetine liquid may be available by prescription in some countries (other than the U.S). Check with your pharmacist. Make your own vortioxetine liquid The active ingredient in the tablets, vortioxetine, is slightly soluble in water. This means you or a compounding pharmacy can make a liquid suspension from vortioxetine, see How to make a liquid from tablets or capsules A liquid will be a suspension, not a consistent or "homeogenous" solution. Vortioxetine is highly soluble in ethanol and a substance called DMSO, as are many psycho-neuro-active prescription medications. Ethanol is readily available in vodka. You can get oral or medical grade DMSO from many sources. If you have questions about this, feel free to post them in this topic. Have a compounding pharmacy make custom capsule dosages or a liquid or for tapering Compounding pharmacies can make capsules of the drug in any dosage or a liquid from the tablets. You will need a prescription written for the custom compound. The only drawback is this can be expensive. I have a friend on vortioxetine (Brintellix) so I was wondering, does anyone have any info on how tapering this drug might look like? Thanks in advance.

I have been off brintellix since may. Its been a rollercoaster! The first weeks was ok. Then i became on and of depressed for a few weeks. Some days has been so good, like myself - a new me. And suddenly i get the same side effects/problems i use to have when i was on them, and was the reason i had to quit. The last couple of months i have had so much ocd (intrusive thoughts), and a few panicattacks. The ocd was the main reason i had to use antidepressants, but the panicattacks is new to me. It has starting to take up all my mind. In the beginning it was easy to handle, but now it can ruin the whole day. I'm afraid that my only choise is to get back on the meds if this continues, but that would also destroy me. Maybe anyone can give me some advice? Maybe i just have to be patient, and this is withdrawals?

Hello All… Over the years I’ve been plied with most SSRIs there are, in an attempt to combat depersonalisation / derealisation disorder. About three years ago I was put on Vortioxetine (aka Brintellix). It did help with the DPDR but I’m just fed up of feeling nothing at all now and having no enthusiasm for anything. I decide to start reducing my dose about two weeks ago and so far the experience has been horrendous. So far side withdrawn effects are - Strong head zapping / weird head sensations. Strong feelings of panic - agoraphobiac type symptoms. Short temper - generally being unpleasant to people around me. Constant feeling of tensions - especially in the mornings. Relentless tiredness. Mental confusion. Very low mood What’s worrying me is that this is just dropping to 5mg. Withdrawal got so bad yesterday I nearly abandoned the idea of getting off them. Would love to hear from anyone with experience of coming off this one. Best wishes to all….

Help! I am needing advice for my taper off Vortioxetine/Brintellix. My story so far: Was put on Escitalopram at age 21 in 2014 for generalised anxiety. Sure it helped me with my anxiety however the side effects were significant (severe emotional blunting, no libido, amongst others), however doctors always recommended I stay on them. So I did. Many years later I finally woke up to the fact that the medication wasn't helping much anymore, and that along with the side effects made me decide I wanted to come off it. I tapered down over 6 weeks (which was even slower than what the doctor had recommended), and suffered severe anxiety, emotional ups and downs, low mood. I had put those symptoms down to a resurgence of my original anxiety exacerbated by a poorly timed job change, but now the more I read I know it was withdrawal symptoms. I then started Brintellix as recommended by my doctor and have been on that for approximately the last year. I saw no additional benefit compared to the Escitalopram however the thought of going through the process of changing medications again was too overwhelming so I just stayed on it because I didn't know what to do. I desperately want to come off the medication but after the last time I have been too scared. I am now at the point in my life where my husband and I want to conceive, so have started the taper as recommended by my psychiatrist. I was taking 20mg every second day (to be honest I don't even know why, probably because I would occasionally forget to take it, it didn't seem to have any negative effect, and my psychiatrist didn't seem to see a problem with that so I just continued). 3 days ago I dropped down to 10mg every second day as instructed. However since I did that I have stumbled across this site and now realise this is far too quick, and my planned 3 month taper is also way too fast given how long I have been on medication. I haven't had any withdrawal symptoms so far. I know that it is recommended to drop down 10% per month, however my question is now what do I do at this point to give me the best chance for success? Do I carry on with 10mg every second day as recommended? Or do I change to take 10mg daily? Or do I go back up to closer to my original dose and restart the taper from there? Side note, over the last year I have also been diagnosed with ADHD, and have discovered a lot of, if not most of my anxiety is due to symptoms from that. I have trialled a couple of stimulants (ritalin, dexamfetamine, vyvanse), with mild benefit, but am scared to start another psychiatric medication after this ordeal with SSRIs. The theory my psychiatrist is working with is that ADHD medication will help with my anxiety (as most of my anxiety stems from symptoms of ADHD), and can be used as a tool to help get off the Brintellix. This made sense to me however I am now scared introducing another medication will confuse my system even more.... or will it help? I am just so unsure about what to do. I greatly appreciate any help/advice

Greetings, I am 22 right now, I am fortunate to be able to join your platform to find solution on my current life altering issue... To encapsulate, my story began in 2018 (17 close to 18 years old) when I was close to my the examination period and I had a predisposition to stress and anxiety, after the examination my mental health and energy deteriorated and after a subsequent diagnosis with GAD (General Anxiety Disorder), and the begin the administration regimen of Paroxetine 20mg...and that was during 2018-2021 ( at which timeframe I also took Zoloft during that time), was also given Xanax. Please note that I was kinda doctor shopping myself, given that I have to leave my Mother-Country Greece, to study abroad in the UK. So keep in mind that many things transpired during that span...at which I did go on and off paroxetine for a while. When Covid-19 hit I had to go back to my own country, and therefore my parents had more of a grasp of what was happening.. Essentially, my mother at first, did not want me to take any medications and even told me to withdraw from paroxetine after being on it for so long. Hence, it is not surprising that even the doc conducted himself accordingly... and by saying that I mean, he reverted to my mother's request with the most ignorant/malpractice-like behavior possible: just stop in like 20 days... To keep it short after 2 months of being off the Paroxetine, I developed some kind of withdrawal syndrome which precipitate in the faitful moment the next doctor, decided that the best way to tackle this issue, was to administer trittico and 2.5mg zyprexa, which I took for about 22-28 days.... Anyhow then the doctor, tried to poly-drug me again by adding lyrica(which i took for a while ) and also trying to purport effexor as another supplementary med... Moving on, my parents, decided that the best course of action was to get a second opinion from another of those inclined clinicians... so the next one was like, olanzapine is a dangerous drug, and he told me to CT it after 22 days of exposure, to which I complied with no resistance. After that he told me that I need to do EEG and after that he gave me welbutrin (also attivan/tavor) which i took for about a month or so before stopping it, because it induced even more anxiety and internal head- throbbing (for which I conjecture olanzapine was the culprit)... Anyhow, after that, it was decided that I should visit another doc, which i did after stopping the med. The next doc. told me that the optimal path was to put me on 200mg Zoloft which I took, till I developed intense, noticeable tremors in my face, which even my parents found very peculiar. For this reason it was decided to decrease dose and stay at 100mg before going back to 50mg which i stayed for a while. After that, my parents told me that Rtms abbreviated for Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation was the way to go. Consequently, I travelled by train to the northern part of my country where this medical intervention was available. After which 30 sessions (left lobe) for depression/anxiety and 30 additional sessions (at the top of the head) for OCD were conducted on me. It was not worthy it as i felt even worse after it, and developed a more pronounced headache and muscle strain in my neck and throat. After that, couple of months passed and since my situation only got worse and worse I went to 20 mg brittellix/vortioxetine and now for about 2 months I am at 40mg. The most prominent symptoms from my side are the following: 1) Cognitive deficit - progressively getting worse 2) Memory impairment - progressively getting worse 3) Anhedonia - no fluctuations 4) PSSD (ED can not even sustain it for a little while)- no fluctuations 5) Inability to connect with others/emotional blunting 6) Head pressure/ throbbing / Headache (rhythmic) - constant getting worse 7) Nausea and speech impairment Please advise if those syndromes are somewhat recoverable and my system can eventually normalize and revert back to its old self... Honestly I have heard stories of people like zelnick and Plshelp , Sofa and so many others that only got worse, which is quite perplexing, what do I need to do? I tried to persuade my parents to do an Qeeg or SPECT by the believe my OCD and "mental illness" are acting up.. Do you have any suggestions on how to proceed with life ? and if those alterations which are stemming from SSRIs and also the brief exposure to Zyprexa/Olanzapine can be addressed and properly treated ? I believe my D2 receptors or dopaminergic system is kinda messed up, and that neuroadaptation failed or something. My dopamine/serotonic/muscarinic/histamine etc. receptors and genesis must be f-ed up. Awaiting your kind advise if there is any. Thank you in advance for your kind assistance.

Hey All!! I’m so glad I found this site although it may be a little late. I fear I tapered too quickly on Brintellix and here I am experiencing withdrawal. To give you a little history, I started antidepressants in October 2016 after a very stressful job left me in a bad place. At that time, I should have listened to my husband who told me that if I quit my job, all would return to normal. Instead, I felt the only way to heal myself was to start antidepressants. I did quit my job at the same time and expected to be “healed” with my antidepressants. Unfortunately, I bounced from Lexapro to Pristiq and finally to Brintellix in November of 2015 along with Lamictal to stabilize my mood. Looking back, I’m not sure any of those drugs actually worked…I may have been going through withdrawal every time I stopped taking one. Instead of getting better with the new antidepressant I think maybe I was just getting over the withdrawal of another??? Needless to say, I very quickly got off the Lamictal in June 2016 (went from 100-50-0 in a 3 week period). I went through withdrawal from that (about 3 months before it was over completely) and started feeling more like myself. My intent was never to stay on AD forever so at the end of October, I was feeling well. I had worked through my issues with my therapist, was good at my job, and genuinely happy. However, I was still acutely aware that I still wasn’t myself. I could not feel PURE JOY. I was pretty numb. So my doc told me to taper on my Brintellix, go down to 5mg (from 10) for two weeks and then stop completely. My last day of Brintellix was November 10th. Within a week I was actually feeling more like myself than I had in years!! I was laughing with my kids and at random things on TV. I was back. About the beginning of December was when the symptoms began. I felt more FRUSTRATION than I ever had, so much madness. I felt like a toddler trying to figure out how to manage my emotions again. I worried that the depression was returning because I didn’t have my Brintellix. But it didn’t make any sense. My life had not changed. I was feeling joy—more joy than I had---but I was also experiencing these random thoughts that would not get out of my head. It felt like I had two lives going on at times. The one in my head and the one outside my head. Current Symptoms: Irrational Fears Unable to be fully present Sleep—my mind won’t STOP Erratic Menstrual Cycle that make symptoms of anxiety even worse Physical Anxiety Improvements since discontinuing: Joy Intimacy with my husband Pockets of being myself again Thank you for any advice or encouragement you have related to my symptoms. To all of you who have been doing this, you are amazing!

Hi, sorry in advance, I am a non-native English speaker. In Sep. 2021 I was “diagnosed” with burnout syndrome, after working way too much over years, basically day and night as a vet surgeon. I was resting and things were slightly improving until dec. 21, I felt really fatigued and weak, but never low mood or depressed. Sleep was always good. In Jan. 22, I was prescribed first time in my life with an AD, Brintellix 5 mg (med history in my signature). In March 22 I was stopped from 10 mg Brintellix because of many physical symptoms and ended in hospital with weakness, muscle pains, couldn’t barely walk. What I didn’t know then, I was probably suffering from wd symptoms. 1. April I was set back on 5 mg, raised to 20 mg till 17. May. Suffered from severe physical smyptoms couldn’t barely walk, ataxia, muscle weakness, nausea, dizziness, vertigo & fatigue. Then the doc made me reduce again in Jul. to 10 mg, the symptoms were stabilizing after two weeks, but the doc gave me Wellbutrin 150 mg, stopped after 3 days, this was hell!! Read afterwards Wellbutrin is “doubling” the dose from Brintellix! 24. Aug I reduced to 5 mg, symptoms were stabilizing after 10 days but doc made me stop in a few days with 5 – 0 mg. Since 14. Sep. no meds at all, after 2 days all hell broke loose: itch on the whole body (never had before), flu like symptoms (never had before), neuropathic pains, muscle pains, stomach ache (never had before), weakness, headaches, light sensitivity, dizziness, fatigue and so on. And yesterday I stumbled on this forum. I am speechless, angry, and sad, this is crazy, nobody ever told me to taper off slowly, this is insane. And it says in the booklet from Brintellix you can stop immediately! I’ve spent hours reading in your topics and your work is very much appreciated, wow! So now I think I am suffering from wd symptoms. Should I go back now on a low dose brintellix to stabilize? And then taper off slowly? How much should I take? 0.5 mg or more? I am so desperate. Right now, I am taking Vit. C 500 mg and Omega 3 fish oil since yesterday, and that’s it. Thanks for your advice in advance Much love Flo75

Hi! I have searched a lot of information about getting out of Brintellix, because what happened to me seems to be impossible. I had Sepram for 19 years, then changed it to Valdoxan and Venlafaxin in December 2020. Quit Venlafaxin May 2021, it took 4 months for the symptoms to go away. Now I take Valdoxan 37,5 mg a day. I was prescribed Roaccutan medicine for acne and after 4 days, I just crashed mentally. It felt like someone close to me had died. I had unbelievable anxiety, something I had never felt before. The anxiety stopped immediately after 3 days when I stopped the drug. Before the symptoms were gone, my doctor thought that it would be good to change Valdoxan to Brintellix, because of my terrible anxiety (which was caused by Roaccutan, but didn't realize at this point). I would have done anything for it to stop, because it was literally unbearable, so I really wanted Brintellix to get some help. I started to take Brintellix 10mg immediately and after 3 days of taking the pill, I woke up early in the morning and thought I would suffocate to the anxiety. For days, I couldn't eat at all, and without Opamox couldn't function at all. I stopped Brintellix immediately and after 5-6 days, I started to feel a little bit better. Now as the days pass (now it's day 8), I am feeling worse and worse every day. The anxiety is starting again first thing in the morning and it's unbearable till I go to sleep. I have stopped eating again. I can't fall a sleep and it's difficult even with melatonin. I often start shaking in the middle of the day. My heart is beating like crazy all the time. I can't believe that after 3 pills, I am facing this. I am really afraid that this anxiety is never going to stop. It is really crushing me. I have kids to look after and I can't be off work all the time. Is there anyone else who has symptoms getting worse after they got easier or does anyone have symptoms though using a drug for just a few days? Thank you!

Greetings. I have been taking Brintellix ( 10 Mg ) and Mirtazapeine ( 15Mg ) for about a year. After a slow start they started ( seeming ) to work well about 3-4 months in and the result ( after a serious episode of clinical depression / anxiety with frequent, planned suicidal ideation) was that I've been feeling clear headed, calm and able to focus on work and live a full life as a family man with a demanding career. During the depression I'd seriously considered that my career would not be possible and made plans ( when I wasn't thinking about ending my life ) to work in a less demanding occupation. So once bedded in, the medication, or possibly other factors like good diet, yoga and excercise, seems to have really helped. Overall I'd say I've been feeling less anxious than at any point in my adult life ( I'm now 50 ) and not experiencing any adverse side effects from the drugs, bar a slight reduction in my sex drive- but only slight. I sometimes also find that afetr I've taken the Mirtazapeine in the evening I can't stay up for long, for example if I've watching a movie. I have 2 concerns A ) I don't really like allopathic medications and was very resistant to taking anything. I have treated myself and my family successfully with natural medicines for my whole life, not even taking headache pills or antibiotics. This seemed like an emergency and my family were very keen for me to try prescribed medications. My feelings at the time were, well even if I live a few years less, that's probably better than suicide and the pain that would cause my family + friends. So I got on board with the 2 medications. B ) I'm concerned that at some point one or both of the drugs will " Crap Out " anyway and I'll hit a wall. I've had a lot of therapy since starting the medication and deepened my spiritual practice and feel that I've much better equipped to handle depression if it hits me again. I'm wondering if I can get some advice on which order to start tapering / withdrawing, and what I might expect from the process? I'm not taking any other medications, and I don't drink alcohol or take any recreational drugs. I'm sleeping well right now. I'm a naturally anxious / neurotic person and have lived with this all my life, so I have strategies for coping with those feelings / sensations if they creep back. After starting to experimentally taper - I tried dropping the mirtazapiene by 25% and then 50%- the anxiety has definitely ramped up in quite sudden waves and I'm sure I'm not approaching things in a sensible way- so am considering taking the dose back up to 75% of prescribed 15Mg ( so 3/4 of a 15 Mg pill ) and taking a more steady approach from advice on this website. I'm seeing that 10% taper in a month is more normal- but had tried 25% and 50% purely because I have a demanding life and making liquids etc seemed like another thing too many- but I'm seeing that it may be the only sensible way forward. Thanks in advance.

I've always been sad with my life since I had like 14 years old. I never found any joy in anything. So, in high school, my friends from then offered me weed and I accepted. And it was awesome. I could get high and enjoy life, at last. it was awesome. really miss that stage of my life, now that I think of it. things were good. Things changed, I went to study to another state, things didn't work out (cause I would smoke weed and party instead of studying) so I had to return to my home town. I started buying drugs from the deep web, psychedelics, and it brought me many good memories I wish I can relive some day. Anyways, a couple years worth of taking lots of drugs will do a number to you, no matter how "clean" they are and how "young" you might feel. One day, february 2018, I snapped. Man this really hurts to write. One day, I just felt sick of it all and hit several times my car door with my head, I did a number of holes in it. I realized I really did nothing to me rather than just make holes in my car, so I just drove off to the nearest bridge and told some friends and my dad through text I would jump. one of them went to pick me up and I had a long convo with my sister. I agreed on taking meds. My dad is a psychiatrist and started me with trintellix, brintellix, or Vortioxetine, first 10mg, later 15, finally 20mg. I took it for 6 months, then realized I couldn't get high off most drugs anymore. Not weed, not alcohol, not nicotine, not even a coffee. Not only that, my range of emotions became more tame, nothing as intense as it used to be. This sucks, I thought (and I still do), so I'll drop it. I tappered off 5mg each month, so it took 4 months for me to completely stop taking it. If you're read a bit of anything in this forum you'll realize the decrements are much smaller and the times between dosing less are bigger, like 6 months or so. I experienced pretty much every withdrawl symptom there is: blurry vision, INTENSE vertigo, slugishness; everytime I would turn around even just my head I would experience this very disturbing "shock" moment where I would feel like something missing off my head was taking a sense of itself missing. Very hard to describe, it was something more.... neuronal, shall we say, I think thats because the spinal chord needs serotonin for lots of things and when it suddenly stops its flow its something very ***** up for your body. Since there is no natural way that you can achieve that. Lots of things have happened in the meantime, none of them for the better. It did eventually even itself out, but then I started to become more and more erratic with my **** so i had to be put on meds again. I've left it all for 1 month now and I don't think it will ever go back to what it used to be, not even 50%. I do exercise, I eat healty, but I simply cannot feel good after going a hard workout, after a deep session of meditation, and a weed smoke break after a long day of busting my ass at the office. I can't believe I'm stuck with this ****, it's all my fault for always wanting more and more, never letting breaks between drug highs. Now I'm forever ***** and there is nothing I can do to remedy it. I haven't had sex in forever, but I fear an orgasm with someone will be capped just like every other feeling in my life.

Hello all. I've been on various meds since 2005 when I was 21. I was put on Remeron because of what I now see as situational anxiety due to then-undiagnosed ADHD. I think it's time for me to leave this state and move ahead. The trigger for this desire is a recent cognitive assessment I did where I found out that things that were once easy for me intellectually are now harder, which is especially concerning for someone who's always been over-achieving and has "being smart" as an integral part of their identity. My short term memory is really bad with all of those medications, and what drove me towards doing the assessment is struggles at work that have been going on for the last three years. Though the assessment was the acute trigger, there are larger themes at play that made me really struggle the last few years. My sense of self is vague and undefined. I used to be much sharper and brighter, passionate, and awake; qualities that I feel are lost under the haze of artificial neurotransmitter modulation. I'm at an impasse that simply can't be overcome by adding a new med every few months (believe me, I tried). I feel like I'm half the person I used to be at work and at life. I crave authenticity and clarity rather than an artificial sense of (over)confidence. Despite all of that, I really feel some gratitude for the journey. I did a lot in these 15 years in spite of/because of (can't tell at this stage honestly) these meds, including getting two master's degrees and meeting really wonderful people throughout. I try to avoid an attitude of being anti psych meds as they are really helpful in some life situations. I actually don't plan on going off the ADHD med I'm currently on, and I'm even open to the idea of being on an anti-depressant in the future if needs be and I can tolerate it. I recently gave stopping Remeron a try (jumped from 3.5mg dose or thereabouts, wasn't doing accurate cutting and weighing back then), and was actually doing fine (the most salient withdrawal symptom was itchiness, which is honestly fine). This went on until sometime in the second week when the usual acute withdrawal symptoms came at me (akathisia, insomnia, nausea, etc). Before that, I experienced a lovely sense of lucidity and intellectual playfulness that made me feel 20 again. I had the loveliest conversation with my best friend, without the recent robotic disinterest that these meds seem to cause me. I decided afterwards to reinstate, get off the other problematic meds I was on first (Klonopin and Latuda), regroup, then tackle the Remeron gently. For the last few months, I've been collecting stories of people who successfully overcame this mess as well as quotes from the Baylissa's book. I've also been training my faith, acceptance, and non-resistance/non-anticipation muscles. I am currently reading Hope and Help for Your Nerves, and determined to come up with a plan with my therapist to stock up on coping skills. This endeavor is, in essence, part of a greater desire to live a life that is built around my abilities (whatever those may be after I'm done with my tapering) and interests, instead of hysterically and aggressively going after situations that are overly ambitious but ultimately destructive for me. This, to me, is the reason I went on and continued to be lulled by these meds for a decade and a half. I really don't care about material ambitions at this point; I just want a pleasant and meaningful life. I've successfully got off Klonopin after a year of (low-dosage, 0.125mg every two or three nights) last month. I've also got off Latuda this week and I'm doing generally well. I do realize that I'm still not completely clear off of these meds, so my plan is to resume my tapering etc. after some weeks. When I started, my goals were as follows: 1. Stop benzodiazepines (DONE) 2. Overcome polypharmacy 3. Stop Remeron The order of 2 and 3 doesn't matter to me, though I'm currently leaning towards stopping Remeron first as I've been on it the longest and maybe staying on Brintellix while getting off of it can lessen the withdrawal symptoms. So yeah, this is my introduction post. Thank you for reading.

After 6 weeks on Trinnelix at 10 mg the neurological type sensations have been insane. I am 3 months in dealing with this now. Worst part is I don't know if any of what I experienced was due to a bad reaction to the ssris or some underlying condition that was brewing already inside me. All I know 6 weeks in on trinnelix and I'm in a hospital with muscle enzyme breakdown called rhabdomyalysis. SSRIs can be a cause but so can some crazy neurological muscular disease among other things. I had to cave in and went on zoloft 0.5 mg to be increased to 0.25mg and clorazapam 0.5 mg last week as in my mind since all this happened I now convinced myself that I have ALS and every day has been pure hell. Dr. Google has been fun. I no longer have self control. I cried daily today was one of those days after my conversation with my GP. I still don't know what is wrong with me and if Zoloft will give me the same issues as trinnelix 6 weeks from now and if once again I'll end up with rhandomyalysis. Clorazapam stopped my body twitches, which is great but my doctor gave me no reassurance as this is also a medication given to people with neurological issues hence my earlier breakdown. I already know I don't have MS clean brain MRI and CT Scan. I'm just waiting on a cspine MRI which will happen this saturday. I'm only lucky to be getting tests at this rate due to some connections through friends and family as I could not imagine living like this for another 3 months. Next is neuro appointment and waiting on the nerve study which I'm petrified of. I had spinal surgery as a kid so who knows. My problems started while on trinnelix and then a week after stopping it cold turkey after really poor advice. I took myself to the hospital 2x last week as I had burning sensations down my arm with electrical shock feeling that was new. My blood work is now good no muscle breakdown issues. They also told me to take ativan every 4 hours which is the dumbest thing I've heard. This was the advice I received from the emergency room doctor. I went back to my family doctor and told her I need to function so she gave me clorazapam until zoloft kicks in. symptoms are gone for the most part but I question why based on what I learned about the medication. As good as I felt prior, I suddenly feel like **** again and I'm noticing little twitches. I feel like my CNS is on a spin cycle in a washing machine that I just can't get out of naturally. Sorry I don't know how to add the meds under the quote so will have to put it in this way... APRIL 25 TO JUNE 5, 2019 TRINNELIX 10 MG CLORAZAPAM 2X PER DAY 0.5 MG SINCE AUGUST 22, ZOLOFT .05 MG SINCE AUGUST 22

Hey everyone, I´m going to try and keep this as short as I can without leaving too much information out. I'm from Sweden and started using prozac at the age of 14. I have since then been on and off medications until now (37 years old). I am currently about 2+ months off my latest one (brintellix) so currently free of meds. I have one pack of Oxascand left and I take 10 mg on the worst days, I really try not too. I also use Imovane a few times a week to help with my sleep issues. So I´m basically here because I started researching medications this morning, I´ve felt really bad 2 weeks in a row. I suffer from both depression and general anxiety, some social anxiety as well. Having a hard time being social (it drains me), having thoughts that nobody likes me (especially at work), no self esteem and just really tired all the time. I try to work out 3 days a week to try and rebuild my brain chemistry, I read The Real Happy Pill: Power Up Your Brain by Moving Your Body by Anders Hansen and it really motivated me to not take medicine and work out instead. I have only done this for a few weeks so too soon to tell. I guess the next medicine for me to try would be Lamictal (my mood swings quite much between feeling ok and depressive, I've had hypomania a few times for a few days but only when I'm on meds) but I really want to be free of meds this time, been on different ones on and off for 23 years now. Tried Prozac, Zoloft, Cipralex, Venlafaxin, Cymbalta, Brintellix, Buspar and probably more that I don't remember. Like I said, been without meds in my system for about 2 months and this is usually when depression and anxiety kicks me in the butt and I start some new medication. Is this normal? Is it the medicine that has ruined my own chemistry or is this just me without meds? I've tried therapy as well, and cognitive behavioral therapy helped somewhat but no way near as much as I wanted. It's really bad right now and I'm just trying to hang in there. I would love to hear if anyone has had similar experiences and managed a life without meds and actually found ways to cope without it, and if so how? Is this 2-3 months thing also common? That a crash usually happens by then? It sure seems to be that way with me...

Hello everyone, Short history: I have a long history of On/Off misc. antidepressant use for various periods, icluding SSRIs & SNRIs and atypicals. In previous times, when I went off medication I didn't experience withdrawal but I guess that this bombardment of my brain with various chemicals left it scarred and vulnerable. My first withdrawal occured when I went off 150mg of Effexor XR (Venlafaxine). I took it for only 2 months (July-August 2015) and I experienced withdrawal over the course of 6 months (September 2015 - February 2016), in which I was pretty much disabled and all I did was wait until things will get better. Current state: After a reoccurence of severe depression, I felt desperate and went back on antidepressants. The psychiatrist suggested Vortioxetine (Brintellix/Trintellix), a "brand new" drug. I started from a dose of 5mg which I took for 1 week, then went up to 10mg which I took for 2 weeks, after that I went up to 15mg, severe itching ensued so I dropped back to 10mg. I stopped taking it after 1 week without tapering because Vortioxetine has a long half life. All in all, I took it for 4-5 weeks, and have been off it since August 2016. About a week after discontinuing, a myriad of symptoms appeared: Tight muscles in head/traps/shoulders/stomach, hot flashes, extreme irritability and agitation, impaired cognition (no concentration, focus, memory etc...), anhedonia, no motivation, akathisia, jaw pain. In general, I feel like my brain has been fried. Currently, I feel very confused and discouraged. Sometimes it seems that it's getting slightly better, sometimes I feel that no change occured and I'm still experiencing the symptoms in the same strength. I haven't tried any other medications apart from Propranolol in an effort to reduce the akathisia but it didn't help. I'm extremely hopeless, I cannot continue my life in this manner. I will meet the psychiatrist in the next week to discuss reinstatement, although I feel it will be the final nail in my brain's coffin. If anyone has any suggestions or can share his/her Vortioxetine experience I would be happy to hear. Thanks

Hello. About a year ago my GP suggested I try Brintollix to help anxiety. After discussing with my wife, we decided to give it a try. A few days into the medication I began having severe side effects including debilitating panic attacks, severe anxiety, insomnia and nausea. After a couple weeks of these symptoms and two trips to urgent care, I discussed withdrawing with my GP. I stopped taking the brintollix and now know I was having withdrawals. I started seeing a psychiatrist who initially prescribed xanax and celexa. The celexa was increased frequently and I was taking 60 mg within 2 months of starting it. He switched the xanax to ativan, back to xanax and then to klonopin. I was also prescribed neurontin at one point and latuda at another point. My psychiatrist then got upset that my wife and I had called too many times on the emergency line and switched me to another provider in his office. I discussed my concerns with this provider and started decreasing the celexa. The celexa has made me nauseous from day one and its never subsided. I feel like a walking zombie when Im taking the celexa. I decreased from 60mg to 5mg over several months. On 12/31/15 after being on 5 mg for a month I stopped taking it, per my provider. Now its been 5 weeks of living hell. Panic attacks, nausea, anxiety, dark cloud feeling, exhaustion, head rushes, irritability, agitation, suicidal thoughts, tightness in chest, severe back pain...its been horrible. If not for taking time off from work and my wife, I probably would have committed suicide by now. I dont know if I can continue this hell...should I reinstate or keep fighting through this? I've taken 5HTP, drink shakeology daily, and take an omega 3 pill in the AM and PM. I also take propanolol for palpitations. Thanks for any and all help...I'm fighting every single day and praying for some relief but I just cant take this anymore.

Dear all, I have been on drugs for 20 years. Initial cause for going on drugs was insomnia (impossible to sleep and fear of not being able to sleep), anxiety, depression. Treatment was amitryptilline 150 mg. (Elavil). Then the medication was gradually tapered and the sleeping problem reoccured. I then never stopped drugs. I developped Pure O : fear of not being able to sleep so I did not sleep, unable to go to work because of lack of sleep and terrible anxiety. For many years I was on Prozac and it contributed to destroy my marriage.It made me mean. from 2007 to 2017 I was on all possible ssris, anafranil, but also all types of neuroleptics xeroquel 50 mg, risperdal for a short time...... I am now still unable to sleep in other places or when there are wifi waves, unable to sleep in the same bed as someone, and cant work because of extreme anxiety. After a suicidal attempt due to anafranil poop out I am now on brintellix 10 mg and think I must let my brain stabilize before doing any changes. I have no home and boyfriend so I am staying by a friend. I try to develop a mindfulness attitude to accept how my life has been ruined. has anybody developped this kind of obsessions, how do you address them? Do you know how i will taper Brintellix since I have ocd and as soon as I make a change my own brain thinks "this is going to make your insomnia and anxiety worse". Are people also disabled from drugs and requested disability? Thank you. Current drugs Brintellix 10 mg, Nozinan 20 mg, Zopiclone 7,5 mg

Hi all, I have only just started reading all the wonderful, hope-giving posts on this forum. I have been on Effexor for 20+ years and while I had ups and downs it did seem to do the job mostly, although in saying that I would have fatigue which I would put down to the depression - but who knows?? Anyway a couple of years ago I got very fatigued and was diagnosed with Ceoliac Disease, so went GF and started to feel really good, then after about 10 months the fatigue set in again, my Dr felt I should increase the Effexor. Now in the past I am aware that Effexor raises my BP and ( it can also cause lactation in non pregnant women as after seeing a psychiatrist years ago who said "these are safe, some people take up to 10 a day with no effects! " so dutifully me took 5 as instructed of (I think either 75mg or 150mg memory shot sorry!) then started to lactate!! Anyhoo had my meds increased again this time which led me to a hypertensive crises! So after seeing several doctors and finding that the cause was the Effexor (which I tried to tell them!) I was taken off that and looking back now even though I did wean off over several months I probably didn't go slow enough on the last 37.5mg. I was sick with flu at the time so I felt crap anyway! After 6 weeks I had suicidal thoughts so another doc tried Valdoxan which sent me to sleep within 20 mins of having it - not good when you do shift work! So next to try was Zoloft which did nothing, then went on Brintellix and was assured it would lift the brain fog - unfortunetly it made me even more scatterbrained. Not to mention while having all these meds especially after the raised BP I was having new symptoms and still debilitating fatigue. Whenever I increased the meds I would get short of breath or rather air hunger, this may be due to adrenal fatigue? The last 18 months have been a roller coaster ride for sure but it still fascinates me that after going GF I am more sensitive to the meds. Perhaps as the gut healed I absorb more? I have had recent tests with my new integrative GP which shows my endocrine glands are exhausted and I have low levels of all my minerals. So I am now on 8mg of Brintellix which I have to roughly guess by cutting the tabs ( I notice with these ones whether I am becoming more suspicious but the tabs are an oval shape with no middle score so is it manufacturers way of making more money as it is harder to halve them?? )I am so cynical with the world and angry and irritated a lot of the time. Thankfully I have a wonderful supportive husband! Sorry for long waffle!

I am withdrawing from Duloxetine 30mg and my doctor has taken me down to 20mg every other day and 10mg of Brintellix every other day. I am not sleeping at all and my head feels foggy all the time. Since I have been on Duloxetine I have had feelings of depression, anxiety, tired all the time and did not realise all this time that Duloxetine is obviously not right for me. I have been on Duloxetine for 1 year.

Hi Courageous ones. I'm happy and frightened to be here. I'm new, 56, not tech or math savvy. Dx 1986 Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Major Depressive Episodes. Prescribed Xanax for 30 years beginning 1/4 mg 3 times per day as needed and ending prescription 1 mg/ day as needed. The highest dose I ever too was 1/2 mg, three times a day but always at least 1/2 mg per day towards the end, then hit suddenly stopped working, was taken off, experienced severe PAWS for 3 weeks and psychiatrist then put me on Klonapin 1mg, twice a day which I take faithfully and have been on for 5 months now with two, unsuccessful taper attempts in the time as I was cutting to much to quickly even though it was doctor's advice. ANTIDEPRESSANTS ;( in order of being prescribed over 30 year course); Desipramine, Parnate, Prozac, Trazadone, Paxil, Celexa, Cymbalta, Remeron, currently Trintellix 15mg once a day. I'm sure their may be others I've forgotten. Since Xanax tolerence and severe PAWS in autumn of 2016, I have had to for lose on my home!E, move in with elderly parents, surrender pets, give up professional career and placed on government disability (1/3 my job pay) and having many financial woes. I would like to start to taper the Klonapin off successfully then, about a year after that, taper Trintellix antidepressant. Is this sound or is it better to taper the antidepressant first? All knowledge, experience, encouragement and tips are accepted with gratitude. Peace & Love, Mellow please