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Original full topic title before condensing: coming off low-dose Amitriptyline after 8 years, the under-informed way - deeply awful.... not sure what to do now... Hello, I came across this forum thankfully, after looking for info and advice/support for withdrawal from Ami. The rough timeline and history etc are in the signature. It is 4 weeks since my last dose of Ami. I was under-informed by the GP when I first went on it 8 tears ago. He told me something like "it's no big deal, you're on such a low dose (10mg or on occasion 20mg per night for anxiety induced insomnia after a triggered latent trauma episode), you can take it as needed - no worries"...... NO mention of having to stick to a regular every day dose, or the horrific withdrawal effects, or tapering, or long term effects etc... nothing. So, to try to cut a long story as short as I can, without compromising context, here goes: Please use the signature timeline to get the picture of how things have passed. I came off Ami "unconsciously" and only really clocked it when I suddenly had a **** yourself horrendous headache, and a "wave of despair" and "rotten-ness" experience one day, and because I kind of recognised the headache, in particular, as feeling somewhat "chemical" in nature, I thought about it, and then realised that I had not had any Ami in about a week. I had been cutting back on the Ami since end of Dec 2021 into Jan and Feb 2022, as I was concerned about a few "low blood pressure/hypo" type experiences I had been having, and wondered if they may be caused by the Ami. I still don;t know whether this was the case or not, but regardless, I started to cut back on Ami, and miss doses here and there, sometimes taking herbal sleep aids to help with sleep.... I was not paying too much attention to what I was doing with the Ami, as I had the story that it was "no big deal" as mentioned above, from the GP. Of course, I realise now, after having done some research after the event, that this was a disaster waiting to happen. I had "accidentally" gone cold turkey, and also spent 2 months on some kind of hap-hazard detox/retox behaviour. I had been suffering from constant diarrhoea for most of Jan Feb 2022, but put this down to a prolonged bout of IBS, which is something I have had, on and off over the years anyway. Notably though, previously I had always had IBS on the constipation side, rather than the other side. Once I realised that it was likely the Ami, I reinstated at half doses (5mg) straight away, and sure enough the "chemical" savage headache reduced in intensity the next day, by about 60%. I continued like this for about a week. The following week, I reduced the dose to about 2.5mg every other night for about a week. Then I took my last dose on March 5th. Obviously I know now that this was way too quick a taper. I am having a deeply awful experience with severe symptoms. The headaches have been getting a little better over this last month, but are still there daily. I have high anixiety and my guts are absolutely trashed. I have had random weird bruising on my arms, not caused by impacts. These have been fading in the last 2 weeks though. Chronic dry skin and rash on the tops of the shoulders and upper back, maddening itching all over. Chronic fatigue, chest tightness, dry mouth, muscle aches and pains, tingling sensations, restless legs at night sometimes, insomnia, early morning wakefulness, nausea, feeling faint, coughing in the morning, runny nose all day. I'm listing these for completeness, not for a sympathy vote! Just so we have the details and scope. I am trying a few supplements: Zinc NAC and Milk Thistle Activated charcoal Digestive enzymes at mealtimes, plus peppermint oil capsules And a few days ago, I started L-tryptophan 500-750mg with valerian root, at night - don't know whether this is making things worse on the physical side, and the anxiety.... So, I have, at least, a couple of questions please? The pharma companies state "up to 3 weeks" for the withdrawal process to be over? (not that I trust big pharma one bit of course), but it appears lots of us are experiencing effects way beyond 3 weeks? What is the explanation for this discrepancy, and what is a more realistic timeframe for my case? I read about reinstatement, but have not done this, as I was already at 4 weeks with no Ami, once I began educating myself about it. I am reticent to go back on the drugs at this stage, but at the same time, I can;t see myself being able to cope with this level of ill health for weeks more on end..... Should I be considering re-instatement, given what is said about it being "too late" to try this, in that it may not work or even make things worse? I would say the most distressing and intolerable symptoms I am dealing with right now are the body pains/tension/anxiety, and the totally screwed digestion - I have a lot of intense pain in my guts, and this affects sleep also. i dread mealtimes, as I just don;t know whether, in an hour's time I'm going to be totally screwed and in pain. Any advice or comments would be truly appreciated. Thank you so much for listening, Kev

Here are two articles that talk about serotonin and SSRI medications and gut function and the microbiome. Anything that alters serotonin alters the microbiome and I think that in my case my remaining medications are probably contributing heavily to the IBS that I'm dealing with. I am definitely making some progress but I think I'm fighting an uphill battle while still on these and probably anybody that is on these medications is going to be fighting that uphill battle. In short meds are bad for the gut. https://www.nature.com/articles/nrgastro.2013.105 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.682868/full

Hello, everyone… It has been, certainly, a difficult few months. The first time I entered this page was two months after stopping clonazepam and vortioxetine, because despite the fact that the decrease was gradual, the most severe symptoms appeared three weeks after I stopped consuming them. From then until now it has been a battle, to which I do not see the end, this is what has led me to start interacting on this channel - and not just consult it - because today, more than others, I question my reasons for stopping take drugs, it would seem that this is not going to end. Until now, I have tried to understand my body, all the symptoms are adjustments to return to its balance ("without help")... but I can't stop wondering if it was the best decision to have stopped taking the drugs. Without a doubt there are new things like the fact of experiencing life in a different way, I feel more "human" (which makes perfect sense because now I feel more than ever) the sensitivity that I have developed to get involved with everything, to all that isis around me, every expression of life, valuing all the abundance that I have and alway I has around me, the way I relate now, the way I perceive today, what I heard, what I see, feel...Im so grateful, but… At first my motivation was simple, stop being medicated, point.., stop consuming pils (I have to say that today I use more than ever because of the supplements LOL), later this motivation began to have a more altruistic and deeper meaning, however Although the motivation is still there, I don't stop doubting, Im tired! I would love to be able to read what has been your motivation to star with the withdrawal/tapering and what makes you stay there, even when the symptoms could sometimes exceed us. I hope someone dares to tell me because I know that will help me continue on the road, and maybe to someone else I also have a big question, what has worked for you for muscle tension and stiffness, this is what has made me fill tired as well as digestive problems, because the intestine is very tense and therefore I do not have a good digestion. Anything, anything you could share with me I will be very grateful, receive a big hug mirna

Hi everyone, I'm new so I would like to introduce myself and ask if anyone has advice for me! I am a 31 year old female and I started taking SSRIs and Adderall when I was about 14 and continued for 17 years. I don't remember if the SSRI ever helped with my depression in the beginning, but if it did at first, it either stopped or didn't work that well. I remember trying various brands and I don't recall ever feeling any better but I continued anyways because I thought I needed them. I would rate my depression at about a 5/10 through out this whole time period. The last brand I took was Prozac before I decided to try to wean off and see if I might be happier without any medication. I quit Adderall first and felt tired but it wasn't a huge deal. Then I tapered off 40 mg of Prozac over 2 months. I planned to go slower but I was feeling ok so I stuck with decreasing by 5 mg a week. I felt about the same 5/10 depression for about 2 months after my last dose and then I started to feel a little worse. Mentally things really took a turn for the worst 3 months after my last dose and at the same time my digestion basically stopped working. I have since had extremely uncomfortable bloating and constipation. I was diagnosed with SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth). The depression and anxiety got so bad that I quit my job and moved back home with my parents because I was scared and lonely living across the country by myself. Now all I do is worry 110% of the time over my digestion issues and whether I will be able to get a decent job that I enjoy. I figured my worsening depression and anxiety stemmed from the issues I am facing in my life but then it dawned on me that maybe I'm experiencing a delayed withdrawal. I am considering going back on an SSRI until I can improve my health issues and get a job so I don't have all those additional things to worry about but I'm also afraid the SSRI won't work at all and I'll be setting back my healing progress for no reason. So my question is, does anyone have any advice for me? Has anyone experienced or heard of digestion issues after discontinuing SSRI? I know serotonin affects gut function and is closely tied in with mental health. Is it a bad idea to try to temporarily reinstate Prozac until a time when I'm not facing so many other life challenges?

My digestive problems first started in 2012; I got a stressful job in a lab where I had to work 10hr per day and had very little time to drink water. The job was more like servitude in a sweatshop. I was on 300mg of Bupropion. Diverticulitis put me in the hospital for a week, with a month of stay-at-home care. The following year, the next attack placed me in the hospital for a week, then I endured a two-month recovery. Since then, if I have been under stress or get angry, my digestive issues come back. In 2017, my husband suggested that my antidepressants caused my digestive problems. Diverticulitis came back after I ate a lot of restaurant food one we when to visit family out of state. In late 2018, I started my taper. Just this week, I fought with my husband. After eating restaurant food, and quite a large quantity of sugar, I started to get the first symptoms of a diverticulitis attack. I'm at 22-mg of Bupropion. I'm wondering if I will ever heal my digestive system? It seems like stress or anger causes digestive issues. How can I live if I can't get angry or handle stress? Does antidepressants destroy the digestive system?

Tapering Abilify too fast, now at 5 percent health issues and sleep issues Hi there. Thanks in advance for reading this long post. If it helps you in anyway I am glad. If not please disregard. I am not a health professional or taper expert. What is good for me may not work for you. Tapering on my own because my old prescriber no longer felt I should. I am on a second attempt to taper abilify. The most I took was 7mg. I tapered at a 5 to 10 percent rate jumped off at .7 and wound up in hospital due to sleep issues hearing voices and mother who called ambulance because she. was worried (also was not aware I was tapering). I agreed with my doctor upon discharge to reinstate at 2 mg and lithium 600. I I was on that dose for about 5 months. For the first week took prn of klonapin .5 and seroquel 100(which I stayed on until sleep was normal and less anxiety for about a week then cut in half a couple days and then stooped. I was also taking 600 mg of lithium. When I decided to try a taper again I also switched to lithium orotate 15 mg, which I had done during previous taper over about 8 months. During that 8 month period I felt fine and that the taper was going well. For aches pains and mild anxiety I used cbd thc and kratom. On vacation I went off the weed traveling abroad for one week. Also forgot abilify so jumped off. Upon return decide to stay off abilify. A month later upon returning felt anxious with some voice hearing with only a few hours sleep each night. I felt lost in need of help but unable to get it from either professionals or peers. Now I have a therapist who knows I am tapering and friend and family members who provide support as well as extra help I can call on in the form of a somatic therapist and a med free coach. This time around I want to be smarter. My original cut was 25 percent which I was on for about 5 weeks. At that time I started having severe debilitating pain in my shoulder. I thought it might relate to an old injury. I was taking a turmeric supplement plus cbd and cannabis as was usual for me. I went to a chiropractor. The pain was only affected a bit. I also started pain in spine, back and other old injured areas. It has been a couple of weeks and in this time the pain moved to my gut. I stopped taking the turmeric and added some supplements to remedy my apparent inability to tolerate sulfur foods. Over the past few days I have noticed mood and cognitive issues and sleep issues. I slowed taper to 5 percent. I am off weed, cbd coffee alcohol too because I can barely tolerate food and I realize I am having withdrawal as well as gut issues possibly from the turmeric. I have had similar gut issues when not tapering in the past so I had a clue to look at sulfur/thiols issues. Where I am now, why I am here, and what I am looking for.. Last night I broke down and took a seroquel 50. I took it because sleep is so important to me and I felt I was in a dire situation., iI did sleep for 4 hours so I took another 50 and woke about 4 or 5 hours later.. I also ate some rice with digestive enzymes that I researched and seemed safe. It feel like a relief and felt at one point like I felt safe for the first time in the past few days. I know seroquel is not the answer. I am motivated to heal my whole self. I want to be off abilify and antipsychotics and if possible all drugs because I want to be the real authentic me. I must say that through this process I have felt glimpses of that. More creative more intuitive more loving more sexy more compassionate. Today I feel okay (though I do not like affects of seroquel). I was able to eat with no pain. I feel relatively stable. My plan is to stay at the 5 percent taper at 1.95 using my digital scale. Which I take at 2 pm daily. I may take seroquel for a few days at 100 before bed with my lithium. The only other changes I plan is to add a probiotic similar to one I have taken before. I plan to stay 6 weeks at this dose provided things are ok. I came here to share my experience and to seek support in any form, and just to say hi. I have read and posted before. Glad to be here. In solidarity, Kathy

I tapered off Lexapro 20mg over the course of a few months with the last dose in June 2020. I started getting constipated shortly thereafter (only other time I had constipation was after weaning off for a couple years in 2011). I also started experiencing brain fog, irritability, and unintended weight loss over the course of 8 months. this year I was diagnosed with Sibo and have been treating it for months. Slow motility is a cause of Sibo and I’ve read other stories of people getting sibo after withdrawing from an Ssri also. The Sibo has brought my anxiety back with a vengeance (I’m also obsessive compulsive) and it’s been miserable. I’d like to find out from others: 1. Does anyone know why getting off lexapro would affect digestion/motility? Could it be the serotonin being taken out? 2. Will it ever go back to homeostasis or is my motility ruined? 3. For those who’ve experienced this, Is it possible to get rid of sibo and keep it gone without having to go back on the antidepressant? Im being encouraged to go back on by several doctors including my psychiatrist and GI doctor as my anxiety is worse than it’s ever been. I have honestly been considering it but I don’t want to go through all of this again when I try to taper off again. Would appreciate any insight!!