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Altostrata

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  • Moderator Emeritus

I found you through the Beyond Meds blog, where it took a while to get brave enough to read the posts, because I knew what it would say, and I knew that then I'd have to be brave enough to face the idea of withdrawing.  So after a while of acclimatising to Beyond Meds I felt ready to follow their recommendations to check out Surviving Antidepressants.  I had a brief look back in September 2014, and felt encouraged but not ready yet to really read much.  Then came back again early 2015, reading as much as I can here, and feeling very encouraged, supported and informed.  Still haven't started to decrease my doses, but thanks to you am setting up a supported life in view of doing so in the (hopefully near) future.  Today I did a post recommending Surviving Antidepressants on my blog. 

 

Thank you so much :D.

2010  Fluoxetine 20mg.  2011  Escitalopram 20mg.  2013 Tapered badly and destabilised CNS.  Effexor 150mg. 

2015 Begin using info at SurvivingAntidepressants.  Cut 10% - bad w/d 2 months, held 1 month. 

Micro-tapering: four weekly 0.4% cuts, hold 4 weeks (struggling with symptoms).

8 month hold.

2017 Micro-tapering: four weekly 1% cuts, hold 4 weeks (symptoms almost non-existent).

2020 Still micro-tapering. Just over 2/3 of the way off effexor. Minimal symptoms, - and sleeping well.
Supplements: Fish oil, vitamin C, iron, oat-straw tea, nettle tea.

2023 Now on 7 micro-beads of Effexor. Minimal symptoms but much more time needed between drops.

 'The possibility of renewal exists so long as life exists.'  Dr Gabor Mate.

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Very nice blog post (and unfortunately, how true your observations about pre-AD use). But we all have to start somewhere no matter where we came from. You'll be lots luckier than I was and I was luckier than some: I was well versed in AD withdrawal syndrome by the time the second awful wave hit. Imagine how much sicker I would have gotten had I turned to medicine for help.....

 

You are getting your ducks in a row. Monica's blog is a good way to get immersed in the world of AD withdrawal.

What happened and how I arrived here: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/4243-cymbaltawithdrawal5600-introduction/#entry50878

 

July 2016 I have decided to leave my story here at SA unfinished. I have left my contact information in my profile for anyone who wishes to talk to me. I have a posting history spanning nearly 4 years and 3000+ posts all over the site.

 

Thank you to all who participated in my recovery. I'll miss talking to you but know that I'll be cheering you on from the sidelines, suffering and rejoicing with you in spirit, as you go on in your journey.

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  • Moderator Emeritus

yeah, I am feeling very fortunate to be on this site before starting w/d.  Ducks in a row :P.  I am glad to read you are in a recovering stage now.  Yesterday I had a brief (1/2 hour) window of feeling quite calm and content, after nearly two weeks of intense yuck and 3 months of clouds gathering.  Was a relief.  Am getting much better at accepting where I am, without the panic. 

2010  Fluoxetine 20mg.  2011  Escitalopram 20mg.  2013 Tapered badly and destabilised CNS.  Effexor 150mg. 

2015 Begin using info at SurvivingAntidepressants.  Cut 10% - bad w/d 2 months, held 1 month. 

Micro-tapering: four weekly 0.4% cuts, hold 4 weeks (struggling with symptoms).

8 month hold.

2017 Micro-tapering: four weekly 1% cuts, hold 4 weeks (symptoms almost non-existent).

2020 Still micro-tapering. Just over 2/3 of the way off effexor. Minimal symptoms, - and sleeping well.
Supplements: Fish oil, vitamin C, iron, oat-straw tea, nettle tea.

2023 Now on 7 micro-beads of Effexor. Minimal symptoms but much more time needed between drops.

 'The possibility of renewal exists so long as life exists.'  Dr Gabor Mate.

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  • 1 month later...

I seemed unfair that I would be on this medicine for the rest of my life according to my psyc but was getting to accept it as fact.  I was watching videos on youtube about low carb high fat eating and how it may help with depression.  Then a video by Kelly Brogan MD auto started and blew my mind. Made me think that the drugs are the problem and talked about the placebo effect.  Made me want to finally quit.  I started googling about how to taper and found this site.

My history is off and on since 2008.  Includes Zoloft, Zoloft & Celexa, Celexa & Bupropion and most recently

ONLY BUPROPION XL and SR taper

450mg XL past

300mg XL --1-1-2015

200mg SR (100mg AM, 100mg PM) 3-28-15

150mg XL

100mg SR

75mg SR (50mg cut SR AM 50mg cut SR PM) 

50mg SR (25mg cut SR AM 25mg cut SR PM) 5-29-2015

WD  is hunger starting at 150XL.  About 2 days of empty hunger, dizzy, weakness.  I eat low carb high fat so I'm never hungry.  Took two cuts before I figured out it was a pattern.  Now I feed it and it is manageable and lasts about a day/cut.  Feels like a hangover.

 

 

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Just for the heck of it I did a google search on this

antidepressant -  how to stop

at 20 pages in I still had no link for SA I am amazed anyone ever finds this site. 

 

Searching the term tapering antidepressants SA came up on the third page quitting antidepressants - fifth page. 

WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG
Had a car accident in 85
Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89
Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year
Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above.
One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking.

As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/

There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in :)

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  • 5 weeks later...

Feb 2015 Took venlafaxine for 5 days only... experienced withdrawal that made me completely non-functional

Mar 2015 took under 1mg of Sertraline for 10 days in an attempt to combat Venlafaxine withdrawal. Got adverse reactions. 

After stopping Sertraline, withdrawal got much worse. New, horrific symptoms. 

June 2015 Still non-functional but slowly getting better. Still brain zaps, migraines, sweating, heart racing, depression, crying spells

September 2015: 24/7 brain zaps, twitches in the face, no concentration, bad memory, language skills deteriorating. 

 

Profile feed: http://goo.gl/3g2GRn

 

Sign this petition for a blackbox warning on Prozac in Ireland:

https://www.change.org/p/leo-varadakar-hpra-the-lack-of-a-blackbox-warning-on-prozac-in-ireland-and-its-use-by-the-hse-in-under-18-s?recruiter=63289046&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_for_starters_page&utm_term=des-lg-no_src-no_msg

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My withdrawal started on February 16th 2015. I got extremely scared by the symptoms that hit me all of a sudden without warning. I started searching on google what was going on and I found this site. I consider it my second home now and I'm extremely grateful that this site exists and thank you to all of the admins and moderators who make this possible. I wouldn't be able to survive without this forum. 

I suffer from depression, anxiety, pure-o ocd, and panic attacks since 2004. Been on multiple different psychiatric drugs since 2006. Never had a significant WD problem before, only brain zaps for a month and then I'd be fine...............Been on Cipralex (escitalopram) 15 mg and Fluanxol (flupentixol) 1 mg since Sep 2014. Stopped taking the Cipralex after a fast 20-day taper.Took the last 5 mg Cipralex on Feb 5th, 2015. Then took Seroxat (paroxetine) 10 mg for a week, and stopped it too. Severe WD started suddenly on Feb 16th. RI 5 mg Cipralex on Feb 18th, 2015. RI worked and was relatively stable for a while................April 7 - decreased Fluanxol from 1 mg to 0.5 mg and took it at this dose for a week. - BIG MISTAKE; April 13 - WD starts creeping in; April 14 - RI full dose of Fluanxol 1 mg => severe muscle twitching and jerking when trying to relax and fall asleep, overwhelming sense of doom, dread, terror, and horror, insomnia, hoping to stabilize.
Tried doing a 10% cut off Fluanxol in the end of May for a few days, but quickly updosed to full dose because the twitching returned.
Experiencing waves and windows in the following months.
Unsuccessful brief taper attempt of Fluanxol by 5% on November 1st. Symptoms hit the next day. Too scared to continue tapering, reinstate full dose.
Severe crash in November after stupidly trying a barbiturate on November 9th. Grave mistake. Sense of unshakable inescapable internal torture, like my soul is in hell being tortured, terror/horror/dread/doom (probably akathisia?) that gets especially bad when trying to relax and fall asleep, muscles twitch, jerk and move on their own, shaking, insomnia, can't eat, confusion, disorientation, brain not working normally. Never felt so bad in my entire life. Never experiment with other meds while in WD! Praying to God I stabilize and get back to my baseline.
December - things getting even worse.

January - unbearable suffering

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bluebalu86

 

+1!

 

I also found it by googling after experiencing the side effects

March 5, 6  2015 1 10mg Paxil each day - only 2 pills total - experienced huge tingle in my head on first pill

 

numbness in my hands and feet, skin less sensitive over all... not ticklish anymore

**anhedonia, blank emotions

PSSD, anorgasmia

heartbeat rhythm problems

"To err is human.  To really foul things up requires a psychiatrist."

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/8554-akakoom-lost-in-no-mans-land/

 

"When you are going through hell, keep going" - Winston Churchill (the only way out is through)

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Google!

 

^ ^^

+1

 

I found this site a few months ago when I was experiencing WD symptoms.

There are so many sites with info on AD's, how they work, all the different kinds of AD's etcetera.

What I was looking for was info on the side effects and how to deal with them. And especially, what is the best way to taper?

Although these experiences are all very individual, there's not much to find on the internet where there is so much information to find. Until I stumbled upon this forum!

Diagnosis: GAD (2008), clinical depression (2012), again clinical depression (2016) and ptsd (2016)

History of: paroxetine, lexapro, sertraline, bupropion, zyprexa, seroquel, nortrilen, oxazepam, lorazepam, diazepam, nortriptyline.

 

Successfully came off nortriptyline after a full year of tapering from 100 mg. Quit in May 2015.

February 2016 started mirtazapine, followed by levothyroxine in April 2016 (diagnosis hypothyroidism)

 

Current meds/supplements: mirtazapine 15 mg, levothyroxine 50 µg, diazepam 1mg (tapering off) and melatonin 5 mg.

 

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I found this site when I was searching for Remeron withdrawal symptoms. I then read a lot on Beyond Meds and was very inspired by her story. She put Surviving Antidepressants as a very strong resource and I have found that to be true. Really glad it's here

9/2013-4/2014:  After moms death, was prescribed a series of meds for short periods of time that didn't work. Zoloft, Lexapro,  Nortriptyline, Liquid Prozac, Cymbalta. 

1/2014-9/2014. Clonzapam: Given Lamictal, stopped Clonzapam at .125mgs  

1/2015-4 2017 Remeron: 41.25 -0.025mgs

7/2015-11/2018 Lamictal: 200mgs-0.05 mgs Had paradoxical reaction to Lamictal wd, broke my heart to take a benzo but wasn't sleeping. 

3/28/2019 -2/5/ 2021  Clonazapam: 0.625mgs-.00115 Med Free 

July 27th, 2022**Severe Setback due to surgery/ anesthesia. 

9/7/22-10/4/22 Trazadone 50-100mgs for sleep, 10/13/22-11/13/22 Trazadone 1 mg to stabilize

10/4/22-11/20/22 Remeron 7.5mgs (for sleep doesn't work) 11/20/22 7.3 - 12/31/22 6.3 

2023: 1/18/23 6.1 - 6/6/23 3.6  6/16 3.4  6/28 3.0 7/12 2.7  7/28 2.5 8/11 2.2 8/23 2.0  9/5 1.8  9/16 1.6  9/30 1.4  10/13 1.2  10/26 1.0  11/9 0.8  11/22 0.6  12/6 0.4  12/23 0.2.

2024 1/4/24  Remeron/Mirtazapine free 

Additional Support:  Armour Thyroid 75mgs, Magnesium Glycinate 300-500mgs,  L-theanine 

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  • 10 months later...

I'm attempting to reduce or eliminate prozac, wellbutrin and lamictal, and found your site through google. What made me register? The Pallas' cat in your profile!

I'm attempting to reduce or eliminate prozac, wellbutrin and lamictal.

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  • Administrator

Welcome, Manulo.

 

You must be a fan of felines!

 

Please start a topic for yourself in the Introductions forum so we can get to know you.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Beyond Meds. blog and FB posts eventually got me here.

 

You got glowing reviews from Monica!

 

Can you just give me an Indian Princess Cat avatar logo?  Only kidding just another __________ day.

Late 2023- gone to emeritus status, inactive, don't @ me, I can check who I've posted on, and I'm not really here like I used to be......thanks.

Started with psycho meds/psychiatric care circa 1988.  In retrospect, and on contemplation, situational overwhelm.

Rounding up to 30 years of medications(30 medication trials, poly-pharmacy maximum was 3 at one time).

5/28/2015-off Adderal salts 2.5mg. (I had been on that since hospital 10/2014)

12/2015---just holding, holding, holding, with trileptal/oxcarb at 75 mg. 1/2 tab at hs.  My last psycho med ever!  Tapered @ 10% every 4 weeks, sometimes 2 weeks to

2016 Dec 16 medication free!!

Longer signature post here, with current supplements.

Herb and alcohol free since 5/15/2016.  And.....I quit smoking 11/2021. Lapsed.  Redo of quit smoking 9/28/2022.  Can you say Hallelujah?(took me long enough)💜

None of my posts are intended as medical advice.  Please discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical provider.  My success story:  Blue skies ahead, clear sailing

 

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I came across this site through google searches about Effexor weaning and withdrawal. Since the information was beyond what I expected... and from a webmaster point of view, the moderators were immensely helpful and constructive, I decided to create an account. Good job to those in charge and keep up the good work. Once I get working again I plan to make a donation, or two.

Effexor XR:

July 2008: 150mg | June 24 2015: 145mg | July 28 2015: 130.5mg | Sept 4 2015: 117mg | Nov 10 2015: 105mg

Jan 24 2016: 94.5mg | Feb 28 2016: 85mg | Mar 27 2016: 76.5mg | Apr 28 2016: 69mg | Aug 14 2016: 62mg

Jan 19 2017: 56mg | Feb 21 2017: 50mg | Mar 30 2017: 36mg | Apr 2 2017: 45mg | Sep 1 2019: 27.5mg

April 9 2020: 25.2mg | Oct 30 2021: 16.9mg | Apr 1 2023: 15.2mg | May 1 2023: 13.7mg | May 31 2023: 12.3mg

July 1 2023: 11.1mg | Aug 1st 2023: 10mg | Sep 25 2023: 9mg | Oct 25 2023: 8.1mg

 

Vitamins & Supplements:

MegaFood Women's Postnatal Vitamin | Metagenix D3 5000 IU | Floradix Liquid Iron

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But the first time I found AltoStrata was on a thread in MIA (Mad In America).  Before I knew the "who's who" of MIA, I was reading the comments to a thread - usually more interesting than the thread itself.  

 

 

Isn't it funny that the initials for Mad in America are MIA? Ha! {snort, snort} Anyway, that's how I got here too.

PatriciaVP@AbleWriterSays My Intro

 

Zoloft 150-200 mg- on and off between 1998 and 2004.

 

Lexapro 40 mg - 2004-2013 30 mg 2013 - August 2015 20 mg August 2015- September 2015 15 mg September 2015 - October 2015 10 mg October 2015 -Nov. 1 2015. Nov. 2015 increased dose to 12.5 mg to stabilize. Dec. 28 2015 11.25 mg March 29, 2016 10 mg. August 1, 2016 9 mg. October 23, 2016 8.1 mg. Nov. 29, 2016 7.5 mg. Feb. 25, 2017 7 mg. April 9, 2017 6.5 mg. June 2017 6 mg. Aug. 2018 5.75 mg March 2019 5.5 mg Apr. 2019 5.25 mg. June 2019 5 mg Sept. 2019 4.75 mg Nov. 2019 4.5 mg Dec. 2019  4.25 April 7 2020 4mg 

 

Depakote 1000 mg 2008-2013  750 2013-Dec 2015 500 mg Dec 2015 to Feb 2, 2016. Sopped completely Feb 2 2016.

 

Adderall 40mg 2004-Feb 29, 2016. Feb 29,2016 - reduced Adderall to 20 mg based on pdoc's recommendations. March 29, 2016 - Reduced Adderall to 15 mg. April 30 reduced Adderall to 10 mgs. May 28, 2016 reduced Adderall to 5 mgs.June 8, 2016 stopped taking Adderall due to extreme agitation.

 

Amphetamine 20mg 2008 - 1/16. 1/16 - Stopped Amphetamine completely because pdoc did not renew script.

WWW.PSYCHFREE.NET 

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Welcome, Manulo.

 

You must be a fan of felines!

 

Please start a topic for yourself in the Introductions forum so we can get to know you.

 

Will mew!

I'm attempting to reduce or eliminate prozac, wellbutrin and lamictal.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I was recommended to join by the admin of an FB page about Effexor. So glad to be here. So much experience and information.

Anti Depressants for  25 years. Valium between 2006 to 7 tapered off over a month without too bad withdrawals.

For last 15 years 150 mg of Effexor and 30 mg of Mirtazapine. Occasional short term benzo use without habituation.

March 2015 stopped Effexor after rapid taper. 6 weeks. 

One month fluoxetine June 2015...stopped CT July 2015.

October 2013 to December 2015 Zopiclone 15 mg at night,

Dec 2015 to Early March 2016 Lyrica 75 mg at night. 

Stopped too quickly as  adverse side effects.

January to May 2016 tapered Zopiclone to 7.5mg 

Crossed over to Valium and now ..March 28th 2017 Benzo Free.

Also on 30 mg Mirtazapine and holding until have finished Benzo taper.

IN protracted WD from Effexor.

 

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 I was in so pain and discomfort. My doctors provided 0 help and told me it was in my head. I wasnt dumb enough to believe them as Acute WD cannot be mistaken  as an anxiety or something like that.  I had to frantically search the web and it took me 8 months !! I am So grateful I found this site!! I dont know if Id still be here right now . 

Was on 30mg (Lexapro) for 7-8yrs20mg for 3 months (This was my choice my Doc wanted me to drop much faster)15 mg 2week10mg 2 weeks 5 mg 1 week0 since August 24th . PPI Dexlant  30 mg taper has begun. Cutting 20% currently.  using zantac as needed.  Benzo is currently 0.10mg 

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Wow Mort it took me 8 months for find paxil progress in 2007... it is still taking that long to find a web site to help with ssri withdrawal... I hoped it would be better now.  There use to be a lot of other sites effexoractivist paxil progress toxic antidepressants and topix effexor withdrawal....

 

but they all closed down seems we could use some more wd sites as this one is still too hard to find 

 

a lot can happen in 8 months too much. 

 

Glad you found SA better late than never I guess.

WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG
Had a car accident in 85
Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89
Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year
Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above.
One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking.

As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/

There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in :)

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  • 1 month later...

Hello, everyone

I got this site adress form prof. Gøtzsche. I sent him a thankfull mail after reading his book "Deadly Medicine and Organised Denial". I wasn't really expecting him to sent me any respond, yet he did! Withdrawal is waiting for me, so I'm glad I'm here.

I don't want much with life. I want it leave me alone.

 

Medical history:

2005 - 2006 – diagnosis: OCD. Meds: sertraline (Setaloft), from 30 mg to 120 mg. Side effects: insomnia, anorexia (psychic inabillity to eat), obesity; some sleep medication (don't remember the name), side effects: halucination. 2007 – sertraline withdrawal by myself. Reducing the dose slowly (120 mg – 90 mg – 60 mg – 30 mg – 0 mg). Felt great for about a year. 2008 – diazepam, taking ocasionally if needed. 2010 – paroxetine (Seroxat, then: Parogen) for OCD. From 20 mg to 40 mg. Side effects: none. Piracetamum (Memotropil), side effects: general weakness. Withdrawal of piracetamum: after two years (none withdrawal syndrome). 2016 – attempt to withdraw paroxetine. Severe depression after month and a half. Insomnia, nervousness, loss of weight. Suicide thoughts. Returning to paroxetine in march. From 10 mg to 20 mg. Side effects: sudden suicide thoughts, serotonine syndrome, panic attacks. Other meds: Clonazepam 0,5 mg for three days (benzodiazepam), side effects: none; Alprazolamum (Xanax): from 0,25 mg to 0,5 mg; side effects: obstruction, acne, period stoppage. Withdraw after a month, side effects: one-day lasting histeria; Trazodonum (Trittico CR): from 75 mg to 25 mg. Side effects: somnolance. 2016, June – dropping the dose of paroxetine from 40 mg to 30 mg. Side effects: mood swings. Withdrawing Trazodonum from 25 mg to 0 mg. Side effects: wide mood swings and fretfulness for about a week; too rapid, don't recommend. Went back to 25 mg of trazodone and 40 mg of paroxetine. 2016, July - dropped trazodone by 10 %, went back to 25 mg after two weeks (cause: depresion). 2016, October - 10% paroxetine drop, leaving trazodone at 25 mg. 2016, November - second 10% paroxetine drop. 2017, October - 25 mg of paroxetine, 25 mg of trazodone. Boredom. Tired. No hope, no joy. For now.

Suplements: vitamins – C (600 mg), D3 (4500 IU), K2 (6400 IU), B15 (50 mg); hawaiian spirulina; fish collagen; fish oil (1 spoon); probiotic; magnesium (50 mg), selenium (200 mcg); flaxseed (1-2 spoons/day); minced milk thistle (1 spoon/day).

Diet: mostly vegan, gluten-free due to doctor's advice. Drinks: water, green tea, cistus incantus.

Books I recommendYour Body Many Cries for Water by Fereydoon Batmanghelidj; Hidden Therapies by Jerzy Zięba; Deadly Medicine and Organized Denial by Peter C. Gøtzsche; The Microbiom Solution by Robynne Chutkan; Urban Shaman and Mastering Your Hidden Self  by Serge Kahili King.

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  • Administrator

That is high praise indeed from Professor Gotzsche. Welcome, Ana. Please start a topic in the Introductions forum so we can get to know you.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I found this site while I was researching the health problems that I had developed after my glaucoma surgery. I was on 5 mg dose of Celexa for a year and a half. I had tried to taper at the end of 2014 but had too many withdrawal symptoms and quite a stressful job...after the surgery I was thrown into a health crisis and doctors were of no help. I was constantly sick and develop multiple allergic reactions...I was looking at the relationship between SsRIs and cortisol levels and I ended it up here...it really answer many questions...thanks!

2006-2007 Lexapro (not sure of dose) in 2006

2007 Stopped abruptly. Developed serious wd symptom.Went back after two weeks and  tapered successfully over 3 months

November 2013  started 10 mg of Celexa for hormonal symptoms

early 2014 cutdown Celexa to 5 mg.Attempted to get off it November 2014 and had  

Anxiety increased  every time I used  an OTC or had stress.

April-May Cortisol spike problems 

July 2016 Started taking liquid Celexa 7.5 mg

June 2021 I finished my taper en

Severe anxiety and insomnia

June 2022 symptoms omproved

July 2023 gut issues and sleep issues contnue

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  • 2 weeks later...

I found this site after my repeated saphris CT's kept going south. I did a google search on "saphris withdrawal" and was taken to acetyl's introduction topic. I wish I had have found this site a month or two earlier...

MEDS HISTORY

2004 hospitalized for acute alcohol induced psychosis and started on my psych drug merry-go-round.2004-2006 SSRI > SNRI Merry-go-round finally settled on Effexor. Also was started on Risperdal in 2004 but switched to seroquell after I had a bad reaction to it.2008. Was switched from Effexor to pristiq, Also managed to successfully Quit Seroquel Cold Turkey.Asenapine- 5mg- August 2014 ~ May 2015. Was put on for Social Anxiety, was great at first then started developing disabling side effects, did a rapid taper and so started my withdrawal nightmare...

MEDS CURRENT

Pristiq-100mg ~ Currently holding

Olanzapine- 3.75mg May 2015 ~ Currently tapering by -.06mg per week (Jan 2016, 3.5mg  ~Feb 2016 intractable insomnia updose to 3.75mg)

Quetiapine- 50mg June 2015  ~Dec 25 2015 Quit cold turkey. ~(Feb 6 2016 hit with intractable insomnia - reinstated 50mg.)

August 2016 : Became destabilised after messing around with cutting doses, trying THC oil etc eventually stabilised,

Held doses for 5 years.

January 2022: Hit poop out, struggling to get more than 3 hours sleep, been one week straight of pure hell, praying to hold on. 

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Hello, Thank You Altostrata,

I found this site after joining the F/B support group Lyrica Survivors. They've adopted the 10% method of tapering. Which of course must be done by water titration as Pfizer doesn't feel that rate of tapering is necessary. I was so relieved to find their were others out there suffering as I was. Not that I would ever wish the agony I was going through on anybody, it just was reassuring to know I was not alone. The education I've gotten from your site is astounding. It's liberating. I find it amazing this kind of suffering goes on in our high tech medical world. It's very sad, but the stance you've taken is admirable. I'm very grateful to be accepted in this community & hope I can be of service to others in some way, some day.

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I found this site by searching on google typing "recovery from anti-psychotic" until I found the thread of Jim24 and Schizor. I am 100% relate to them so I decide to sign up on this site.

4 yrs. ago I had depression but after 12 months my mood lifted without using any anti-depressants then this Feb. 2016 I've gone manic and was diagnosed having bipolar.

Feb. 2016- got hospitalized and injected by haloperidol after several hours of being sedated  I felt no emotions and had problems in cognition.

March - May 2016-put into risperidone 2mg and lithium 450mg for 3 months then I stop taking it because i realized i had no problem with elevated moods anymore but i am suffering now with emotional anesthesia due to this psychiatric drugs.

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i discovered the website by google searching "risperidone recovery" and came across Jim24

In March 2016 i suffered from a paranoia/schizophrenic episode which resulted in me taking risperidone/risperdal 3mg for about 3 weeks along with a couple 7mg long acting injections.  i had an intense withdrawal after stopping cold turkey and i have been off risperidone ever since then.

 

 

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I found this site via Google. Unfortunately, I can't recall what exactly I was searching for at the time as it was a couple of years ago.

Previously - zopiclone, risperidone, lyrica (pregabalin), ativan (lorezapam)
01/Aug/2016 -  65mg effexor, 4.5mg olanzapine, 15mg mirtazpine
12/Aug/2016 -  75mg effexor, 4.5mg olanzapine, 15mg mirtazpine
03/Oct/2016 -  70mg effexor, 4.5mg olanzapine, 15mg mirtazpine
29/Oct/2016 -  65mg effexor, 4.5mg olanzapine, 15mg mirtazpine
25/Nov/2016 -  65mg effexor, 4mg olanzapine, 15mg mirtazpine
25/Dec/2016 -  60mg effexor, 3.6mg olanzapine, 15mg mirtazpine
18/Jan/2017 -  60mg effexor, 5.25mg olanzapine, 15mg mirtazpine
27/Mar/2017 -  54mg effexor, 5.25mg olanzapine, 15mg mirtazpine
23/Apr/2017 -  54mg effexor, 7.5mg olanzapine, 15mg mirtazpine
09/May/2017 -  75mg effexor, 7.5mg olanzapine, 15mg mirtazpine
08/Jun/2017 -  75mg effexor, 6.75mg olanzapine, 15mg mirtazpine
18/Jul/2017 -  75mg effexor, 6mg olanzapine, 15mg mirtazpine
Sometimes valium. Not daily. Supplements - Sterols and Stanols.
Note : I would really hope that nobody uses my tapering history as a guideline. It might not work well for somebody else tapering similar medications.
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i discovered the website by google searching "risperidone recovery" and came across Jim24

I too came from google by searching for "Risperidone recovery". Came across Jim24's thread.

Took RISPOND (RISPERIDONE) 1mg twice daily (morning and night) for 3 months along with Dayo OD 500 at night. Quit cold turkey of all meds in feb 29, 2016. Its been 4 months off the meds now!( as of 29 June, 2016)

Intense withdrawal effect. Not able to focus on something completely. Some memory problems. Passion for everything has died. Everything has to be done forcefully. No enjoyment in listening to a song or watching a movie. Everything seems pointless. Zero libido. Lost the desire and ability to fall in love. Emotions are withdrawn.

its been a while now, taking 2-3 meds in morning and evening. I'll update it tomorrow.
28/03/2017

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It was mentioned in the Benzo Buddies board.  So I took a look.

1)Zoloft- 6/99 to 8/04 2)Escitalopram- 8/04 to 8/10 3)Citalopram 8/10 to 4/14 (C/T), 4)Paxil a week or so, 5)Wellbutrin a week or so, 6)Reinstated Citalopram- 9/14 to 7/15

Before Taper- Celexa/20 mg....Taper Start- 04/21/15- 15mg....05/26/15- 10 mg...06/22/15- 5 mg...07/18/15- 0mg. http://tinyurl.com/qjfoqe9 Ativan/Lorazepam use/taper 10/14 to 2/15- http://tinyurl.com/ljebp84

Baclofen- Intermittent use of from 2008 till 2014. Some use of Promethazine. Some use of Zofran. Clobetasol Propionate- for Lichen Planus. Some Flexeril use. 

Ativan- GABA,A receptor Agonist., Baclofen- GABA,B receptor Agonist., Celexa/Lexapro- Serotonin 5-HT1A Receptor Agonist., Zofran- Serotonin 5-HT3 Receptor Agonist..Promethazine- Histamine H1-Receptor Antagonist. Flexeril- Serotonin 5HT2a Antagonist.

 

My self imposed Amino Acid Therapy: Tyrosine 500mg 1xday, Theanine 200 mg 1xday, & Taurine 500 mg 2x day. (All neurotransitter pre-cursors)- seems to have helped me immensely. And of course- eating healthy, including Black Beans for the oligosaccharides for gut health.

 

The attempt to develop a sense of humor and to see things in a humorous light is some kind of trick learned while mastering the Art of Living. - Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning.

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Same with me. Saw it mentioned on the Benzo Buddies board when I was looking for help with poly-drugging.

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  • 2 weeks later...

It may of been by word of mouth

Cocktail drugged since 9

Genitals went numb

Extreme intestinal gas and pain

Extreme anxiety cant concentrate

All permanent

 

Post-SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD)

http://pssdblog.blogspot.com

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  • 4 years later...

I found this site through Reddit. One day, I decided to look up withdrawal in some depression forum and either posted or saw someone's comment on a post directing to this site. It's was a life-changer!

2017 Oct sertraline | Nov switched to escitalopram 10mg | 2018 Apr escitalopram fast taper (4-8 weeks) to zero/off

2018 Nov restarted escitalopram, increased to 20mg | 2020 Jan escitalopram fast taper (2-3 months) to zero/off

2020 Aug 27 restarted escitalopram 10mg tablet, came across SA.org

2021 Feb 27 complete switch to liquid 9.8mg | Mar 7 decreased to 9.5mg | Mar 14 decreased to 9.3mg | Mar 21 decreased to 9.0mg | Apr 11 decreased to 8.8mg | Apr 18 decreased to 8.6mg | May 9 decreased to 8.3mg | May 16 decreased to 8.1mg | Jun 6 increased to 9.0mg | July 18 decreased to 8.6mg | Aug 15 decreased to 8.2mg | Sept 19 decreased to 8.0mg | Oct 21 decreased to 7.6mg | Nov 18 decreased to 7.2mg | Dec 16 decreased to 6.9mg

2022 Feb 27 decreased to 6.8mg | Mar 31 decreased to 6.4mg | Jul 5 decreased to 6.1mg | Jul 23 decreased to 5.8mg | Aug 10 increased to 6.0mg | Nov 24 decreased to 5.4mg | Dec 31 decreased to 4.8mg

2023 Feb 1 decreased to 4.4mg | May 17 decreased to 4mg | Jul 6 decreased to 3.8mg | Jul 19 decreased to 3.6 | Aug 11 decreased to 3.2mg | Sept 9 decreased to 3.0mg | Sept 22 decreased to 2.7mg | Oct 24 increased to 2.775mg | Nov 12 decreased to 2.7mg | Dec 20 increased to 3.0mg

 

I hold for longer periods of time when life gets stressful, usually work related.

 

Supplements: currently none

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The same reason as purple, someone recommended me this page through a reddit comment. Im really happy that I found out about this site.

2012 -2019 Citalopram 10 -25 mg, always tried to quit, got off it for like 1 to 3 months

 

Started tapering about March 2020 beginning at 150 mg Effexor XR

2020 October: 62,5 t0 56,25 mg Effexor XR

2020  December 56,25 to 51 mg Effexor XR

2021 February 51 mg to 50 mg Effexor XR

2021 March (25th) 50 mg to 46 mg Effexor XR2021 May (17th) 46 to 44,2 Mg Effexor XR

2021 07.06.21 Effexor XR 44,2 mg --> 42,37 mg l 09.07.21 l 30.07.2021 42,37 --> 40,11 mg Effexor XR 06.09.2021 40,11 -> 39,066 mg 18.10.2021 Effexor XR 40,11 --> 37,5 mg 11.11.2021 37,5 --> 36,48 mg Effexor XR

02.12.2021 36,48 mg --> 35,437 Effexor XR 23.12.2021 35,43 --> 34, 65 mg Effexor XR 13.01.22 34,65 --> 34,39 Effexor XR 07.02.22 34,65 --> 34,389 mg 21.02.22 34,389 --> 33,613 mg 01.03.22  33,361 --> 33,352 07.03.22 33,352 --> 32,83 mg 20.06.22 32,83 --> 32,56 01.07.22 32,56 --> 32,3 mg 13.07.22: 32,047 mg 23.07.22: 31,78 mg 01.08.22: 31,52 mg 10.08.22 31,26 mg 28.08.22 31 mg 06.02.2023 30,74 mg 13.03.23 Updose 32 mg 20.03.2023 Updose 37,5 mg 20.05.2023 Updose 50 mg

Current Meds: Effexor XR 50 mg, Sertraline 25 mg, Mirtazapine  15 mg

Supplements: Zinc, Fish Oil, Mushroomcomplex

 

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  • 1 month later...
  • 4 weeks later...

I googled something along the lines of "vortioxetine taper" and found this site

2020 Clonazepam nightly: Apr 2mg, May 0.5, July switch to Diazepam

2020 Diazepam nightly: July 10mg slow taper to 2021 May off

2020 Vortioxetine: Aug 5mg -> Oct 15mg

2021 Vortioxetine: Aug slow taper down

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  • 1 month later...

I can't remember where I first came across it, but I was reminded of it when reading James Davies' The Sedated Society, which was quite good. 

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