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Michigan: tapering Zoloft and Haldol


Michigan

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Hi Everyone - 

 

Just found this forum, and thankful that I did. I've been on SSRIs since about 1996 when I was 16 years old. Had typical adolescent depression/anxiety w/ a bit of OCD on the side. Tried a variety of SSRIs for a few years. They put me on Zoloft around 2002, and I've pretty much been on it ever since. Discovered that I had a mild case of Tourette's as well a couple of years later, and added .5mg Haldol to the mix in 2005.

 

I realized about a year ago that these things were doing me more harm than good. Followed my doctor's directions for tapering in fall/winter of last year (skipping doses, going down 25% at a time). Finally got off of the Zoloft. But then after a few months of anxiety, I couldn't take it anymore. My doctor said that it was the original illness coming back, even though I never had that kind of anxiety back in my teens before I went on the meds. She put me back on 100mg of Zoloft.

 

Now, I'm trying it again. I was trying to follow the same plan, dropping 25% at a time. I'm down to 75mg now, and doing fine on it. Trying to drop from 75 to 50 has been a nightmare though, and the problems were what led me to this forum. I now understand that I've been trying to go too fast. Going to try the 10% per month plan.

 

Plan is to get down to 25mg of Zoloft and then try to taper off of Haldol and see how that goes. I'm on such a low dose at .5mg, I'm going to have to make a liquid out of it and use the instructions here on the forum to go down in tenths or hundredths of mg at a time with that.

 

Without giving away any identifying info, here's a little more about me personally: From Michigan, as you can probably tell from my screen name. I live in a housing co-op (kind of an urban commune). I'm married, with one child. Work from home for a startup doing tech support. Trying to start my own business right now as well, which the "too fast" withdrawal has been impeding. We spend winters in the tropics - usually Mexico or Costa Rica - where I usually rent a house to work from.

 

Looking forward to posting my progress and supporting everyone in theirs!

-SSRIs starting at age 16 - around 1996. Tried just about every one available for a period of a few years. Stabilized on Zoloft. Have been on it since about 2003.
-Added .5mg Haldol for Tourette's and OCD in 2005
-Tapered in fall/winter of 2012, got off of Zoloft completely. Think I went too fast. Long term withdrawal symptoms persisted for months, to the point that I went back to a 100mg dose.
-Found this site, tapered using the 10% plan in 2015. It was really rough. Went back on Zoloft at 100mg.
-Found a great therapist in 2017, learned new self care skills. Started tapering again. Got down to 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol by late 2017 (? - memories a little fuzzy these days)
- Taper got rough again. Held dose at 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol through early 2018. Wife had a baby. Was putting in a lot of hours at work. Had a "poop out". Brain fog, debilitating fatigue, and the works.
- Consulted with a health coach who specializes in mental health and psychiatric drug withdrawal. Developed a plan that involved hormones and supplements. Did a fairly rapid taper on Zoloft and Haldol over the course of 1 year. Felt awful, but it was manageable with the help of the hormones/supplements and frequent visits to my therapist. Psychiatric drug free as of 4/2020. I have about 10 months off of Haldol now, and 6 months off of Zoloft. Battling long term, protracted withdrawal symptoms, and going through h*ll, but so far I've managed to (just barely) keep my high paying job and maintain my relationship with my wife. (Updated 10/2020)
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Hi Michigan and welcome to the forum! I get such a lot of support from being here and I hope you do too. I'm sure someone more able to comment will be along soon. But for me I'm really glad to see you're talking about a slow taper. Good luck!

Started citalopram May 12, from 10 to 40 mg/d over 2 months

 

Wanted to come off in May 13 and did it too quickly: decrease from 40 to 0 mg/d over 2 weeks; WD from then onwards, increasing in intensity to be unbearable at 4 weeks later;  reinstated 10 mg/d for 2 days (WD severity halved); reinstated 20 mg/d (initial WD symptoms decreased but not gone entirely until after 8 weeks)

 

Started 5--7% taper: Aug 13: 19 mg/d, mild WD on day 3; thereafter none notable; Nov 13: 18 mg/d, no WD; Dec 13: 17 mg/day, no WD for 3 weeks, then (at Christmas) tearfulness; Jan 14: 16.7 mg/d, Apr 14: 15.7 mg/d, Jun 14: 14.5 mg/d; Jul 14: 13.5 mg/d (6.9% reduction), Aug 14: 12.5 mg/d (7.4% reduction)

 

Sharing experience makes a difference

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  • Moderator Emeritus

I'm very glad that you found us before trying another fast taper.  Here's our topic on tapering Zoloft:

 

Tips for Tapering Zoloft

 

You didn't say how long you've been at 75 mg., so I suggest that you stay there at least a month before proceeding with a 10% taper.  The less our central nervous systems get jarred, the better, and it's wise to be fairly sure that you're stable before changing doses again.

 

Welcome to the forum, Michigan.  You'll find lots of solid information and friendly support here.

Psychotropic drug history: Pristiq 50 mg. (mid-September 2010 through February 2011), Remeron (mid-September 2010 through January 2011), Lexapro 10 mg. (mid-February 2011 through mid-December 2011), Lorazepam (Ativan) 1 mg. as needed mid-September 2010 through early March 2012

"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." -Hanlon's Razor


Introduction: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1588-introducing-jemima/

 

Success Story: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6263-success-jemima-survives-lexapro-and-dr-dickhead-too/

Please note that I am not a medical professional and my advice is based on personal experience, reading, and anecdotal information posted by other sufferers.

 

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Thanks for the link. I've just gone back up to 75 mg in the past 3 days. I'm still recovering from the attempted drop down to 50 mg. Had a pretty rough day today. I've felt both lethargic and antsy at the same time all day. Feeling a little better now that it's evening, and hoping that I wake up in better shape than I was in today. Typically it only takes me a few days or a week to get my head straight after one of these episodes. I've been on the SSRI rollercoaster for almost half of my life, so I guess I've learned to cope somewhat.  

 

I am planning to stabilize back on 75 for a bit before I try going down by 10%. I hadn't thought about how long I would wait, but with your advice, I'll give it a month. 

 

 

I'm very glad that you found us before trying another fast taper.  Here's our topic on tapering Zoloft:

 

Tips for Tapering Zoloft

 

You didn't say how long you've been at 75 mg., so I suggest that you stay there at least a month before proceeding with a 10% taper.  The less our central nervous systems get jarred, the better, and it's wise to be fairly sure that you're stable before changing doses again.

 

Welcome to the forum, Michigan.  You'll find lots of solid information and friendly support here.

-SSRIs starting at age 16 - around 1996. Tried just about every one available for a period of a few years. Stabilized on Zoloft. Have been on it since about 2003.
-Added .5mg Haldol for Tourette's and OCD in 2005
-Tapered in fall/winter of 2012, got off of Zoloft completely. Think I went too fast. Long term withdrawal symptoms persisted for months, to the point that I went back to a 100mg dose.
-Found this site, tapered using the 10% plan in 2015. It was really rough. Went back on Zoloft at 100mg.
-Found a great therapist in 2017, learned new self care skills. Started tapering again. Got down to 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol by late 2017 (? - memories a little fuzzy these days)
- Taper got rough again. Held dose at 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol through early 2018. Wife had a baby. Was putting in a lot of hours at work. Had a "poop out". Brain fog, debilitating fatigue, and the works.
- Consulted with a health coach who specializes in mental health and psychiatric drug withdrawal. Developed a plan that involved hormones and supplements. Did a fairly rapid taper on Zoloft and Haldol over the course of 1 year. Felt awful, but it was manageable with the help of the hormones/supplements and frequent visits to my therapist. Psychiatric drug free as of 4/2020. I have about 10 months off of Haldol now, and 6 months off of Zoloft. Battling long term, protracted withdrawal symptoms, and going through h*ll, but so far I've managed to (just barely) keep my high paying job and maintain my relationship with my wife. (Updated 10/2020)
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  • Moderator Emeritus

A month at least, given that you've already gone around the tapered-too-fast-got-sick-got-back-on-tried-again-went-too-fast-again merrygoround once. It's really worth taking the time to allow your CNS to heal and stabilize fully, particularly if you didn't enjoy that ride and don't want to repeat it. Personally I'd like to see you take more like six to eight weeks. 

 

Just IMO. I've never seen any place where it was more true that the faster you go the behinder you get, than with trying to get off psych drugs, especially after decades, especially after starting in childhood with an unfinished brain, and especially after having switched around different drugs multiple times in the past. All those things seem to predispose people to having trickier tapers.

Started on Prozac and Xanax in 1992 for PTSD after an assault. One drug led to more, the usual story. Got sicker and sicker, but believed I needed the drugs for my "underlying disease". Long story...lost everything. Life savings, home, physical and mental health, relationships, friendships, ability to work, everything. Amitryptiline, Prozac, bupropion, buspirone, flurazepam, diazepam, alprazolam, Paxil, citalopram, lamotrigine, gabapentin...probably more I've forgotten. 

Started multidrug taper in Feb 2010.  Doing a very slow microtaper, down to low doses now and feeling SO much better, getting my old personality and my brain back! Able to work full time, have a full social life, and cope with stress better than ever. Not perfect, but much better. After 23 lost years. Big Pharma has a lot to answer for. And "medicine for profit" is just not a great idea.

 

Feb 15 2010:  300 mg Neurontin  200 Lamictal   10 Celexa      0.65 Xanax   and 5 mg Ambien 

Feb 10 2014:   62 Lamictal    1.1 Celexa         0.135 Xanax    1.8 Valium

Feb 10 2015:   50 Lamictal      0.875 Celexa    0.11 Xanax      1.5 Valium

Feb 15 2016:   47.5 Lamictal   0.75 Celexa      0.0875 Xanax    1.42 Valium    

2/12/20             12                       0.045               0.007                   1 

May 2021            7                       0.01                  0.0037                1

Feb 2022            6                      0!!!                     0.00167               0.98                2.5 mg Ambien

Oct 2022       4.5 mg Lamictal    (off Celexa, off Xanax)   0.95 Valium    Ambien, 1/4 to 1/2 of a 5 mg tablet 

 

I'm not a doctor. Any advice I give is just my civilian opinion.

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Thanks, Rhi. I trust your advice. As much as I want to get off of these pills asap, I'll give it at least 6 weeks to stabilize. Not sure how I'm feeling yet today. Less antsy. Can't tell on the lethargy yet because I just had my morning coffee...

-SSRIs starting at age 16 - around 1996. Tried just about every one available for a period of a few years. Stabilized on Zoloft. Have been on it since about 2003.
-Added .5mg Haldol for Tourette's and OCD in 2005
-Tapered in fall/winter of 2012, got off of Zoloft completely. Think I went too fast. Long term withdrawal symptoms persisted for months, to the point that I went back to a 100mg dose.
-Found this site, tapered using the 10% plan in 2015. It was really rough. Went back on Zoloft at 100mg.
-Found a great therapist in 2017, learned new self care skills. Started tapering again. Got down to 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol by late 2017 (? - memories a little fuzzy these days)
- Taper got rough again. Held dose at 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol through early 2018. Wife had a baby. Was putting in a lot of hours at work. Had a "poop out". Brain fog, debilitating fatigue, and the works.
- Consulted with a health coach who specializes in mental health and psychiatric drug withdrawal. Developed a plan that involved hormones and supplements. Did a fairly rapid taper on Zoloft and Haldol over the course of 1 year. Felt awful, but it was manageable with the help of the hormones/supplements and frequent visits to my therapist. Psychiatric drug free as of 4/2020. I have about 10 months off of Haldol now, and 6 months off of Zoloft. Battling long term, protracted withdrawal symptoms, and going through h*ll, but so far I've managed to (just barely) keep my high paying job and maintain my relationship with my wife. (Updated 10/2020)
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  • 2 weeks later...

Quick update: I'm back on 100mg of Zoloft and feeling better after my failed attempt at weaning too fast. Fell into old bad habits for a minute to deal with the anhedonia and anxiety. Started drinking and popping pills - nothing cures anxiety/depression (temporarily) like pain killers. I try to live a healthy lifestyle, eating right, working out etc. But when I'm down, it's so easy to fall back into substance abuse.

 

Ate enough Vicodin for a few days that I then had withdrawal from THAT for 3 days, but I'm clean now and feeling better once again. I know that those with depression etc are more prone to alcoholism and substance abuse. I don't consider myself to be an addict or alcoholic, but I definitely succumb to those vices in times of stress or negative emotions. I haven't seen much discussion of the topic on the board. How does everyone else stay on the healthy path, and not succumb to the easy route of taking substances to feel better?

-SSRIs starting at age 16 - around 1996. Tried just about every one available for a period of a few years. Stabilized on Zoloft. Have been on it since about 2003.
-Added .5mg Haldol for Tourette's and OCD in 2005
-Tapered in fall/winter of 2012, got off of Zoloft completely. Think I went too fast. Long term withdrawal symptoms persisted for months, to the point that I went back to a 100mg dose.
-Found this site, tapered using the 10% plan in 2015. It was really rough. Went back on Zoloft at 100mg.
-Found a great therapist in 2017, learned new self care skills. Started tapering again. Got down to 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol by late 2017 (? - memories a little fuzzy these days)
- Taper got rough again. Held dose at 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol through early 2018. Wife had a baby. Was putting in a lot of hours at work. Had a "poop out". Brain fog, debilitating fatigue, and the works.
- Consulted with a health coach who specializes in mental health and psychiatric drug withdrawal. Developed a plan that involved hormones and supplements. Did a fairly rapid taper on Zoloft and Haldol over the course of 1 year. Felt awful, but it was manageable with the help of the hormones/supplements and frequent visits to my therapist. Psychiatric drug free as of 4/2020. I have about 10 months off of Haldol now, and 6 months off of Zoloft. Battling long term, protracted withdrawal symptoms, and going through h*ll, but so far I've managed to (just barely) keep my high paying job and maintain my relationship with my wife. (Updated 10/2020)
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Hi Michigan,

 

Welcome!

 

I have nothing to add to the excellent advise you have been given but wanted to say BS to your doctor falsely claiming that your withdrawal symptoms were a return of your illness because she was clueless about tapering you correctly. Thank god, you found this forum to do it the right way.

 

Lots of luck.

 

CS

Drug cocktail 1995 - 2010
Started taper of Adderall, Wellbutrin XL, Remeron, and Doxepin in 2006
Finished taper on June 10, 2010

Temazepam on a PRN basis approximately twice a month - 2014 to 2016

Beginning in 2017 - Consumption increased to about two times per week

April 2017 - Increased to taking it full time for insomnia

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  • Moderator Emeritus

I haven't seen much discussion of the topic on the board. How does everyone else stay on the healthy path, and not succumb to the easy route of taking substances to feel better?

I don't know about other folks, but for me it's certainly not because of innate virtue. I was one of those kids who "experimented" with anything that came my way, and later popped or smoked or drank or snorted a bit of this or that from time to time, because what the heck. (Apparently I had a resilient constitution.) Never really got addicted to anything, just more of a party gal.

 

But nowadays, since the psych drugs screwed me up so much, pretty much anything that affects brain chemistry makes me sick and kicks me in the teeth. Kind of makes that route less tempting.

 

Plus now that I'm finally getting my brain back, I'm really enjoying the novelty of actually being clear-headed and able to think, at least when I'm not having withdrawal funtimes.

Started on Prozac and Xanax in 1992 for PTSD after an assault. One drug led to more, the usual story. Got sicker and sicker, but believed I needed the drugs for my "underlying disease". Long story...lost everything. Life savings, home, physical and mental health, relationships, friendships, ability to work, everything. Amitryptiline, Prozac, bupropion, buspirone, flurazepam, diazepam, alprazolam, Paxil, citalopram, lamotrigine, gabapentin...probably more I've forgotten. 

Started multidrug taper in Feb 2010.  Doing a very slow microtaper, down to low doses now and feeling SO much better, getting my old personality and my brain back! Able to work full time, have a full social life, and cope with stress better than ever. Not perfect, but much better. After 23 lost years. Big Pharma has a lot to answer for. And "medicine for profit" is just not a great idea.

 

Feb 15 2010:  300 mg Neurontin  200 Lamictal   10 Celexa      0.65 Xanax   and 5 mg Ambien 

Feb 10 2014:   62 Lamictal    1.1 Celexa         0.135 Xanax    1.8 Valium

Feb 10 2015:   50 Lamictal      0.875 Celexa    0.11 Xanax      1.5 Valium

Feb 15 2016:   47.5 Lamictal   0.75 Celexa      0.0875 Xanax    1.42 Valium    

2/12/20             12                       0.045               0.007                   1 

May 2021            7                       0.01                  0.0037                1

Feb 2022            6                      0!!!                     0.00167               0.98                2.5 mg Ambien

Oct 2022       4.5 mg Lamictal    (off Celexa, off Xanax)   0.95 Valium    Ambien, 1/4 to 1/2 of a 5 mg tablet 

 

I'm not a doctor. Any advice I give is just my civilian opinion.

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  • 2 months later...

Alright guys, so I gave myself a full 2.5 months to stabilize from the last failed attempt at reducing the dose. And now I'm going about it more rationally. I've been using the great advice on this forum, and been making a liquid Zoloft solution every day. I was at 100mg, and I've done the 10% reduction and have been on 90mg for 6 days now. So far so good. A couple of days of somewhat low mood, but that could be the weather here in Michigan as much as the meds. Overall, I think I'm doing great on the slight 10% drop in Zoloft.

 

Exercising regularly, eating right for the most part, and keeping the alcohol and pot smoking to a minimum - trying to do whatever I can to keep my body and CNS in good shape. Planning on staying at 90mg for 30 days, then doing another 10% dose reduction. Thanks for everyone's support thus far!

 

As a side note, my wife is one of those lucky people who just has no withdrawal symptoms from SSRI's. She's been on and off of Zoloft several times. She can do a 25% reduction every 2 weeks and experience no ill effects. She just did it again recently and she's almost off of Zoloft. Must be nice...

-SSRIs starting at age 16 - around 1996. Tried just about every one available for a period of a few years. Stabilized on Zoloft. Have been on it since about 2003.
-Added .5mg Haldol for Tourette's and OCD in 2005
-Tapered in fall/winter of 2012, got off of Zoloft completely. Think I went too fast. Long term withdrawal symptoms persisted for months, to the point that I went back to a 100mg dose.
-Found this site, tapered using the 10% plan in 2015. It was really rough. Went back on Zoloft at 100mg.
-Found a great therapist in 2017, learned new self care skills. Started tapering again. Got down to 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol by late 2017 (? - memories a little fuzzy these days)
- Taper got rough again. Held dose at 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol through early 2018. Wife had a baby. Was putting in a lot of hours at work. Had a "poop out". Brain fog, debilitating fatigue, and the works.
- Consulted with a health coach who specializes in mental health and psychiatric drug withdrawal. Developed a plan that involved hormones and supplements. Did a fairly rapid taper on Zoloft and Haldol over the course of 1 year. Felt awful, but it was manageable with the help of the hormones/supplements and frequent visits to my therapist. Psychiatric drug free as of 4/2020. I have about 10 months off of Haldol now, and 6 months off of Zoloft. Battling long term, protracted withdrawal symptoms, and going through h*ll, but so far I've managed to (just barely) keep my high paying job and maintain my relationship with my wife. (Updated 10/2020)
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Michigan, how are you doing now at 90 mg? must have been 3 weeks now?

Started citalopram May 12, from 10 to 40 mg/d over 2 months

 

Wanted to come off in May 13 and did it too quickly: decrease from 40 to 0 mg/d over 2 weeks; WD from then onwards, increasing in intensity to be unbearable at 4 weeks later;  reinstated 10 mg/d for 2 days (WD severity halved); reinstated 20 mg/d (initial WD symptoms decreased but not gone entirely until after 8 weeks)

 

Started 5--7% taper: Aug 13: 19 mg/d, mild WD on day 3; thereafter none notable; Nov 13: 18 mg/d, no WD; Dec 13: 17 mg/day, no WD for 3 weeks, then (at Christmas) tearfulness; Jan 14: 16.7 mg/d, Apr 14: 15.7 mg/d, Jun 14: 14.5 mg/d; Jul 14: 13.5 mg/d (6.9% reduction), Aug 14: 12.5 mg/d (7.4% reduction)

 

Sharing experience makes a difference

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Hey MaryKA - Thanks for asking. I'm doing great on the 90mg! As I mentioned in the previous post, the first week was a little bumpy, but it's been smooth sailing with no noticeable withdrawal symptoms since then. It's a little bit of a pain to have to mix up the liquid solution and measure it out every day, but I'm getting used to it.

 

6 more days will make a full 30 days on the 90mg, and I'm feeling pretty good about being ready to make the next 10% reduction. 

-SSRIs starting at age 16 - around 1996. Tried just about every one available for a period of a few years. Stabilized on Zoloft. Have been on it since about 2003.
-Added .5mg Haldol for Tourette's and OCD in 2005
-Tapered in fall/winter of 2012, got off of Zoloft completely. Think I went too fast. Long term withdrawal symptoms persisted for months, to the point that I went back to a 100mg dose.
-Found this site, tapered using the 10% plan in 2015. It was really rough. Went back on Zoloft at 100mg.
-Found a great therapist in 2017, learned new self care skills. Started tapering again. Got down to 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol by late 2017 (? - memories a little fuzzy these days)
- Taper got rough again. Held dose at 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol through early 2018. Wife had a baby. Was putting in a lot of hours at work. Had a "poop out". Brain fog, debilitating fatigue, and the works.
- Consulted with a health coach who specializes in mental health and psychiatric drug withdrawal. Developed a plan that involved hormones and supplements. Did a fairly rapid taper on Zoloft and Haldol over the course of 1 year. Felt awful, but it was manageable with the help of the hormones/supplements and frequent visits to my therapist. Psychiatric drug free as of 4/2020. I have about 10 months off of Haldol now, and 6 months off of Zoloft. Battling long term, protracted withdrawal symptoms, and going through h*ll, but so far I've managed to (just barely) keep my high paying job and maintain my relationship with my wife. (Updated 10/2020)
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Hi Michigan! Great to hear your success!

 

I have taken 3 months between dropping from 19 mg to 18 mg per day citalopram. But nothing to report so far since I did it a week ago.

 

I'm not minding the liquid prep and fiddling with it. It's a justified means to an end. The stuff I get from the pharmacist is far too strong,  40 mg/ml -- far too strong to measure out 8 mg accurately (cos I take a 10 mg tablet too to make the 18 mg). So I dilute to 1 mg/ml and then have a 5 ml syringe with which to measure 2 lots of 4 ml (for 18 mg). Every 2 weeks or so, I use a measuring cylinder to measure 117 ml water and a 0.5 syringe to measure 3 ml of the pharmaceutical prep. I' not asking you to check the maths: this is just to say that I have to refill my dilution bottle every fortnight -- and then when it comes to taking my med, it's a simple thing to take 18 mg, 10 mg tablet plus 8 ml of my diluted solution. The trickiest things have been getting a bottle to hold my dilution, measuring the water (first I used my husband's digital scales but then I left him, so now I have a measuring cylinder bought through eBay), and getting a sensible size of syringe to measure 8 ml (which is a 5 ml syringe, so I use it twice).

 

However, you're doing it, it does work! My drops have been 5% or thereabouts, and not much to report (in fact if you look at my posts they are more about personal upheaval than WD symptoms).

 

Like I said, good to hear you're doing so well. May it continue!

Started citalopram May 12, from 10 to 40 mg/d over 2 months

 

Wanted to come off in May 13 and did it too quickly: decrease from 40 to 0 mg/d over 2 weeks; WD from then onwards, increasing in intensity to be unbearable at 4 weeks later;  reinstated 10 mg/d for 2 days (WD severity halved); reinstated 20 mg/d (initial WD symptoms decreased but not gone entirely until after 8 weeks)

 

Started 5--7% taper: Aug 13: 19 mg/d, mild WD on day 3; thereafter none notable; Nov 13: 18 mg/d, no WD; Dec 13: 17 mg/day, no WD for 3 weeks, then (at Christmas) tearfulness; Jan 14: 16.7 mg/d, Apr 14: 15.7 mg/d, Jun 14: 14.5 mg/d; Jul 14: 13.5 mg/d (6.9% reduction), Aug 14: 12.5 mg/d (7.4% reduction)

 

Sharing experience makes a difference

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  • 3 weeks later...

Great to hear that you're doing well also, MaryKA. Take it as slowly as you need to. I started another 10% reduction on Zoloft 3 days ago. Down to 81mg/day now. So far so good - no w/d symptoms yet!

-SSRIs starting at age 16 - around 1996. Tried just about every one available for a period of a few years. Stabilized on Zoloft. Have been on it since about 2003.
-Added .5mg Haldol for Tourette's and OCD in 2005
-Tapered in fall/winter of 2012, got off of Zoloft completely. Think I went too fast. Long term withdrawal symptoms persisted for months, to the point that I went back to a 100mg dose.
-Found this site, tapered using the 10% plan in 2015. It was really rough. Went back on Zoloft at 100mg.
-Found a great therapist in 2017, learned new self care skills. Started tapering again. Got down to 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol by late 2017 (? - memories a little fuzzy these days)
- Taper got rough again. Held dose at 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol through early 2018. Wife had a baby. Was putting in a lot of hours at work. Had a "poop out". Brain fog, debilitating fatigue, and the works.
- Consulted with a health coach who specializes in mental health and psychiatric drug withdrawal. Developed a plan that involved hormones and supplements. Did a fairly rapid taper on Zoloft and Haldol over the course of 1 year. Felt awful, but it was manageable with the help of the hormones/supplements and frequent visits to my therapist. Psychiatric drug free as of 4/2020. I have about 10 months off of Haldol now, and 6 months off of Zoloft. Battling long term, protracted withdrawal symptoms, and going through h*ll, but so far I've managed to (just barely) keep my high paying job and maintain my relationship with my wife. (Updated 10/2020)
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  • Moderator Emeritus

It's great you are still tapering without withdrawal symptoms Michigan , thanks for dropping by 

it's always good to see that someone is doing well, it gives others hope too  :)

**I am not a medical professional, if in doubt please consult a doctor with withdrawal knowledge.

 

 

Different drugs occasionally (mostly benzos) 1976 - 1981 (no problem)

1993 - 2002 in and out of hospital. every type of drug + ECT. Staring with seroxat

2002  effexor. 

Tapered  March 2012 to March 2013, ending with 5 beads.

Withdrawal April 2013 . Reinstated 5 beads reduced to 4 beads May 2013

Restarted taper  Nov 2013  

OFF EFFEXOR Feb 2015    :D 

Tapered atenolol and omeprazole Dec 2013 - May 2014

 

Tapering tramadol, Feb 2015 100mg , March 2015 50mg  

 July 2017 30mg.  May 15 2018 25mg

Taking fish oil, magnesium, B12, folic acid, bilberry eyebright for eye pressure. 

 

My story http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/4199-hello-mammap-checking-in/page-33

 

Lesson learned, slow down taper at lower doses. Taper no more than 10% of CURRENT dose if possible

 

 

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  • 3 years later...

Hey everyone - I'm back!

 

If you check out my post history, you'll see that I had tapered in 2015 and had a pretty rough time of it. Went back on my meds and disappeared from this site for the past couple of years. 

 

At this point, I'd like to re-introduce myself, share some things that are working for me, and get some feedback from you (updated history is in signature).

 

As I said, I went back on a full dose of Zoloft. Experiencing a frightening amount of brain fog and cognitive issues. So I've begun tapering again. 

 

In the past couple of years since I last posted, I've been going to an amazing "holistic therapist". He's trained as a naturopath, but specializes in therapy for emotional issues. His methods include regular talk therapy, as well as reiki, acupuncture, supplementation, and life coaching. 

 

With his help and encouragement, I've started a regular meditation and yoga practice, and gotten my life to a better place than it's ever been. I'm making a ton of money in a job that I love; I have a new baby with my wife, and life is generally pretty great right now.

 

I feel like I'm in a much better place to try tapering again. 

 

My first recommendation to you all is to find a great holistic therapist. They usually don't take insurance. I only go once a month, but every time I walk out of that office, I feel like I've had a life changing session.

 

My second recommendation is in trying the Ketogenic diet. It's an extremely low carb/low sugar diet that was first developed for epilepsy. My brain and emotions feel 10x better when I'm following the diet and I'm excited about using the diet as I get further into my taper.

 

Thirdly, I don't recommend this for everyone, but my holistic therapist has had me micro-dosing on psilocybin under his close supervision. The theory is that, while the micro-dose doesn't make you "trip" or feel anything, it's increasing the neuro-plasticity of the brain.

 

Now, I'd also love to get some feedback from you all.

 

The last time I got off of Zoloft, I felt so much anger, rage, and just chaotic emotions that it really makes me nervous to think about that part of it. I read these horror stories about people who get off of their meds and "snap" and kill themselves or someone else. Do you guys have any advice to ease my mind that getting off of meds isn't a death sentence or a trip to prison?

 

Second, I'm also on .5mg Haldol, and I've been on it for almost 20 years. It's a small dose, so I have that in my favor. But I hear horror stories about long term use of neuroleptics causing permanent damage, and causing alzheimer's etc when you get older. Has anyone recovered from that long of a stretch using neuroleptics? 

 

Like I said, I'm in a much better place in my life right now, but these stories scare me, and I fear that I'll never be able to live a normal life free from these toxic meds. 

 

Good to be back and looking forward to connecting with you all!

-SSRIs starting at age 16 - around 1996. Tried just about every one available for a period of a few years. Stabilized on Zoloft. Have been on it since about 2003.
-Added .5mg Haldol for Tourette's and OCD in 2005
-Tapered in fall/winter of 2012, got off of Zoloft completely. Think I went too fast. Long term withdrawal symptoms persisted for months, to the point that I went back to a 100mg dose.
-Found this site, tapered using the 10% plan in 2015. It was really rough. Went back on Zoloft at 100mg.
-Found a great therapist in 2017, learned new self care skills. Started tapering again. Got down to 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol by late 2017 (? - memories a little fuzzy these days)
- Taper got rough again. Held dose at 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol through early 2018. Wife had a baby. Was putting in a lot of hours at work. Had a "poop out". Brain fog, debilitating fatigue, and the works.
- Consulted with a health coach who specializes in mental health and psychiatric drug withdrawal. Developed a plan that involved hormones and supplements. Did a fairly rapid taper on Zoloft and Haldol over the course of 1 year. Felt awful, but it was manageable with the help of the hormones/supplements and frequent visits to my therapist. Psychiatric drug free as of 4/2020. I have about 10 months off of Haldol now, and 6 months off of Zoloft. Battling long term, protracted withdrawal symptoms, and going through h*ll, but so far I've managed to (just barely) keep my high paying job and maintain my relationship with my wife. (Updated 10/2020)
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Welcome back!!!

 

One of the mods will be around shortly to give you the advice your looking for, just thought I'd drop in and say hello 😃 i myself just returned after over a year to start my taper as my last one was an epic fail. Ali 

10 years citalopram 30mg- tapered down in December 15/2015- Jan 15/2016 to 20mg for two weeks, ten for one week and five for another week, then stopped, less then two weeks later, sheer hell broke lose with debilitating withdrawal symptoms.

 

Update-- reinstated 5mg of celexa on feb 5-- within hours noticed immediate difference in WD symptoms-- Holding holding and more holding.

 

Updose- March 23/16 too 10mg- relieved the harsher head symptoms- current symptoms headaches, dizzy, numbness and tingling in my head.

 

Benzos- 2015-Ativan on and off for 6 months 2mg- switched to clonazepam nov 2015- 2mg till Jan 2016 Zopiclone 7.5mg nov-dec 2015- was tapered off over 4weeks- Currently in protracted withdrawal. ????????????????????????????????

 

Update- ended up in the hospital April 18/16 major suicidal ( never had that before) was admitted/ been there ever since, put me back to full dose celexa 30mg no drugs added, IAM FINALLY STABLE AFTER 3 months of tortuous hell. Got a great physiatrist that new all about WD, he will help me taper properly in a couple of months at 5% deductions holding 8 weeks. I never want to relive that hell again.

 

Udate- stable and holding, doing things slowly is key.

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  • ChessieCat changed the title to holistic therapy, Keto diet, psychedelics & more
  • 2 years later...

Hey guys - 

 

It's been awhile. What a journey it's been. I'm 100% free from psychiatric drugs at this point, and hoping that I'm on the road to becoming a "haldol withdrawal success story", since that was the drug that worried me the most about coming off. 

 

I'm at about 9 or 10 months free from Haldol, and about 6 months free from Zoloft. It's in my signature, but I was on this garbage for 20 years, and it robbed me of so many things in life. 

Going through hell, but despite doing a fast taper, I've managed to keep my six figure job so far, as well as to maintain (and even improve) my relationship with my wife. Just wanted to share what I've been through, am going through, and what I've learned.

In early 2018, tapering had gotten rough, and I was holding my dosage where it was. Things stabilized. We had a baby. And I was working a ton of hours at work and getting no sleep. I had a complete poop out. Debilitating fatigue. Memory loss. Muscle exhaustion. Cognitive difficulties. The works.

I'm kind of in the Silicon Valley world, and I have that "let's figure this out" mindset. I managed to find a health coach who specializes in mental health and in psychiatric drug withdrawal. I also switched to a family doctor who believes that debilitating psychiatric drug withdrawal exists and who has been very helpful and supportive. The health coach had me analyze my DNA using one of those popular sites. And then he had me do an extensive blood work up with close to $1000 worth of labs (unfortunately not covered by insurance).

Working with him was pricey, but not ridiculously so. Between the DNA stuff, the labs and his consulting fees, I spent maybe $2k total.

Before I go any further, just let me say that I'm not recommending my approach to ANYONE. It could have turned out very poorly. It could still turn out poorly. I'm just sharing what's worked for me.

My health coach recommended Testosterone replacement therapy, in addition to some supplements that were targeted to my specific genetic makeup and labs. I'll go into exactly what I've been taking further down below.

This stuff helped * some *, and I was just super eager to get off of these meds. So I did a fairly fast taper. Got completely off from Haldol and Zoloft in almost exactly 1 year. 

Now, previously when I had taken small steps down from the Haldol (3-5%), it was agonizing. Borderline psychotic symptoms. Uncontrollable rage. Intrusive thoughts. Mild akathisia. Just a horror show. 

This time, I took step downs of 10% - 15% every 2-4 weeks, and barely noticed anything each time, except the debilitating fatigue just got worse and worse and worse.

So now I'm free from this poisons. And doing relatively well considering how long I was on this stuff and how fast my taper was. But holy **** is it still rough. I honestly have days where I don't think I'm going to survive this.

Ok, let me run through my hormones and supplements really quick, then I want to talk about my symptoms and whatnot.

Again, PLEASE don't take any of this stuff without consulting someone, and even then, think about it very hard. 

Hormones:

- Testosterone injections
- 20mg cortef (exogenous cortisol - my labs showed that my cortisol was destroyed, and getting on it made a huge difference)

Supplements:

- Phosphatydylserine. For cortisol. Made a massive difference for me.
- 5HTP. I know people on here have had mixed results, but it helps a lot.
- Ashwaghanda
- Vitamin D liquid
- Pregnenolone. This is a neurosteroid, but it's available OTC on Amazon. HUGE difference. I think I would be effed if I didn't have this. I've tried not taking it, and after a few days I'm in mental agony. DO NOT TAKE IF LABS DON'T SHOW THAT YOU NEED IT. Can definitely make things worse if you don't need it.

- Melatonin 300mcg for sleep

- Metformin. Requires an Rx, but it's treated like a supplement by biohackers etc, and my doctor gave it to me on request. 
- Cialis. Helps with bedroom performance, but my health coach actually recommended it because it increases blood flow to the brain. Noticed a mild but immediate improvement on it.
- Magnesium glycinate at bedtime.
- High doses of vitamin C

- Multivitamin and some other random stuff that isn't that important

Other:

- Embodied breathwork practices

- Lots of walking

- Psilocybin mushroom therapy under the supervision of my holistic counselor. If you're already in a fragile state, for the love of God please don't mess with this. With that being said, it's helping me a lot, but I wouldn't dare do it on my own without having my therapist act as a guide.

So, where am I at in life right now with symptoms?

Well, I've managed to keep my job. I grew up poor, struggled, and worked my butt off years to get to where I'm at, with a six figure job. It feels so incredibly unfair that soon after I "made it", all of this happened. I've managed to keep my job so far. But I feel like I'm doing a terrible job, and I'm constantly afraid that I'm going to either lose my job or have to quit. My wife is a stay at home mom who never made more than $12 an hour. I feel an incredible amount of pressure to keep this job. On the one hand, it feels unfair that my career is at a standstill due to these struggles. On the other, it seems unfair that I have to deal with this pressure to not screw up at work when I feel like I can barely function sometimes. I wish I could just quit my job and heal, but I don't know where that would leave our family financially. We only have enough in savings to live on for maybe 6 months at best. 

But yeah, in general I'm so tired and the fatigue is so debilitating that all I can really do is work, hang out with my toddler for a couple of hours in the evening, then crash and sleep for 10 hours, after which I wake up just as fatigued as when I went to bed. Completely stopped hanging out with friends or doing much of anything for fun. 

Symptom list:

- Debilitating mental fatigue. This is the absolute worst symptom for me. It's been there since the beginning of all of this. 
- Muscle weakness

- Vertigo

- Nausea
- Depression

- OCD and intrusive thoughts

- High blood pressure/ fast pulse

- Pressure in head

- Light headedness

- Other random stuff

 

Symptoms that I DON'T have, which I've extremely grateful for:

- Sexual side effects. Thank you TRT and Cialis. 

- Anxiety. Thank you pregenenolone!

I'm already having windows where I feel better for a few days. And then the waves will come crashing down, and I completely feel like I'm dying and this will never end, and I don't know how I'm going to get through the day at work, and all I can do is sleep and eat and cry.

I'm missing out on having the career that I've always wanted. I'm missing out on my son's toddler years. From reading other posts on this site, I know that it could be much worse, but that doesn't help much in the moment when I'm really feeling like death.

Anyway, I've been lurking a lot, but I'm going to try to get more involved here moving forward. Hope my story can help others. And I could really use some encouragement. I know it's still super early in the game for me, and I have a lot of fear around what the next few years hold.

Onward and upward.

 


 


-SSRIs starting at age 16 - around 1996. Tried just about every one available for a period of a few years. Stabilized on Zoloft. Have been on it since about 2003.
-Added .5mg Haldol for Tourette's and OCD in 2005
-Tapered in fall/winter of 2012, got off of Zoloft completely. Think I went too fast. Long term withdrawal symptoms persisted for months, to the point that I went back to a 100mg dose.
-Found this site, tapered using the 10% plan in 2015. It was really rough. Went back on Zoloft at 100mg.
-Found a great therapist in 2017, learned new self care skills. Started tapering again. Got down to 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol by late 2017 (? - memories a little fuzzy these days)
- Taper got rough again. Held dose at 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol through early 2018. Wife had a baby. Was putting in a lot of hours at work. Had a "poop out". Brain fog, debilitating fatigue, and the works.
- Consulted with a health coach who specializes in mental health and psychiatric drug withdrawal. Developed a plan that involved hormones and supplements. Did a fairly rapid taper on Zoloft and Haldol over the course of 1 year. Felt awful, but it was manageable with the help of the hormones/supplements and frequent visits to my therapist. Psychiatric drug free as of 4/2020. I have about 10 months off of Haldol now, and 6 months off of Zoloft. Battling long term, protracted withdrawal symptoms, and going through h*ll, but so far I've managed to (just barely) keep my high paying job and maintain my relationship with my wife. (Updated 10/2020)
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  • Mentor

Hi @Michigan

Just read your post and I want to start out by congratulate you on your already huge success. What an accomplishment you have reached. You are a survivor, well done. 

This journey is so hard for so many of us and I totally get that after being drug free the journey hasn't ended. Its like another obstacle comes our way and we have to start over with coping through life in a totally different way then when we were used to. That is we need to learn new coping skills, and practice new thinking patterns.

Not being numbed by drugs is a challenge on its own.  You have come so far, and I have no doubt that you will tackle all the challenges that will come your way. Dont be to hard on yourself, time is on your side and you are on your way to live the life you have worked so hard for, it will pay off. Remember that you are strong and focus on what you have already gained.

 

Difficult roads 

often lead to beautiful destinations 

 

All the best to you.

 

 

 

 

Edited by Hanna72

 


1999-2020  20 mg Paxil

Bridged with Fluoxetine to help me get off Paxil.

2022 Fluoxetine 15 mg 12/12 14mg 27/12  13mg jan 12mg feb 11mg mars 10mg, 9 mg 8,5 mg 7.6mg 7.0 mg 6,3 mg 5,6 mg 5,0 mg 4,5 mg 4,0 mg 3.6mg 3,2 mg 2,9 mg 2,6 mg 2,3 mg 2,0 mg

 


I am not a medical professional nor is this a medical advice. I only talk from my own experience.

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  • ChessieCat changed the title to Michigan: tapering Zoloft and Haldol

Just want to throw a win out there. I still can't really enjoy/appreciate movies or books, which sucks as I've always been an avid reader. But I'm starting to enjoy music again sometimes! AMAZING!

-SSRIs starting at age 16 - around 1996. Tried just about every one available for a period of a few years. Stabilized on Zoloft. Have been on it since about 2003.
-Added .5mg Haldol for Tourette's and OCD in 2005
-Tapered in fall/winter of 2012, got off of Zoloft completely. Think I went too fast. Long term withdrawal symptoms persisted for months, to the point that I went back to a 100mg dose.
-Found this site, tapered using the 10% plan in 2015. It was really rough. Went back on Zoloft at 100mg.
-Found a great therapist in 2017, learned new self care skills. Started tapering again. Got down to 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol by late 2017 (? - memories a little fuzzy these days)
- Taper got rough again. Held dose at 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol through early 2018. Wife had a baby. Was putting in a lot of hours at work. Had a "poop out". Brain fog, debilitating fatigue, and the works.
- Consulted with a health coach who specializes in mental health and psychiatric drug withdrawal. Developed a plan that involved hormones and supplements. Did a fairly rapid taper on Zoloft and Haldol over the course of 1 year. Felt awful, but it was manageable with the help of the hormones/supplements and frequent visits to my therapist. Psychiatric drug free as of 4/2020. I have about 10 months off of Haldol now, and 6 months off of Zoloft. Battling long term, protracted withdrawal symptoms, and going through h*ll, but so far I've managed to (just barely) keep my high paying job and maintain my relationship with my wife. (Updated 10/2020)
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U can feel Pscilosybin? I’ve been on haldol shots and all recreational drugs and medications have no effect. Alchohol will make me see drunk but I won’t feel it. If I take a break from weed long enough it’ll give me a vision change like I’m stoned but nothing. Ur seratonin and dopamine must not be blocked if you can feel mushrooms and other stuff.  

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  • Administrator

@Michigan how did you go off Zoloft finally?

 

I would interpret your need to sleep as your body requiring rest to repair.

 

I can't speak to the other treatment you're getting, many people find fish oil and magnesium supplements helpful, see
https://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/36-king-of-supplements-omega-3-fatty-acids-fish-oil/
https://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/15483-magnesium-natures-calcium-channel-blocker/

 

You might try a little bit of one at a time to see how it affects you.

 

@Haze, I'll let Michigan describe his treatment with pscilocybin. It doesn't sound like casual use. Generally, we recommend that people whose nervous systems are upset by psychotropics not risk upsetting them more with other psychotropics. You may feel numb but you could be making it worse. Your nervous system needs to recover from the chemical interference.

 

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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@Haze I never dared to try any psychedelics when I was on Haldol or Zoloft. Probably not a good idea to mix psilocybin or anything with psychotropic medications. I waited until I was through the acute withdrawal. Now that I'm off from everything, I definitely feel the effects. As @Altostrata said, I'm not just doing it casually on a Saturday night or anything. I'm doing journeys every couple of months with someone who is experienced in using plant medicine in a sacred/personal growth context. I pay about $400 a session, which includes the medicine. He's there with we me the entire time, and guides me through processing emotions that come up as well as to help when things get difficult. I had one time even on a light dose where things turned sour and I felt like I was straight up dying. REALLY glad that I had him there to assist. I agree with Altostrata for the most part. It's not something to be taken lightly when you're nervous system is sensitive and/or destabilized. It seems to be helping me a LOT so far. Every time I do a session, the fatigue seems to lessen a bit. And for the week or so after the session, all of the depression and negative self talk are completely gone. 

Altostrate, to answer your question about how I went off from Zoloft finally: After I was on HRT and pregnenolone, the taper seemed easier than in the past. No sexual side effects or anxiety. That lead me to do it WAY too fast, which I regret now. I spent about 8 months tapering Haldol, but only about 4 months for Zoloft. When I finally took the final step down, it all hit me at once, and I was seriously destabilized for a few weeks. I could barely function. I know that most people on here don't do well with 5HTP, but I started using it in pretty high doses (at the recommendation of my health coach) about a week into acute withdrawal, when I was completely off from Zoloft. And it helped a TON. I'm deep into long term withdrawal now, and I'm just taking a normal dose each day. I've tried not taking it, and the depression is much worse. So I'll continue with it for now. 

My hope and my plan is to taper off from some of these supplements down the road. Possibly even from the HRT if possible. I know that most of this is very counter to how you recommend doing things here, and for that reason I don't recommend my approach to anyone else without going very slowly and seriously considering the risks. I still worry about how this will work out for me long term. But I have a family to support and I HAVE to be able to keep working for financial reasons. So as long as I'm stable-ish enough to work, I'm going to keep following this path. 

Thanks for the reassurance on the fatigue. It's seriously the absolute worst symptom. I cry several times a week just because the fatigue feels so horrible and is so debilitating. But it's already a little bit better than it was 6 months ago. And I have occasional windows where I don't feel it at all for up to a couple of days. Just trying to get as much sleep as my body and my schedule will allow and to trust God/the universe or whatever that I'll feel better eventually. 

I am taking Magnesium btw, and while I don't take fish oil, I include a lot of healthy fats in my diet. 

-SSRIs starting at age 16 - around 1996. Tried just about every one available for a period of a few years. Stabilized on Zoloft. Have been on it since about 2003.
-Added .5mg Haldol for Tourette's and OCD in 2005
-Tapered in fall/winter of 2012, got off of Zoloft completely. Think I went too fast. Long term withdrawal symptoms persisted for months, to the point that I went back to a 100mg dose.
-Found this site, tapered using the 10% plan in 2015. It was really rough. Went back on Zoloft at 100mg.
-Found a great therapist in 2017, learned new self care skills. Started tapering again. Got down to 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol by late 2017 (? - memories a little fuzzy these days)
- Taper got rough again. Held dose at 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol through early 2018. Wife had a baby. Was putting in a lot of hours at work. Had a "poop out". Brain fog, debilitating fatigue, and the works.
- Consulted with a health coach who specializes in mental health and psychiatric drug withdrawal. Developed a plan that involved hormones and supplements. Did a fairly rapid taper on Zoloft and Haldol over the course of 1 year. Felt awful, but it was manageable with the help of the hormones/supplements and frequent visits to my therapist. Psychiatric drug free as of 4/2020. I have about 10 months off of Haldol now, and 6 months off of Zoloft. Battling long term, protracted withdrawal symptoms, and going through h*ll, but so far I've managed to (just barely) keep my high paying job and maintain my relationship with my wife. (Updated 10/2020)
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2 hours ago, Michigan said:

 

 

 

Really grateful for your reply. I was stupid and did 7g of mushrooms which is a heroric dose and isnt even such a fun time without antipyschotics. That was only 1 month after a haldol shot. Pretty stupid i agree i was in a vegtable state without hallucinations it wasnt fun i thought i was gonna be permenantly messed up. Just sat there and redid the same body movements for a good 6 hours. I'm 6 months off the haldol shot now i still dont feel like itd be a good time to try it as haldol long acting shots are a way longer half life then the pills plus its double the half life since i got the shot in the glute instead of the deltoid. id be safe to try it possibly in 1.5-2 years and i hope i can do it in an environment like yours with an experienced trip sitter. It can be really healing. I wish i could feel weed though after 4 haldol shots it was diminished 6 months off now i can kinda feel a mood change and somewhat of a high i think im getting there. I do wanna take a break from all substances till i fully recover but when i feel no dopamine euphoria adreneline endorphins seratonin i just crave something to feel better. 

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4 minutes ago, Haze said:

 

 

Really grateful for your reply. I was stupid and did 7g of mushrooms which is a heroric dose and isnt even such a fun time without antipyschotics. That was only 1 month after a haldol shot. Pretty stupid i agree i was in a vegtable state without hallucinations it wasnt fun i thought i was gonna be permenantly messed up. Just sat there and redid the same body movements for a good 6 hours. I'm 6 months off the haldol shot now i still dont feel like itd be a good time to try it as haldol long acting shots are a way longer half life then the pills plus its double the half life since i got the shot in the glute instead of the deltoid. id be safe to try it possibly in 1.5-2 years and i hope i can do it in an environment like yours with an experienced trip sitter. It can be really healing. I wish i could feel weed though after 4 haldol shots it was diminished 6 months off now i can kinda feel a mood change and somewhat of a high i think im getting there. I do wanna take a break from all substances till i fully recover but when i feel no dopamine euphoria adreneline endorphins seratonin i just crave something to feel better. 

 

That's crazy, man. Sorry to hear that you're going through/went through all of that. 7g of mushrooms is a massive dose for sure.

And yeah, a big shot of haldol is probably a different story. I was on a very low dose of Haldol. Just .5 mg a day. It was for 15 years+, but still, it was thankfully a low dose.

I definitely felt the affects of marijuana and alcohol while I was on it. I actually abused both for years, just trying to feel something and to self-medicate. So I completely understand where you're coming from there. 

 

I'm stone cold sober now. I don't ever plan to drink alcohol again. I take a 1:1 THC:CBD tincture, but it's a super low dose, and I don't really feel anything from it. Haven't smoked cannabis in over a year and I don't plan to do so anytime soon.

I still consider myself to be stone cold sober with the occasional guided Psilocybin sessions, as it feels very different doing it in that context as opposed to doing something recreationally. 

-SSRIs starting at age 16 - around 1996. Tried just about every one available for a period of a few years. Stabilized on Zoloft. Have been on it since about 2003.
-Added .5mg Haldol for Tourette's and OCD in 2005
-Tapered in fall/winter of 2012, got off of Zoloft completely. Think I went too fast. Long term withdrawal symptoms persisted for months, to the point that I went back to a 100mg dose.
-Found this site, tapered using the 10% plan in 2015. It was really rough. Went back on Zoloft at 100mg.
-Found a great therapist in 2017, learned new self care skills. Started tapering again. Got down to 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol by late 2017 (? - memories a little fuzzy these days)
- Taper got rough again. Held dose at 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol through early 2018. Wife had a baby. Was putting in a lot of hours at work. Had a "poop out". Brain fog, debilitating fatigue, and the works.
- Consulted with a health coach who specializes in mental health and psychiatric drug withdrawal. Developed a plan that involved hormones and supplements. Did a fairly rapid taper on Zoloft and Haldol over the course of 1 year. Felt awful, but it was manageable with the help of the hormones/supplements and frequent visits to my therapist. Psychiatric drug free as of 4/2020. I have about 10 months off of Haldol now, and 6 months off of Zoloft. Battling long term, protracted withdrawal symptoms, and going through h*ll, but so far I've managed to (just barely) keep my high paying job and maintain my relationship with my wife. (Updated 10/2020)
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  • Administrator

What effect did 5-HTP have on you?

 

What symptoms do you have now that you attribute to withdrawal syndrome?

 

Many people find fish oil and magnesium supplements helpful, see
https://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/36-king-of-supplements-omega-3-fatty-acids-fish-oil/
https://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/15483-magnesium-natures-calcium-channel-blocker/

 

You might try a little bit of one at a time to see how it affects 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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16 hours ago, Altostrata said:

What effect did 5-HTP have on you?

 

What symptoms do you have now that you attribute to withdrawal syndrome?

 

Many people find fish oil and magnesium supplements helpful, see
https://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/36-king-of-supplements-omega-3-fatty-acids-fish-oil/
https://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/15483-magnesium-natures-calcium-channel-blocker/

 

You might try a little bit of one at a time to see how it affects you.

 

@Altostrata 

On 5HTP: 

When I was going through acute withdrawal after taking my last step down on Zoloft, I was a wreck. Depressed. Crying. Having suicidal thoughts. Uncontrollable rage. Couldn't stand to be around anyone, including my wife and toddler. I actually moved out of our house briefly. Added in a high dose 5HTP (up to about 800mg/day spread throughout the day at the advice of my health coach), and it got better instantly. I was still depressed and having the fatigue, but I was able to think clearly and rationally again. Moved back in to our house. Wasn't suicidal anymore.

Now, I'm just taking a normal dose of 200mg XR once per day. I've experimented with not taking it, and when I don't take it, I feel more depressed and my OCD actually starts to kick in and I start having intrusive thoughts. I had that symptom back prior to getting on meds when I was about 15 years old, and I've had it off and on over the years even with meds. So I'm taking the 5HTP and going to therapy for the time being and I'll see if I can reduce the dose further or get off from it down the road. 

As far as symptoms that I have now that I attribute to withdrawal syndrome:

Mostly the mental fatigue. That's the worst symptom. But also depression, exercise intolerance, memory issues, cognitive issues, a feeling of "pressure" in my head, nausea, high blood pressure, racing pulse, and vertigo. All of these symptoms tend to come and go along with the fatigue. The head pressure, nausea and vertigo only show up when the fatigue is really bad. It comes and goes with not much rhyme or reason to it that I can discern. Eating garbage foods seems to trigger it. It almost always shows up in the evening though. I have a really hard time making it past about 8pm. I'm just completely wrecked by that point and I just crash most nights. I've learned that heavy exercise will trigger it as well. I can't do much more than just long walks at this point. I've tried hitting the gym heavy a couple of times and I've just been destroyed with fatigue to the point that I can barely function the next day. 

All of this showed up when I had the "poop out" a couple of years ago. It was completely debilitating for awhile. I was so fatigued I felt like I was dying. Sleeping 14 hours a day and not waking up refreshed. Having to rest my head on my desk every 20 minutes at work. Just horrific. I've slowly added in the hormones, cortef and supplements one by one and stuck with the ones that seemed to help. At this point I can function pretty much normally. Now the fatigue and symptom cluster just comes in waves that'll last from a few hours to a few days. I've learned to just breathe through it, drink herbal tea, and try to take things slowly when it hits. Rediscovering religion and spirituality,. I was an atheist for years, but I've been praying and stuff lately. Just trying to trust that this will get better eventually and that I'll somehow get these years back. 

-SSRIs starting at age 16 - around 1996. Tried just about every one available for a period of a few years. Stabilized on Zoloft. Have been on it since about 2003.
-Added .5mg Haldol for Tourette's and OCD in 2005
-Tapered in fall/winter of 2012, got off of Zoloft completely. Think I went too fast. Long term withdrawal symptoms persisted for months, to the point that I went back to a 100mg dose.
-Found this site, tapered using the 10% plan in 2015. It was really rough. Went back on Zoloft at 100mg.
-Found a great therapist in 2017, learned new self care skills. Started tapering again. Got down to 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol by late 2017 (? - memories a little fuzzy these days)
- Taper got rough again. Held dose at 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol through early 2018. Wife had a baby. Was putting in a lot of hours at work. Had a "poop out". Brain fog, debilitating fatigue, and the works.
- Consulted with a health coach who specializes in mental health and psychiatric drug withdrawal. Developed a plan that involved hormones and supplements. Did a fairly rapid taper on Zoloft and Haldol over the course of 1 year. Felt awful, but it was manageable with the help of the hormones/supplements and frequent visits to my therapist. Psychiatric drug free as of 4/2020. I have about 10 months off of Haldol now, and 6 months off of Zoloft. Battling long term, protracted withdrawal symptoms, and going through h*ll, but so far I've managed to (just barely) keep my high paying job and maintain my relationship with my wife. (Updated 10/2020)
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  • Administrator

Many people find fish oil and magnesium supplements helpful, see
https://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/36-king-of-supplements-omega-3-fatty-acids-fish-oil/
https://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/15483-magnesium-natures-calcium-channel-blocker/

 

You might try a little bit of one at a time to see how it affects you.

 

Please continue to let us know how you're doing.

 

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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  • 1 month later...

Hey all, it's been a couple of months, so just wanted to check in with a quick update in case it might be helpful for anyone else tapering Haldol or going through anti-psychotic withdrawal.

I'm at about 10 months off of Haldol and 8 months off of Zoloft now. Lots of ups and downs and very slow progress, but if I compare where I am now to where I was a few months ago, I can see slight progress.

I do feel like I'm going through a little bit of the infamous "10 month dip" that I've seen people talk about on here. I was having a nice window where I felt better for most of November, then the past couple of weeks I've felt much worse again. Having some anxiety, which I haven't really had trouble with at all throughout the withdrawal process. Depression and fatigue kicking up a bit again too. Nothing too crazy and nothing that I can't handle. But definitely not fun. 

Supplements, hormones and basic regime are basically the same as before. 

Did an interesting experiment awhile back with a supplement. Have you heard of Mucuna Pruriens? It's basically a natural form of L-Dopa. Like most of the stuff that I post about in here, I wouldn't recommend messing around with it unless you know what you're doing. Some people report bad reactions to it. It basically increases the dopamine in your brain. Similar to L-Tyrosine, but it bypasses the rate limiting enzymes, so it can be pretty powerful. The bad part is that if you use it consistently, you're going to downregulate your dopamine receptors and/or prevent them from re-growing, which is the exact opposite of what we all want. 

But my health coach and I have discussed it extensively and decided that it's safe to take on occasion if I'm having a really rough day or if I have something going on that I really need to be feeling good for, like a presentation at work or something. 

Anyway, I tried it back like 8 months and felt little to nothing from it. My health coach said that it's probably because I had so few dopamine receptors that were functional at the time that there were just no receptors for the dopamine in the MP to bind to. When I tried it again a couple of months ago, I felt MUCH more from it. I can take it and almost feel like a normal human being for a big chunk of the day. My health coach indicates that this is an excellent sign of progress - it means that I've managed to regrow or resensitize at least some dopamine receptors. 

At any rate, I only take it very occasionally. And again, I mess around with a lot of things that I would not recommend to your average person going through any kind of withdrawal from psychiatric drugs, so please don't try Mucuna without carefully evaluating the risks. 

Aside from that, I'm enjoying what I can of the holidays. Our little boy is 3 this year, so it's his first year of really being old enough to understand what Christmas and Santa are all about. I feel bad about him seeing me so tired all the time and crying in front of him sometimes on rough days. I feel bad that I'm too tired to play with him sometimes. I think about how things could be so different right now. Still too tired most of the time to hang out with my wife after we put him to bed. But it is what it is and I tell myself that I'm healing every single day and that even if this takes 5 years+ to get back in the ballpark of normal functioning, it's just a blip in the grand scheme of life, and it's worth it if it means living free of these poisons and being able to feel normal emotions like a normal person again.

Hope everyone has a great holiday and gets to at least semi-enjoy it this year 🙂 

-SSRIs starting at age 16 - around 1996. Tried just about every one available for a period of a few years. Stabilized on Zoloft. Have been on it since about 2003.
-Added .5mg Haldol for Tourette's and OCD in 2005
-Tapered in fall/winter of 2012, got off of Zoloft completely. Think I went too fast. Long term withdrawal symptoms persisted for months, to the point that I went back to a 100mg dose.
-Found this site, tapered using the 10% plan in 2015. It was really rough. Went back on Zoloft at 100mg.
-Found a great therapist in 2017, learned new self care skills. Started tapering again. Got down to 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol by late 2017 (? - memories a little fuzzy these days)
- Taper got rough again. Held dose at 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol through early 2018. Wife had a baby. Was putting in a lot of hours at work. Had a "poop out". Brain fog, debilitating fatigue, and the works.
- Consulted with a health coach who specializes in mental health and psychiatric drug withdrawal. Developed a plan that involved hormones and supplements. Did a fairly rapid taper on Zoloft and Haldol over the course of 1 year. Felt awful, but it was manageable with the help of the hormones/supplements and frequent visits to my therapist. Psychiatric drug free as of 4/2020. I have about 10 months off of Haldol now, and 6 months off of Zoloft. Battling long term, protracted withdrawal symptoms, and going through h*ll, but so far I've managed to (just barely) keep my high paying job and maintain my relationship with my wife. (Updated 10/2020)
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  • 4 weeks later...

Man, I effed up and I'm doing really rough at the moment. Too many changes to supplements and stuff in too short a time. Totally destabilized myself. Had been doing really well. But then I accidentally took a double dose of pregnenolone a couple times just because I'm so brain foggy and out of it. That knocked me for a loop where I didn't feel very good for a couple of days. Started to feel better. Then I decided to try a new supplement. It was the 8:1 Lion's Mane extract from Nootropics Depot. I figured, it's just Lion's Mane, it'll be really gentle. FML. I felt like h*ll within a couple of hours of taking it. Too strong an extract. Just too much. My health coach says a lot of people can have an auto-immune response to it. With my nervous system being so sensitive right now, it sent me into a spiral of feeling like death. I'm on day 3 of anxiety, crushing fatigue, crying jags, brief flashes of derealization, and even what felt like it was verging on akathisia for about an hour over the weekend.

Almost called in sick to work today, which is extremely rare for me. Since I work from home, I'm just laying in bed in the dark doing the bare minimum on my laptop and listening to yoga music and chugging chamomile tea. 

I'm supposed to be going on vacation to Mexico in 3 weeks. Questioning right now whether we're going to have to cancel the trip. Questioning whether I'm finally going to have to take a leave of absence from my job. Thank god for my wife's unwavering support or I don't think I could do this. 

Anyway, just wanted to share an update. I feel like my journey the past year or so has probably made it sound easy compared to how long I was on everything. But it most certainly has NOT been easy, and I definitely struggle as much as anyone else. 

Planning to just let my nervous system stabilize for awhile with NO changes to ANYTHING. And practicing some acceptance that if I have to cancel my trip or if I lose my job, that it's not the end of the world as long as I'm alive and breathing and have my family. 

-SSRIs starting at age 16 - around 1996. Tried just about every one available for a period of a few years. Stabilized on Zoloft. Have been on it since about 2003.
-Added .5mg Haldol for Tourette's and OCD in 2005
-Tapered in fall/winter of 2012, got off of Zoloft completely. Think I went too fast. Long term withdrawal symptoms persisted for months, to the point that I went back to a 100mg dose.
-Found this site, tapered using the 10% plan in 2015. It was really rough. Went back on Zoloft at 100mg.
-Found a great therapist in 2017, learned new self care skills. Started tapering again. Got down to 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol by late 2017 (? - memories a little fuzzy these days)
- Taper got rough again. Held dose at 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol through early 2018. Wife had a baby. Was putting in a lot of hours at work. Had a "poop out". Brain fog, debilitating fatigue, and the works.
- Consulted with a health coach who specializes in mental health and psychiatric drug withdrawal. Developed a plan that involved hormones and supplements. Did a fairly rapid taper on Zoloft and Haldol over the course of 1 year. Felt awful, but it was manageable with the help of the hormones/supplements and frequent visits to my therapist. Psychiatric drug free as of 4/2020. I have about 10 months off of Haldol now, and 6 months off of Zoloft. Battling long term, protracted withdrawal symptoms, and going through h*ll, but so far I've managed to (just barely) keep my high paying job and maintain my relationship with my wife. (Updated 10/2020)
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  • 1 month later...

Feeling really discouraged lately. Struggling to maintain hope. I did manage to stabilize after my last post. We pushed the trip back to March instead of Feb due to a Covid surge in the area of Mexico where we were planning to travel. So we're leaving in 6 days. I actually went to Costa Rica on my own for a quick 9 day trip at the beginning of Feb to get some sunshine and combat the winter depression (SAD).

 

It felt like a miracle. Depression was so much better after just a couple of days. And I miraculously just didn't need my cortisol medication by the end of the trip. I don't know how that happened, but it was just unbelievable. An answered prayer. I felt so much better. Not amazing. But way better. 

 

I came back, and within 3 days I was back on my max dose of the cortisol medication. And now, the fatigue and depression are really getting the best of me again. 

 

I came across this interesting thread on another forum where someone talked about their son - who had chronic fatigue syndrome - making a full recovery in Costa Rica. Some combination of sunshine, healthy food, movement, and maybe some unexplanable factors. 

Again, we're leaving for Mexico in 6 days, and we're going to spend a month down there. I'll be working remotely for part of the time. So I'm hoping and (literally) praying that I have a similar experience as when I was in Costa Rica recently and that my depression and fatigue improves. If it does, we may just move down there for awhile. 

 

But I'm really struggling to maintain hope and to find some kind of acceptance right now. 

 

It all feels so unfair that this happened right when my son was born. All he knows is a dad who is too tired and miserable to play with him half the time. I feel so sad for myself, for him, and for my family. This has really taken a toll. 

 

I probably sound like I have a charmed life with the fact that I've been able to keep my six figure job throughout the withdrawal process and that I'm able to afford to just travel at the drop of a hat.

 

But I've suffered so much the past couple of years with this that I'm really struggling to see any light at the end of the tunnel. I'm not actively suicidal or anything, but many days the thoughts that "I wish I had never been born" and "I wish I would just not wake up" run through my head. I keep going because my wife and son need my income to support that family. But I feel like I have nothing of my own to live for anymore. I'm just putting one foot in front of the other to slog through each day. 
 

 

-SSRIs starting at age 16 - around 1996. Tried just about every one available for a period of a few years. Stabilized on Zoloft. Have been on it since about 2003.
-Added .5mg Haldol for Tourette's and OCD in 2005
-Tapered in fall/winter of 2012, got off of Zoloft completely. Think I went too fast. Long term withdrawal symptoms persisted for months, to the point that I went back to a 100mg dose.
-Found this site, tapered using the 10% plan in 2015. It was really rough. Went back on Zoloft at 100mg.
-Found a great therapist in 2017, learned new self care skills. Started tapering again. Got down to 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol by late 2017 (? - memories a little fuzzy these days)
- Taper got rough again. Held dose at 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol through early 2018. Wife had a baby. Was putting in a lot of hours at work. Had a "poop out". Brain fog, debilitating fatigue, and the works.
- Consulted with a health coach who specializes in mental health and psychiatric drug withdrawal. Developed a plan that involved hormones and supplements. Did a fairly rapid taper on Zoloft and Haldol over the course of 1 year. Felt awful, but it was manageable with the help of the hormones/supplements and frequent visits to my therapist. Psychiatric drug free as of 4/2020. I have about 10 months off of Haldol now, and 6 months off of Zoloft. Battling long term, protracted withdrawal symptoms, and going through h*ll, but so far I've managed to (just barely) keep my high paying job and maintain my relationship with my wife. (Updated 10/2020)
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  • 1 month later...

Ok, welp, I'm back from our month in Mexico at the beach house. Being down there didn't help the way that being in Costa Rica did. That must have either been a fluke, or been related to the fact that I wasn't working and didn't have family around and could basically do self-care 24/7. Whatever. I actually struggled quite a bit with withdrawal symptoms while I was in Mexico. C'est la vie. At least I was on the beach in the sunshine.
 

I've come to believe that being on so many supplements and everything isn't a good idea. I stopped everything that I could while I was in Mexico, including the oral hydrocortisone.

 

The only things I'm taking as of the last few weeks are the testosterone, pregnenolone, 5HTP, melatonin, magnesium, multivitamin, CBD and vitamin D. I think that's everything. Man, that still sounds like a lot. I was taking a stupid amount of stuff before. That was incredibly stupid. It really was. I was just getting to the point that I couldn't tell what was helping and what was hurting. 

 

I'm finally coming around to the idea that there are no shortcuts, I'm not special just because I can afford to throw money at this with meds and supplements and retreats and stuff, and that the only solution is time and good self-care. G*d d**mit. 

 

I also think the pregnenolone is doing more harm than good at this point. I think it helped initially. But now I think it's making me drugged and making things worse. But it seems like it needs to be tapered just like an antidepressant. I'm so upset with myself for all of this right now. 

 

I thought that because I was on the hormonal stuff and that the fast taper wasn't horrible that I had somehow found a magic bullet and a shortcut. And I tapered way too fast after being on this stuff for 20 years. I got off from both haldol and zoloft in less than a year. And now I have to taper the pregnenolone. Just so, so reckless and stupid and I'm so angry at myself. 
 

One year out, and I'm still dealing with daily depression with frequent crying spells, anhedonia, sleep issues, chronic, debilitating fatigue, fibromyalgia-like symptoms, weird feelings in my head like my brain is one big raw, exposed nerve, heart palpitations, episodes where I get so tired I can't even function and have to lay down for a couple of hours until it passes, OCD (mostly health anxiety; some intrusive thoughts), occasional bouts of derealization/depersonalization, broken sleep (getting at least 5-6 hours a night, so could be worse), memory loss, and cognitive issues like I've lost about 50 IQ points. 

 

I'm still semi-functional at least. I still have my job. I managed to go on day trips and hang out on the beach with my family in Mexico this past month. But holy wow, I feel pretty horrible most of the time. I do not feel like a functional adult.

 

Although I have had some windows where I've felt half-way decent for hours or days or even weeks.

 

Again, it's been a full year that I've been off from everything. Hoping that slowly tapering off from the pregnenolone helps some. I'm reading that it can cause depression, fatigue, memory issues etc on it's own. Not expecting any support for the taper in this forum, as it's a steroid rather than an A/D, but I'll post about it here occasionally if that's ok.

 

I know that I'm rambling. I'm just having a rough day with this stuff.

 

It's going to get better eventually, right? 

-SSRIs starting at age 16 - around 1996. Tried just about every one available for a period of a few years. Stabilized on Zoloft. Have been on it since about 2003.
-Added .5mg Haldol for Tourette's and OCD in 2005
-Tapered in fall/winter of 2012, got off of Zoloft completely. Think I went too fast. Long term withdrawal symptoms persisted for months, to the point that I went back to a 100mg dose.
-Found this site, tapered using the 10% plan in 2015. It was really rough. Went back on Zoloft at 100mg.
-Found a great therapist in 2017, learned new self care skills. Started tapering again. Got down to 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol by late 2017 (? - memories a little fuzzy these days)
- Taper got rough again. Held dose at 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol through early 2018. Wife had a baby. Was putting in a lot of hours at work. Had a "poop out". Brain fog, debilitating fatigue, and the works.
- Consulted with a health coach who specializes in mental health and psychiatric drug withdrawal. Developed a plan that involved hormones and supplements. Did a fairly rapid taper on Zoloft and Haldol over the course of 1 year. Felt awful, but it was manageable with the help of the hormones/supplements and frequent visits to my therapist. Psychiatric drug free as of 4/2020. I have about 10 months off of Haldol now, and 6 months off of Zoloft. Battling long term, protracted withdrawal symptoms, and going through h*ll, but so far I've managed to (just barely) keep my high paying job and maintain my relationship with my wife. (Updated 10/2020)
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Had a nice window for about 2 days where I felt halfway decent. I'll take it. It was really nice. A reminder that I'm slowly getting there. 

-SSRIs starting at age 16 - around 1996. Tried just about every one available for a period of a few years. Stabilized on Zoloft. Have been on it since about 2003.
-Added .5mg Haldol for Tourette's and OCD in 2005
-Tapered in fall/winter of 2012, got off of Zoloft completely. Think I went too fast. Long term withdrawal symptoms persisted for months, to the point that I went back to a 100mg dose.
-Found this site, tapered using the 10% plan in 2015. It was really rough. Went back on Zoloft at 100mg.
-Found a great therapist in 2017, learned new self care skills. Started tapering again. Got down to 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol by late 2017 (? - memories a little fuzzy these days)
- Taper got rough again. Held dose at 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol through early 2018. Wife had a baby. Was putting in a lot of hours at work. Had a "poop out". Brain fog, debilitating fatigue, and the works.
- Consulted with a health coach who specializes in mental health and psychiatric drug withdrawal. Developed a plan that involved hormones and supplements. Did a fairly rapid taper on Zoloft and Haldol over the course of 1 year. Felt awful, but it was manageable with the help of the hormones/supplements and frequent visits to my therapist. Psychiatric drug free as of 4/2020. I have about 10 months off of Haldol now, and 6 months off of Zoloft. Battling long term, protracted withdrawal symptoms, and going through h*ll, but so far I've managed to (just barely) keep my high paying job and maintain my relationship with my wife. (Updated 10/2020)
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I've been really cleaning up my diet. Actually, I'm experimenting with a semi-raw vegan elimination diet. No gluten, eggs, dairy, meat, or refined sugars, and probably about 75% raw. Oddly, I'm feeling quite a bit better when I'm super strict with it. Haven't changed anything else. Also noticing that when I have too much sugar from fruits/dates etc, I feel worse again. My window from last week coincided with having eaten really clean for a few days. Felt rougher again when I was devouring lots of fruit. Cleaned things up again to remove the fruit, and I've been feeling pretty good for a few days. Too soon to tell if this is a fluke or if it's an important discovery in my healing journey. Hoping for the latter! 

-SSRIs starting at age 16 - around 1996. Tried just about every one available for a period of a few years. Stabilized on Zoloft. Have been on it since about 2003.
-Added .5mg Haldol for Tourette's and OCD in 2005
-Tapered in fall/winter of 2012, got off of Zoloft completely. Think I went too fast. Long term withdrawal symptoms persisted for months, to the point that I went back to a 100mg dose.
-Found this site, tapered using the 10% plan in 2015. It was really rough. Went back on Zoloft at 100mg.
-Found a great therapist in 2017, learned new self care skills. Started tapering again. Got down to 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol by late 2017 (? - memories a little fuzzy these days)
- Taper got rough again. Held dose at 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol through early 2018. Wife had a baby. Was putting in a lot of hours at work. Had a "poop out". Brain fog, debilitating fatigue, and the works.
- Consulted with a health coach who specializes in mental health and psychiatric drug withdrawal. Developed a plan that involved hormones and supplements. Did a fairly rapid taper on Zoloft and Haldol over the course of 1 year. Felt awful, but it was manageable with the help of the hormones/supplements and frequent visits to my therapist. Psychiatric drug free as of 4/2020. I have about 10 months off of Haldol now, and 6 months off of Zoloft. Battling long term, protracted withdrawal symptoms, and going through h*ll, but so far I've managed to (just barely) keep my high paying job and maintain my relationship with my wife. (Updated 10/2020)
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  • 1 month later...

Continuing to do fairly well as long as I maintain the clean eating. I've actually tried adding animal products back in a couple of times, and I got violently ill about 36 hours later. Never experienced anything like it before. I guess my body just wants to be vegan for right now, so I'm just going to roll with it. I've also been tapering down to a lower dose of pregnenolone. Very slowly. My health coach specializes in mental health, but not in med withdrawal, and he says that he's never heard of anyone having to taper so slowly off from preg. Those of us in active withdrawal or PAWS obviously have much different nervous systems than most people. I'm doing a 10% reduction on pregnenolone every 1-2 weeks. Every time I do a reduction, I really feel it on days 3-4, and then it starts to ease up again. Similar to how it felt a few days after a step down on Zoloft or Haldol. Just going to keep tapering and taking good care of myself. 

I also started seeing a therapist online who lists coping with med-withdrawal as one of her specialties. She's actually a "psych med survivor" herself. If it continues to go well, I'll post her name and info in the thread about doctors and therapists. 

-SSRIs starting at age 16 - around 1996. Tried just about every one available for a period of a few years. Stabilized on Zoloft. Have been on it since about 2003.
-Added .5mg Haldol for Tourette's and OCD in 2005
-Tapered in fall/winter of 2012, got off of Zoloft completely. Think I went too fast. Long term withdrawal symptoms persisted for months, to the point that I went back to a 100mg dose.
-Found this site, tapered using the 10% plan in 2015. It was really rough. Went back on Zoloft at 100mg.
-Found a great therapist in 2017, learned new self care skills. Started tapering again. Got down to 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol by late 2017 (? - memories a little fuzzy these days)
- Taper got rough again. Held dose at 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol through early 2018. Wife had a baby. Was putting in a lot of hours at work. Had a "poop out". Brain fog, debilitating fatigue, and the works.
- Consulted with a health coach who specializes in mental health and psychiatric drug withdrawal. Developed a plan that involved hormones and supplements. Did a fairly rapid taper on Zoloft and Haldol over the course of 1 year. Felt awful, but it was manageable with the help of the hormones/supplements and frequent visits to my therapist. Psychiatric drug free as of 4/2020. I have about 10 months off of Haldol now, and 6 months off of Zoloft. Battling long term, protracted withdrawal symptoms, and going through h*ll, but so far I've managed to (just barely) keep my high paying job and maintain my relationship with my wife. (Updated 10/2020)
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Hi Michigan! 
 

how are you doing ? I would like to know who was your doctor? I need dorme one knowledgeable in withdrawal, I have lyme as well so having a difficult time here... thank you 

2017 /2019 75 mg Protheadene weaned off October 2019 (one year tapper) 

2018 until now 0,5 sedoxil at 7pm 

                           0,50 quietipine at 23 pm

 supplement 

vit. C 1000mg 

probiotic 

curcuma 

digestive enzymes

 Coezime 10 60 mg

nadh 10 mg 

 

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