ronnie9580 Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 My wife was on risperidone 2mg for Two months due to being admitted to a hospital for a week because of paranoid thoughts. She's never had paranoid thoughts in her life (She's 34) up until two months ago when she admitted herself. The doctor prescribed risperidone and she was released. After a week she was reading how so many people have problems with risperidone and wanted to get off it because she didn't think she needed it. Her therapist thought her paranoid thoughts were coming more from a lot of stress in her life rather then a mental health problem, but the therapist didn't say to stop taking the medicine so my wife decided on her own to stop taking it. She tapered herself off it in the following order: 2mg- took for 4 weeks 1.5mg- took for 1 week 1mg took for 5 days .5mg took for 5 days And then after the last dose of .5mg she stopped it which was 5 days ago... But now she is having all sorts of trouble sleeping, she only sleep a couple hours on and off each night, she says she's sick and even is having paranoid thoughts again. She also kicked me out of the house because she thought I was out to get her even though I've been supportive towards her through all this. Now I'm stuck and she won't talk to me. It's been 5 days since she stopped taking it, if she continues to not be on it how long can I expect this behavior to continue for? I know some people say they go back on in a small dose, but she refuses to take any medicine now. She wants to be medicine free. But I'm so worried and don't know what to do, every day I'm hoping the medicine will be out of her body and she'll return to normal, but how long should I wait to see her back to normal? Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Petunia Posted July 31, 2014 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted July 31, 2014 Hi Ronnie and welcome. I moved your post here from tapering because you will get a better response here. I'm so sorry to hear that you are in this difficult situation. Unfortunately, its impossible to say how long your wife will be feeling the way she is. From what you have written, and her symptoms, it sounds like she may be experiencing some withdrawal from tapering too fast. We usually suggest reducing by no more than 10% every 4 weeks. Is there some way you could talk to your wife or show her this site, she could reinstate a small amount and then taper off slowly and be medication free eventually, just without experiencing withdrawal symptoms. The way she is doing it now, there is a chance that her symptoms will get even worse and she may end up going back on a full dose or worse. Please read through our topic on reinstatement here: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/3079-about-reinstating-and-stabilizing-to-stop-withdrawal-symptoms/ and here is our thread about how to safely come off Risperidone: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1716-tips-for-tapering-off-risperdal-risperidone/ I'm not a professional, but I think the important thing is to be there for your wife, remain calm and supportive and do the best you can to communicate with her in a factual way. Is there someone else she trusts who could help you with talking to her? Others may have more ideas. Petu. I'm not a doctor. My comments are not medical advise. These are my opinions based on my own experience and what I've learned. Please discuss your situation with a medical practitioner who has knowledge of tapering and withdrawal...if you are lucky enough to find one. My Introduction Thread Full Drug and Withdrawal History Brief Summary Several SSRIs for 13 years starting 1997 (for mild to moderate partly situational anxiety) Xanax PRN ~ Various other drugs over the years for side effects 2 month 'taper' off Lexapro 2010 Short acute withdrawal, followed by 2 -3 months of improvement then delayed protracted withdrawal DX ADHD followed by several years of stimulants and other drugs trying to manage increasing symptoms Failed reinstatement of Lexapro and trial of Prozac (became suicidal) May 2013 Found SA, learned about withdrawal, stopped taking drugs...healing begins. Protracted withdrawal, with a very sensitized nervous system, slowly recovering as time passes Supplements which have helped: Vitamin C, Magnesium, Taurine Bad reactions: Many supplements but mostly fish oil and Vitamin D June 2016 - Started daily juicing, mostly vegetables and lots of greens. Aug 2016 - Oct 2016 Best window ever, felt almost completely recovered Oct 2016 -Symptoms returned - bad days and less bad days. April 2018 - No windows, but significant improvement, it feels like permanent full recovery is close. VIDEO: Where did the chemical imbalance theory come from? VIDEO: How are psychiatric diagnoses made? VIDEO: Why do psychiatric drugs have withdrawal syndromes? VIDEO: Can psychiatric drugs cause long-lasting negative effects? VIDEO: Dr. Claire Weekes Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus dalsaan Posted July 31, 2014 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted July 31, 2014 Sorry to hear about what's happening for you and your wife. Can you get a doctor to explore possibilities in terms of wgat is causing. The hallucinations? Have they done bloods, tested thyroid etc has she started any other medications which may be triggering these? Please note - I am not a medical practitioner and I do not give medical advice. I offer an opinion based on my own experiences, reading and discussion with others.On Effexor for 2 months at the start of 2005. Had extreme insomnia as an adverse reaction. Changed to mirtazapine. Have been trying to get off since mid 2008 with numerous failures including CTs and slow (but not slow enough tapers)Have slow tapered at 10 per cent or less for years. I have liquid mirtazapine made at a compounding chemist. Was on 1.6 ml as at 19 March 2014. Dropped to 1.5 ml 7 June 2014. Dropped to 1.4 in about September. Dropped to 1.3 on 20 December 2014. Dropped to 1.2 in mid Jan 2015. Dropped to 1 ml in late Feb 2015. I think my old medication had run out of puff so I tried 1ml when I got the new stuff and it seems to be going ok. Sleep has been good over the last week (as of 13/3/15). Dropped to 1/2 ml 14/11/15 Fatigue still there as are memory and cognition problems. Sleep is patchy but liveable compared to what it has been in the past. DRUG FREE - as at 1st May 2017 >My intro post is here - http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2250-dalsaan Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Rhiannon Posted July 31, 2014 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted July 31, 2014 We can't answer your question about how withdrawal is going to play out or for how long, because everyone is so different. Some people have almost no trouble at all, others are incredibly sensitive. Her best bet would be to go back on 0.5 mg and stabilize there then taper off that last bit more slowly. I do understand that you have no control over her doing that or not. I do think that after only two months of use, if she can avoid getting put on more drugs (which is the biggest danger right now), she will come through this and be back to normal. It does sound like there are some issues which need to be addressed however because "normal" was what made her go on the drug in the first place. 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. Link to comment
rispmed Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 Hello Ronnie, I had a very unsuccessful experience by wrongly tapering off and the withdrawal symptoms were a killer. I am also looking for an input on this on my topic page. How is your wife now? Link to comment
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