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Difficulty when in final stretch? Why is tapering low doses so hard?


Cberg

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Hello,

 

I am down to 4 mg of Paxil. I was lower but had to go back up. Why am I having so much trouble with these last 4 mg? I've had a real increase in my nausea, and also that awful feeling where you don't want to do anything and don't enjoy doing anything. Is this 'normal' when you get down toward the end of tapering? It seems like when you are that low, things should get easier not harder.

 

 

cberg

Cberg

15 years of panic disorder back in the 1970's. Under pretty good control now.

Started Paxil two years ago for nightmares and depression after many eye and back surgeries

Started slow taper two years ago

Started at 15 mg. now down to 2.35 mg.

Symptoms during w/d included severe nausea in the morning, headaches, pulsating/throbbing in back of head

lightheadedness, depersonalization, lack of ambition or motivation to do anything

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  • 2 months later...

 I feel for you. I am also down to 4mg of Prozac and my last drop of 5mg was really difficult.

So hard in fact that after a month with no sign of stabilizing, I wondered if I'd ever be able to

get off this drug. And if this was the state I'd be in be in taking 4mg then I'd have to go back up. 

Recently an article was posted on this blog about the precipice towards the end oftapering down off a drug.

Showed great graphs of how tiny increments of dropping have more impact.

Apparently cutting down way less at a time towards the end of your taper, 

makes for a less nightmarish adjustment.

Possible to have your holds shorter.

On 20 mg of Prozac for about ten years. Sept 2012 started reducing 10% a drop using gram scale, with average of one month holds.

When I'd reached the half way mark, taking 10 mg  powder out of the 20 mg capsules, I switched over to 10 mg capsules and cutting

down from those. Withdrawals got harder the lower I dropped.  May 2013 changed to 5% drops, holding until all withdrawal symptoms gone.

January 2015 changed to liquid prozac (concentration of 20MG per 5 mL) using a 1mL oral syringe.

Current dose of fluoxetine solution equivalent 3.4 mg. Any effort to drop below this has been disastrous so for the time being I'm staying at this level.
Adding 200 mg Tryptophan and 200 GABA a day has helped with anxiety.
Also take 1,300mg Omega- 3,  875mg  Magnesium, 1800mg Curcumin, 1000mg Vit C, 5000 Vit D.
 

 

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Hi Cberg,

 

your observation about difficulties with tapering at low doses is very valid. Contrary to what we would expect, it does get harder.

 

This thread explains why this is so.

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6036-why-taper-paper-demonstrates-importance-of-gradual-change-in-plasma-concentration/

 

Hope it helps. In any case, we advise going extra slow at low doses. 

Current: 9/2022 Xanax 0.08, Lexapro 2

2020 Xanax 0.26 (down from 2 mg in 2013), Lexapro 2.85 mg (down from 5 mg 2013)

Amitriptyline (tricyclic AD) and clonazepam for 3 months to treat headache in 1996 
1999. - present Xanax prn up to 3 mg.
2000-2005 Prozac CT twice, 2005-2010 Zoloft CT 3 times, 2010-2013 Escitalopram 10 mg
went from 2.5 to zero on 7 Aug 2013, bad crash 40 days after
reinstated to 5 mg Escitalopram 4Oct 2013 and holding liquid Xanax every 5 hours
28 Jan 2014 Xanax 1.9, 18 Apr  2015 1 mg,  25 June 2015 Lex 4.8, 6 Aug Lexapro 4.6, 1 Jan 2016 0.64  Xanax     9 month hold

24 Sept 2016 4.5 Lex, 17 Oct 4.4 Lex (Nov 0.63 Xanax, Dec 0.625 Xanax), 1 Jan 2017 4.3 Lex, 24 Jan 4.2, 5 Feb 4.1, 24 Mar 4 mg, 10 Apr 3.9 mg, May 3.85, June 3.8, July 3.75, 22 July 3.7, 15 Aug 3.65, 17 Sept 3.6, 1 Jan 2018 3.55, 19 Jan 3.5, 16 Mar 3.4, 14 Apr 3.3, 23 May 3.2, 16 June 3.15, 15 Jul 3.1, 31 Jul 3, 21 Aug 2.9 26 Sept 2.85, 14 Nov Xan 0.61, 1 Dec 0.59, 19 Dec 0.58, 4 Jan 0.565, 6 Feb 0.55, 20 Feb 0.535, 1 Mar 0.505, 10 Mar 0.475, 14 Mar 0.45, 4 Apr 0.415, 13 Apr 0.37, 21 Apr 0.33, 29 Apr 0.29, 10 May 0.27, 17 May 0.25, 28 May 0.22, 19 June 0.22, 21 Jun updose to 0.24, 24 Jun updose to 0.26

Supplements: Omega 3 + Vit E, Vit C, D, magnesium, Taurine, probiotic 

I'm not a medical professional. Any advice I give is based on my own experience and reading. 

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I'm also finding it hard at the low dose, it has to be slowed right down with extremely tiny cuts for some people.

If you can get, or make a liquid it would be much easier to get the lower doses.

**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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I've gotten down to 2.0 mg Lexapro three times in the past year and had to updose due to unbearable symptoms. Can't seem to break through this barrier after more than 20 years on ADs. Very frustrating and disappointing after successfully withdrawing  from so many other drugs. And so close to the end...maddening.

2009-2011: tapered off Trazodone, Namenda, Lamictal, Dextroamphetamine, Zyprexa; cold-turkeyed Pristiq; reduced Lexapro dose 50%.
On clonazepam since 2004, 0.5 - 1.0 mg daily PRN. Three failed (too rapid) partial tapers, 2010 - 2011.
Dec. 2011 - March 2013: Tapered off 0.5 mg clonazepam (Klonopin)

August 2013: Switched to liquid escitalopram (Lexapro) and began tapering from 10 mg.

January 2014: 4.5 mg escitalopram

March 2014: One year off benzos

May 2014: 3.0 mg escitalopram

June 2014: severe depression, updosed to 4.0 mg

Sept 1, 2014: 2.7 mg

Dec 7, 2014: Can't get below 2.5 mg without unbearable symptoms. Doing an extended hold (I hope)

March 2015: TWO YEARS POST-BENZO

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I think a long hold would be best Sparrow, I see you updosed to 4mg in June and 3 months later you had dropped to 

2.7 which was more than 25% , without much time to stabilise from the updose. If you get what I mean? 

 

The liquid is better because you can dilute it to get tiny doses.  You can draw up the dose into a syringe then expel

5% of that dose back into the bottle and take the rest. When it gets too low for the syringe to measure it can be diluted.

Many people have success with tapering liquids at the very low doses, you just need to be able to work out the figures.

and have long holds in between.

If you find the figures difficult there are some members who are good at maths and would be happy to help. I'm not one of

them I'm afraid .  :blush:

**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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  • 2 weeks later...
  • Administrator

Periodic longer holds in the last stretch can help you get over the hump, or microtapering Micro-taper instead of 10% or 5% decreases

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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I feel for you, take it slower. I vowed never to withdraw again after I got down to 6.8mg (from 15 years of 30mg). The Wd was horrendous. Went straight back up to 10mg (the last dose I was stable at). I took a 6 month break from tapering but am now trying again. I'm doing 5% every 3 weeks and may even go slower. The lower You get, the harder it is. Hugs. X

paroxatine.30mg-98-14 (16years)/15mg March 14/15mg may 2014 every two days on docs advice, went nuts so went up to 10mg. Took 2months to stabilise.10mg July 2014-sept 2014 (6.9mg)tried WD at 10% every two weeks. went nuts, nearly left husband, cats and country.10mg sept-December 14/9mg Dec-Jan 15/8.5mg Jan-Feb 15/8mg Feb-March 15/7.5mg march 15/7mg march-present. By October, off meds and on ivf. 3 failed ivf and end of 11yr relationship.10mg/July 16- July 17/5mg Jan 18- july 18

0mg july- present. Really struggling 

 

 

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You're probably making your cuts too large. What's a small cut at 30 mg (3 mg for example, which is 10%) is a huge cut at 5 mg (3 mg of 5 mg is more than 50%).

 

It's pretty much universal that we need to slow down at the lowest doses. 

 

I would say, hold for a while until your symptoms settle down (which might be a few months), then try a smaller cut, maybe 5% of your current dose, and see how that goes.

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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  • 1 month later...

I'm using a 1 mL syringe for pharmacy liquid prozac. Not mixed from powder. I'm now down to very low dose of 92 mL.

Each little black line is a 2% drop which wrecks my life for at least a couple of weeks.

Are there 1 mL syringes with more lines that are finer?

On 20 mg of Prozac for about ten years. Sept 2012 started reducing 10% a drop using gram scale, with average of one month holds.

When I'd reached the half way mark, taking 10 mg  powder out of the 20 mg capsules, I switched over to 10 mg capsules and cutting

down from those. Withdrawals got harder the lower I dropped.  May 2013 changed to 5% drops, holding until all withdrawal symptoms gone.

January 2015 changed to liquid prozac (concentration of 20MG per 5 mL) using a 1mL oral syringe.

Current dose of fluoxetine solution equivalent 3.4 mg. Any effort to drop below this has been disastrous so for the time being I'm staying at this level.
Adding 200 mg Tryptophan and 200 GABA a day has helped with anxiety.
Also take 1,300mg Omega- 3,  875mg  Magnesium, 1800mg Curcumin, 1000mg Vit C, 5000 Vit D.
 

 

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Indigo, does your liquid dissolve in water? You might try doing a dilution.

 

Also 92 mL sounds like a heckuva lot, especially if you're measuring it out 1 mL at a time with a 1 mL syringe. What am I not understanding here? Did you mean 0.92 mL?

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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Yes. I meant 0.92. I'm a bit dislexic about numbers. Not sure if this prozac liquid )from pharmacy)

would dissolve in water. Plan on looking into that. Diluting will be necessary when I get to lower doses. 

My last drop was  really wretched. So relieved I'm leveling off. Plan on taking a rest before dropping again,

and then a micro drop.

On 20 mg of Prozac for about ten years. Sept 2012 started reducing 10% a drop using gram scale, with average of one month holds.

When I'd reached the half way mark, taking 10 mg  powder out of the 20 mg capsules, I switched over to 10 mg capsules and cutting

down from those. Withdrawals got harder the lower I dropped.  May 2013 changed to 5% drops, holding until all withdrawal symptoms gone.

January 2015 changed to liquid prozac (concentration of 20MG per 5 mL) using a 1mL oral syringe.

Current dose of fluoxetine solution equivalent 3.4 mg. Any effort to drop below this has been disastrous so for the time being I'm staying at this level.
Adding 200 mg Tryptophan and 200 GABA a day has helped with anxiety.
Also take 1,300mg Omega- 3,  875mg  Magnesium, 1800mg Curcumin, 1000mg Vit C, 5000 Vit D.
 

 

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Sounds like a good plan to me!

 

You can ask your pharmacist about the liquid in water, but if you have the ingredients and one of them is water, it's probably good.

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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Going through this now at.32 mg. Paxil. I can't believe I felt fine last weekend and lowered from .48 to .32 and now severe fog and weakness. I thought I was pretty much safe. How do people just jump at 1 mg.? Had severe insomnia last week and then back to my normal insomnia. This is beginning to wear on me. Hope this works itself out.....

Paxil start September 2003 due to Fluoroquinolone adverse reaction that I wish doc. knew what it was. 10mg. most of the time with a few short runs of 20mg. FAST tapered 3 times and finally hit poop out or a reaction to nsaid's in Nov.2013. Started a 10% taper Jan. 2014 and have been ok until Sept 14 and went through a short hell. Now plodding through and looking for the light with unrelenting insomnia and pain, fog, loss of interests....<p>12/20/14 - .8mg.

1/01/15 - .75 mg.

1/15/15 - .42 mg. better sleep now, hope it continues...

2/11-15 - .25 mg. doing really good!! 2 weeks feel 85% of old me!

3/17/15 .14 mg. Knee pain bad!

4/07/15 .05 mg. this is so small now that I am estimating and just licking it off palm small as a "." 

4/13/15 NOTHING !!!! Took my last little micro dose on 4/12/15. 

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Could you still be getting wd symptoms from the drop you made 15th jan? I know mine peak after 2 weeks. I agree most people would try and jump at 1mg, I'd certainly be tempted.

paroxatine.30mg-98-14 (16years)/15mg March 14/15mg may 2014 every two days on docs advice, went nuts so went up to 10mg. Took 2months to stabilise.10mg July 2014-sept 2014 (6.9mg)tried WD at 10% every two weeks. went nuts, nearly left husband, cats and country.10mg sept-December 14/9mg Dec-Jan 15/8.5mg Jan-Feb 15/8mg Feb-March 15/7.5mg march 15/7mg march-present. By October, off meds and on ivf. 3 failed ivf and end of 11yr relationship.10mg/July 16- July 17/5mg Jan 18- july 18

0mg july- present. Really struggling 

 

 

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Could be micro, it may have crept up on me. I just have a hard time believing that anything below 1 mg. can give us problems. I just want to be a fun dad for my kids again.

Paxil start September 2003 due to Fluoroquinolone adverse reaction that I wish doc. knew what it was. 10mg. most of the time with a few short runs of 20mg. FAST tapered 3 times and finally hit poop out or a reaction to nsaid's in Nov.2013. Started a 10% taper Jan. 2014 and have been ok until Sept 14 and went through a short hell. Now plodding through and looking for the light with unrelenting insomnia and pain, fog, loss of interests....<p>12/20/14 - .8mg.

1/01/15 - .75 mg.

1/15/15 - .42 mg. better sleep now, hope it continues...

2/11-15 - .25 mg. doing really good!! 2 weeks feel 85% of old me!

3/17/15 .14 mg. Knee pain bad!

4/07/15 .05 mg. this is so small now that I am estimating and just licking it off palm small as a "." 

4/13/15 NOTHING !!!! Took my last little micro dose on 4/12/15. 

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Hi DLB

I remember you from pp. I too have trouble believing we can have issues at such low doses but I see it happening to others! I do notice for me I can have drops that have very little effect, and drops where I feel awful. Sometimes I think its just our brains catching up from previous drops, and it would have happened regardless. I tend to keep my drops pretty regular, exactly 10% every 4-6 weeks. I have to believe if each 10% was wreaking havoc on my system, it would happen each time, but it doesn't. I would just keep an eye on things and not rush, you crashed a while back and that in itsself can take awhile to recover from. I just think we have to always keep in mind what happened previously, even several months prior, becaue that can have lingering intermittent effects. I also want to say that I really feel for you having small kids, I just want to be a fun mom too...not a yelling impatient boring one. This sucks, but we will get there. Just give yourself time. 

2 Timothy 1-7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Effexor 75mg to 262.5mg 2005-2010 for post partum depression

Started having poop out mid 2010, also switched generic brands, then crashed in Dec 2010 (anxiety/ "terror", intense DR, anhedonia, suicidal ideation, chills, insomnia, horrible intrusive thoughts, disorientation, ect)
Rapid "tapered" from 262.5mg Effexor in 3 months

Tried Celexa,Cipralex, then Paxil to deal with wd(this switching made things worse and added akathesia)

Found online support and started tapering Paxil 7 months after quitting Effexor (at this point was having small windows).

Paxil taper: dropped 10% every 4-8 weeks

Year 1 October 2011 to Nov 2012 20mg to 10mg

Year 2 March 2013 to Feb 2014 10mg to 4mg

Year 3 April 2014 to May 2015 4mg to 1.1mg

Year 4 June 2015 1.1mg , dropping by 10% until .5mg, after then dropped by 0.1mg every 5 weeks until 0.1mg.

Finished! Official last dose of 0.1mg on June 15/16

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I'm finding my WD symptoms to be very unpredictable now that I'm down to such a low dose.

It makes me anxious not being able to predict when it will hit me and how severely.

So that it doesn't seem so random I keep looking for patterns and factors I can understand.

I came across this article that made sense to me. What do you think?

https://www.scribd.com/doc/219046742/Limibic-Kindling-hard-wiring-the-brain-for-hypersensitivities 

On 20 mg of Prozac for about ten years. Sept 2012 started reducing 10% a drop using gram scale, with average of one month holds.

When I'd reached the half way mark, taking 10 mg  powder out of the 20 mg capsules, I switched over to 10 mg capsules and cutting

down from those. Withdrawals got harder the lower I dropped.  May 2013 changed to 5% drops, holding until all withdrawal symptoms gone.

January 2015 changed to liquid prozac (concentration of 20MG per 5 mL) using a 1mL oral syringe.

Current dose of fluoxetine solution equivalent 3.4 mg. Any effort to drop below this has been disastrous so for the time being I'm staying at this level.
Adding 200 mg Tryptophan and 200 GABA a day has helped with anxiety.
Also take 1,300mg Omega- 3,  875mg  Magnesium, 1800mg Curcumin, 1000mg Vit C, 5000 Vit D.
 

 

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Hi Cberg,

 

your observation about difficulties with tapering at low doses is very valid. Contrary to what we would expect, it does get harder.

 

This thread explains why this is so.

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6036-why-taper-paper-demonstrates-importance-of-gradual-change-in-plasma-concentration/

 

Hope it helps. In any case, we advise going extra slow at low doses. 

 

 

Could be micro, it may have crept up on me. I just have a hard time believing that anything below 1 mg. can give us problems. I just want to be a fun dad for my kids again.

 

Take a look at the charts at that link, you can see that under 1 mg there is still quite a ways to go.

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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Interesting link rhi, although it's also quite scary and intimidating! "The road is long, with many a winding turn!"

paroxatine.30mg-98-14 (16years)/15mg March 14/15mg may 2014 every two days on docs advice, went nuts so went up to 10mg. Took 2months to stabilise.10mg July 2014-sept 2014 (6.9mg)tried WD at 10% every two weeks. went nuts, nearly left husband, cats and country.10mg sept-December 14/9mg Dec-Jan 15/8.5mg Jan-Feb 15/8mg Feb-March 15/7.5mg march 15/7mg march-present. By October, off meds and on ivf. 3 failed ivf and end of 11yr relationship.10mg/July 16- July 17/5mg Jan 18- july 18

0mg july- present. Really struggling 

 

 

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I'm finding my WD symptoms to be very unpredictable now that I'm down to such a low dose.

It makes me anxious not being able to predict when it will hit me and how severely.

So that it doesn't seem so random I keep looking for patterns and factors I can understand.

I came across this article that made sense to me. What do you think?

https://www.scribd.com/doc/219046742/Limibic-Kindling-hard-wiring-the-brain-for-hypersensitivities 

 

We have a thread somewhere on limbic retraining, I believe. I've worked with it some for my MCS and I do think it probably applies to psych med withdrawal as well. Would love to hear other peoples' experiences with this, preferably in that thread however rather than hijacking this one.

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2761-neuroplasticity-and-limbic-retraining/

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6175-limbic-kindling-hardwiring-the-brain-for-hypersensitivity/

 

looks like there are a couple of them.

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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Hi DLB

I remember you from pp. I too have trouble believing we can have issues at such low doses but I see it happening to others! I do notice for me I can have drops that have very little effect, and drops where I feel awful. Sometimes I think its just our brains catching up from previous drops, and it would have happened regardless. I tend to keep my drops pretty regular, exactly 10% every 4-6 weeks. I have to believe if each 10% was wreaking havoc on my system, it would happen each time, but it doesn't. I would just keep an eye on things and not rush, you crashed a while back and that in itsself can take awhile to recover from. I just think we have to always keep in mind what happened previously, even several months prior, becaue that can have lingering intermittent effects. I also want to say that I really feel for you having small kids, I just want to be a fun mom too...not a yelling impatient boring one. This sucks, but we will get there. Just give yourself time.

 

. Thanks Aberdeen , hope your doing good. Yeah, I had a horrific time at around 2.5 in September. I also have been going faster than I should but I really feel like this stuff is poisoning me so I sped up a little and I'm sure you are right about it catching up to me.. Now for the good news, I am now at .25mg. And all head pressure is gone, head fog 95%better, anhedonia about 65% better and sleeping 5 hours a night consistently and just feeling better than I have in months and so far it has been almost 2 weeks of this! I know that this can change at any moment but this is a good sign I think. Just got over bad back muscle pain and am now dealing with real sore knees for 2 weeks though....nice to hear from you and I hope you are doing well. I also find that as much as I like to stay informed on here, I feel better not constantly reading all the misery that has happened to all of us, so I'm not on here as often even though it helps a lot to hear from everyone to give peace of mind that it's not just me.

Paxil start September 2003 due to Fluoroquinolone adverse reaction that I wish doc. knew what it was. 10mg. most of the time with a few short runs of 20mg. FAST tapered 3 times and finally hit poop out or a reaction to nsaid's in Nov.2013. Started a 10% taper Jan. 2014 and have been ok until Sept 14 and went through a short hell. Now plodding through and looking for the light with unrelenting insomnia and pain, fog, loss of interests....<p>12/20/14 - .8mg.

1/01/15 - .75 mg.

1/15/15 - .42 mg. better sleep now, hope it continues...

2/11-15 - .25 mg. doing really good!! 2 weeks feel 85% of old me!

3/17/15 .14 mg. Knee pain bad!

4/07/15 .05 mg. this is so small now that I am estimating and just licking it off palm small as a "." 

4/13/15 NOTHING !!!! Took my last little micro dose on 4/12/15. 

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Thanks Rhi for adding these links. I had a childhood pervaded by emotional trauma and have noticed over the years how a certain stressful situations 

can trigger very intense emotional response. My Dr diagnosed this as PSTD. Because of this was interested to learn how chronic

anxiety and stress in childhood can cause brain changes and hyper-sensitivity. 

On 20 mg of Prozac for about ten years. Sept 2012 started reducing 10% a drop using gram scale, with average of one month holds.

When I'd reached the half way mark, taking 10 mg  powder out of the 20 mg capsules, I switched over to 10 mg capsules and cutting

down from those. Withdrawals got harder the lower I dropped.  May 2013 changed to 5% drops, holding until all withdrawal symptoms gone.

January 2015 changed to liquid prozac (concentration of 20MG per 5 mL) using a 1mL oral syringe.

Current dose of fluoxetine solution equivalent 3.4 mg. Any effort to drop below this has been disastrous so for the time being I'm staying at this level.
Adding 200 mg Tryptophan and 200 GABA a day has helped with anxiety.
Also take 1,300mg Omega- 3,  875mg  Magnesium, 1800mg Curcumin, 1000mg Vit C, 5000 Vit D.
 

 

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Thanks Rhi for adding these links. I had a childhood pervaded by emotional trauma and have noticed over the years how a certain stressful situations 

can trigger very intense emotional response. My Dr diagnosed this as PSTD. Because of this was interested to learn how chronic

anxiety and stress in childhood can cause brain changes and hyper-sensitivity. 

 

Yep, actually the limbic retraining stuff is interconnected with the same mechanisms in the brain that are involved in PTSD, which I definitely have, due to horrific childhood abuse and trauma.

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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  • 1 year later...

Hey all,

 

As you can see in my signature, i'm not a newbie in tapering and i am on a very small dosage now.... But these last bits seem extemely hard to get rid off. I'm now on a stable dosage for some months, but start having a awkward feeling in my head last couple of weeks. I can't think clear, have a little headache, i am not being able to actually think and feel absolutely tired in my head... Monday howerver, i have a very important job interview (i absolutely want that job and i have a good chance at getting it)...

 

I consider a small updose (from 7.7% to 10%) in order to feel fine again and get that job... However: going from 10% to 7.7% has cost me half a year... On the other hand, if i feel like this, i'm not going to be able to succesfully do this possible new job.... And i just want to feel fine/normal again... What should i do?

 

Second question: I spend the last years on relatively small dosages, but getting rid off them completely seems so, so hard... Is this a common thing? 

 

Grs,

Camel

Edited by KarenB
merged similar topics

Since 2005 50mg of Serlain (Zoloft).
After several failed attemps of tapering on doctors advice (way too fast), in 2012 begun with slow taper. In 09/2014 on 4.5mg(=9%) of initial dose crashed and upped a bit (6.5mg; =13%) and stayed there for more than a half year

Lost my job in 06/2015, but was doing OK

My goal: to super slow taper further down and finally come off these meds.

Since 1/1/2016 on 3.9mg (=7,7%)

 

 

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Hi Camel, 

 

I'm not really understanding your sig using the percentages.  It would be more helpful if you could present your history in terms of mgs.

 

Have you experienced any stressors relative to these symptoms rising up?  It could be that the stress of this interview could be enough to cause a little wave.  I know many, including myself, have had wd symptoms pop up when subjected to stress, even while tapering.  I would NOT make any changes right now with the interview so close, because the change itself could create symptoms which themselves could disrupt your interview.  Besides, it takes four days for a dosage change to become steady-state.  Also, the fact that you were otherwise stable before these symptoms came up a couple of weeks ago means that the dosage you are on was actually ok, with your nervous system adapting to that dosage, so up-dosing doesn't make any sense and could even cause an adverse reaction.

 

I am thinking that your best bet would be to practice some self care that focuses on calming, meditation/mindfulness, EFT tapping, etc.

 

SG

Started ADs back around 1995 after bad break-up, starting with Prozac.  Switched to Wellbutrin, and then to Effexor in 2002
Effexor XR 2002-2014 up to 225 mg at one point, down to 37.5 mg towards end but back up to 75 mg in 2014; now realize I had W/D as I dropped down, memory very poor about history.  Extreme emotions, poor concentration as I stepped back down, didn't connect the dots!
Summer 2014 reduced to 0 very quickly, was sick of anhedonia/sexual dysfunction due to meds, depression never controlled if not worse. Didn't recognize WD since symptoms built slowly (thought I had ADD! and menopausal on top of it), starting with severe sweats, very bad cog-fog and memory issues, culminating in weight loss, severe anxiety and depression, panic, severe apathy and insomnia by eight months off.  Saw p-doc who put me on Remeron, increased from 7.5 mg/day to 37.5 mg by May 22, 2015; still doing very badly though able to sleep.

June 1. 2015 Reinstated Effexor XR 37.5 mg, Remeron dropped to 30 mg PM. Immediate relief of symptoms, like nothing had ever happened!  Joined SA and began on advice of friend who recognized it was WD all along! Began tapering in July 2015.

Been tapering both meds ever since, focusing on one more than the other or doing no more than 5% of each per month.

12 mg Effexor and 5.8 mg Remeron (mirtazapine SolTabs to make a solution with OraPlus) as of 5/4/2017 

Update 3/14/18: 2.9 mg Remeron and 6 mg Effexor; 6/10/18:  2.6 mg Remeron and 4.9 mg Effexor

 

My intro: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/9313-squirrellygirl-effexor-withdrawal-etc/page-2#entry196679

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

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Very best of luck with the interview Camel!

 

You will nail it I'm sure :0)

 

Best,

JC

Dose History: 19 Feb 2014 - Escitalopram 10mg daily June 2015 - Started taper, 5mg every other day July 2015 - 5mg every 2 days August 2015 - 5mg every 3 days September 2015 - 5mg every 4 days Sept 14th - Completed tapering, but at 7 weeks "drug free" I suffered serious WD symptoms as a consequence of "incorrect" tapering. Nov 25 2015 - Re-instated Cipralex @ 2.5mg daily. WD symptoms faded. Held at this dose and experienced "windows and waves". 12 Oct 2017 Reduced dose to 1.25mg. 13 Mar 2018 Reduced dose to 0.625mg (approx.). 16 April 2018 0mg. Windows and waves triggered by stress (IBS/reflux, headaches, sinus issues) Aug 2019 Mirena coil fitted 6 Jan 2020 MAJOR Wave hit 19 months following last dose (protracted WD).  Symptoms listed below Mar 2020 Mirena coil removal.

Therapy: Nov 15th 2016 Re-started therapy Jan 19th 2017 Started CBT Dec 2017 Started listening to Hypnotherapy CD (self-esteem). Nov 2019 Started couples therapy.

Supplements: "Bioglan" Biotic Balance Ultimate Flora 10 billion CFU, live Bacteria, Probiotic, suitable for Vegetarians, with Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Lactobacillus Rhamnosus, Bifidobacterium Longum"Pukka" Vitalise a unique blend of 30 energising botanicals.

Diet: 16 April 2018 Detox cleanse / anti-candida for 90 days. Jan 2020 Started "small plate" diet (i.e child size portions).

Exercise: Stretching, Yoga, Pilates, Spinning, Elliptical/upper body workout, walking.

Medical Test Results: 4 Jan 2017 Homeopathic Treatment starts 24 Feb 2017 Started weight loss program 24 Mar 2017 Naturopathic Treatment + anti-Candida diet started due to suspected Candida Related Complex (CRC). DETOXED for 7 weeks to "re-set" gut. April 2017 "Genova Diagnostics" Comprehensive Stool Analysis NEGATIVE; Full Blood Count (Normal) / Blood Cholesterol: 5.6 (Borderline) / Blood Sugar (Normal) / 28 Jun 2017 FSH 8.2 / 14 Nov 2017 FSH 17.7 Dec 2017 Blood Cholesterol: 3.9 (Normal) / Kidney Function (Normal) / Blood Sugar (Normal). December 2017 "Genova Diagnostics" Food panel allergy (bloodwork) analysis - a few "VERY LOW/VL" allergens; Mar 2018 "Genova Diagnostics" SIBO urine analysis: High Level of Yeast/fungal markers found in small intestine but NO SIBO.  April 2018 Thyroid (Normal) / Full Blood Count (Normal) / FSH (Normal). 16 April 2018 Started anti-Candida diet - 3 month protocol.   25 March 2020 All test results "Normal". CRP" 5 mg/L (normal range to 0-5 mg/L).

Symptoms:  Flu-like symptoms, anxiety, anhedonia, sinus headaches right-side (severe), IBS issues/reflux (severe)**, tinnitus, fatigue, inner tremor, nausea, chills/hot flushes, pounding heart, muscular issues including stiff left hip flexor, intense anger, PSSD (ongoing).  **Histhamine intolerance (suspected).

Major Life Events: 

Re-located to UK from Canada: Jan 2016

My father died: 5:05pm, Monday 5 Feb 2018 Last Lexapro dose: 16 April 2018 (its now been over a year since I quit ADs)  Moved house: Friday 23rd February 2018  "Divorced" toxic Mother: Monday 26 March 2018 Starting working again: 19 November 2018  Diagnosed with: 5th August 2021 PTSD/C-PTSD Diagnosed with: March 2022 Interstitial Cystitis (IC)/Painful bladder syndrome

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I don't think i experienced any stressor, i have that job interview monday, but i'm surprisingly calm about it... (maybe unconsiously?). It really started last week, when i went out all day for a long walk in the first sunny day of the year. In the morning, i felt fine, but throughout the day i got a severe headache and felt really head-tired and dizzy... I thought it would go over after a couple of days, but it didn't although it became less severe... Could it be like 'seasonal affective disorder'? Before i was on meds, i never suffered from this... (WHY did i take thes 'meds' anyway... :-( )

 

Updosing is tempting, because when i updose, i feel immediate positive effects (my ssri worked from day 1 immediately without bad effects, the same with the few updoses i did) but i know updosing will keep me longer (again) on these meds i want to get rid off and i may suffer later with the same problem... I didn't updose today..

 

Today i experience a sort of dull feeling in the brain part behind my ears a slight headache in de front part of the brain along with a bit of dizziness. I don't feel anxiety or stress, but resignation.  Are these common symptoms? Sometimes i think it's the 'depression' coming back, but on the other hand, i have felt good on this dosage...but maybe i still 'need' a slighter higher dosage?

 

What are your thoughts? Is it likely that i need this small amount of ssri in order to treat depression or is this dosage simply to small to treat anything and is it pure withdrawal... At wich dosage i should jump off? Are the symptoms i described common withdrawal symptoms? I've had the numb feeling before, but now i'm on a stable dosage for 3.5 months and did go very slow the year before... So i think it's strange to experience it now... Are you in withdrawal more prone to seasonal affective disorder?

Since 2005 50mg of Serlain (Zoloft).
After several failed attemps of tapering on doctors advice (way too fast), in 2012 begun with slow taper. In 09/2014 on 4.5mg(=9%) of initial dose crashed and upped a bit (6.5mg; =13%) and stayed there for more than a half year

Lost my job in 06/2015, but was doing OK

My goal: to super slow taper further down and finally come off these meds.

Since 1/1/2016 on 3.9mg (=7,7%)

 

 

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There seems to be great difficulty in the final stretch. The assumptium is that low levels of ssri has huge impact, so very small alterations in dosage leads to huge impact. On this subject i was wondering the following:

 

* we use digital scales to define the dosage, but are these scales really accurate (especially on low weights)? This could lead to daily small differences in dosage, but these small differences can have huge impact?

* is the way the body absorbs these meds 100% constant? i mean, could the way the body absorbs these meds be subject to what we eat, stress,changes in body weight,... if this is so, this could also lead to small changes of dosage absorbed wich have great impact.

 

Any thoughts on this subject?

Since 2005 50mg of Serlain (Zoloft).
After several failed attemps of tapering on doctors advice (way too fast), in 2012 begun with slow taper. In 09/2014 on 4.5mg(=9%) of initial dose crashed and upped a bit (6.5mg; =13%) and stayed there for more than a half year

Lost my job in 06/2015, but was doing OK

My goal: to super slow taper further down and finally come off these meds.

Since 1/1/2016 on 3.9mg (=7,7%)

 

 

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Hi Camel,

 

These are great questions.

 

I find it so counter-intuitive that the lower doses are so difficult. ?????

 

Re: Digital scales: That is an excellent point and one that would cause me paranoia if I was using a scale (I'm using liquid). In scientific/engineering settings when they use super-sensitive scales, they have to even account for the air that is in the room and on the scale. So how might this translate to tiny beads or dust of medicine???

 

We can't / don't currently know about changes in absorption based on stress /weight changes/, but extremely worthwhile to think about. Especially when we know that WD is in itself a huge stress on the system. 

 

2020: After 18+ years (entire adult life) on Paxil, a dangerous doctor-led "taper" in 2015, and four years tapering off the last 1 mg thanks to SA and the Brassmonkey slide, 

I AM COMPLETELY FREE OF PAXIL! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Forever.

 

2021: Began conservative, proper, CNS-respecting taper of Zoloft, led by the only expert on me -- me. Making own liquid. 5-10% plus holds.

2022: Holding on Zoloft for now. Current dose 47 mg. Hanging in, hanging on. Severe protracted PAWS, windows and waves. While I may not be doing "a lot" by outside standards, things are graaaaadually getting better

 

Yoga (gentle to medium); walks; daily breath practice; nutrition, fruits/veg; nature; water; EastEnders (lol); practicing self-compassion, self-care; boundaries; connection; allowing feelings; t r u s t ing that I, too, will heal. (--> may need to be reminded of this.)

"You are not alone, and this is not the end of your story." - Baylissa

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi all,

 

I'm struggling for almost 2 years now to get rid of the last bits of these meds. i recently updosed to 5,2mg of zoloft. 3.9mg was the lowest i've ever been. During those 2 years i've really taken it slowly with drops <10% for severel months. This is the second time i have to updose and waste my tapering...

 

I'm really considering to end my taper and stay on this 5,2mg. I mean, it's not a high dosage and i'm really done with this tapering disturbing my life and having a breakdown where i need to updose again. One of my concerns is the long use of a medecine. Are there any long term risks known with SSRI use? And how does this relate to dosage? The 'normal' dosage is 50mg, so if i take 1/10th of the dosage, does this mean the long term risks are also reduced to 1/10th? Is one year of 50mg use equivalent to 10 years of 5mg use in respect of possible long term negative heath harms? Any studies or personal experiences?

 

 

 

 

Since 2005 50mg of Serlain (Zoloft).
After several failed attemps of tapering on doctors advice (way too fast), in 2012 begun with slow taper. In 09/2014 on 4.5mg(=9%) of initial dose crashed and upped a bit (6.5mg; =13%) and stayed there for more than a half year

Lost my job in 06/2015, but was doing OK

My goal: to super slow taper further down and finally come off these meds.

Since 1/1/2016 on 3.9mg (=7,7%)

 

 

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Hi Camel.

I am so sorry you had to updose. When did you do that?

Have you tried smaller drops, like 2-5 %?

That could be easier.

 

(I am tapering zoloft too.)

Current dose: 0! Free!  Quit June 2017.

2017: Last dose zoloft: 17 June 0,00065 mg 18 May 0, 001 mg 14 May 0,002 mg 9 May 0,003 mg 28 April 0,006 mg 19 April 0,009 mg 8 April 0,013 mg 25 March 0,019 mg 22 March 0,039 mg 18 March 0,052 mg 16 March 0,079 mg 4 March 0,086 1 March 0,099 mg 22 February 0,11 mg 15 February 0,13 mg 6 February 0,145 mg 24 January 0,15 mg 19 January 0,19 mg 10 January 0,20 mg 3 January

2016: 0,98 to 0,22 mg; 2015: 2,35 to 1,01 mg; 2014: 4,9 to 2,5 mg; 2013: 9,1 to 5,1 mg; 2012: 15,7 to 9,7 mg; 2011: Started on 25 mg - then 50 mg- dropped to 25- to 12.5 mg - back to 25 mg - after 18.75 mg started tiny tapering to 16.6 mg

Started on 25 mg Zoloft in March 2011 due to stressrelated tinnitus that gave me panicattacks. Had a terrible reaction to Zoloft from start, but was told to "hold on". After four months I was stuck. Therefore the long taper. Crazy, I know... Super sensitive to drops and have dropped by 4-6 % from the previous dose.

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Hi Camel,

 

i understand exactly where you are coming from - i have tried to go slow too - probably not slow enough considering that i have been on for 16 years - but i always hit a hump around about 18mg effexor - at the moment i have decided to stop tapering again, have updosed and will sit for a while - i may have to pay the piper one day, but no one knows what the future holds. I am really sad about it, but have to do what i have to do to keep me functioning.

Started in 2000 - On 150mg most of the time, (but up to 225mg at highest dose for 6 months in the beginning)
Reduced off easily first time - but got depressed (not too much anxiety) 6 months later
Back on effexor for another 9 months.
Reduced off again with no immediate w/d - suddenly got depressed and anxious ++ again 3 or 4 months later.
Back on effexor - this time for 3 years
Reduced off over a month - 6 weeks later terrible anxiety - back on.
Rinse and repeat 4 more times - each time the period before the anxiety comes back got shorter and shorter
Jan - July 2012 75mg down to 37.5mg;, 8/3/12 - 35mg. 8/25/12 - 32mg. 9/11- 28mg, 10/2 - 25mg, 10/29 - 22mg, 11/19 - 19.8mg; 12/11 - 17m,
1/1- 15.5mg; 1/22 -14mg, 2/7 14.9mg, 2/18 - 17.8mg - crashed big time: back to 75mg where i sat for 2 years....

4th  March 2015 - 67.5mg;   31st March - 60mg;  24th April - 53mg; 13th May - 48mg; 26th May - 45mg;  9th June - 41mg; 1 July- 37.5mg; 20 July - 34mg; 11 August - 31mg; 1st Sept - 28mg;  1st Dec - 25.8mg;  28th Dec - 23.2mg; 23rd Jan-21.9mg; Feb 7th- 21mg; March 1st - 20.1mg, March 30th - 18mg

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Thx for the responses AmyK and Peggy

 

Hi Camel.

I am so sorry you had to updose. When did you do that?

Have you tried smaller drops, like 2-5 %?

That could be easier.

 

(I am tapering zoloft too.)

 

I just recently updosed a few days ago. I was doing OK, but have trouble sleeping again the last month (average of 5hours a night) and feel anxious about it, like i will never been able to sleep again, never function normally again, fail my life etc... So i updosed a bit... I'm looking for a job right now and these interviews and the prospect of having a job with responsibility again make me  nervous and hinder my sleep. Sometimes I think I subconsious sabotage myself by not sleeping, that i'm not worthy of having a normal life...a sort of self harm. At this moment i feel like i'm lacking the self confidence of coping with a new job etc. I just miss the selfconfidence and maybe bad sleeping is my way to express this...And there is the vicious circle, cause not enough sleep makes me depressed and anxious... It's really bizarre, cause when i feel good, i'm a really confident, capable and happy person...

 

I tried the smallest drops i could: 1mg less of the pill than the previous dosage (i'm now on 16mg of the pill, so there are 16 drops ahead), so it was like 7%. I don't want to mess with liquids, tried it in the begin of my taper but couldn't measure exact dosages. I don't understand how you can define such small dosages exactly...

 

Any other ideas about long term (negative) side effects of a small dosage? 

Since 2005 50mg of Serlain (Zoloft).
After several failed attemps of tapering on doctors advice (way too fast), in 2012 begun with slow taper. In 09/2014 on 4.5mg(=9%) of initial dose crashed and upped a bit (6.5mg; =13%) and stayed there for more than a half year

Lost my job in 06/2015, but was doing OK

My goal: to super slow taper further down and finally come off these meds.

Since 1/1/2016 on 3.9mg (=7,7%)

 

 

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I'm sorry, camel, no one knows the long-term effects of these drugs at any dosage.

 

Taking a lower dose is definitely less of a long-term health risk than a higher dose -- adverse effects tend to be dosage-related.

 

It could be that, after a long time at 5.2mg, you could resume tapering.

 

If you wish to remain on any dosage, that decision is up to you. If your symptoms are currently minimal, why not take a vacation from worrying about them?

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

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If you wish to remain on any dosage, that decision is up to you. If your symptoms are currently minimal, why not take a vacation from worrying about them?

 

A withdrawal vacation is tempting, but since i'm on such a low dosage, i really wanted to finish it. But this seems much more difficult then i thought it would be...

 

Maybe it's time to see things in perspective. What would be more harmfull. Smoking or a low dose of SSRI? What do you think?

Since 2005 50mg of Serlain (Zoloft).
After several failed attemps of tapering on doctors advice (way too fast), in 2012 begun with slow taper. In 09/2014 on 4.5mg(=9%) of initial dose crashed and upped a bit (6.5mg; =13%) and stayed there for more than a half year

Lost my job in 06/2015, but was doing OK

My goal: to super slow taper further down and finally come off these meds.

Since 1/1/2016 on 3.9mg (=7,7%)

 

 

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