pattypurple

[pattypurple]

Hi there!

 

Let's see...Introduction...I'm new here (obviously), and am looking to connect with others who are dealing with the intricacies of psychiatric drug withdrawal (again, obviously). I am 52 years old, have been on various meds for about 30 years. I have also had about 100 ECT treatments from 2003-2011, and my depression has been called "treatment resistant". I am a former RN, and have been psychiatrically and cognitively disabled since 2005. My current psychiatrist is resistant to me tapering off my drugs. I am hoping to find someone in my area who is familiar with and agreeable to getting these toxins out of my body!

In my free time, I enjoy jigsaw and crossword puzzles, yoga, walking, reading, cooking (I am vegan), perusing garage sales and thrift stores, spending time with my 95-pound mastiff/lab mix Molly, and Netflix!

Hoping to get (and to give) support and guidance in this journey!

[Ginger]

Patty purple,

Welcome and may you have peace and joy on your journey. You sound amazing and your determination is great. Fight on. Ginger

[Petunia]

Welcome pattypurple,

Thank you for introducing yourself and for filling in your signature. It looks like you've done well with tapering lexapro so far. How are you feeling? Have you been using the 10% per month method?

 

I'm assuming you are going to continue with your lexapro taper. Here are our lexapro tapering tips if you haven't already seen them:

 

http://survivinganti...o-escitalopram/

 

We recommend only tapering one drug at a time. I'm concerned about the way you are planning on using Trazodone. This is an antidepressant and needs to be taken every day, and tapered if you decide to stop taking it. Otherwise you could experience withdrawal symptoms. Its not designed to be taken occasionally.

 

You can use this thread as your ongoing journal to track progress, write about symptoms, ask questions and communicate with the community, add to it whenever you want. You will find a lot of friendly help and support here.

 

Petunia.

[pattypurple]

Welcome pattypurple,

Thank you for introducing yourself and for filling in your signature. It looks like you've done well with tapering lexapro so far. How are you feeling? Have you been using the 10% per month method?

 

I'm assuming you are going to continue with your lexapro taper. Here are our lexapro tapering tips if you haven't already seen them:

 

http://survivinganti...o-escitalopram/

 

We recommend only tapering one drug at a time. I'm concerned about the way you are planning on using Trazodone. This is an antidepressant and needs to be taken every day, and tapered if you decide to stop taking it. Otherwise you could experience withdrawal symptoms. Its not designed to be taken occasionally.

 

You can use this thread as your ongoing journal to track progress, write about symptoms, ask questions and communicate with the community, add to it whenever you want. You will find a lot of friendly help and support here.

 

Petunia.

Thanks, Petunia! Yes, I agree with doing one taper at a time, and with (hopefully) a doc's guidance. I was originally doing it on my own in a less than ideal way.

I'm on the trazadone just for sleep, and my doc has advised me to take it as needed, but come to think of it, I do better overall when I take it every night, instead of when I can't fall asleep, so maybe I am getting some antidepressant effect from it. In some part of my head I feel like there is a different stigma about taking something for sleep--like I should be able to at least find a way to SLEEP without drugs! I'm really just so tired of taking so many drugs!

Is there a chart on this site somewhere that I can print out and/or fill in online as I taper that lists dose and side effects to check off? The thought of creating one myself just feels daunting if there is already one out there.

I will check out the escitalopram taper info.

Thanks again!

[pattypurple]

Patty purple,

Welcome and may you have peace and joy on your journey. You sound amazing and your determination is great. Fight on. Ginger

Aw, thanks Ginger!

[bluebalu86]

Hi patty

 

Welcome to the forum and I wish you much success on your journey to be free of meds. We don't have garage sales in Bularia, but I love thrift store too! And dogs. When I get better I'm getting a cane corso dog, it's my favorite breed. 

[Petunia]

Is there a chart on this site somewhere that I can print out and/or fill in online as I taper that lists dose and side effects to check off?

 

I think this might be what you are looking for:

 

Dr. Joseph Glenmullen's withdrawal symptom checklist (PDF)

[pattypurple]

Hello everyone...I had an interesting appointment with my psychiatrist yesterday about tapering my Lexapro. I am on now on 5mg, and haven't done any tapering since last fall, because when I tried to come off that last 5mg, I tried to do it very quickly and I had horrible side effects. Now my doc suggests doing an equally fast taper--take 2.5mg daily x 1-2 weeks then 2.5mg every other day for a week, then stop. From everything I've read, this is WAAAY too fast. I told him it was very important to me to taper much more slowly, and he insisted this was not necessary. I asked him to order the 5mg/5ml liquid suspension so I could do it more slowly. Finally, after insisting on it again and again, he agreed to taking 4mg x 2 weeks, then 3mg x 2 weeks, then 2mg x 2 weeks, then 1mg x 2 weeks, then stop. He didn't even know it was available in liquid suspension! He said he'd never advised a slower taper than his original recommendation and saw no need for it. Now I'm faced with the dilemma of whether to decrease by his schedule or do the 10% taper, and I'm leaning toward the 10% advised here, although truth be told, I'd like to be off this sooner rather than later:)  I am so glad I did some reading before my appointment. My doc seems clueless and of the "old school" of tapering that appears to be based on poor science/understanding of psych drugs!  

[Altostrata]

Hello, patty. I moved your post here as it's an update to your progress.

 

Good for you, you used the "voice of power" to get a prescription for liquid Lexapro.

 

You've had problems before going off 5mg, reason tells you this doctor doesn't know what he's talking about, why are you considering taking his advice now?

 

The 10% taper we advise may take a long time but it's a more assured way of getting safely off the drugs.

 

Never, ever skip doses to taper. Get your liquid Lexapro prescription filled, use it for gradual tapering, and if you need a refill, use the "voice of power" again. If that fails, any doctor can write the prescription, it doesn't have to be a psychiatrist.

[pattypurple]

Hello, patty. I moved your post here as it's an update to your progress.

 

Good for you, you used the "voice of power" to get a prescription for liquid Lexapro.

 

You've had problems before going off 5mg, reason tells you this doctor doesn't know what he's talking about, why are you considering taking his advice now?

 

The 10% taper we advise may take a long time but it's a more assured way of getting safely off the drugs.

 

Never, ever skip doses to taper. Get your liquid Lexapro prescription filled, use it for gradual tapering, and if you need a refill, use the "voice of power" again. If that fails, any doctor can write the prescription, it doesn't have to be a psychiatrist.

It's so frustrating, Altostrata. When he told me to taper by alternating 2.5mg every other day, after what I'd read here, a HUGE red flag went off in my brain, making me really question his guidance...So far, I've been doing a 10% taper. I'm too scared to do it any faster...

[pattypurple]

Hello all

 

Have been tapering Wellbutrin over the last few years and am finally down to my last 50mg IR, which I plan to stop in the next few weeks. Over the last few months, I've noticed pretty intense food cravings (especially salty and sugary foods). I find that I eat when I'm not hungry and I ignore my feelings of fullness. I remember hearing that Wellbutrin is a drug that is used for cravings, and that weight loss can be a pleasant side effect. Well, I'm wondering if these new cravings are due at least in part to my taper (i.e. a rebound effect). Certainly, there are emotional issues as well (as always), and these are perhaps less blunted as I taper off my meds, but this eating feels different--almost desperate. Has anyone else experienced this? If so, what did you do to handle it, and how long did it last?

 

Thanks!

[AliG]

Hi Patty.      Well done with your tapering, however I would rethink your fast taper.  A much slower taper is advised here. We advise tapering By 10 % of your current dose with a hold of approximately 4- 6 weeks depending on your withdrawal symptoms.

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

It sounds like you are perhaps wanting to taper off all medications , and we can help you with that .

Taking multiple psych drugs? Which drug to taper first?

 

 Changes in appetite and weight are quite common in withdrawal . Many here have experienced this.  It is a common symptom. See 

" Symptoms & self- care ."  There are quite a few topics on weight.

Thank you for filling in your signature.

It sounds like you are heading in  a drug - free direction. If you are , you will find a lot of support , here. Have a read , and come back with any questions that you might have.

Ali

[Shep]

Hi, Patty.

 

I just moved your last post to your Intro thread to keep everything together. Please note there's only one Intro thread per member.

 

Like Ali said, those food cravings are very, very common.  And it may not be just from Wellbutrin - you mention this starting a few months ago, so it may be coming from your Trazadone taper which ended about 5 or 6 months ago. The older antidepressants are notorious for causing food cravings. So it could be a combination, but it will resolve in time. 

 

I found that going on a low blood sugar diet (low sugar and carbs and plenty of protein) helped, especially if I eat several small, healthy meals with protein evenly spread out throughout the day. 

 

Please be very, very careful of your melatonin use. 10 mg is a high dose, especially if your CNS has been compromised by coming off these drugs. Here's a thread you may find helpful on melatonin:

 

Melatonin for Sleep

 

And here's a good thread for finding non-drug methods of sleeping:

 

Sleep problems - that awful withdrawal insomnia

 

I found Wellbutrin to be extremely stimulating, so hopefully your sleep will naturally improve as you come off and heal. 

 

You are already doing a lot of great things listed in your signature - yoga, exercise, light box, gardening, whole foods, acupuncture, etc. Looks like you're well on your way. Best of luck on your remaining tapers. 

[AliG]

Patty.  As Shep said , 10 mg is far too  high . We advise starting on perhaps . 25 mg Melatonin. Less is more. If you start low you can work your way up, but often a low dose of melatonin can be more effective.

Ali

[pattypurple]

Thanks for the melatonin cautions. I've played around with dosing for a while. Started with 2mg and no response. Went up to 3mg, which helped me fall asleep but not stay asleep. Found a 5mg one that was dual-release, delivering 3mg and then 2mg later, which helped some more, but still awake from 3am on. When I started on 10mg several weeks ago, I have slept MUCH better.

 

Two confounding factors:

1. I started having hot flashes almost immediately after starting Trazodone taper in Novemberish (I am 53, and was gently approaching menopause before then) and was waking at least hourly for about 5 months from the hot flashes, then unable to get back to sleep. Since taking the 10mg of melatonin, I have been having less hot flashes and less night waking and less difficulty falling back to sleep when I do have the occasional hot flash (maybe once/night?)

2. I am also taking 200-400mg of magnesium at bedtime

 

Come to think of it, the cravings have gotten the most intense since taking the larger dose of melatonin. I just looked up online about melatonin and blood sugar and found that melatonin is sometimes suggested to diabetics to regulate blood sugar, so I'm not sure if this is related...

 

This whole tapering process is so frustrating..It's hard to tease out what is causing what. I always find myself searching for THE answer. When it comes down to it, there is no one answer. I remember feeling this way when I was on various combinations of drugs. No one else was on that same combination, for that same period of time, and with the same history as me. I always felt like my treatment was a crap shoot, and I felt like an experiment. And now I feel that way again, but I have more control, I guess...But (and?) I feel that same angst. Grr...If you're still reading, thanks for listening to my rant:)

[AliG]

Patty.   I get it .  Withdrawal and hormones combined .     It is hard to tease out what is what , for sure. You seem to have a great attitude though and I think that will take you far .Like you said , there is no one answer. Everything matters. I have found that it's diet / exercise /sun / positive thinking and then more positive thinking !