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Which doctor got you started on psych meds?


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My GP......I remeber I was like a piece of trash in his office.....he told me the serotonine story, I believed him...it was good with other health issues so I was peaceful....I did not asked anything...I said it was a very "secure" drug! :angry:

 

I admit I was so desperate that maybe also if he told me about w/d (which he completely ignores)  I maybe (or maybe not) chose to take AD again...but at least I had been aware of w/d!!!!

06/2012 - 02/2015 CIPRALEX 10 mg (for somatic abdominal pain + reflux) - prior to this NOT any significant episode of anxiety/depression

on medication: emotional-sexual numbness, total inability to cry, +8 kg, fatigue -> abdominal pain gone

02/2015 - 1/04/2015 tapering from 10 mg to 0 mg doctor advised

05/05/2015 huge anxiety, burning skin sensation, panic, fear, not able to cry again, never-had-before insomnia, totally lost appetite, little loss of vision in one eye, sweating, chest pain, short breath, restlessness, accelerated heartbeat, mild akathisia legs-feet

30/05/2015 reinstated 8mg (I was suggested 5 mg here)

middle 07/2015 general improving

10/2015 start disastrous too long taper 7mg  11/2015 6mg  12/2015 5mg 1/2016 4mg  2/2016 4mg  3/2016 3mg ->FAIL back to 4mg .... 8/2016 3mg 8/2017 2mg  (short wave in summer '17) 8/2018 2mg stable  8/2019 1mg  1/2020 0.6 mg 

1/APRIL/2020 0mg FREE!

7/2020 - 10/2020 MILD WAVE(mostly anxiety, poor sleep)

6/2021 - 9/2021 WAVE (anxiety, severe insomnia, total loss of appetite, deep depression, internal restlessness, anhedonia)  0.125g triazolam  2 times

18/03/2022 WAVE (anxiety, severe insomnia, total loss of appetite, PAIN in muscles and nerves, arms and right leg,cannot exercise,hard to walk) 0.125g triazolam 3 times

7/5 rein 0.1mg

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My GP prescribed me them. At first they really helped by numbing out everything. Than side effects took over and the rest is history

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

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  • 1 month later...
  • Moderator Emeritus

My first Prozac script was written for me 19 years ago by a p-doc I saw on referral from my GP.  I had suicidal ideation after a bad relationship.  NEVER was it discussed as to how long I would be on.  And so I kept taking those pills for three years at which point I wasn't satisfied with how they were working and asked a new GP for Wellbutrin; after all, it was the latest AD being hawked on TV!  In 2002, I came down with walking pneumonia and couldn't sleep lying down for a month, so finally went to my doctor.  He told me that I was depressed, and I said, "Of course I'm depressed - I've been dead-sick for a month!"  He said, "No, you are a depressive person and you should see a psychiatrist."  So, off I dutifully went, and this p-doc prescribed Effexor.  I went up pretty high in dosage, saw a new p-doc who did therapy as well, and again, no one ever talked about how long I should be on this stuff.  I felt the therapy was a waste of time and quit, and so year after year, my GP continued my script, never questioning how long I should be on or how I was doing.  

 

For many years I have had trouble with non-existent sex drive, low attraction for my partner, difficulty in achieving orgasm, and generally suffering from anhedonia.  As I reflect back on my life before the meds, I did have a sex drive, I was orgasmic, and I did feel more joy in my life.  Last year, I realized I needed to get off of Effexor so that I could get on with enjoying life, but I did it the wrong way, tapering much too fast.  Because I was then taking serotonergic supplements, I didn't notice withdrawal right away, though I did start having problems with concentrating, reaching for words, articulation, and forgetfullness/memory.  I actually pursued diagnosis for ADD!  None of the doctors I saw put it together with the fact that I had stopped Effexor, and I simply didn't connect the dots.  About five months out, I started having severe anxiety, depression and insomnia.  Finally, eight months out, a new p-doc put me on Remeron because I couldn't sleep or eat.  Initially, it helped, but before I knew it I was on nearly the full dose and completely apathetic, demotivated, could care less about life.  My doctor then reinstated Effexor because it was a drug I had "done well on" in the past.  Within ONE HOUR of taking the first pill, my mood lifted and I was feeling remarkably better!  I still didn't make the connection with Effexor withdrawal!

 

It was only after I met someone who was 14 months out from a Lexapro fast taper that I finally realized what had been happening to me, that all the suffering I had been experiencing, worse than I had ever had before or during meds, was caused by Effexor withdrawal!  Now I am on two meds, not one, and in the process of doing a 10%/month taper of Remeron.  

 

I, like so many, feel the medical establishment failed me, first for never even broaching the topic of how long I should be medicated.  Had that GP not insisted that I was a depressed person, I would perhaps have never gone on the evil Effexor.  I hope to god that I am not irreparably harmed with regards to sexual side effects.  I wish I had been given the option of CBT back then rather than being put on meds!  All the therapy I had over the years did nothing to change problematic thought processes.  I wish I had access to effective counseling, but how is one to know?

 

I have very poor memory regarding my life and feel that all these years on psych meds are responsible for that.

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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  • 1 month later...

a gp, at my first appointment with her.

?.4.14 - 18.9.14          fluoextine 20-40mg, eventually 30mg

19.9.14 - 24.10.14      tapered fluoxetine after the usual bad psych advice

24.10.14 - 15.11.14    escitalopram 10mg

?.11.14                       switched from escitalopram to pristiq 50mg

?.2.15                         up to 100mg prisitq

28.3.15                       25mg seroquel added

?.10.15                       down to 12.5mg seroquel

1.3.16                         up to 150mg prisitq

 

2.12.16                       began tapering pristiq at slightly more than -10% (137.5mg). no changes so far.

1.1.17                         125mg pristiq + 25mg seroquel

15.2.17                       112.5mg pristiq + 25mg seroquel

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Mine was an internal medicine doctor.  She started me with a tricyclic AD.  I remember I was in graduate school and couldn't speak for awhile because my mouth was so dry all the time.  I didn't really have a doctor at the time but had insurance.  Someone at work gave me her name and told me she was a good doctor.

 

I think I went to her office and just started to sob and she didn't know what else to do.  When I stayed on the stuff and went back in and told her how horrible I still felt and how dry my mouth was all the time she sent me to a shrink(psychiatrist).  He gave me Prozac and then Lithium(??? what the heck for I don't know......I did not ask, he did not tell........oh he told me it would help my depression and maybe I had cyclothymia).  Neither did really......I kept getting sicker.  I think I had PMS.......just a lot of moody hormonal variations.

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

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

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

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

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

2016 Dec 16 medication free!!

Longer signature post here, with current supplements.

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

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

 

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My case is an outliner. My initial lexapro was give as sample by a neurologist for sleep. I didn't take it until 5 yrs later ( stupid me kept the sample for that long) when I had a severe tension headache while a friend of mine recommended for me to take a ssir. I had no clue what a ssir is as the sample has zero safety information or anything. I have been kicking myself all these yrs. FDA approved is what I over trusted and ruined my perfect life.

 

A lesson can only be learned for family, friends and others.

 

Never again trust any drug in this world!

Drug free Sep. 23 2017

2009 Mar.: lexapro 10mg for headache for 2 weeks.

2009-2012: on and off 1/4 to 1/3 of 10mg

2012 June--2013 Jan,: 1/4-1/3 of 10mg generic, bad jaw pain

2013 Jan-Mar: 10 mg generic. severe jaw and head pain;

2013 Mar--Aug. started tapering (liquid ever since) from 10 to 5 (one step) then gradually down to 2.25 mg by July. first ever panic attack, severe head/jaw pain

2013 Aug.: back to 2.75 mg; Nov: back to Brand Lex. 2.75mg -- 3mg,

2014 June: stopped PPI, head pressure/numbness. up-dosed 4.5mg, severe reaction mental symptoms added on

2014 Aug--2015 Aug: Micro taper down to 3.2mg, .025mg (<1%) cut holding 2-3 weeks.

2015 Aug 15th, Accidental one dose of 4.2mg. worsening brain non-functional, swollen head, body, coma like, DR

2016 Feb., started dosing 10am through 11 pm everyday 2/13--3.2mg, 3/15-- 2.9mg, 4/19-- 2.6mg, 6/26--2.2mg, 7/22 --1.9mg, 8/16--1.8mg,8/31--1.7m g, 9/13--1.6mg, 9/27--1.5mg, 10/8--1.4mg, 10/14--1.3mg, 11/1--1.2mg, 11/29--1.1mg, 12/12--1mg, 12/22--0.9mg

2017: 1/7--0.8mg, 1/15--0.7mg, 1/17--0.6mg, 1/20--0.52, 1/21--0.4mg, 1/22--0.26, 1/23--0.2, 2/13--0.13mg, 2/20--0.06mg, 3/18--0.13mg, 6/1--0.12mg, 7/6--0.1mg, 7/14--0.08mg, 8/17--0.04mg, 8/20--0.03mg, 8/28--0.02mg, 9/6--0.0205mg, 9/8--0.02mg, 9/17--0.015mg, 9/20--0.01mg, 9/21--0.0048mg, 9/22--0.0001mg,

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Trusted family doctor

Was on Citalopram 20mg since Feb 2008 - switched to Paxil 20mg in August 2010

Tapered way too fast in April 2012 by skipping days. Taper completed in 6 weeks

Tried prozac 20mg for 3 days - felt spaced out, not better.

Tried 30mg Cymbalta for 2 days. SEVERE ADVERSE REACTION

Antidepressant free since 14 August 2012

Birth control on and off during this time - Last taken 18 June 2017 - Morning after pill 

Started mainly using 0.5mg Xanax beginning 2016 for severe panic attacks and anxiety due to trauma

Xanax on and off never more than 0.5mg at a time, never taking it 3 days in a row - used sparingly 

 

6 Years antidepressant free - Still in severe withdrawal with over 60 symptoms

Severe setback started May 2018 with no let up to date. Developed many new symptoms like tremors, inner vibrations, insomnia, visual distortions and dr/dp are 100x worse, i have severe sensitivity to movement, My dizziness and vertigo got worse and it now feels like im constantly rocking on a boat, my anxiety is sky high, suicidal idiation is back, i feel extremely brain damaged 

 

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  • 1 year later...

An internist who prescribed a month's worth of benzodiazepines for "Chronic Gastritis" when I was 17. Ironically, the "Chronic Gastritis" resolved on its own within a few months, and my stomach was as good as new. Ironically, when I went for a followup, another doctor at the same clinic actually said that I should not be on these medicines, while at the same time ready to give me another prescription. I chose to listen to her, so I just decided not to take it then. But then, I felt strange for about a month after the fact. In retrospect, I wish she told me to do a quick taper before stopping, but she never mentioned anything of the sort. If someone explained to me at that point that those meds should be tapered, I would have never taken them again. Looking back, I found myself in a tug of war between a pro psych-med doctor and an anti psych-med doctor, and this ambiguity set the stage for further confusion about psych meds throughout the rest of my life.

 

It was interesting that the doctor's argument was for me to find more friends, etc instead of taking benzodiazepine (a valid point). But what I wish I'd told her was that most of my friends (who were very good students) were just discovering cigarettes and alcohol, and I didn't want to be a part of that scene due to my father's own issues with anger and abusive outbursts most likely worsened by his alcohol use and cigarette smoking. 

Prozac 1997- 2013, stopped after 1 month short-taper. 

Ativan  0.5mg intermittent use, end of 2010 - end of 2014

Ativan  up to 2-3mg/day Dec 2014/Jan 2015

Partial Valium crossover: down to 0.5mg/day Ativan and 10mg/day Valium (2015-2017)

(2/2018 - 10/2018, tapered down Valium from 10mg to 3.75mg Valium per day) (HOLDING at 3.75mg/day)

(10/2018) - Ativan 0.5mg a day (HOLDING @ 0.5mg since mid 2017)

11/2018 - Cut valium to 2.5mg a day

3/23/2019 - Cut Buspar from 20mg to 15mg/day (intense symptoms)

4/4/2019 - Updosed Buspar from 15mg to 17mg

4/13/2019 - Ativan - 0.48mg/day

4/17/2019 - Buspar down to 16mg/day

4/24/2019 - Buspar down to 15mg/day

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Trusted known family known doctor.

Diganosed me bipolar 2 ... no nutritional check ... no last 4-5 months stress period..

"

Bipolar 2, thats who you are and its not to be ashamed of - its like many illnesses say diabetes.. Many scholars had it... Newton was .. some names.

Pills.. Olanzapine and cloanzepam and sth else. You will gain weight, some abnormal type..

But what is better - some weight gain or feeling good?

Calm down and stay on course."

 

Then change and chain of shrinks.

08/13 - 01/14
Olanzapine, petril MD (Clonazepam ), Dicorate ER (divalproex). Soza 10 (Zolpidem)

02/14 - 05/14
Flunil ​20mg , Divaa OD 250 mg(divalproex), Amisulpride 50mg (1-0-2), zolfresh 5 mg , Quetiapine
05/14 - 08/14 Venlafaxine 75 xr ( 1-0-1), zapiz 0.25
10/14 Zaptra 12.5mg , Oxetol xr 150mg (0-0-1)
11/14 - 08/15
Paris CR 25 (paroxetine) , Oxetol xr 600 mg (0-0-1), nitrest 5mg , Quetiapine for a month.
09/15-11 Venlafaxine XR 75 ( 1-0-1), Mirtazipine 15, Respiredal 0.5, Lamitor 25, zillion 10.
12/15-02/16 Off Meds (C.T)

03/16-Mid April Sertraline, Aripropazole, Quetiapine, Etizolam.

After that : CT and on OTC supplements (Roadback), now on Ayurveda
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  • 2 weeks later...

A GP I'd never seen before, or since, at the practice I'd signed up to at university. I'd been in his office all of 1 minute, filled in the 'depression tick box form' (can't remember what it's called) and got handed a prescription for prozac. No warnings about the drug or anything, just 'here, take this.' 

2002 - Prescribed fluoxetine 20mg for mild situational depression and anxiety. Over the years also briefly swapped about on citalopram, sertraline and venlafaxine during poop out. 2012 - Cold turkeyed fluoxetine. Within 3 months was suffering from aggression, anxiety, panic attacks and paranoia. GP put me back on tablets as I was 'relapsing'. I didn't know anything about WD then. Jul 15 - Wanted to quit fluoxetine again so tapered off (skipping doses) over 6 weeks under advice of GP. Aug 15 - Last fluoxetine dose end of August 2015. Dec 15 - Had my first real crash after discontinuing. Found this site. Aug-Dec 16 - Signed off work because of a herniated disc & severe sciatica. Prescribed diazepam (took for 6 days and got WD symptoms on stopping; nausea, morning cortisol spikes, anxiety, anger) and codeine which I was on for 4 mths. Can confirm - opiate WD is nasty but nowhere near as bad or prolonged as SSRI WD!
Withdrawal symptoms have included: extreme anger and irritability, lethargy, depression and weepiness, anxiety, stomach upsets, loss of appetite, excessive sweating, muscle and back pain, insomnia, cortisol surges, akathisia, inability to cope with stress.
Things that help: herbal tinctures (rose, lemon balm, chamomile and skullcap), seaweed baths & epsom salt baths, fish oil and magnesium.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My OB/GYN in 92 for post partum depression???? Told me I'd need to take it all my life. Like a dumb ass I believed him at time. :(

I took every anti psychotic made for 10 years. The drugs caused hallucinations, suicidal ideation, weight gain, violence, anger & anxiety. I was in & out of many horrific psych wards. I had to withdrawal cold turkey on my own as no doctor would help me. I lived in Seattle & used medical marijuana to help manage horrific panic attacks while coming off. It's been 2 years since I have taken psychiatric drugs. I now have PTSD from psychiatric abuse & torture. I'm a screenwriter, filmmaker & advocate for mental health rights.

 

 

 

 

 

Feel that which is big, near like moons.

That which is tiny, afar as stars.

So, cells in us, just distant villages inside.

me.

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  • 7 months later...

My "trusted", GP of 10 years.

I believe in karma. One day she will feel, what I was unnecessarily put through. 

DRUG HISTORY:

 

November 2013- Zoloft, ( Bad reaction).

January 2014 - March 2014 Seroquel.( Quit Cold Turkey).

January2014- Mirtazapine, I was taking 15mg at one stage, reduced to 7.5mg, Pgad reactions to Mirtazapine. Doctor kept increasing it to 37.5mg, until July 2014. No improvement, experiencing panic attacks, on 37.5 mg. I had enough by October 2014. Began tapering.

October 2014- Started tapering Mirtazapine from 37.5mg.

September 2015- Down to 4mg of Mirtazapine. Crashed.

September 16th- Up dosed to 5mg. Held this dose for almost 5 months. Stabilised.

February 2016- Began tapering again. From 5mg to 4.5mg of Mirtazapine. (Rocking the boat, again)! Lol. :(

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The doctor at the ER gave me my first prescription and then my GP just kept refilling them and telling me to take the Ativan daily. Neither said a word about potential adverse effects or trouble coming off.

Put on Ativan in December of 2012 and told to take three pills daily. I believe it was 1.5 mg's.

 

Switched to Xanax in April of 2013. I believe it was 1.0 mg's.

 

Switched to 1 mg Klonopin in August of 2013 gradually updosed until I reached 2.5 mg's in December of 2015.

 

Began 10% dry/liquid microtaper in February of 2016 at 2.5 mg's. I liquefied .5 mg's at a time in 100 mL's of milk while removing at first 1.2 mL's a day while taking the rest dry until arriving at roughly 1.75 mg's when I switched to .6 mL's a day.

 

10/31/16 - at 1.5 mg's. Currently holding taking whole dose dry. 11/03/16 - Bad side effects, updose to 2 mg's 11/30/16 - Failed substitution with Valium. Doctor wouldn't do crossover and did not give proper equivalency. Did not go well. Also briefly on Gabapentin for about 2 weeks at 150-300 mg's 12/04/16 - Back to 2 mg's of Klonopin 12/27/16 - Reinstated to 2.5 mg K. Symptoms at all time worst. Completely non functional.

 

Have been briefly on and off of many other SSRI's and psych meds including Prozac, Celexa, Lexapro, Wellbutrin, Gabapentin and Lamictal. They were all very low dosages and the only one that I was on for more than a few days is Celexa which I got up to 10 mg's for roughly two months and tapered off of.

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  • Moderator

My GP did. I was going through a divorce 20 years ago and he said this would help.

 

Long divorce lol... I'm still on them and my divorce only took a year!

 

 

PREVIOUS medications and discontinuations: Have been on medications since 1996. 

 Valium, Gabapentin, Lamictal, Prilosec and Zantac from 2000 to 2015 with a fast taper by a psychiatrist.

 Liquid Lexapro Nov, 2016 to 31-March, 2019 Lexapro free!!! (total Lexapro taper was 4 years-started with pill form)

---CURRENT MEDICATIONS:Supplements:Milk Thistle, Metamucil, Magnesium Citrate, Vitamin D3, Levothyroxine 25mcg, Vitamin C, Krill oil.

Xanax 1mg 3x day June, 2000 to 19-September, 2020 Went from .150 grams (average weight of 1 Xanax) 3x day to .003 grams 3x day. April 1, 2021 went back on 1mg a day. Started tapering May 19, 2023. July 28, 2023-approximately .87mg. Dr. fast tapered me at the end and realized he messed up. Prescribe it again and I am doing "slower than a turtle" taper.

19-September, 2020 Xanax free!!! (total Xanax taper was 15-1/2 months-1-June, 2019-19-September, 2020)

I am not a medical professional.

The suggestions I make are based on personal experience.

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  • Mentor

My GP gave me the hackneyed line that depression is a disease (actually, I have more anxiety) and that psychmeds are just like insulin for a diabetic. And I just wanted a pill to make the sad times go away. And it did... for a while. These drugs are the first line that docs just dispense for whatever cause. A friend the other day told me he had been given Zoloft a few days before that to quit smoking(!) He was already having uncontrollable rage. I told him to get the hell off it immediately and told him a little about my story. It is a crazy time we are living though; history will look back on our psychomedication as incredibly reckless. It is.

  • Prozac | late 2004-mid-2005 | CT WD in a couple months, mostly emotional
  • Sertraline 50-100mg | 11/2011-3/2014, 10/2014-3/2017
  • Sertraline fast taper March 2017, 4 weeks, OFF sertraline April 1, 2017
  • Quit alcohol May 20, 2017
  • Lifestyle changes: AA, kundalini yoga

 

"If you've seen a monster, even if it's horrible, that's evidence of divinity." – Damien Echols

 

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  • 1 month later...

I was started on anti psychotics by a junior psychiatrist in camh unit at 18, on my 18th birthday. It's been impossible to come off them since then. I'm now 34. His words were that I had been rude and snappy. He was very sarcastic about me. I had been seeing a family psychotherapist. She pushed for 2 years to put me on Prozac and tried to take my education away from me at 16 and put me on a section for her convenience. But I wasn't sectioned at 16. She turned nasty when she couldn't get her way. 

Medication history:

2002-2004 olanzapine, 2.5

2003-2004- 10 olanzapine,

~2005-2007 quetiapine, 300mg

2006- zopiclone, 2 weeks, 2007 - 2013= abilify,

2013-2016- tapering abilify :blink:  

 

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Family doctor put me on Effexor then switched me to Zoloft after I said I had occasional depression. (I was a widow and raising kids by myself.) Of course I might feel some depression once in a while. I never knew what real depression was like until 3 months after my last dose of Zoloft!

Dalalea's Introduction

Off All SSRI Medications: Effexor 2010 one month
Sertraline 50 mg. but only took 25 mg. daily because of dizziness. 2010 to July 2017

Tapered over 2 months beginning the 1st of June 2017 -- Off Sertraline by July 30, 2017

Current Medication: Losartan (blood pressure), Albuterol (for asthma- only as needed)
Current Symptoms: tinnitus, hearing loss in one ear, allergies

My Plan: Prayer, Scripture, Walk, Yoga, Encourage Others, Healthy Eating
Generic SSRI Withdrawal Symptom and Plan Checklists and Graph.xlsx

Current Supplements: Magnesium Threonate, Fish Oil, probiotic, B-12, C, D-3

Current Essential Oils: Frankincense, Bergamot, Orange, Lemon, Lavender, Peppermint, Clove
Current Essential Oil Blends: Brain Power, Clarity, Stress Away

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For me, it was a counselor who I had been seeing that told me I had to be on medication. Previous to that, I had been in and out of counseling for well over 20 years, and no other counselor had ever told me I needed meds. Why I listened to her and saw the psychiatrist for the prescriptions, I'll never understand nor forgive myself for. Deep, deep regrets here.

Lexapro: 2004-2010; Effexor XR 225 mg.: May 2010 - April 2017

Abilify 5 mg.: May 2010 - April 2017; Buspirone 60 mg.: 2004 - April 2017; Trazadone 100 mg.: 2004 - April 2017; Xanax: as needed; Fast taper

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I was introduced to Zoloft back in the early 90's by a therapist I saw during a very tough time in my life.  Purely situational.  She said that Zoloft along with therapy would help me immensely to resolve the depressive feelings I was experiencing.  I was young and ignorant at the time so I agreed.  It definitely worked and took my sadness away.  It also took some of my happiness away.  It numbed me enough to handle my situation at the time.  After a short adjustment, life went on quite smoothly for 15 years or so.  There were a few times I wanted to get off but their tapering protocol made things a mess and I ended up reinstating quickly.  Then they would tell me that I couldn't live without it and I would have to stay on it forever.  I believed this to be true and accepted it as a fact of life.  Not until I opened my mind and did my research did I find the truth about these evil drugs.  I'm happy to say finding this site has opened a new world to me and empowered me to take charge of my medicated life.  Better late than never I guess.  The journey continues...

April 26th - 36.5>32.8mg Z.

Feb 4th - 40.5>36.5mg Zoloft.

Jan 5th - 45>40.5mg Zoloft.

Dec 6th - 50>45mg Zoloft.

Nov 1st - 53>50.0mg Zoloft. Sep 22/17 - 50.0>53.0mg Zoloft. Sep 18/17 - 59.0>50.0mg Zoloft.

Aug 7/17 - 65.6>59.0mg  July 18/17 - 72.9>65.6mg. June 18/17 - 81>72.9mg 

May 28/17 - 90>81mg.  May 8/17:  Started my taper. 100>90mg

1995 to May 8/17:  100mg Zoloft/day.  Working well but suspecting some signs of Tolerance this past year.

4/5/17:  Started Testosterone Replacement Therapy via T pellet insertion.  Diagnosed with Secondary Hypogonadism.

Supplements:  1000mg fish oil, 10,000iu Vit D3 with K2, 400mg Magnesium.

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  • 5 months later...

A well-meaning, well-trusted and otherwise helpful GP. Back in 2003, I think – maybe less awareness back then?

I don't blame him, but the system.

Celexa (Citalopram)    40mg  - 60mg - 40mg for 7 years          Tapered (over 3 months) drug-free Aug–Nov 2013 CRASH

40mg    Dec 2013 – Jan 2017 (7 weeks reinstatement hell then relief)

2017:    20mg    30 Jan       18mg   19 April          16mg   6 May          14mg   20 May      12mg  10 Jun

              10mg   7 July          9mg    7 Aug               8mg     16 Oct          7.5mg  27 Nov         

2018:    7mg      8 Jan          6.5mg  12 Feb          6mg  17 Mar            5.2mg  14 Apr      5mg  28 Apr

             4.8mg  4 Jun           4.6mg   23 Jun         4.4mg   24 Jul          4.2mg 13 Aug      4mg  20 Aug

             3.8mg  1 Sep           3.6mg  28 Sep          3.4mg  14 Oct          3.2mg  11 Nov     3mg  5 Dec

             5mg    26 Dec          10mg  28 Dec

Added Valdoxan 25mg   12 Dec 2018      stopped 24 Jan 2019

Wellbutrin 150mg     25 Jan

 

 

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