Krissy2: Tapered off multiple medications, including remeron

[Krissy2]

Hello I am new here,I have been through holy hell with psych meds,I was on klonopin for 16 years and back in 2008,my doctor took me off to quickly and I haven't recovered yet and it's been 8 years now,I recently got off remeron and did a very slow taper after being on since 1998,I tapered carbamazepine most of it anyway,I had a horrific experience coming off klonopin,and felt like I was near death,I suffered many years,and still have bad sx,now that I am off mirtazapine and almost off of carbamazepine,I cannot get tired and I hardly sleep,which is making me feel suicidal and severely depressed,I am soon to be 47,is there any hope for me? Why haven't I recovered yet? It's been 8 years since getting off klonopin,however I did drink and party on it a lot years ago. I thought about reinstating a little mirtazapine so I can sleep somewhat again,I don't know what to do,please help. Thanks krissy

[nz11]

Welcome Krissy,

It's just heartbreaking to read that you are still having problems after eight years.

However it appears that you have been tapering recently off Remeron. This also has withdrawal symptoms.

How have you been tapering it? How do you define slowly?

You say you are still taking Tegretol (carbamazepine), how are you tapering that? What dose are you on. ?

 

I probably wouldn't mention the fact that you drank and partied in the past to any doctor. They will use that against you.

 

Are you able to complete a drug signature:

How to add or edit your signature

• Click on the small downward arrow next to your name in the top right corner of any page.
• Select My Settings from the list.
• On the left of the My Settings page, click on the Signature tab. You will be able to add or edit your signature.
• Click on the big black Save Changes button at the bottom when you are done.

There would be very helpful to give the moderators some much-needed context.

 

You could also check out this thread

Tips for tapering off Remeron (mirtazapine)

 

nz11

[SkyBlue]

Hi Krissy, 

Welcome to SA. We're glad you're here.

[Krissy2]

Hello I am withdrawing from zyprexa cold turkey from last spring and cut halfway down to 23.5 mgs of Seroquel from 50mgs in the past year,I also just got down to 15 mgs of mirtazapne from 30 mgs a month ago,

 

I also withdrew from Klonopin 9 years ago very severely which damaged me,I am now in alot of pain,my head feels like someone set it on fire,I am coming off the rest of the Seroquel but very slowly,

 

my doctor is going to do a liquid titration taper using water and a tube,I am scared because I am sick already,and this has been pure hell for me this past year,I cannot walk well and am constantly dizzy,

 

I had some windows of feeling well then I get slammed again,I feel like giving up and I am sick of all the pain this is causing,I feel so dreadful again.?

Edited July 3, 2017 by scallywag
readability: remove formatting and insert paragraphs

[KarenB]

Hello Krissy,

 

It sounds like you have been experiencing quite severe withdrawal symptoms, as a result of the cold-turkey and the other tapers you have been doing.  It sounds like the first thing you need to do is hold all your doses where they are.  When a person's Central Nervous System is destabilised, as yours now is, any changes can make things worse. 

 

The troublesome thing with SSRIs is that you can't just flush their effects out of your system.  They change the way your brain works, and that takes much longer to heal.  Suddenly stopping the drug puts your brain and Central Nervous System into shock.  It's like yanking a trellis out of a garden instead of gently untangling the plants and slowly removing the wood – it’s too much trauma for the plants/your brain.  (For the source of that simile, plus further discussion, see http://survivinganti...el-your-brain/)

 

Please put your withdrawal history in your signature – all drugs/dates/dosages etc in a clear list so we can see your situation easily whenever you post, and help you more accurately.  Thanks.  Depending on when you did the cold-turkey, a reinstatement of a small amount may be the best way to stabilise.

 

Many people find Fish oil and Magnesium useful during withdrawal.   

 

When you have gotten stable again we would recommend a gentle taper, reducing by no more than 10% of your current dose each month.  This allows your brain time to adjust as you go, and lessens any withdrawal.  

 

Keep it Simple; Keep it Slow; Keep it Stable

Non-Drug Techniques to cope with emotional symptoms.

Symptom Checklist

 

Have a read of those and then you can come back to this thread to discuss things further.  This can be your journal to record your tapering and healing progress, and to ask questions. With time and good care, you will be able to one day be off these drugs. 

 

Welcome to SA,

Karen

Edited June 30, 2017 by KarenB

[Krissy2]

Hello I am feeling miserable,I withdrew from Klonopin cold turkey 9 years ago,my former psychiatrist forced me off and I was deathly ill,I was on it for 16 years,and I suffered a long time afterwards,I did abuse it and drank and did drugs,during my detox I had to take lunesta for sleep,and I remained on tegretol and remeron and they put me on Seroquel,which I took for almost a year then got off,

 

I recently went off olanzapine last spring cold turkey and the wd was very very severe just as bad as bebzo wd or worse! I only took it as a prn for 6 or 8 months,and when I stopped I became violently I'll and couldn't figure out what was happening to me,I didn't sleep for months! I heard things and hullucinated,everything and everyone looked distorted and strange,

 

I don't have schizophrenia,I have anxiety and depression,now it's much worse because of what the meds did to me,I also weaned down from 50 mgs of quetiapine to 28.5 mgs and just went down to 15 mgs of mirtazapine from 30 mgs ,

 

I am slowly weaning off my meds,my doctor is going to do a liquid titration to get off the rest of the Seroquel,and I don't know how I'm going to survive it,I am already severly dizzy and cannot walk well or concentrate,things got worse when I tapered the mirtazapine I noticed,

 

I feel dreadful,like I am permanantly damaged for life! How am I going to get through all this??? I had some days of feeling good and then I swamped with severe symptoms again,

 

how am I going to get off the Seroquel?? The hospital put me on that last spring when I was withdrawing from zyprexa and I didn't even know it! I made a mistake that costed me my life by going off olanzapine cold turkey! Now I don't know what to do.

 

How am I going to heal from all this,I also have clonodine,buspar,and hydroxyzine as prns and only take one if I can't handle the anxiety. Please help me thanks.???

Edited July 3, 2017 by scallywag
insert paragraph breaks for readability

[Altostrata]

Hi, Krissy, here's your Intro topic.

 

KarenB gave you a very complete answer on Thursday. Have you been reducing more than one drug at a time? This can rock your nervous system's boat pretty badly.

 

Stop tapering everything until you can figure this out. What drugs are you taking now, at what times of day, and at what dosages?

[Krissy2]

Hello everyone I really need some advice,I was forced off 16 years of benzo use by my former ignorant doctor,and I suffered immensely for years,now I am facing another even worse horrendous withdrawal,OLANZAPINE!!! I only took this med for 6-8 months as a prn,but I think I was taking it more often,because I was almost off my other meds like mirtazapine and tegretol,and when I went in the hospital from lack of sleep in 2015 of March or April,a week after being in the hospital I was feeling very suicidal and severely depressed and very ill for no apparent reason,I was scared and didn’t know what was happening to me,and the doctors didn’t know,I was in extreme excruciating panic and anxiety and the worst depression ever,on top of that my balance got worse,my dizziness was so severe and I could barely eat,I come to realize I was withdrawing from zyprexa,when I went in the hospital I didn’t tell the doctors I was taking it and I didn’t take it as it didn’t phase me,I knew nothing about zyprexa,I was sick and when I got home it all got 20 times worse,I was in agony and didn’t know why,I thought it was benzo withdraws reappearing again,but it wasn’t it was olanzapine withdraws,I was so sick I could not even function I could hardly stand up I had to use a walker! I still do,I did not sleep for months on end,my depression and anxiety was x30! I couldn’t even go outside or walk,everything around me was distorted and strange,like I was in a strange land,I was in constant flight or fight,till this day i still don’t feel well,my brain feels tight and I have a lot of pressure,I have burning pain and it feels like my brain is stretching,I have had some good days and months but now it’s back again and the insomnia has been nothing short of a nightmare from hell,I am still on 37.5 of seroquel which I been taking larger doses as a prn when I went off benzo for years,now I am not taking extra,I was loaded up on seroquel also when I was withdrawing from zyprexa,now I am on a standing dose of 37.5 because seroquel wd is pure hell to and no better,plus I take 30 mugs of mirtazapine and small dose of tegretol and gabapentin as needed,how  I gonna cut back seroquel now when I am withdrawing from zyprexa still???? My ex left me while I was extremely ill to on top of everything else,how am I ever gonna recover when I am on another antipsychotic??? Please I need advice thanks😢😢😢😢

Edited January 19, 2018 by ChessieCat
changed from bold font

[ChessieCat]

Hi Krissy,

 

It would be very much appreciated if you would simplify your drug signature by following the preferred format.  This will make it easier for us to see your history at a glance.  Please use this format.  Thank you

 

A request: Would you summarize your history in a signature - ALL drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements, in the last 12-24 months particularly?

• Please leave out symptoms and diagnoses.
• A list is easier to understand than one or multiple paragraphs. 

• Any drugs prior to 24 months ago can just be listed with start and stop years.
• Please use actual dates or approximate dates (mid-June, Late October) rather than relative time frames (last week, 3 months ago)
• Spell out months, e.g. "October" or "Oct."; 9/1/2016 can be interpreted as Jan. 9, 2016 or Sept. 1, 2016.
• Link to Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature.