JayE Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 Hi everyone I have been on antidepressants for 20+ years and most of that time on Dothep. I have tried many times to come off but never been entirely successful. I now realise from reading through information on the internet and now this wonderful forum that I was experiencing withdrawal symptoms every time I tried to reduce. I was interpreting these symptoms as a need to stay on the medication and because a psychiatrist once told me to never expect to come off them I just gave up. I have done a massive amount of work in therapy and a huge amount of healing and I genuinely feel I don't need to be depressed anymore. I'm determined to be free of antidepressants and the devastation they reek on my body. Before reading about tapering by 10% I began by reducing from 100mg to 75mg. One week on, so far so good ( and usually I'm suffering from insomnia and rages by now). So I'm feeling really hopeful but realistic too. From what I've learned on this forum I understand I should continue to taper by 10% from now on and to try that on a monthly basis first. My question is have members in Australia (I'm in Qld) been successful in getting support from GPS to taper by 10% and then found pharmacies able/willing to do that with Dothep? Thanks in advance! And thank you for providing this awesome resource! J Dothep 100 mg daily for 8 years Dothep 50 mg-150 mg prior to this for 3 years Trazadone for 3 years before that (can't remember dose) Dothep 100 mg for 7 years prior to this Began tapering from 100mg-75mg 22nd June 2017 Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus scallywag Posted June 28, 2017 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted June 28, 2017 Welcome Jay E! Thanks for coming out of "lurkdom" to post an introduction. It's great that you found us before you got too far down the steep rocky road of fast tapering. Definitely hold at your current dose for at least 4 weeks. It can help your learning process to track your symptoms. Please keep notes on paper of your symptoms and the times of your dose(s). This post has a useful format for a daily log: Take notes of doses and symptoms. To assist members as quickly as possible, we ask that they create a posting signature with medication and tapering history that will appear below each of their posts. A request: Would you summarize your history in a signature -- drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements, in the last 12-24 months particularly? 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. Please leave out symptoms and diagnoses. A list is easier to understand than one or multiple paragraphs. Link to Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature. It looks as if you've come across these topics, at least the 10% one. Links for quick access: Before you begin tapering -- what you need to know. Why taper by 10% of my dosage?. Some information about dosulepin: Information on Dothep from NPS - Australia There are references to dosulepin in posts in this topic: .Guides to tapering off psychiatric medications And lastly, tips for tapering off other tricyclics: Tips for tapering off amitriptyline. Tips for tapering off doxepin. You may want to ask questions of and say hi to others from Australia in this topic: Australia members -- please check in here. This is YOUR introduction topic -- the place for you to ask questions, record symptoms, share your progress, and connect with other members of the SA community. Have a read of the topics I've posted. Let us know how you're doing and any questions you have. This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.1997-1999 Effexor; 2002-2005 Effexor XR 37.5 mg linear taper, dropping same #beads/week with bad results Cymbalta 60 mg 2012 - 2015; 2016: 20 mg to 7 mg exact doses and dates in this post; 2017: 6.3 mg to 0.0 mg Aug. 12; details here scallywag's IntroductionOnline spreadsheet for dose taper calculations and nz11's THE WORKS spreadsheet Link to comment
nz11 Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 Jay how are going with the taper? Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing. http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651 Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos. Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you Recovering paxil addict None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped." Dr Mosher. Me too! Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015 I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015 Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017 Link to comment
JayE Posted January 24, 2018 Author Share Posted January 24, 2018 Hi there, I'm stuck at 50mg at the moment after losing my dad. I plan to start tapering again in a couple of months. I found a compounding pharmacist who made me 12.5mg capsules so I'll drop down to 37.5mg next Dothep 100 mg daily for 8 years Dothep 50 mg-150 mg prior to this for 3 years Trazadone for 3 years before that (can't remember dose) Dothep 100 mg for 7 years prior to this Began tapering from 100mg-75mg 22nd June 2017 Link to comment
nz11 Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 Thanks Jay for giving an update. Do you think dropping to 37.5mg could be too much of a drop. What do you think about the idea of dropping to 45mg for next drop. regards nz11 Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing. http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651 Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos. Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you Recovering paxil addict None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped." Dr Mosher. Me too! Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015 I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015 Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017 Link to comment
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