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Symptoms at very low doses?


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I'm holding steady at 1 mg of Lexapro after a taper from 7.5 mg to zero in a month. Reinstated at 1 mg about 10 days ago. Still dealing with almost daily digestive issues, starting with indigestion and nausea first thing in the morning, then a few bouts of diarrhea, then continued indigestion/nausea for most of the day. I've tried ginger chews and wearing Sea Bands for nausea, Pepto Bismol for diarrhea, but these are just band aids. I've tried probiotics but am suspicious that they may make matters worse. I eat pretty well, not a lot of dairy, not a lot of sugar. I do drink coffee and am probably not willing to quit that. Any and all suggestions welcome. Thanks

On and off SSRI and SNRI meds since 1996

1996-2001: Prozac, then Effexor (discontinued 2001)

2008-2010: Cymbalta (discontinued 2010 for pregnancy attempts)

5/2011: Started Lexapro 10 mg for anxiety/panic. Adjusted dose down to 7.5 mg and did great.

3/2014: Life is good, I am stable... time to get off the meds again -- should be no big deal, right? Such a low dose...

Lexapro taper: One month to come down from 7.5 mg by 33% decreases... 7.5 mg to 5 mg, then 5 mg to 2.5 mg, then 2.5 mg every other day (bad idea), experienced nausea and GI upset that I thought was a stomach bug... then

4/14/14: discontinued Lexapro and began several weeks of confusion, panic, nausea, dizziness, joint pain, hoarseness, etc.

5/1/14: reinstated Lexapro at 1 mg or as close to that as I can get, with 5 mg tablets and a pill splitter.  Felt improved by the next day, not great, but improved.

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  • 2 years later...

I'm wondering if anyone who is tapering and is close to the finish line can share if they have had a low-symptom taper.  

200 Zoloft; 10 mg Zyprexa; 4 mg valium as of May 2021;  Valium taper: July 16: 3.5 valium; July 30: 3 mg (paused valium taper); Aug. 23: 2.5 mg
Zyprexa: July 26: 8.75 mg; Aug. 9: 7.5 mg; Aug. 30: 7.1 mg

-------
Dec 1, 2016. 10 mg zyprexa for 1.5 month. Started taper mid-Jan. 2017. Cut 1.25 mg every 2 weeks; smaller cuts 2.5 mg down. Stopped at .6 mg. May 7, 2017: zyprexa free. 
Zoloft: Dec1, 2016, 200 mg. Started taper: Jun12, 2017: 197.5 mg; Jun19,:195 mg; July 2:185mg; July 9,:180 mg; July16,: 175; July 23: 170; July 30: 165; Aug6: 160; Aug13: 155; Aug. 20: 150; Aug.27: 146 mg; Sept3: 145 mg; Sept10:143 mg; Sept17:140 mg....Nov5: 122 mg...Dec3:112.5 mg; Jan14, 2018: 95 mg...Jan28: 90 mg; Feb21:80 mg; Mar11: 75 mg; May2:70 mg; May15: 68 mg; May28: 65 mg; Jun9: 62 mg;Jun25: 60 mg:July22: 55 mg; Aug25: 45 mg. Aug28: 50 mg...Oct 28: 38 mg; Dec.4: 30 mg; Jan8,2019: 25mg; Feb6: 23.5 mg; Apr1:17.5mg; May1:1 mg; May 5: 18;  May 18:15mg; June 16:12.5mg; Sept 10:11 mg; Sept.16:10 mg; Oct. 1: 9mg; Nov. 27: 8mg; Dec.5: 7mg; Jan.1,2020, 6 mg; Feb1: 5 mg; May 1: 2.5 mg; Jn 1: 2 mg; Jy 1: 1.5 mg

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  • Moderator Emeritus

In May I will have been tapering for 2 years.  I am still a long way from the end, but thought I'd reply because since I began tapering by the brassmonkey-slide method I've been having extremely minimal symptoms.  Usually I'm in one long window, and when I do get a wave of a day or two, the symptoms are minimal.  I often feel a bit guilty here on SA due to my lack of suffering ;)

 

I totally recommend finding that tapering 'sweet spot' instead of pushing through. 

2010  Fluoxetine 20mg.  2011  Escitalopram 20mg.  2013 Tapered badly and destabilised CNS.  Effexor 150mg. 

2015 Begin using info at SurvivingAntidepressants.  Cut 10% - bad w/d 2 months, held 1 month. 

Micro-tapering: four weekly 0.4% cuts, hold 4 weeks (struggling with symptoms).

8 month hold.

2017 Micro-tapering: four weekly 1% cuts, hold 4 weeks (symptoms almost non-existent).

2020 Still micro-tapering. Just over 2/3 of the way off effexor. Minimal symptoms, - and sleeping well.
Supplements: Fish oil, vitamin C, iron, oat-straw tea, nettle tea.

2023 December - Now on 5 micro-beads Effexor. Minimal symptoms but much more time needed between drops. Symptoms begin to increase.

2024 April - Updosed to 6 microbeads - immediate increase in symptoms for 4 days. Decreased to 5 microbeads.

 'The possibility of renewal exists so long as life exists.'  Dr Gabor Mate.

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Thanks so much for sharing Karen. It's reassuring to hear.

200 Zoloft; 10 mg Zyprexa; 4 mg valium as of May 2021;  Valium taper: July 16: 3.5 valium; July 30: 3 mg (paused valium taper); Aug. 23: 2.5 mg
Zyprexa: July 26: 8.75 mg; Aug. 9: 7.5 mg; Aug. 30: 7.1 mg

-------
Dec 1, 2016. 10 mg zyprexa for 1.5 month. Started taper mid-Jan. 2017. Cut 1.25 mg every 2 weeks; smaller cuts 2.5 mg down. Stopped at .6 mg. May 7, 2017: zyprexa free. 
Zoloft: Dec1, 2016, 200 mg. Started taper: Jun12, 2017: 197.5 mg; Jun19,:195 mg; July 2:185mg; July 9,:180 mg; July16,: 175; July 23: 170; July 30: 165; Aug6: 160; Aug13: 155; Aug. 20: 150; Aug.27: 146 mg; Sept3: 145 mg; Sept10:143 mg; Sept17:140 mg....Nov5: 122 mg...Dec3:112.5 mg; Jan14, 2018: 95 mg...Jan28: 90 mg; Feb21:80 mg; Mar11: 75 mg; May2:70 mg; May15: 68 mg; May28: 65 mg; Jun9: 62 mg;Jun25: 60 mg:July22: 55 mg; Aug25: 45 mg. Aug28: 50 mg...Oct 28: 38 mg; Dec.4: 30 mg; Jan8,2019: 25mg; Feb6: 23.5 mg; Apr1:17.5mg; May1:1 mg; May 5: 18;  May 18:15mg; June 16:12.5mg; Sept 10:11 mg; Sept.16:10 mg; Oct. 1: 9mg; Nov. 27: 8mg; Dec.5: 7mg; Jan.1,2020, 6 mg; Feb1: 5 mg; May 1: 2.5 mg; Jn 1: 2 mg; Jy 1: 1.5 mg

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In May I will have been tapering for 2 years.  I am still a long way from the end, but thought I'd reply because since I began tapering by the brassmonkey-slide method I've been having extremely minimal symptoms.  Usually I'm in one long window, and when I do get a wave of a day or two, the symptoms are minimal.  I often feel a bit guilty here on SA due to my lack of suffering ;)

 

I totally recommend finding that tapering 'sweet spot' instead of pushing through. 

 

KarenB, what is the brassmonkey-slide method?

OFF Paxil 1996-1997 CT, no w/d sxs OFF Celexa 2002 (6 months) CT, mild and brief w/d sxs OFF Ativan 1mg-Cold Turkey 2014, WD Syndrome for several weeks despite intermittent use over 9 months rather than daily use. OFF Lexapro 3 doses only February 2015 (increased depression)OFF Paxil 3 doses only July 2016 (increased anxiety)

ON Remeron 15mg daily since AUG 2016 for PPD/PPA/PPOCD Tried cutting dose by 1/4 tablet  December 1, 2016, one week of intense withdrawal headaches, reinstated 15mg dose December 8, 2016.

ON bioidentical Progesterone cream 50mg/day originally started for self diagnosed estrogen dominance April 2015, continued use during pregnancy to alleviate hormonal headaches October 2015-July 2016, continued postpartum to help with mood July 2016-present.

Supplements: Magnesium, Fish Oil, Probiotics, Quercetin

Tried Methylfolate Sept 2016 to "potentiate" Remeron - ended up experiencing worsened side effects (mainly irritability bordering on rage) Discontinued after two doses.

BEGAN REMERON TAPER Feb 2 2017 by switching to different manufacturer of tablet mirtazipine (manufacturer that matches my liquid solution). Holding 15mg dose until adjusted. Plan to eventually do half liquid, half tablet (still 15mg), then all liquid (15mg), then .95ml of 15mg per ml liquid (a 5% reduction) depending on how I respond to adjusting from tablet to liquid.

August 2017 9mg liquid mirtazipine, cutting by 2% every week.

July 2018 3mg liquid Mirtazipine,cutting by 2-3% every week.

June 2019 Jumped off at 0.25mg mirtazipine, minimal WD. 

Feb. 2020 Fully recovered, all drug weight lost.

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  • Moderator

The Brassmonkey Slide Method is a modification of the 10% every 6 weeks taper that is recommended here. Basically it is dropping by 2.5% a week for four weeks and then a hold for an additional 2 weeks. This gives a total of 10% every 6 weeks.  The idea behind it is to spread the symptoms out over several weeks instead of having then hit all at once.  I have had great success with it over the five and a half years I've been tapering.  I started at 40mg of paxil and m currently at 0.16mg.  I will be ending my taper soon.  I have to say that compared to others I have had a much easier time of it.  I know several people who CTed 40mg of paxil at the same time I started to taper and they are still having a rough time of it.  As you can read in my intro thread I'm reentering life in a big way and have the slow taper to thank for it.

20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013.

Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks.  The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better.

Final Dose 0.016mg.     Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017

 

"It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general."  Stephen Hawking

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Yes on the low symptoms. Mine are exacerbated by alcohol and caffeine (duh, right?) . exercise helps. Taking a good multi and some omega 3 as well.

September 2014 to July 2015 - 20 mg Lexapro, 30mg Mirtazipine

 

August 2015 to November 2016- 10mg Lexapro, 30 mg Mirtazipine

 

Nov. 2016 to Nov. 2017 - 10mg Lexapro, 3.75 mg Mirtazipine

 

Nov. 2017 to Mach 2018 - 5mg/2.5mg Lexapro, 0mg Mirtazipne

 

Mach 2018 to Dec. 2018 - 0mg Lexapro, 0mg Mirtazipne

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  • 1 month later...

For the most part my tapering has been relatively low symptom except for an episode last March that required me to updose. With finally hitting the 1mg mark I'm hoping the rest of my taper is kind to me like it has been for Brass.

Taken paxil for over 15 years probably closer to 20.

Tapering since Oct 2013 from 10mg Gemini 20 scale thanks to BrassMonkey!

Oct 6, 2013 9.2 mg Nov 27 8.6mg Feb 2 2014 7.8mg March 16 7.4mg March 30 7.0mg May 18 6.2mg July 6 5.8mg Sept 7 5.4 Oct 19 4.8 Dec 14 4.6 Feb 8th 2015 4.2mg Mar 22 3.8mg May 10 3.4mg July 19 3.2mg Sept 6 2.8mg Nov 8 2.5 mg Dec 27 2.3 Feb 14 2016 2.0 Mar 19 updosed to 2.5mg May 4 2.4 June 12 2.2mg July 31 2.0 Sept 11 1.7mg Nov 13 1.5mg Jan 22 2017 1.3mg Mar 19 1.0mg April 20 0.8 June 0.7 Aug 0.6 Sept 0.5 Oct 0.4 Nov 0.3 Dec too low to weigh so I'm eyeballing it the rest of the way!!  2018 Feb 10 finally stopped !!!!! Keeping fingers crossed!!!!!!

Its' 2022 now and feeling good after 4 years of being off Paxil. Continue to stay active with a positive attitude and getting plenty of sun.

 

Current Supplements: Multi-Vitamin, D with occasional K2, C, Magnesium, Alpha Lipoic Acid, CoQ10, Zinc, Fish Oil, Lecithin, E, and probiotics.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Nice to hear about low symptom taper. Im at about 16mgs of paxil. I dropped from 17 to 15mgs and i got bad insomnia and night twitching. So i went back upto 16mg.

I've been on paxil for 11 yrs. Could this be the reason i got bad insomnia? Thank you.

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  • 3 weeks later...

It seems there are so many stories of people tapering off then being hit by withdrawals. I can understand why that would happen with a too-fast taper? Are there any members here who tapered slowly, got off the drugs and then felt okay 2 3 4 months down the line? If so, please share your experiences.

200 Zoloft; 10 mg Zyprexa; 4 mg valium as of May 2021;  Valium taper: July 16: 3.5 valium; July 30: 3 mg (paused valium taper); Aug. 23: 2.5 mg
Zyprexa: July 26: 8.75 mg; Aug. 9: 7.5 mg; Aug. 30: 7.1 mg

-------
Dec 1, 2016. 10 mg zyprexa for 1.5 month. Started taper mid-Jan. 2017. Cut 1.25 mg every 2 weeks; smaller cuts 2.5 mg down. Stopped at .6 mg. May 7, 2017: zyprexa free. 
Zoloft: Dec1, 2016, 200 mg. Started taper: Jun12, 2017: 197.5 mg; Jun19,:195 mg; July 2:185mg; July 9,:180 mg; July16,: 175; July 23: 170; July 30: 165; Aug6: 160; Aug13: 155; Aug. 20: 150; Aug.27: 146 mg; Sept3: 145 mg; Sept10:143 mg; Sept17:140 mg....Nov5: 122 mg...Dec3:112.5 mg; Jan14, 2018: 95 mg...Jan28: 90 mg; Feb21:80 mg; Mar11: 75 mg; May2:70 mg; May15: 68 mg; May28: 65 mg; Jun9: 62 mg;Jun25: 60 mg:July22: 55 mg; Aug25: 45 mg. Aug28: 50 mg...Oct 28: 38 mg; Dec.4: 30 mg; Jan8,2019: 25mg; Feb6: 23.5 mg; Apr1:17.5mg; May1:1 mg; May 5: 18;  May 18:15mg; June 16:12.5mg; Sept 10:11 mg; Sept.16:10 mg; Oct. 1: 9mg; Nov. 27: 8mg; Dec.5: 7mg; Jan.1,2020, 6 mg; Feb1: 5 mg; May 1: 2.5 mg; Jn 1: 2 mg; Jy 1: 1.5 mg

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Nice to hear about low symptom taper. Im at about 16mgs of paxil. I dropped from 17 to 15mgs and i got bad insomnia and night twitching. So i went back upto 16mg.

I've been on paxil for 11 yrs. Could this be the reason i got bad insomnia? Thank you.

 

Yes I'd say so. Though Paxil is notoriously awful to taper, and symptoms can occur at any point of the taper. How slowly are you going?

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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So far my taper has been low-symptom. Some increased irritability, and some early morning cortisol spikes, but really manageable. I'm in the early stages though.

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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  • Moderator Emeritus

Other than a few hiccups when I first started tapering after joining SA, my taper has been low symptom.  I have been tapering a little less than 10% of my previous dose, did a long hold when I got to 50mg (being a tablet) and I'm planning on doing a medium hold as I get down to 20mg because I have plenty of 20mg capsules.

 

I went from 100mg Pristiq to 50mg for 3 weeks then found SA end of October 2016 and updosed to 75mg and I am now down to 25mg.

* NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA *

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED:  (6 year taper)      0mg Pristiq  on 13th November 2021

ADs since ~1992:  25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq:  50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity)  Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021   LAST DOSE 0.0025mg

Post 0 updates start here    My tapering program     My Intro (goes to tapering graph)

 VIDEO:   Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management

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The daily micro-taper is working wonders for me. Instead of cutting 5% overnight every 4 weeks, I do it gradually so that at the end of the 4-week period, the micro-cuts add up to 5% but I also stay highly flexible, holding if symptoms ramp up.

While I am not totally symptom-free, I swear by this method!

2004: Anorexia & Depression -> polydrugged as a result  :wacko:

- Venlafaxine(MR): 75mg

- Escitalopram: 60mg ...
- Diazepam: 10mg bedtime prescribed, no c/o
- Clonazepam: 4mg
2010: New Life in the UK - psychologically much better
GP wants to lower Escitalopram (side effects on heart) -> 2011 to 2014: come down from 60 to 15mg in 5mg steps (I had no idea) - January 2014: after dropping from 20mg to 15mg Esc. plagued with debilitating exhaustion... December 2014: I decide to taper off Benzos... and everything else.
29 May 2017: Drug Free after 13 years!! 
Varied balanced diet, no processed/refined foods. Plenty water. Yoga & Mindfulness.
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Im going to go really slow. About 5% per month. Also seeing a therapist to help with the original issues and as symptoms arise. How far along are you?

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  • Mentor

after a few too fast tapers and CTs and a, thankfully, successful reinstatement, I am doing a slow taper now and the slower and steadier I go, the fewer symptoms I have.

 

I am at 0.2mgs of lexapro and will continue my taper based on symptoms.  as of right now I expect the taper to take up to 2 more years- Yes, even at this tiny dose.
My thinking is that, IF I had done the "10% every 28 day" taper in the first place, I would be finishing up roughly in 2 yrs anyway, so why not give my brain a break.

I have been on SSRIs for about 20 yrs or so and have a long history of other pysch meds; I'm now 61, so healing is typically slower overall as one ages, so- why not be kind to myself, right?

 

Taking a break from mentoring, please do not message or tag me, thank you! 
Got some personal stuff to deal with and am not able to give you my full attention. 

I will remove this reminder when I am back. Keep on swimming, my friends. 

😊

  • pysch med history: 1974 @ age 18 to Oct 2017 (approx 43 yrs total) 
  •  Drug list: stelazine, haldol, elavil, lithium, zoloft, celexa, lexapro(doses as high as 40mgs), klonopin, ambien, seroquel(high doses), depakote, zyprexa, lamictal- plus brief trials of dozens of other psych meds over the years
  • started lexapro 2002, dose varied from 20mgs to 40mgs. First attempt to get off it was 2007- WD symptoms were mistaken for "relapse". 
  •  2013 too fast taper down to 5mg but WD forced me back to 20mgs
  •  June of 2105, tapered again too rapidly to 2.5mgs by Dec 2015. Found SA, held at 2.5 mgs til May 2016 when I foolishly "jumped off". felt ok until  Sept, then acute WD hit!!  reinstated at 0.3mgs in Oct. 2106
  • Tapered off to zero by  Oct. 2017 Doing very well. 
  • Nov. 2018 feel 95% healed, age 63 
  • Jan. 2020 feel 100% healed, peaceful and content
  • PRESENT DAYS:  Loving life! ❤️ with all it's ups and downs ;) 
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brassmonkey - I should perhaps have done more reading and I would have come across this earlier. I have been doing the 10% taper method and suffer dreadfully every time I drop, I figured it was just something I had to rough out. I might change to your method once I have stabilised on this last drop. At such low doses I assume you are on liquid? I make my own but I only have a 5mg syringe atm which makes dropping by tiny % quite difficult and not an exact science

50mg sertraline daily for past 4 years

December 2016 - 12.5mg daily - Moved to liquid doses

January 2017 - 10mg

March 2017 - 9mg
May 2017 Dropped to 8mg, having some side effects but coping, just waiting for it to even out again.

June 2017 - Dropped to 7.9mg - again, some side effects but coping

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Brass is in China where he has difficulty accessing SA, but he used a Gemini 20 scale for his Paxil taper, not liquid, and got down to a very, very low dose before jumping off to zero recently.

Gridley Introduction

 

Lexapro 20 mg since 2004.  Begin Brassmonkey Slide Taper Jan. 2017.   

End 2017 year 1 of taper at 9.25mg 

End 2018 year 2 of taper at 4.1mg

End 2019 year 3 of taper at 1.0mg  

Oct. 30, 2020  Jump to zero from 0.025mg.  Current dose: 0.000mg

3 year, 10 month taper is 100% complete.

 

Ativan 1 mg to 1.875mg 1986-2020, two CT's and reinstatements

Nov. 2020, 7-week Ativan-Valium crossover to 18.75mg Valium

Feb. 2021, begin 10%/4 week taper of 18.75mg Valium 

End 2021  year 1 of Valium taper at 6mg

End 2022 year 2 of Valium taper at 2.75mg 

End 2023 year 3 of Valium taper at 1mg

Jan. 24, 2024: Hold at 1mg and shift to Imipramine taper.

Taper is 95% complete.

 

Imipramine 75 mg daily since 1986.  Jan.-Sept. 2016 tapered to 14.4mg  

March 22, 2022: Begin 10%/4 week taper

Aug. 5, 2022: hold at 9.5mg and shift to Valium taper

Jan. 24, 2024: Resume Imipramine taper.  Current dose as of Oct 15: 3.2mg

Taper is 96% complete.  

  

Supplements: multiple, quercetin, omega-3, vitamins C, E and D3, magnesium glycinate, probiotic, zinc, melatonin .3mg, iron, serrapeptase, nattokinase, L-Glutamine, milk thistle, choline


I am not a medical professional and this is not medical advice. It is information based on my own experience as well as that of other members who have survived these drugs.

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I'd love to know too!

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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why no one answer?its good question
maby ask it in other forum here

 

 

* merged similar topics

2007-2015- zoloft 100 mg
5-8/2015 taper zoloft 12.5 mg every 2 weeks
3/2016 -11/16 lexapro 20 mg

taper lexapro every month by 30%

11/4/17-lexapro 3.5 mg

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  • Moderator

Hi artSet-- Gridley has it correct.  I used a scale and measured out powder for all of my doses.  It started to be a problem when I got below 0.8mg so I had to switch from four slides to three, then to two and finally to one.  But the amounts were so small it didn't cause any trouble.  There are a varsity of syringe sizes available, talk to your pharmacist and they can set you up with a smaller one so you can be more accurate. Be sure to add in a two week hold every four drops so your body has a a chance to sort things out and stabilize.  It may not feel like it is needed at the time, but it really is.  Keep us informed on your progress.

 

Brass

20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013.

Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks.  The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better.

Final Dose 0.016mg.     Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017

 

"It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general."  Stephen Hawking

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  • 3 weeks later...

4.5 months in, down to 12mg from 40mg Citalopram, still low/no symptom.

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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  • Moderator Emeritus

I've been tapering for 14 months now and have had few symptoms. Most of those that did occur there were clear causes -- overexertion, alcohol consumption.

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 Introduction
Online spreadsheet for dose taper calculations and nz11's THE WORKS spreadsheet

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  • 6 years later...

I hope this is the right place to put this. I’m trying to gather information about symptoms that people experience when they are approaching the end of their taper.

 

Currently I’m at 0.3mg after trying to go to 0 from 0.6mg. At this level it is hard to say whether I am experiencing a health problem or withdrawal. Interestingly I was experiencing involuntary jaw clenching and movement at 0.6mg, but that has practically gone since I dropped to 0 and didn’t come back with reinstatement. Right now I have a few alternating forms of tinnitus and I have no idea if this is sertraline related or not. A lot of the success stories I’ve read for sertraline are about recovery from short tapers or cold turkey, which hasn’t given me any more information.

 

I thought it would be useful if people at low doses could talk about whether they still experience symptoms and at what levels. 

Sertraline 100mg: dec 2017 - June 2021 / 50mg: June 2021 - July 2021 / 75mg: July 2021 - March 22 / 67.5mg: 7th March 22 - 27th March 22 / 61mg: 28th March 22 - 16th April 22 / 55mg: 17th April 22 - 01 May 22 / 50mg: 02 May 22 - 14 Jun 22 / 45mg: 15 Jun 22 - ? / 1.25mg: ~01 Feb 23 - 17 Mar 23 / increased to 1.3mg 18 Mar 23 - 21 Aug 23/ 1.17mg: Aug 23 - ? / 0.7mg: 10 Dec 23 - Jan 24 / 0.6mg: Jan 24 - Feb 24 / Attempted to jump off early Feb, reinstated 17 Feb 24 0.3mg / 0.25mg - ~April 24 / 0.2mg - May 24

 

Elvanse 30mg: 24 Feb 23 - 02 Mar 23. 50mg: 03 Mar 23 - 05 Mar 23. Crashed. CTed.

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  • Altostrata changed the title to Symptoms at very low doses?
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