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cutter: Hi :) I'm on clomipramine


cutter

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Posted

I live in New Zealand. I have been on clomipramine since early last year. I was put on it to help me with OCD but it hasn't helped. I have started to slowly taper myself off. I am on 50mg at the moment, will be on 25mg on Friday. 

I was on fluoxetine for a few years as a teenager and again a few years ago for about a year. I was prescribed it as a teenager for depression and a few years ago for OCD, which I have had since I was 19.

If anyone else is on clomipramine I would love to talk to you about your experience and where you're at with this. I find it hard to deal with by myself, my family don't care and I don't know anyone who's on clomipramine. I feel so alone. 

  • Moderator Emeritus
Posted

Hello, Cutter and welcome to SA.

 

Tapering Clomipramine from 50 to 25 ( a rate of 50%) is far too fast.  At Surviving Antidepressants, it is recommended that a person taper by no more than 10% of their current dose with at least a four week hold in-between decreases.  The 10% taper recommendation is a harm reduction approach to going off psychiatric drugs.  Some people may have to taper at a more conservative rate as they are sensitive to even the smallest drops.
 
 I am linking a few topics so that you have a better understanding of what is recommended here. 

 

 
To give members the best information, we ask them to summarize their medication 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.

I have been on another tricyclic, Imipramine, for many years. Before I discovered SA, I tapered at 10% every three weeks with no hold in between drops--some would say a slow taper but not slow enough.   After eight months and having dropped from 75mg to 15mg, I began experiencing extreme anxiety and insomnia.   It was far too fast, and I suffered because of it. I would suggest you hold where you are at 50mg until you fill out your signature and we can advise you on a safe taper.

 
 

 

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.

Posted

Welcome Cutter

Did you know that OCD is a wdl symptom off these drugs. Whats the bet the OCD was diagnosed after taking psych drugs.

Please do read those great links from Gridley and the drug signature block is very important.

There are about 10 NZ-ers hanging out here. There is a wealth of informative resources and you are not alone.

Please think about tapering slow. If you don't you run the risk of putting yourself on a drug merry-go round for years as the drug wdl drives one back to the doctor for answers only to be given a new label and a new drug.

Glad you found sa do keep posting.

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

 

 

  • ChessieCat changed the title to cutter: Hi :) I'm on clomipramine
  • 5 months later...
Posted (edited)

Thank you both. Nice to know there are other people from New Zealand here. :) I'm sorry I didn't reply earlier. I don't really want to talk about medication on here anymore as I feel locked in to the mental health system and treatment. I think if I wrote down the start and finish dates etc. I would be annoyed and I don't know the specific dates anyway. I ended up going off clomipramine completely. I took one less pill every four weeks, starting on 100mg (four 25mg pills) and going from 100mg to 75mg to 50mg to 25mg. I started in November last year and finished in February. I didn't have anything lower than 25mg and didn't want to cut the pills or anything. I was desperate to get off them as they were making me sick... First just nauseous and then throwing up.

 

I didn't suffer from any withdrawal symptoms. However, due to some stressful situations at home with visitors, my OCD got worse and I was hospitalized in May. I was put on different medications, it's been pretty bad and my OCD hasn't gotten better yet but at least the stress-inducing visitors have stayed away and I just hope I will be off the medication I am currently on in time, which is an antipsychotic. 

 

I don't really feel like there is any need for me to request any help here anymore as I have been off the last antidepressant I was on, Citalopram, for about 3 weeks. 

Thanks for your advice

R. 

Edited by manymoretodays
spacing
  • Moderator Emeritus
Posted (edited)

Hi cutter,

It's possible that your increased OCD was a withdrawal symptom.   Along with some situational stressors.   They are sometimes delayed, W/D symptoms. 

1 hour ago, cutter said:

I just hope I will be off the medication I am currently on in time, which is an antipsychotic. 

Even though we are called survivingantidepressants we also offer support and information for harm free reduction of antipsychotics, and other psychotrophic medications.

It sounds like you have been switched around a bit on medications since last here.  And may have done a fairly quick withdrawal from some as well.  This all can and does lead to some CNS instability.  It may be best to just HOLD for now.

 

If you'd like help tapering with your antipsychotic, feel free to stick around or come on back when you are ready.  Don't let the public mental health system get you down on yourself.

You can just do a rough outline in your signature if you'd like.  Here's that link for you again, just in case.  Please put your withdrawal history in your signature.

 

Just want you to know........you are still welcome here. 

 

Love, peace, healing, and growth,

mmt

Edited by manymoretodays

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, and again finally 5/25/24.  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

 

  • 1 year later...
Posted

Thank you 💖 everyone. 

I have just updated my signature. 

I didn't have OCD until I was 19, after having been on Fluoxetine and Olanzapine from the age of 15 until age 18. I appreciate everyone's replies, I think I developed OCD as a result of the psychiatric medication treatment. 

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