smahjoub: I need some advice for withdrawal plan

[smahjoub]

Hello,

 

I'm a new member in the forum. I would like to get some advises to help me get out of antidepressant. Well, It has been more than a year (started at October 2017) since I' started taking Deroxat. I succeeded to reduce my dose to 1/4 tablet by July 2018 but when i tried to stop taking it I've got headaches and some imbalance. So, I contacted my doctor and he told me that it's a relapse and told me to go back to 1/2  (10mg) tablet (which i think it was a mistake I was just fine with 1/4 (05mg)). So, I continued to take 1/2 until December 2018 and i tried to to get back to 1/4 but this time I've got headaches so I think my brain is used to 1/2 (10mg) dosage. So by reading some articles in the internet to i decided to make my own withdrawal plan so is started by taking 1/2 a day and 1/4 the next day for now I'm OK.
My question is anyone on this forum tried to this type withdrawal? I'm not  sure about the fact of taking different dose each day is good idea but since too week and I'm feeling OK. Attached you can find the MS excel document that I've wrote in order to motivate my self.

Thanks in advance !

Deroxat Withdrawal.xlsx

[ChessieCat]

Hi Smahjoub and welcome to SA,

 

Not many medical professionals know about tapering and withdrawal which is why this site exists.

 

I suggest you read this topic:  are-we-there-yet-how-long-is-withdrawal-going-to-take

 

I will provide more information in the next post.

 

SA recommends tapering by no more than 10% of the current dose followed by a hold of about 4 weeks to allow the brain to adapt to not getting as much of the drug.  Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

 

When the drug is taken away too quickly we can get withdrawal symptoms:  Dr Joseph Glenmullen's Withdrawal Symptoms

 

Alternating or skipping doses is not recommended.  The brain likes consistency.  Skipping Days vs Every Day Dosing Graph

 

This topic explains how to get the dose you need so you can take the same dose every day.  Tips for tapering off Paxil (paroxetine)

 

When reinstating a drug, because your nervous system can become unstable because of withdrawal symptoms, we recommend a small dose.  About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

 

Please create your drug signature using the following format.   Keep it simple.  NO diagnoses or symptoms please - thank you.

• details for last 2 years - dates, ALL drugs, doses
• summary for older than 2 years - just years and drug/s

Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature

 

 

This is your own introductions topic where your can ask questions about your own situation and journal your progress.

[ChessieCat]

Tapering Calculator - Online  

Please note that if the dose is a difficult amount to measure then it is recommended that you round the amount up.

 

Recovery isn't linear it happens in a Windows and Waves Pattern

 

When we take a psychiatric drug, we are adding chemical/s to the brain.  The brain then has to change to adapt to getting the chemical/s.  It might have to change something to do with A and then once that change has been made it affects B so another change has to be made and so on down the line.  It is a chain reaction, a domino effect.  That's why it's possible to experience such a vast array of withdrawal symptoms, and they can change, and be of different intensity.

 

The same thing happens when we take the drug away.  These explain it really well:

 

Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery

 

are-we-there-yet-how-long-is-withdrawal-going-to-take

 

On 8/31/2011 at 5:28 AM, Rhiannon said:

When we stop taking the drug, we have a brain that has designed itself so that it works in the presence of the drug; now it can't work properly without the drug because it's designed itself so that the drug is part of its chemistry and structure. It's like a plant that has grown on a trellis; you can't just yank out the trellis and expect the plant to be okay. When the drug is removed, the remodeling process has to take place in reverse. SO--it's not a matter of just getting the drug out of your system and moving on. If it were that simple, none of us would be here. It's a matter of, as I describe it, having to grow a new brain. I believe this growing-a-new-brain happens throughout the taper process if the taper is slow enough. (If it's too fast, then there's not a lot of time for actually rebalancing things, and basically the brain is just pedaling fast trying to keep us alive.) It also continues to happen, probably for longer than the symptoms actually last, throughout the time of recovery after we are completely off the drug, which is why recovery takes so long.

 

AND

 

On 12/4/2015 at 2:41 AM, apace41 said:

Basically- you have a building where the MAJOR steel structures are trying to be rebuilt at different times - ALL while people are coming and going in the building and attempting to work.

It would be like if the World Trade Center Towers hadn't completely fallen - but had crumbled inside in different places.. Imagine if you were trying to rebuild the tower - WHILE people were coming and going and trying to work in the building!  You'd have to set up a temporary elevator - but when you needed to fix part of that area, you'd have to tear down that elevator and set up a temporary elevator somewhere else. And so on. You'd have to build, work around, then tear down, then build again, then work around, then build... ALL while people are coming and going, ALL while the furniture is being replaced, ALL while the walls are getting repainted... ALL while life is going on INSIDE the building. No doubt it would be chaotic. That is EXACTLY what is happening with windows and waves.  The windows are where the body has "got it right" for a day or so - but then the building shifts and the brain works on something else - and it's chaos again while another temporary pathway is set up to reroute function until repairs are made.  

 

 

[Carmie]

Hi smahjoub, 

 

Welcome to SA. It’s really not a good idea to skip doses or alternate doses on different days. It will make withdrawals worse. Please check out the links that ChessieCat sent you. 

 

Would you please put in your drug signature as well, that way we won’t have to look through your whole thread every time. Again, the link is above. Thanks. 

 

Wishing you all the best in your recovery journey 💚

 

 

[smahjoub]

Hello,

Thank you for your advises i really appreciate being part of this forum. I'll get back to 1/2 tablet (10mg) for one week and than I'll start taking 09 mg.

 

Again thanks a million for helping me !

 

[Carmie]

1 hour ago, smahjoub said:

Hello,

Thank you for your advises i really appreciate being part of this forum. I'll get back to 1/2 tablet (10mg) for one week and than I'll start taking 09 mg.

 

Again thanks a million for helping me !

 

 

Hi smahjoub, 

 

I’m glad you are no longer going to do alternate doses. You need to do the same dose every day. 

 

I think you might have to hold longer than a week though before you taper again. You have made a lot of changes. I personally would be holding for at least a month so that the brain can reach some kind of homeostasis again. 

 

Could you please write in your signature the dates you changed the doses and the dates you did the alternating of meds. Thanks.

 

Take care, we will get there in the end💚

[smahjoub]

1 hour ago, Carmie said:

 

Hi smahjoub, 

 

I’m glad you are no longer going to do alternate doses. You need to do the same dose every day. 

 

I think you might have to hold longer than a week though before you taper again. You have made a lot of changes. I personally would be holding for at least a month so that the brain can reach some kind of homeostasis again. 

 

Could you please write in your signature the dates you changed the doses and the dates you did the alternating of meds. Thanks.

 

Take care, we will get there in the end💚

Hi Carmie,

Thanks for your help I'll do as you said. I've updated my signature and sorry i don't remember all the dates.

Have a great day.

[Carmie]

That’s great smahjoub, 

 

Just keep taking the same dose every day. Never taper according to a calendar either, taper according to how your body is feeling. If you hold for the next month and you still haven’t stabilised by then just hold a bit longer. 

 

Sometimes when we taper too quickly or don’t hold long enough it can catch up with us later down the track and we can go into really bad waves. It’s accumulative. We don’t end up moving forward any quicker as we then have to hold for really long periods of time until we stabilise again. Been there, done that, in the past. Lesson learnt. 😄 Take care💚

 

Edited January 8, 2019 by Carmie
Removed white space