Evandallas8: Celexa withdrawal while on Lamictal

[ChessieCat]

14 hours ago, Evandallas8 said:

So I went to 175 about four days ago.

 

You have made a reduction, from 200mg to 175mg according to what you posted.

 

Tips for tapering off Lamictal (lamotrigine)

 

Please read Post #1 of the above topic, as well as the link about 10% tapering.

[Altostrata]

If you're going to experiment with dosages, please keep daily notes of times of day you take your drugs, their dosages, and your symptoms. You can post 24 hours of notes at a time in this topic, with a simple list format with time of day on the left and notation (symptom or drug and dosage) on the right.

 

You need to track changes in your symptom pattern throughout the process, to figure out if a dosage change is good or bad. You might get bad reactions hours later. Notes are essential to identify this.

 

[ChessieCat]

Example:

 

6 a.m. Woke with anxiety
8 a.m. Took 2.5mg Lexapro
10 a.m. Stomach is upset
10:30 a.m. Ate breakfast
11:35 a.m. Got a headache, lasted one hour
12:35 p.m. Ate lunch
4 p.m. Feel a bit better
5 p.m. Took 2.5mg Lexapro
6 p.m. Ate dinner
9:20 p.m. Headache
10:00 p.m. Took 50mg Seroquel
10:20 p.m. Feeling dizzy
10:30 p.m. Fell asleep
2:30 a.m. Woke, took 3mg Ambien (NOT "took 1/2 tablet Ambien")
2:45 a.m. Fell asleep
4:30 a.m. Woke but got back to sleep

[Evandallas8]

On 7/30/2019 at 6:58 PM, ChessieCat said:

Because you have already noticed the reduction from 200mg to 175mg it might be better, when making the next reduction, to do less than a 25mg drop.  Consider reducing by 12.5mg or less.

I am 6 days into reducing from 200 (I was on 19 days) to 175.  I am starting to really feel tired, electric feelings in my head, anxious, depressed.  It’s a different feeling than when I was taking the 200mg.  Would you say this is withdrawal and should I increase my dose some? 

Thanks

[ChessieCat]

It takes about 4 days for a dose change to reach full level in the blood (aka steady state).  And it takes a bit longer for it to register in the brain.

 

The fact that you are starting to get more symptoms after 6 days would seem to indicate withdrawal.

 

You have two options:  stick it out at this dose and do not reduce again until things stabilise, OR make a small updose.

 

The way I decide whether to updose is by asking myself if this continues am I able to live with it.  If it is bearable I stay at the dose and wait it out.  If it is unbearable I make a small increase.

 

Please note that I have said "small".  You might find that taking an extra 5mg is enough to bring the withdrawal symptoms to a bearable level.

 

Whatever you decide, you will need to be patient.  Also please keep daily symptom notes on paper about what improves/worsens.  If things aren't bearable after another 7 days you may need to do another tiny increase.  Providing the notes will allow us to see if this might help.

 

The idea of updosing isn't to get rid of withdrawal symptoms completely.  The aim is to reduce the withdrawal symptoms to a tolerable level

[Evandallas8]

How long do I have to updose before it’s too late? 

 Thanks 

 

Edited August 1, 2019 by ChessieCat
removed quote

[ChessieCat]

From  About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal , much of which is applicable to updosing (please read Post #1 of this topic):

 

 

On 10/9/2012 at 10:17 AM, Altostrata said:

What we have learned about reinstatement
From what we've learned from patient experience here and other online support sites:

• Reinstatement is best done immediately upon appearance of withdrawal symptoms. The more time that passes, the less likely it is to work.
• The length of this window of opportunity is unknown, it varies according to the individual. Sometimes people can reinstate successfully months after quitting. Others cannot.

 

[Evandallas8]

15 minutes ago, ChessieCat said:

From  About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal , much of which is applicable to updosing (please read Post #1 of this topic):

 

 

 

I don’t understand something. What is kindling? 

[ChessieCat]

From Post #1 of this the reinstatement topic:

 

On 10/9/2012 at 10:17 AM, Altostrata said:

 

Reinstate at what dosage?
Sometimes reinstatement not only doesn't work but makes symptoms worse -- this is called kindling. That is why we often suggest very, very low doses -- to reduce this risk. Higher doses can go wrong in much bigger ways. A very low dose is a way to explore the option of reinstatement with less risk.

 

 

[Evandallas8]

54 minutes ago, ChessieCat said:

From Post #1 of this the reinstatement topic:

 

 

This may have been what happened when I went to 200mg.  I felt ok for awhile and then I got way too overstimulated.  So now I am suffering withdrawal.  I’m at 175mg.  If I hold there long enough, is it possible for my nervous system to stabilize? 

[ChessieCat]

Please go back and check the information and links that have already been provided.

[Altostrata]

On 7/31/2019 at 11:11 AM, Altostrata said:

If you're going to experiment with dosages, please keep daily notes of times of day you take your drugs, their dosages, and your symptoms. You can post 24 hours of notes at a time in this topic, with a simple list format with time of day on the left and notation (symptom or drug and dosage) on the right.

 

You need to track changes in your symptom pattern throughout the process, to figure out if a dosage change is good or bad. You might get bad reactions hours later. Notes are essential to identify this.

 

 

On 8/1/2019 at 12:38 PM, Evandallas8 said:

I am 6 days into reducing from 200 (I was on 19 days) to 175.  I am starting to really feel tired, electric feelings in my head, anxious, depressed.  It’s a different feeling than when I was taking the 200mg.  Would you say this is withdrawal and should I increase my dose some? 

Thanks

 

We need daily notes of times of day you take your drugs, their dosages, and your symptoms to answer your questions. Please do not undertake tapering without keeping daily notes.

[Evandallas8]

42 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

 

 

We need daily notes of times of day you take your drugs, their dosages, and your symptoms to answer your questions. Please do not undertake tapering without keeping daily notes.

Do symptoms correlate with the amount of time after taking the meds?  For example, do some people feel worse 3 hours after taking their medicine?

[Altostrata]

1 hour ago, Evandallas8 said:

Do symptoms correlate with the amount of time after taking the meds?  For example, do some people feel worse 3 hours after taking their medicine?

 

Yes, sometimes they do. That's why we ask for these notes.

[Evandallas8]

On 8/3/2019 at 10:38 PM, Altostrata said:

 

Yes, sometimes they do. That's why we ask for these notes.

I see.  I have been researching the brassmonkey and microtaper.  I have a question.  10% at once is far too much for me.  So what I figured I'd do is calculate 5% of my dose, divide it by thirty, and then hold for two weeks.  So instead of every week, I am making a very small decrease every day with a two week hold at the end of each month.  This would be .25mg per day for me the first month.  Is this a good method?  Or would it be better to decrease by 1.75mg, once per week? Thanks,

 

[ChessieCat]

That sounds like a lot of hard work.  Why not try the BrassMonkey Slide first.

[Evandallas8]

Hello. I’ve been on 175mg of lamictal since 2012. I started tapering in March of 2020 by doing a daily .25mg microtaper as I’m extremely sensitive. I’m at 95mg today.  My question is this:

ive been dealing with fatigue for years now.  It seemed to appear after I started lamcital. Can lamictal cause fatigue and is it possible to feel better once I successfully taper down?  I am getting a little hopeless. 
 

evan 

[getofflex]

Previous post was moved to your intro to keep all your history in one place.  Please keep all questions and discussion about your situation here so we can get the whole story when advising you.  

[getofflex]

According to Mayo Clinic, yes, it can cause fatigue.  Go to this link and scroll to the bottom: 

 

https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/lamotrigine-oral-route/side-effects/drg-20067449?p=1

 

I believe you will probably feel better once you get off the drug, at least as far as fatigue goes.  

 

As far as your taper goes, I would suggest you check out this micro taper method: 

 

Brassmonkey Micro Tapering

 

It gives you a week or two of holding on a dose, so that your system can rest and heal from the tapering.

 

 

Edited May 7, 2021 by getofflex