Myrah: help needed to understand if withdrawal symptoms or disease

[Shep]

17 hours ago, Myrah said:

Dear friends, has anyone tried TDCS trans cranial direct current simulation-to stop auditory hallucinations? My doctor says it is non invasive and has had very good results and is not like ECT..appreciate your comments and advice

 

Please see:

 

Alpha-Stim, Fisher Wallace Sota Biotuner, PoNS, and similar devices

 

 

[Myrah]

 

The above page talks about dosage equivalents of various drugs. For example, it says dosage equivaent of 400 MG of amisulpride is equivalent to 4mg of resperidone. Given this sort of conversion, how would one person taper amisulpride? As tapering by 10% of 4 mg resperidone takes 36 months whereas 400mg is taking 80 months..

 

[Myrah]

Hi this is Myrah, (not my mom)

 

Today I feel a lot stable. My visual and auditory hallucinations have stopped after 5 days of medication of 400 mg amisulpride and 50mg clozapine. But my lower body is trembling with a kind of feeling that comes when you run an athletic race. So is my arms. Hope it gets better with some Aroma therapy help. I feel useless and I wish my doctor gives me an hypnosis therapy and I pour out my heart to my sister who is my only sole help as my  parents are old and I get fears of them falling ill or a much more tragic end for them because of my condition. Please give me some positive suggestions.

 

[Myrah]

My daughter who was having delusions as stories running in her head has stabilized on 400 mg Amisulpride and 50mg clozapine..should we start tapering or wait for some more time ..she was taking above from April 11th and seems completely fine now..

 

thanks so so much In advance.

 

[rupa]

On 30 April 2019 at 12:51 PM, Myrah said:

My daughter who was having delusions as stories running in her head has stabilized on 400 mg Amisulpride and 50mg clozapine..should we start tapering or wait for some more time ..she was taking above from April 11th and seems completely fine now..

 

thanks so so much In advance.

 

I wish by the end of tapering amisulpride and clozapine , she will get sooth from this entire issue and will lead happy and healthy life.

I hope any respective moderator will answer your question soon.

Mean while I wanna answer you , with my own experience knowledge.

Sinse she is using medicines from April 11 th , see if she can bear them until May 11 th.

If she is unable to bear the medicines and having difficulty through out the day, with stomach and dizzy problems.

Better to start tapering as per forum suggestions of amisulpride.

Maintaining monthly interval during taper is must , to avoid troubling her.

Detailed info about tapering methods is available  at tapering section of this forum.

 

[rupa]

On 29 April 2019 at 1:38 PM, Myrah said:

Hi this is Myrah, (not my mom)

 

Today I feel a lot stable. My visual and auditory hallucinations have stopped after 5 days of medication of 400 mg amisulpride and 50mg clozapine. But my lower body is trembling with a kind of feeling that comes when you run an athletic race. So is my arms. Hope it gets better with some Aroma therapy help. I feel useless and I wish my doctor gives me an hypnosis therapy and I pour out my heart to my sister who is my only sole help as my  parents are old and I get fears of them falling ill or a much more tragic end for them because of my condition. Please give me some positive suggestions.

 

Dear myrah ,

Lower body trembling , stomach etc trouble will subside when you start tapering little by little.

If you use medicine more than 15 days , troubles start.

-------/

How are you today?

Glad to see you hear in the forum  on your own.

Because that will be more helpful to you.

Yes,being in these medicines is imbearable.

That is why I struggled two years patiently to come out of these drugs.

You were getting auditory and visual hallucinations due to your previous coldturkeys.

Now being in amisulpride and clozapine became tough,better you start tapering ASAP.

To avoid another coldturkey experience and painful symptoms , stick to forums tapering method.

This way , by the end of tapering you will be free from all the problems.

Learning lesson from past cold turkeys is must for you now.

Remember,Once we start using these kind of medicines, keeping patience and gradually reducing the meds is the only way to come out of them safely.

---------

All the help what ever you want is there in this our own god sent forum.

Including emotional support and suggestions ma.

Better to avoid talking about your problems with family as that will only ignite guilt in us after every situation.

When doctors themselve are ignorant of how these meds works , what can we expect from family members ma.

What ever your fears and feelings keep posting in your thread,to not only , you getting help., your thread will help another sufferer of your similar experience.

 

 

[Shep]

On 4/30/2019 at 3:21 AM, Myrah said:

My daughter who was having delusions as stories running in her head has stabilized on 400 mg Amisulpride and 50mg clozapine..should we start tapering or wait for some more time ..she was taking above from April 11th and seems completely fine now..

 

thanks so so much In advance.

 

 

Myrah, I moved the thread you had started in the tapering section to your main intro thread.

 

Please continue to use this thread instead of starting new ones. 

 

Since your daughter is now stable, she needs to join the forum so we can work with her directly. Please have her join the forum. She'll need to pick her own username and start a new thread for herself. 

[DaveWales]

On 4/29/2019 at 9:08 AM, Myrah said:

Hi this is Myrah, (not my mom)

 

Today I feel a lot stable. My visual and auditory hallucinations have stopped after 5 days of medication of 400 mg amisulpride and 50mg clozapine. But my lower body is trembling with a kind of feeling that comes when you run an athletic race. So is my arms. Hope it gets better with some Aroma therapy help. I feel useless and I wish my doctor gives me an hypnosis therapy and I pour out my heart to my sister who is my only sole help as my  parents are old and I get fears of them falling ill or a much more tragic end for them because of my condition. Please give me some positive suggestions.

 

 

Hi myrah, how are you doing now? My heart and best wishes go out to you from the UK. 

[Myrah]

Topic title:  Worried about Tapering

 

I am doing fine for the past two days. There is some kind of slow movement when I walk, dizziness. and when I close my eyes I see some visions like tiny worms moving. But for that I think the tablet has stablized but I am scared to start the tapering.

 

Edited May 14, 2019 by ChessieCat
added topic title

[Altostrata]

How are you doing now, Myrah? What drugs are you taking, at what dosages?

 

You may be interested in adding to

 

[Myrah]

Hi all, I am getting too many dreams when I start sleeping. I am under medication. I am Myrah's daughter. My name is Meera. I have already told about my medicines in introduction message.

[ChessieCat]

Hi Myrah,

 

Please post questions in your Introduction topic.

 

lucid-vivid-dreaming

 

[Myrah]

Hi all..I am finally ready for tapering.. I am currently on 300 mg gabapentin and 2.5 mg trifluoperazine  And Trihexyphenidyl (1 mg).. which should I start tapering first?

 

thanks for all the help so far..

[Shep]

How long have you been taking these drugs? Please update your signature to reflect the changes in drugs and doses since April. A direct link to your signature is here:

 

Account Settings - Create or Edit Your Signature

 

Also, since this thread sometimes has Myrah posting and sometimes has Myrah's mother, please post who is writing now. 

[Myrah]

I have been taking these for the past 7 months now..this is myrah writing this..

[Shep]

When are you taking these drugs? Please list the time(s) of day, the drug name, and the dose for each drug. 

 

Is the Trihexyphenidyl to help with side effects from the trifluoperazine? 

 

What symptoms are you having? 

[Myrah]

I take trifluoperazine,trihexyphydyl and gabapentin everyday at around 7 pm..

yeah trihexyohydyl is to help with the side effects ..actually the tablet that I am taking  has both trifluoperazine(2.5mg) and trihexyphydyl (1mg)together..and gabapentin (300mg) is a separate capsule.. I am doing really good on them..except for weight gain , everything else is good..

[Shep]

16 hours ago, Myrah said:

actually the tablet that I am taking  has both trifluoperazine(2.5mg) and trihexyphydyl (1mg)together.

 

So you'll be reducing both of these drugs at the same time, which may work out well since the trihexphydyl is for the side effects caused by the trifluoperazine. 

 

16 hours ago, Myrah said:

I take trifluoperazine,trihexyphydyl and gabapentin everyday at around 7 pm..

 

Were you prescribed these drugs at the same time? Are you able to tell which one is most helpful for sleep? 

 

You'll want to stay on the drug that helps with sleep and taper the other drug first. Sleep is key. 

 

But if you don't know which one is most helpful, you'll want to taper the drug that's most likely causing your worst symptom, which from what you just posted is weight gain.

 

I looked up both trifluoperazine and gabapentin and they both can cause weight gain, but trifluoperazine has the worst side side effect profile overall, so if you're able to sleep with just the gabapentin, you may want to start a micro-taper off the trifluoperazine.

 

Because you've had problems in the past reducing these kinds of drugs, you really should consider a micro-taper of 5% or less a month. 

 

We don't have a taper thread specific to trifluoperazine, but we do have information for how to do a micro-taper. Please see:

 

Micro-taper instead of 10% or 5% decreases

 

 

The Brassmonkey Slide Method of Micro-tapering

 

Please post if you have any more questions setting up your taper. 

[Myrah]

yeah they were prescribed for the same time..I am not able to tell which one helps my sleep..

[Shep]

You may want to try a 3 or 5% reduction off the Trifluoperazine. 

 

Please let us know how you do. 

[Myrah]

Is there a video that I can watch to see how to do this? I am planning to do this - mix 2.5 mg tablet in 2.5 ml of water and then keep the solution in refrigerator for 2 hours ..then take it out and drink 95% of the solution for the next one month..is this the right method? 

[brassmonkey]

Trifluoperazine is best dissolved in warm (35-38C) water, so it wouldn't be a good idea to put in in the refrigerator right away. Dissolve it, let it stand on the counter for a couple of hours and then take your dose.  You can put it in the refrigerator if you want to keep it for longer than a few hours. Don't store it on the counter if it is likely to get hot during the day. It should stay "fresh" for several days if kept cold.

 

Yes, this is a good way to take your dose each day.

[Myrah]

Sure thanks a lot for the tips!😊

[Myrah]

@Shep I had my doctor appt yesterday and he has suggested this for the next 3 months..Since I doing well he also agreed to help with stopping the meds over the coming months-here is my prescription from yesterday-

1) change from trifluoperazine 2.5 mg to arpiprazole 1.75 mg + gabapentin 300mg for the next two months .. then after two months stop arpiprazole and just have gabapentin 200 mg.. at the end of 3 months I have my next appt.. what do you think?

[Shep]

4 hours ago, Myrah said:

Since I doing well he also agreed to help with stopping the meds over the coming months-here is my prescription from yesterday-

1) change from trifluoperazine 2.5 mg to arpiprazole 1.75 mg + gabapentin 300mg for the next two months .. then after two months stop arpiprazole and just have gabapentin 200 mg.. at the end of 3 months I have my next appt.. what do you think?

 

This is very bad advice, Myrah. Why would you switch antipsychotics when you're doing so well? You'll go into withdrawal from the tribluoperazine. The aripiprazole may or may not cover the withdrawal. 

 

Stopping after only two months is also bad advice. See:

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

 

[Myrah]

hi @Shep.. I am on 2.22 mg trinicalm plus + 300mg Gabapentin.. Stabilizing fine so far..

 

I was reading this article about Aripiprazole and was wondering if that could be the reason why my doctor was suggesting going to that-

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/23678600/?i=5&from=/21402722/related

[Shep]

I'm glad you're stabilizing. 

 

I'm not familiar with the research you posted. The best way to protect dopamine receptors is to not make abrupt changes. 

[Myrah]

hi @Shep.. hope you are doing well..I was doing well with the slow taper and was last(till March mid) on 1.8mg Trinicalmplus and 170mg Gabapentin when things became bad. (I had tapered from 300mg Gaba and 2.5mg Trinicalm Plus)

My health deteriorated starting mid- March(around 18th) and I started having delusions(was a little violent and aggressive on my parents like shouted at my dad and mom).

So I was again put on 5Mg Trinicalmplus with 300 mg Gabapentin for the last month. The symptoms I have currenly are I take a long time to respond to questions asked by others and I get lost in my own world very often.

 

I went to the doctor yesterday and he has given this-

Magprol 400mg + Trinicalm Plus 5mg + Buspin 10 mg -->Morning

Magprol 400mg + Librium 10mg. + Cipralex 10 mg--> Evening

 

My parents are confused and wanted to get your opinion on whether to start these or continue with 5MG trinicalm plus and 300mg gabapentin.

Appreciate your advice.Thanks so much!

[Myrah]

Taggin properly @Shep Please see my previous message..

[Shep]

Myrah, I'm going to post below what I posted the last time this happened. I wrote that to your mother when your doctor wanted to add / change your drugs. Until you learn to control your behavior so you can taper without ending up on more or different drugs, we can't help you here. 

 

 

On 4/14/2019 at 11:03 AM, Shep said:

If she's going to go on that cocktail of drugs, please have her work with her doctor.

 

Once she is stable and can post for herself or at least understand that she needs to control her behavior so she isn't re-drugged, please let us know. 

 

For now, though, if she's going back on drugs, since we aren't medical professionals here, we cannot help her. 

 

[Myrah]

Has anyone tried ATMC- (Alternative to Meds Center- https://www.alternativetomeds.com/ ) in Arizona, US where they seem to be helping people to come out of psychiatric medicine.

I found about this on the safe harbor website- https://www.alternativementalhealth.com/.

 

What would be your advice? Is this a good place to try for coming out of the drugs?

 

@Altostrata @Shep @bhasski 

 

[ChessieCat]

No, not recommended.  See:  alternative-to-meds-center-in-sedona-arizona

[ChessieCat]

If it was known that there were places or professionals that could help it would be well publicised.

 

It is because there are very few medical professionals who understand psychiatric drug tapering/withdrawal/adverse reaction that SA exists.

 

We have this topic:

 

 

[Myrah]

Thanks @ChessieCat.. Happy to have gotten this advice before stepping into another wasteful experience!!

[ChessieCat]

You're welcome and I'm pleased that you asked.

 

There are many existing topics on SA.  I like to use a search engine and add site:survivingantidepressants.org to the search term.

 

It is well worth doing your research before taking/using/doing anything new.  I've just had a cortisone injection for my back and have been taking Mersyndol which contains codeine and antihistamine.  I checked them out first and was able to make an informed decision.  When I had a possible gall bladder issue (cause of pain was not found, but blood test showed infection) the doctor wanted to prescribe a fluoroquinolone but after researching it I decided not to.  Thankfully the infection cleared up without having to use anything.

 

Edited July 5, 2020 by ChessieCat

[bhasski]

On 7/4/2020 at 8:23 AM, Myrah said:

Has anyone tried ATMC- (Alternative to Meds Center- https://www.alternativetomeds.com/ ) in Arizona, US where they seem to be helping people to come out of psychiatric medicine.

I found about this on the safe harbor website- https://www.alternativementalhealth.com/.

 

What would be your advice? Is this a good place to try for coming out of the drugs?

 

@Altostrata @Shep @bhasski 

 

 

Sorry for the late reply.

I am based in India and have no knowledge outside the country.