Eileenm Posted February 18, 2020 Posted February 18, 2020 (edited) Hi, A little background. I am a 54 year old woman and have taken various SSRI's, SNRI's and Benzo's over about 20 years. I never felt the depression completely lift, rather lived in what I called survival mode and decided to go off them. I always felt the therapist was medication heavy but given my life circumstances I stayed on them. Now that my life has calmed considerably and my therapist retired, on my own I took 6 months to ween off Pristiq via Effexor since Pristiq is only time release. Finished weening in December 2019. In January I quickly weened off Lamictal, probably to quick. I am 2 weeks off and I am miserable feeling flu like symptoms along with anxiety and depression. I met up with a Natropath Psychiatrist who wants me to follow the Wahls Protocol (diet) and have me treated with Frequency Specific Micro-current. (FMS) which is costly but I am willing to try anything at this point. She also ordered labs to be done but since I took a Clariton D I need to wait 21 days to have my blood drawn. My question is should I just go back on something while changing my diet and cleaning up my system so to speak? I feel like I am on information overload. From my raw DNA I saw that I have the MTHFR variant and slow COMT, but the dr is doing these as part of my lab work so I feel good about that. I do take D3, a chelated magnesium supplement and zinc. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. TIA Eileen Edited February 18, 2020 by manymoretodays name to title, moved from S and S care 2002 Celexa 10mg for a month switched to Paxil 15mg 2002-? Paxil 15mg 2004-2006 Effexor 150mg 2006-2008 Cymbalta and Klonopin 2008-2019 Prestiq 50 mg 2008-2016 Ativan .25mg 2013-2019 Lamictal 200 mg 2020- current Lexapro 10 mg2020- current tapering from Venlafaxine start Feb 2020 at 37.5 currently at 8.5mg 2021- current Adderall 15mgs ( during the week )
Moderator Emeritus Gridley Posted February 18, 2020 Moderator Emeritus Posted February 18, 2020 Welcome to SA, Eileenm. You are suffering withdrawal symptoms from your fast tapers of Effexor and Lamictal. We recommend tapering by no more than 10% of current dose every four weeks. Why taper by 10% of my dosage? What was your original dose of Effexor and what was your final dose? What was your original dose of Lamictal and what was your final dose? So that you have a better understanding of what you're experiencing, here is some information on withdrawal and healing. What is withdrawal syndrome. Daily Checklist of Antidepressant Withdrawal Symptoms (PDF) When we take medications, the CNS (central nervous system) responds by making changes over the months and years we take the drug(s). When the medication is discontinued, the CNS has to undo all the changes it made. Rebuilding the neurotransmitter production and reactivating the receptor and transporter cells takes time -- during that rebuilding process symptoms occur. These explain it really well: Video: Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery On 8/30/2011 at 2:28 PM, 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 12/3/2015 at 10:41 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. You asked about getting on something. Reinstatement of a very small dose of the original drug is the only known way to help alleviate withdrawal syndrome. The only other alternative is to try and wait out the symptoms and manage as best you can until your central nervous system returns to homeostasis. Unfortunately no one can give you an exact timeline as to when you will start feeling better and while some do recover relatively easily, for others it can take many months or longer. Reinstatement isn't a guarantee of diminished symptoms for everyone but it's the best tactic available. You're still in the time period where reinstatement predictably works, up to 3 months after last dose. It is best to reinstate as soon as possible after withdrawal symptoms occur. We usually suggest a much smaller reinstatement dose than your last dose. These drugs are strong and If you take too much it may be too much for your brain. Then, once you've stabilized on that dosage, which can take several months, you can begin a 10% per month taper down to zero. Please read: About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms. -- at least the first page of the topic If you are interested in reinstating a small dose of the Effexor, please let me know and we will suggest a dosage. Please do not reinstate without letting us suggest a dosage. It's good you're taking magnesium, which many find to be calming. The only other supplement we recommend is omegas, also known to be calming. Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) Start at a low dose in case you do experience problems. This is your Introduction topic, where you can answer my questions, ask your own and connect with other members. We're glad you found your way here. 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.
Moderator Emeritus Rhiannon Posted February 18, 2020 Moderator Emeritus Posted February 18, 2020 Hi Eileen-- Given your history I highly recommend a small reinstatement, then taking some time to stabilize, then doing a slow taper. People with as long a history on meds as you have generally need to taper in terms of years, not months, and don't do well with quick reductions or quitting fast. You quit very, very fast for someone with so many years on the drugs. It's early enough in the process that you can probably safely reinstate to a small dose of both Effexor and Lamictal and stave off the worst of the withdrawal which is just beginning for you now. I wouldn't worry too much about all those alternative therapies and gene variants and that sort of thing. We have found over the past decade of working with people withdrawing from psych meds that those things end up not being much of a help. The problem is that your brain has shaped itself around these drugs and the drugs have been yanked out of the system. There are no magical therapies that can take the place of the time and care that is needed to slowly reduce these drugs and allow your nervous system time to reshape itself at the pace that it can do safely. The great news is that it's still early enough for you to reinstate. So many people don't find this place until they have been suffering for a long time and reinstatement is no longer as reliable of a treatment. Again, you would be reinstating at a much smaller dose than you were taking, just enough to give your CNS some support and stability so you can recover and then taper slowly when you're stable and ready. Good luck to you! --Rhiannon Started on Prozac and Xanax in 1992 for PTSD after an assault. One drug led to more, the usual story. Got sicker and sicker, but believed I needed the drugs for my "underlying disease". Long story...lost everything. Life savings, home, physical and mental health, relationships, friendships, ability to work, everything. Amitryptiline, Prozac, bupropion, buspirone, flurazepam, diazepam, alprazolam, Paxil, citalopram, lamotrigine, gabapentin...probably more I've forgotten. Started multidrug taper in Feb 2010. Doing a very slow microtaper, down to low doses now and feeling SO much better, getting my old personality and my brain back! Able to work full time, have a full social life, and cope with stress better than ever. Not perfect, but much better. After 23 lost years. Big Pharma has a lot to answer for. And "medicine for profit" is just not a great idea. Feb 15 2010: 300 mg Neurontin 200 Lamictal 10 Celexa 0.65 Xanax and 5 mg Ambien Feb 10 2014: 62 Lamictal 1.1 Celexa 0.135 Xanax 1.8 Valium Feb 10 2015: 50 Lamictal 0.875 Celexa 0.11 Xanax 1.5 Valium Feb 15 2016: 47.5 Lamictal 0.75 Celexa 0.0875 Xanax 1.42 Valium 2/12/20 12 0.045 0.007 1 May 2021 7 0.01 0.0037 1 Feb 2022 6 0!!! 0.00167 0.98 2.5 mg Ambien Oct 2022 4.5 mg Lamictal (off Celexa, off Xanax) 0.95 Valium Ambien, 1/4 to 1/2 of a 5 mg tablet I'm not a doctor. Any advice I give is just my civilian opinion.
Administrator Altostrata Posted February 18, 2020 Administrator Posted February 18, 2020 Eileen, did you get withdrawal symptoms after you went off Effexor and before you went off Lamictal? How did the withdrawal symptoms come on? Do you have any Effexor or Lamictal left? What was the last dosage you took of either of them? This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted.
Eileenm Posted February 27, 2020 Author Posted February 27, 2020 Thank you for all your responses. I decided to white knuckle through and am seeing a holistic psychiatrist. Initially I thought 6 months was good amount of weening but obviously I was wrong. I want to see how I do for 6 months and then I will reevaluate in June 2020. It may not be what is recommended here but I made it through February and want to continue. I started taking Quercetin for my anxiety which skyrocketed when I stopped taking antihistamines for my sinus issues. 2002 Celexa 10mg for a month switched to Paxil 15mg 2002-? Paxil 15mg 2004-2006 Effexor 150mg 2006-2008 Cymbalta and Klonopin 2008-2019 Prestiq 50 mg 2008-2016 Ativan .25mg 2013-2019 Lamictal 200 mg 2020- current Lexapro 10 mg2020- current tapering from Venlafaxine start Feb 2020 at 37.5 currently at 8.5mg 2021- current Adderall 15mgs ( during the week )
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