Lila Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 I’ve been on Amitriptilyne (10mg) for about 3 weeks. I want to try to stop taking it, I feel it has given me reflux (although it could be non related). After such a short period, should I still taper very slowly (10% per 4 weeks), or is it different after short term use? Thank you! Link to comment
Moderator brassmonkey Posted February 20, 2021 Moderator Share Posted February 20, 2021 Hi Lila-- welcome to SA, you found us just in time. Three weeks is just about as long as one can take these drugs and not have to do a prolonged taper. You should be able to just stop taking them or you could do a fast taper of 25% every two weeks. Either way would be fine. However, you have been on them long enough that there will be some withdrawal symptoms you will have to deal with. Here is part of an article I wrote about this situation, it should give you some idea of what is going on. https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/23081-are-we-there-yet-how-long-is-withdrawal-going-to-take/?tab=comments#comment-492494 Please read through it and then ask us a lot of questions. Brassmonkey 20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013. Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks. The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better. Final Dose 0.016mg. Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017 "It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general." Stephen Hawking Link to comment
Lila Posted February 22, 2021 Author Share Posted February 22, 2021 Thank you! I hope I can manage this. I’ve actually tried doing a 25% reduction even 10 days after I started and I was feeling symptoms so I’m a bit nervous. I’ll have to try again and see. Link to comment
Moderator brassmonkey Posted February 22, 2021 Moderator Share Posted February 22, 2021 Unfortunately symptoms are going to show up no matter what we do, it is all part of the tapering process. It's how we handle those symptoms that counts. Here are a couple of links that should have some helpful information. https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/1112-non-drug-techniques-to-cope-with-emotional-symptoms/ https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/603-what-is-withdrawal-syndrome/ https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/13492-dealing-with-emotional-spirals/ That's enough for now, don't want to overload you with information. 20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013. Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks. The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better. Final Dose 0.016mg. Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017 "It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general." Stephen Hawking Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now