StayCalm: Try to stop Deanxit

[StayCalm]

Hello Community,

 

My name is Ji and I am from Thailand. I’m 37 years old. (Excuse me for my mistakes, English is not my first language) 

 

I was on Wellbutrin 300 mg and Lithium Carbonate 600 mg for 3 years to take care my depression.

 

I have stabilized by that medication until last year (2021) I got gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) which make me depressed. In November 2021, My psychiatrist told me to add Deanxit 2 tablets per day which I think it was my bad decision at that time to take this medication.

 

2 weeks pass and my GERD got better. (not because of the Deanxit* (see information below), it’s better because I use apple cider vinegar) My psychiatrist told me to decrease Deanxit to 1 tablet per day for 2 weeks which I still ok. However, after he told me to stop Deanxit completely and decrease Lithium to 300 mg per day, 2 days later, my depression came back so fast. I have to reinstate the Deanxit and after a few days my depression lifted.

 

We thought my depression came back because we decreased Lithium so the second time, in January 2022, my psychiatrist told me to stop only Deanxit but result was the same. I really want to go off Deanxit because it has sexual side effect on me so my psychiatrist decided to put me on Valdoxan for take over the Deanxit. I’m not sure this way is going to work.

 

The plan is to take Valdoxan for about 2 weeks and then start to decrease Deanxit. At this time I found this fruitful community so I planned to taper off Deanxit very slowly.

 

Do you think the depression which keep come back every time I stop Deanxit is withdrawal or my depression relapse? Is it a good idea to use Valdoxan to help to stop Deanxit? If I decide not to use Valdoxan and start to slowly tapering off Deanxit, is it gonna work out? Any help or guidance would be so appreciated! Thank you in advance for any help, advice or support.

_______________________________________

 

* From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flupentixol/melitracen

 

Flupentixol/melitracen (trade name Frenxit,Franxit,Placida, Deanxit, Anxidreg, Danxipress) is a combination of two psychoactive agents flupentixol and melitracen.

 

Flupentixol is a thiazolyl (thioanthracene) antipsychotic, and melitracen is a tricyclic antidepressant.

 

[Shep]

Hi, StayCalm.

 

Welcome to Surviving Antidepressants.

 

3 hours ago, StayCalm said:

The plan is to take Valdoxan for about 2 weeks and then start to decrease Deanxit. At this time I found this fruitful community so I planned to taper off Deanxit very slowly.

 

Please let us know if you're here to come off these drugs or if you're wanting to switch to a new drug. Please note we're a site for coming off psychiatric drugs. We cannot help you set up a new drug cocktail. You'll need to work with your doctor for that.

 

If you're here to come off these drugs, you've come to the right place. We can help you set up a slow and careful taper. If this is the case, please let us know the times of day you take each of your drugs and the dose. Also, please let us know if you're taking any supplements. 

[StayCalm]

Dear Shep,

 

Thank you for your reply. I'm here to come off these drugs that I'm on. I choose to come off Deanxit first. However, I got depression every times I tried to stop it. So my psy recommended me to use Valdoxan to help me come off Deanxit. After that I will start to come off Valdoxan and the rest of my medications. I will start to taper off Deanxit but I'm not sure that can I crush it to become the powder and put it in the capsules? And I would like to know that every time I tried to stop Deanxit and my depression back is withdrawal or relapse?

 

I took Wellbutrin 300 mg in the morning

Lithium Carbonate 300 mg in the morning and 300 mg in the evening

Deanxit half tablet in the morning

 

Thank you very much for your support.

[Shep]

On 3/1/2022 at 10:27 PM, StayCalm said:

And I would like to know that every time I tried to stop Deanxit and my depression back is withdrawal or relapse?

 

 

I'm very glad to read you want completely off these drugs. Let's discuss the concept of "withdrawal" and "relapse." 

 

First, there is no chemical imbalance. Please read:

 

Again, chemical imbalance is a myth. Stop the lies, please.

 

Whatever made you take a psychiatric drug, it wasn't due to a chemical imbalance. You may have been sad or anxious for a number of reasons - grief, not having a meaningful job, not having a meaningful relationship, being overworked, being bullied, dealing with trauma, etc. All of these can make anyone sad and fatigued. But drugs don't do anything to fix these problems. They only numb us to our pain or possibly speed us up so we can keep up. 

 

So please take "relapse" out of the equation. 

 

This is important to understand because it will keep you from changing to another drug to fix the problems of your current drug. Valdoxan will not help you with Deanxit withdrawal. When you switch drugs, you go into Deanxit withdrawal, which Valdoxan may or may not cover (it likely won't since Deanxit is both an antidepressant and an antipsychotic). But now you're on this other psychiatric drug. Will you want to go on yet another drug to help you get off Valdoxan? You can see why this logic doesn't hold. Eventually, you have to taper off that last drug without adding another one if you wish to live drug free. 

 

 

On 3/1/2022 at 2:58 AM, StayCalm said:

However, after he told me to stop Deanxit completely and decrease Lithium to 300 mg per day, 2 days later, my depression came back so fast. I have to reinstate the Deanxit and after a few days my depression lifted.

 

This is a classic case of withdrawal syndrome from a too-fast taper.  Depression doesn't resolve so quickly. When symptoms are resolved this quickly, it's directly related to the drug - that's how drug dependency works. Please see:

 

How psychiatric drugs remodel your brain

 

Please let me know if this makes sense. 

 

On 3/1/2022 at 10:27 PM, StayCalm said:

I took Wellbutrin 300 mg in the morning

Lithium Carbonate 300 mg in the morning and 300 mg in the evening

Deanxit half tablet in the morning

 

 

Please note there is a MAJOR drug interaction between Wellbutrin and Lithium Carbonate:

 

Drug Interaction Report - Lithium and Wellbutrin

 

@StayCalmPlease do not swap out the Deanxit for Valdoxan. I'm going to report your last post in order to get input from the other staff. We need to deal with the drug interaction and see if some of your symptoms are from that. 

 

What we need:

 

1. How many milligrams are in the Deanxit tablet

2. What are your symptoms? Do they get better or worse at certain times of the day? 

 

[Altostrata]

@StayCalm Deanxit is not commonly prescribed, so we don't have specific advice about it. However, from other psychiatric drugs, we know a very gradual taper, as @Shep described, can be more successful.

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

Why taper? SERT transporter occupancy studies show importance of gradual change in plasma concentration
 

Taking multiple psych drugs? Which drug to taper first?

 

What is withdrawal syndrome? 
 

Also see Horowitz, M. A., Jauhar, S., Natesan, S., Murray, R. M., & Taylor, D. (2021). A Method for Tapering Antipsychotic Treatment That May Minimize the Risk of Relapse. Schizophrenia Bulletin, sbab017. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbab017

 

pdf at  https://markhorowitz.org/academic-paper/a-method-for-tapering-antipsychotic-treatment-that-may-minimize-the-risk-of-relapse/

 

It may be that going off the other drugs first may be called for, that's why Shep is asking those questions.

 

You're going to have to look at your Deanxit package or ask your pharmacist what dosage you're taking. We don't know what 1/2 tablet means.

[StayCalm]

Dear Shep,

 

Thank you very much for your support.

 

Each Deanxit tablet contains:
Flupentixol 0.5 mg (as 0.584 mg flupentixol dihydrochloride)
Melitracen 10 mg (as 11.25 mg melitracen hydrochloride)

 

My symptoms after I have tried to stop Deanxit is only mental symptom. I got depression back after I quited Deanxit 2 days which it's better after I reinstate the Deanxit. I don't have any physical symptoms.

 

 

Dear Altostrata,

 

Thank you very much for your useful information.

 

 

[Shep]

On 3/1/2022 at 10:27 PM, StayCalm said:

I took Wellbutrin 300 mg in the morning

Lithium Carbonate 300 mg in the morning and 300 mg in the evening

Deanxit half tablet in the morning

 

StayCalm, I just noticed that you mention taking half tablet of Deanxit in the morning, but you have "Deanxit 1 tablet" in your signature. 

 

Did you reduce the Deanxit from 1 tablet to 1/2 tablet? And if so, when did you do so? 

 

Please note I added the additional information you provided about Deanxit's ingredients to your signature. Thanks for continuing to provide more information about this drug. As Alto mentioned, this drug is not commonly prescribed so you're helping us learn more about it. 

 

Pease start a daily drug and symptoms journal. This will help us tell which drug is best to taper from first. It will also help tell if some of your symptoms are from the potential adverse reaction between them. Please also include any supplements you're taking and the number of hours you're sleeping at night. 

 

Please see the below for more information: 

 

 

On 9/27/2016 at 2:49 PM, Altostrata said:

In the course of discussion in your Introductions forum topic, you may be asked to keep notes on paper of your daily symptom pattern, including when you take your drugs, their dosages, and any symptoms. We ask this because there may be something we can do to reduce the symptoms.

 

What we need to see for every single day over several days is what symptoms you get before and after you take your drugs. If you're not taking any drugs and have withdrawal symptoms, we still need to see your symptom pattern throughout the day:

 

The time of day, dosage, and severity of symptoms are essential information. Include

 

- Time and dosage for all drugs taken throughout the day, psychiatric and non-psychiatric.

- Following each dose, note any symptoms. If you are having a reaction to the drug, it may take hours for a symptom to show up -- that's why we ask you to keep notes all day long.

- If you're not taking any drugs, your symptoms throughout the day.

- Your sleep pattern. Since so many drugs disturb sleep, if you find you're waking in the middle of the night, it could be from a drug you took earlier in the evening. If you're not taking any drugs, there may be ways you can improve your sleep.

And so forth. A diary, in chronological order, looking something like this:
 

Example:

DATE:

 

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

 

 

[Altostrata]

10 hours ago, StayCalm said:

I got depression back after I quited Deanxit 2 days which it's better after I reinstate the Deanxit.

 

What do you mean by depression?

 

Feeling odd or different is to be expected after you quit a psychiatric drug, that is withdrawal, and reinstatement often resolves it.