LannahSwaigh: Introduction

[LannahSwaigh]

Hi there. I am female, 41 years old, married with an almost 18 year old. I was diagnosed in 2018 with anxiety, depression and BP2. After my diagnosis I started to see a Therapist and Psychiatrist regularly. I realized I have dealt with these mental health issues my whole life and figured medication would be my saving grace. I was wrong. They made me a zombie and I was constantly sleeping. 
 

I had a suicide attempt in late 2017 and that is what started my experience with medication. I was in-patient for 9 days and came home with an abundance of new medication (please see signature for meds). I thought this would be the right step in the right direction for me. I had another close call with suicide in late 2019 and was subsequently hospitalized for that as well. Fluctuating between depression, BP2, hypo mania and anxiety was exhausting.

 

Husband and I decided we wanted to try for another baby so my OBGYN suggested certain drugs be out of my system, hence coming off of them. I had been wanting to stop my meds anyways because I was tired of feeling numb. Psychiatrist took me off of my Depakote cold Turkey on May 19, 2022 and I decided on June 22, 2022 to come off the rest except my Buspar. June 22, 2022 was the day my IUD came out so it was the best time to end my meds as well, against my Psychiatrists wishes. 
 

So far the withdrawals have been probably run-of-the-mill (i.e. insomnia, nightmares, headaches, irritability, sweating, dizziness, body aches). I’m taking it one day at a time and trying to rest as much as possible when I’m feeling awful (like right now, while I’m typing this). 

[getofflex]

Hello, and welcome to SA.  We are a volunteer-run community of people who have been or are getting off of psychiatric drugs.  Although I understand your reasoning for coming off your drugs, because you want to protect your future baby, coming off of multiple psychiatric drugs cold turkey puts you at major risk of developing severe withdrawal, that could take many months/years to recover from.  It can take several months for the withdrawal to fully manifest itself.  This situation can cause significantly pain and suffering, both mental and physical.  I will confer with the other staff, and one of us will advise you as to what to do. 

 

Here is some important information about how these drugs actually work.  This explains why we get symptoms from going off of these medications, and why it's so important to taper slowly and carefully, and be very cautious about changing our doses: 

 

How Psychiatric Drugs Remodel Your Brain

 

 

This helps you understand what withdrawal syndrome is: 

 

Video on Recovery from Psych Drugs

 

Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

 

 

Here is a link with checklists of common WD symptoms: 

 

Dr Joseph Glenmullen Withdrawal Symptom Checklists

 

 

Here are some techniques to cope with symptoms: 

 

Non Drug Ways to Cope with Withdrawal Symptoms

 

Stability is really important when we are tapering off psych meds.  Please read the link about stability:

 

Keep It Simple, Slow, and Stable

 

 

We don't suggest many supplements, but 2 that many of us find helpful are magnesium and omega-3 fish oil. Here are the links for info about those. It is suggested to add one at a time, and start with a low dose to see how it affects you. 

Magnesium

Omega 3 Fish Oil

 

I'm thinking that we will probably suggest that you reinstatement some or all of your drugs, to avoid a major nervous system crash.  Please read about this link in the meantime.  Luckily, you quit pretty recently, which increases the odds of reinstatement working.  

 

About Reinstating and Stabilizing to Reduce Withdrawal Symptoms

 

I've given you quite a bit of information here.  Please read through it, and mull it over.  We will be in touch, soon. 

[Altostrata]

Welcome, @LannahSwaigh

 

You've been off all those drugs for only a couple of weeks. How has your symptom pattern changed in the last week?

[LannahSwaigh]

I’ve really only noticed my irritability going up and lethargy. I haven’t had any brain zaps or anything major happen thus far. I feel pretty good for being off all my meds. I went into it knowing I would probably not feel the greatest for a while, because obviously I’ve been dependent on these meds for a while, but it hasn’t been as bad as I thought so far.

[Altostrata]

Please don't do anything that might land you in the emergency room, they'd put you back on a drug cocktail in a minute. I hope you continue to do well. Please let us know how you're doing.

[LannahSwaigh]

I will keep posting updates every week so we can all see how I’m doing : )