plutom: after 11 years I am off the chemicals

[plutom]

I am 47 years old have been on anti-depressions for 11 years.

I was on venlafaxine for the first few months early 2012. While it helped, nausea was unbearable so I switched to Cymbalta.

I was on cymbalta until Early 2017. When it started to lose its efficacy, I switched to Zoloft (sertraline) quickly.

I was up to 200mg per day through the end (2022 summer) and I wanted to sleep 24/7. 

With my doctor's approval, I weaned off in 30 days. (Looking back - this was definitely too fast)

I have been chemical free for the past 30 days. While the withdrawal symptoms are still there, they are definitely getting better every day. 

Reading a few comments here helped me a lot already. I feel very hopeful now.

 

One final note - It is amazing to me how doctors take this so lightly. They prescribe these drugs like they are m&ms and they switch your medication like changing your bed-sheets. And when it is time to wean off, they treat like it is nothing. Shame to the medical system!

[getofflex]

Hello, and welcome to SA.  We are a volunteer-run community of people who have been or are getting off of psychiatric drugs.  Congratulations for becoming chemical free!  This is a major accomplishment.  It's really good that you are getting better with each day.  What withdrawal symptoms are your having currently?  

 

Here is some important information about how these drugs actually work.  This explains why we get symptoms from going off of these medications.

 

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

 

Keep in touch, and let us know how you are doing.  

[getofflex]

On 10/19/2022 at 9:34 PM, plutom said:

One final note - It is amazing to me how doctors take this so lightly. They prescribe these drugs like they are m&ms and they switch your medication like changing your bed-sheets. And when it is time to wean off, they treat like it is nothing. Shame to the medical system!

I completely agree, and so do the rest of the staff here.  I wish these doctors could go through what we go through, and see what it is like first hand. 

[plutom]

Hello to all. I have been anti-depressant FREE for 14 months.

Unfortunately, things got really worse after my initial post. I became suicidal and terrorized (not literally or physically) my family with my mood swings. It was BAD REALLY BAD!

I ended up seeing a functional medicine doctor about 5 months into it. I started to apply a supplement regimen to help. And that helped. The key is patience and also believing that things will work. It is a very slow recovery process. I have also been meeting with a therapist once a week. (once a month lately)

Now we are in the middle of Winter - January 30th and weather is dark and gray where I live. This is a hard time as my depression flares up at these times. I try to take it one day at a time and remind myself how far I have come. I use a desk depression light and do other things to minimize the impact of gray weather. 

After 14 months of AD FREE, I am no more suicidal and I do not terrorize my loved ones. If I was at ground zero 3-4 months after I quit the pills(worst time), now I am at 85-90%. I am well aware that I will never be at 100%. As long as each week/month is better than the one before, I call that a win.

[getofflex]

This is wonderful!  I'm really thrilled and so happy to read your great news!  I hope you will write a success story for us - these really help a lot of people to cling to hope, and not fall into despair.