mirage tapering from Wellbutrin 150XL

[RusTW]

Hi friend how are u

[mirage]

Hi my friend. 

 

I am doing well. Life is back to normal. Still some slight issues with sleep and occasional wooziness here and there, but other than that, all is good. 

 

How are you doing?

[RusTW]

Very good.more body fatigue now.may have been from cancer surgery. 

I picked up gold prospecting and bought a metal detector. I go out into the Nevada desert and get lost. At least now it's not in my own head. I found a way out thanks for your help LOL

I'm glad you're doing well I decided to come back on here and help out. I'm down to 3 mg of Seroquel almost finished. I may have to rush the tapir due to blood sugar spikes from the drug. They are trying to diagnose diabetic and I will beat that.

Do you have any trips planned? If you want to private message I tried I could get ahold of you

[RusTW]

We made it out so far

Thank God

[mirage]

So good to hear this Russ. I love the looking for gold. I hope you find some great things! 

 

I am heading to Vegas next week and then again in May and to Virginia 

Beach in July. I have a brother who is a surgeon and an admiral in the Navy, and he and his family have been out of the Country for the past 15 years. We are fortunate enough to have them back in the states. They are living in Virginia and we have a big family trip planned in July. Two of my other brothers and their families will also be going. It is going to be sooooo AWESOME! Any trips coming up for you? 

 

 

[RusTW]

6 hours ago, mirage said:

So good to hear this Russ. I love the looking for gold. I hope you find some great things! 

 

I am heading to Vegas next week and then again in May and to Virginia 

Beach in July. I have a brother who is a surgeon and an admiral in the Navy, and he and his family have been out of the Country for the past 15 years. We are fortunate enough to have them back in the states. They are living in Virginia and we have a big family trip planned in July. Two of my other brothers and their families will also be going. It is going to be sooooo AWESOME! Any trips coming up for you? 

 

 

That's sounds fun.i bet it's a better time now without miss dizzy pants lol glad u get to c your family 

What happened with the dogs rescue

Yes I'm planning on eastern nv trip with a new friend .do some fishing and hiking in may.

I still got my goofy cat

[mirage]

Hi Russ. Yes, it is waaaaay more fun to go on trips without Ms dizzy. She was an awful friend!😜

 

Good to see you are planning on getting out of town and doing things you love. It is so important. Life still needs to be lived! 

 

Ah, the rescue. Well, all of our puppies were adopted in December. In fact, the rescue we volunteer for, had way too many adopters than puppies. We were able to really look over the applications and place all of the babies with really great homes. It was such a bitter sweet day. I cried like a baby as I handed over each pup to their new families. We ended up adopting mom and one of the babies. So we now have Rosie and Kevin added to our pack. Back to 4 dogs. Yes...call me crazy! I am currently working with a trainer for an hour once a week. Kevin, the baby, has been really easy to train but Momma Rosie, she is a challenge. She was abandoned and out in the wild on her own for quite a while until she was found in someones shed with the babies. So she has some survival skills that were necessary for her to live while on her own. While it is very cool to see nature and instinct in her, it is very difficult now that she is in a house and has to follow rules. I love the trainer I am working with. So I have no doubt we will get Rosie where she needs to be. We love them both and are so blessed to have had them come into our lives. 

 

Glad you still have your sweet kitty. We have four of them too. Yes, again...call me crazy! We adopted them while fostering as well. If I could, I would sell my current home and buy a house with a lot of property and have a small farm. I love animals. 

 

Happy Friday to you. Get out and do some fishing!

[Patti2057]

Hi Mirage. 
I was reading through your thread and saw that you suffered with dizziness. I am as well and it’s got me pretty down. How long did you experience that symptom and did it just go away on its own? So very happy that that has resolved for you💖

[mirage]

Hi Patti2057.

 

Dizziness, vertigo and the feeling of motion and unstableness were my worse symptoms. They were the first to come on. This has been a long journey and I am not completely there, yet. But, the great news is, all of those feelings have gone. The only thing that remains for me is a bit of sleep issues. I can eat and drink anything and I am living my normal life, doing all of the things I did prior to this journey. 

 

The dizziness faded away around my 3 year mark. There were times prior to that, when it was better and would come and go with waves. Please keep in mind, that although it took me years for that to go away, it may not be that long for you. We are all different. 

 

The best advice I can give you is to live with them. Just allow them to be. While it is very difficult, and I truly understand, that is what you must do. Tell yourself it is just a symptom and it will pass one day. Time, patience and faith is what it takes for this healing process. Oh, and holding. I am not sure what you are doing? I tried to wean and it was a nightmare. I had a friend who I met here on the site who recommend I hold and give my system a chance to regain balance. Once I did that, I began to notice changes. While they were very small, they were in the right direction. 

 

You will get there. I never though I would but I did. You are welcome to ask me any questions. I am very happy to lend help if I can and just assurance. 

 

Prayers to you

 

T

[Patti2057]

Thank you for your kind return message 🙏🏻💖I am so very happy to hear that you are doing so well and this gives me some much needed hope. This “dizziness” is my worst  and frightening symptom as well. It has been with me almost nonstop for two years this month. Unfortunately I was uninformed and did not do a proper taper, pretty much CT’d. So many days I didn’t think I’ll make it but I always tell myself tomorrow might be the day I start feeling better and I’m one more day closer to recovery. 
 

Blessings,

Patti

[mirage]

Hang in there Patti. I absolutely understand. It will go away. Continue to do what you can each day and just allow it to be with you. 

 

Feel free to contact me anytime. 

 

I will keep you in my prayers. 

[Patti2057]

🙏🏻💖🙏🏻

[Kimboslice]

Hi mirage.. did you have difficulty speaking.. like expressing yourself or finding the right words? 

[RusTW]

Can u pm me plz

[Patti2057]

@mirage

Hi Mirage. I hope this finds you well.  It’s Patti 2057. I am really down and feel so hopeless due to this dizziness. It’s back again with a vengeance and I just don’t feel like healing is happening because the intensity is not diminishing. I am starting to consider going back on meds in hopes of correcting the chemical imbalance in my brain. I’m reaching out because others find it so difficult to understand. I have day after day that I just sit because it feels so awful to be upright. How did you manage? 
Thank you🙏🏻💖 

[JustBella]

@mirage I am fairly new here.  My story is different but symptoms are the same.

 

Thank you so much for your positive posts!  I really need hope these days.

 

 

 

 

 

[mirage]

@Patti2057

Hi Patti. I am sorry to hear you are still battling and I absolutely understand. My worse symptom was the dizziness as well. It was RELENTLESS! It was there no matter what I did. Even going to bed at night was a scary because closing my eyes made it worse. I use to constantly tell myself, "you are fine. You are fine." My dizziness was accompanied with severe and constant, room spinning vertigo. By the blessings of God, my last vertigo attack was May of 2020. 

 

The good news is, it does go away. It will get better. Some of us get through this quickly and others of us, takes a long time. I am one of those who have battled for years. But, again, the good news is, it goes away. It gets better. 

 

I bobbled with my med dose the first 7 months. It wasn't until I met someone on SA who suggested I hold and stay firm. So that is what I did. In January of 2018, I began my hold. I am currently 38 months from holding. Again, I am on the long track of this journey. 

 

You mentioned you were considering re-instating? How long have you been off the med? 

 

The best advice I can give is to live with the symptoms. Just allow them to be. Do what you can and continue to live. I know this is incredibly difficult to do. I understand, oh so well. You are healing each and every day. So much has to regain balance in your body. Here is how I looked at it and describe it: Lets say you have an amazing trellis. It is tall and full of beautiful flowers and plants. If something cuts the trellis, it will fall to the ground. All of the plants will be destroyed. The structure of the trellis will have to be rebuilt and then the plants and flowers will have to be replanted. It will take a lot of time and patience and care, to grow it back to where it was. Our systems and body is similar to the trellis and plants. Once we cut the meds, our beautiful trellis crumbled. During the healing process, we are like the plants, regrowing. One day, our bodies will be back flourishing just as the trellis.

 

I am here to tell you, I am living my complete and normal life again. I can eat and drink anything I did before with no issues. I do still have some slight symptoms and I do still get waves. However, they are never severe any more and they never stop me from doing anything. I am still cautious with doing anything that can bring on dizziness, going upside down, spinning ect. I can't say that, that will create dizziness, but I just avoid it. When my waves come on, I get some slight wooziness and a general blah feeling, but it is never bad enough to stop me in my day. 

 

I plan to hold firm on the current dose and I am not touching it until I get my system completely back. I am in no hurry. Life must be lived. Life goes on and we must do the best we can in each day. We must find blessings and hold dear to them. Like the trellis, we have to give our bodies the time to rebuild. 

 

You will get there my friend. Please feel free to contact me any time. Even if you are just having a bad day. To talk to someone who has been through this is soooooo important! I have a couple of friends, through SA, that I stay in contact with and we encouraged each other along the way. 

 

I will keep you in my prayers, 

Mirage

 

 

[mirage]

@JustBella

Hi my friend. Thank you for contacting me. The symptoms of this journey are so difficult.

 

Are you currently still on any meds? What are the symptoms you are experiencing? 

 

Just to brief you, I am currently holding on a low dose and have been since January of 2018. My initial crash of coming off the med, cold turkey, was June of 2017. I am living my full and normal life again. Doing, eating and drinking all of the things I did prior to this. I still have a few symptoms and I still get waves. However, none are severe and it never keeps me from going about me day. I thank God. 

 

Time, patience and faith are the healers. Go through each day finding blessings along the way. Continue to live and just allow symptoms to be with you. Each day is healing. It may not feel like it, but it is happening. Little by little, it all adds up and, eventually, you will see the results. 

 

Please feel free to contact me any time. 

 

I will hold you in prayer,

Mirage

[Patti2057]

@mirageThank you my friend. Your words are such an encouragement and I only wish I could look at my situation with as much positive hope as you do. I have been AD free since November 2018. A long time to reinstate but when my desperation hits hard I just want something to make this stop. I don’t even know that starting meds again would even help. 
so difficult to believe I’ll ever be healed when I feel so bad. 🙏🏻💖

[JustBella]

@mirage thank you for your response.  
 

You have done-so well!   Do you plan to remain on the medication permanently?  After my experience, if I could get  back to where you are, I probably would stay on it for the rest of my life.
I am sure your positive mindset has made a huge difference in how well you have done.  I want to develop that as well and your posts really grabbed me.

 

I am off all psych meds now.  My story is so bizarre and complicated.  I stopped the escitoplram in Sept 2019 (18 months ago) and the lorazepam taper ended in August 2020 (7 1/2 months ago).

 

Short story is that I tapered the lorazepam without knowing I was already in withdrawal from the escitalopram rapid taper and have really created chaos in my body.    It is too late to reinstate either Med, so I have to try to push through.  I sometimes wonder about trying a .5 dose of the escitalopram to see what happens, but don’t see any success stories doing that this far out.  
 I am working hard to accept that I cannot change the horrible, medically supervised choices that were made and that Our Awesome God can cure anything.

My symptoms continually worsened during the taper and have continued to worsen since off.  I only realized about one month ago that the escitalopram doings were not good.

I had taken the lorazepam daily since 2008 and for about 10 years prior to that, I took it “as needed”.

I took the escitalopram on and off, usually for periods of 6 months or less for about 10 years.  The longest period was 1 year. That was from October 2016 to October 2017.  I just didn’t want to be on it long term.  Had no idea about slow tapers or multiple discontinuation then reinstatement.

 

I will try to share more later as I am not doing well right now.

 

[Rosetta]

Hi Mirage,

 

It’s so nice to see that you have found stability!  Yeah!  You are very lucky.

 

My mom lives close to where you are, and I need to get the name of your doctor.  My mom’s on 20 mg of Prozac.  It’s a been a long time, probably 15 years or more, that’s she’s been taking it.  She’s ok, more or less, and I want her to have a doctor who understands the danger of this syndrome.  Hopefully, she can taper off slowly before she reaches tachyphlaxis.  She’s 79. So, it’s really scary for me to think what might happen if Prozac poops out on her.
 

Rosetta

[mirage]

Hi @JustBella

 

Sorry it has taken me a bit to get back with you. Our mindsets while traveling this journey, is hugely important. I know it is incredibly difficult to do. I made it a point to continue to live each day the best I could as I gave time to allow my body to heal.

 

 I once heard two women talking while I was grocery shopping. I did not know who they were, nor, what they were talking about. But, I heard one of them say, "it can't keep raining everyday. One day, the sun will come out". That hit me! It was at that point that I had to completely accept what was happening and to keep going, knowing the sun will come out, and, it did. Accept what is happening. Live each day allowing symptoms to be. 

 

I understand the worsening of symptoms while going off the meds. I did not know what was going on with me for the first 7 months. I sought out every type of dr. I was put on more meds. My doses were increased. It wasn't until I realized what was going on and that there was nothing but time, acceptance, patience and faith, that would get me through this. It was at that time that I decided to hold on the low dose of the wellbutrin. 

 

I will hold here as long as it takes for my system to get to complete normal again. At that point, I plan on doing a very, very slow wean and sneak the remainder of this med out of my system. 

 

I have a friend who was on escitalopram as needed. About 7 years ago, way before my journey with this, she had an emotionally rough year and so she took it on a daily basis during that year. Once things settled down for her, she stopped taking it. She got terribly sick. We had no idea what was going on. She battled with symptoms for about two and a half years and she was only on the med for about a year! To this day, she believes she had some type of auto immune issue because none of her drs agree it was due to the stopping of the med. After those couple of years of healing, all symptoms went away. She still takes the med on occasion and has not had any reoccuring issues. 

 

You will heal. Accept and give more time. 

 

Blessings,

Mirage

[mirage]

Hi @Rosetta. How are you doing? 

 

I understand how scary it is for you with your mom. One of the drs I saw, years ago, went through a short stint of a journey like ours, after stopping a med she took through her college years. I only saw her once. 

 

I am not all the way balanced, but I will get there. I still have a few symptoms and they do float in and out almost every day. Some days a bit stronger than others. The good news is, they are never terrible like they use to be. They never stop my day or alter my day. I am able to do all of what I did prior to this. I am traveling, eating and drinking anything and I am back to running and working out hard. 

 

I will get there. I am just one of the lucky ones who are on the long road to success. I guess, good things come to those who wait?!

 

Once I get completely balanced, I will begin a very slow taper of the remainder of the med. Until then, I just live each day to the fullest and I don't worry or stress about being off of the med. It will happen when the time is right. 

 

Blessings to you my friend,

Mirage

[Rosetta]

Oh, I see.  So, you don’t remember her name.  

I’m so glad you are doing relatively well at a low dose.  

[mirage]

Hi Rosetta. I don't remember her name. It was years ago.

 

I do see a dr who will be assisting me on my wean when I feel I am ready for that. She is a psychiatrist and very familiar with these meds. She is in complete agreement with me having to wean in a very slow and careful method. I would pass her name on to you but, unfortunately, she is not taking on any new patients at this time. If she does open her schedule up, I will contact you. 

 

Oh what a journey this has been. I have learned there is no way to hurry this along and no way to take symptoms away, once they hit. The only things one can do is to accept, be patient and remain faithful. 

 

Blessings

 

 

[Rosetta]

Ok, thank you.  My mom is not having any problems at the moment.  It would be the right time for her to start a taper, but I don’t think I could convince her of that.  So, yes, please do let me know if your doctor opens her practice to new patients.

[mirage]

Hi Rosetta. I will contact you if my dr takes in new patients. 

 

Blessings,

Mirage

[Hellbutrin]

On 10/24/2018 at 11:16 AM, mirage said:

Hi @Dizzy4 Your story sounds similar to mine. I was on Wellbutrin and stopped, pretty much, cold turkey in May of 2017. My symptoms didn't start until a month later. The first thing that happened was vertigo. After a couple of weeks of that, then the other symptoms appeared, nausea, anxiety, body aches, chills, dizziness, ect. My doctor told me it was anxiety and I needed to reinstate the Wellbutrin. So I did. However, it only made me worse. I found out through this site, that my cns had already crashed and adding back, a high dose of the med was too much for my symptom. However, my doctor said that wasn't the reason and that it was anxiety and so another med, Remeron, was added. Again, no improvement. 

 

Bottom line, I am totally off the Remeron and have weaned the Wellbutrin from 300 to 150 and that is where I am holding. My worse symptom through this entire journey has been the dizziness/vertigo and an off and on odd feeling of floating. My doctors have told me it was migraine related and I have tried everything, several different types of meds, physical therapy, ect. Nothing worked. What I have actually found out and believe to be true, is that my vestibular system, being a part of the nervous system and not the ears, was temporarily damaged and thrown off, due to stopping the  med. 

 

I am 16 months  into this journey and have had dizziness/vertigo/floating feeling, the entire time. However, a month ago, things started to let up and it is getting so much better. 

 

Just wanted to share what happened to me, in hopes that it could help you. 

 

Prayers to you

Mirage, I tried to send you a message. I think your inbox is full

[Soup]

@mirage did you ever start your Wellbutrin taper? I hope you are doing well . I am looking to start my taper and was wanting to see if you got to that place yet ? Take care and thank you 

[mirage]

Hi Soup. Thank you for reaching out. 

 

I have been holding on the 150XL and am thinking I will begin the wean from that, this fall. I have a few things coming up at the end of the summer and I want to make sure I am stable. 

 

I had a bit of a set back recently, because a dr prescribed a very large dose of steroid for an ear issue and it sent my nervous system into a bit of a withdrawal. However, nothing as bad as things were when I went cold turkey from the wellbutrin 300XL back in June of 2017. 

 

My plan is to transition to the immediate release tabs and then take it very slow and careful from there. I am in no hurry. "Slow and steady wins the race." 

 

Please feel free to contact me anytime. 

 

Blessings!

[Soup]

@mirage missed your reply my apologies . In my country I can’t get IR so one of the reasons I could not go forward with my taper . I was hoping to start last year but have had a huge setback from antibiotics and now just trying to get back to where I was last year . Think that’s going to take me a long time and I am devastated to say the least . I hope you recover quickly from your steroid setback and can start your taper . Hopes for your further healing 

[mirage]

@Soup. Hi my friend. 

 

I am so sorry you can't get the IR. Also sorry to hear about the UTI and the antibiotic setback. How are you doing now? 

 

I am coming back from the scrambling of my system from being on a high dose of steroid and then being taking off of it quickly. Ugh, I should have known better! 

 

One thing I have learned is that my liver is a very slow metabolizer of meds. Also, I am very small, 112lbs, so normal doses of prescription meds, are over doses to my system. Which, explains why I have always gotten nauseous and had issues with vomiting when taking script meds for any illnesses. I have learned so very much about meds, drs, ect through this journey, 

 

Any time you need to talk, please reach out.

 

Wishing you good days, blessings and happiness.

[Soup]

@mirage lol right now I need to talk every minute it’s been almost 6 months of this setback and it has taken me right back with symptoms to where I was 3 years ago ….. just horrid . I just tell myself that I got better last time so I can get better this time but of course my brain does not believe and tells me otherwise every minute . I of course worry about the Wellbutrin but last year I was working and traveling and just fine ( a few things but nothing that got in my way ) I just spend my days trying hard to distract the best  I can but it is really hard ( I know you know that only to well) your kind words help a lot ) I have to get better my son gets married next year and I want to be able to be there so badly . I deeply regret the antibiotics but husband said you could be dead instead of this and healing will happen ( it’s a tough sell right now ) I hope your steroid setback passes quickly . These drugs are just brutal 😢

wishing you better days 

[mirage]

@Soup. Oh, yes, I understand soooo much of what you are saying. It can be very difficult to remember that you were feeling better and that you will get better again. You are absolutely doing the correct thing by reminding yourself of that. 

 

Not sure if I told you this story, but, in the beginning of my journey, I was at my local grocery store and I overheard 2 women talking. I have no idea what the subject of their discussion was, but I heard one of them tell the other one, "It can't rain every day. The sun will eventually come out". That has stuck with me this entire time and it is, oh, so, true! 

 

Your husband is correct that you needed to take the antibiotic. You did the right thing. Time, patience and faith are the healers in this process. 

 

Carry on with each day, doing the best you can and finding blessings along the way. 

 

Feel free to reach out any time. It helps to talk with those who fully understand. 

 

Big hugs!

[Soup]

@mirage I was just reading your story and realize your name is Sue my name is Susan . I think we are around the same age as well . Did you have the DR/DP and brain fog as well? Today I am having awful gut issues just horrid ……I hope your day is going well . Praying for more healing .

[mirage]

@Soup My actual name is Susan. I go by Sue. So we do share in the same name. I am 57. 

 

I had the DR/DP and brain fog. In the first couple of years, it was so incredibly bad that I would walk out of my neighborhood stores, which I have been going to forever, and I would completely be lost. I would have no recollection of where I parked, and couldn't even retrace my thoughts on it. That is gone for me and any brain fog that comes in, is just age related. 😜

 

I am a hairdresser and during those earlier years, I would have to concentrate so very hard when mixing color and applying it to my clients. The brain fog would be so bad that it was difficult. 

 

Im sorry to hear you are having a struggle today with awful gut issues. My very worse symptom for years, was vertigo and severe dizziness. Along with that, would come crazy nausea. The vertigo has completely gone and I still get occasional, light dizziness but it comes when the weather changes or rains, lack of sleep and if I eat too much sugar. It is never bad and never stops me. Just uncomfortable and frustrating. Things are still a bit odd when I am tired. Prior to this journey, I would have normal, tired afternoons and could close my eyes and doze for a bit, very easily. Now, when I get that afternoon sleepiness, I yawn and yawn and get a smidge symptomatic with the dizziness but still can't take a little nap. I just don't feel the tiredness and exhaustion, the way I did prior to all of this. 

 

Just keep going my friend. Keep plugging along. I sometimes had to remind myself that things can be better in the next hour, and many times they were.