Moderator DataGuy Posted May 14, 2021 Moderator Share Posted May 14, 2021 22 hours ago, Katy398 said: -He’s very open to discussing ‘Withdrawal’ -He mentioned compounding chemists when discussing tapering!! -There was even, dare I say some questioning surrounding antidepressant efficacy!!! -And he’s a Psychiatrist!! A first in my opinion but naturally very, very busy!!! Thanks @Katy398, that is very helpful feedback. Hope he is able to give you some good support : ) 1 Remeron - 2004-2005 (bad withdrawal) Clonazepam - 2005-2018 (jumped around March) Olanzapine - 2014- late 2017 Domperidone - 2008-2018 Many drugs in between including Lexapro, other benzos and z-drugs. Still suffering post-withdrawal from Clonazepam (Klonopin), Olanzapine and Domperidone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy398 Posted May 15, 2021 Share Posted May 15, 2021 10 hours ago, DataGuy said: Thanks @Katy398, that is very helpful feedback. Hope he is able to give you some good support : ) No Thank You @DataGuyfrom all that way, across the seas: ) 1 Lexapro Fast Track/ Cold Turkey Last dose end Dec 2018 Tapered 1/2 a daily dose a week (20mg) for 14 weeks, last dose was a 20 mg pill!! 3.5 times slower than Psychiatrist recommended, I felt proud of myself!! Little did I know!!!!Got too scared to reinstate because I’d left it too long. On ADs for 20 years (Prozac approx 10 years/ Pristiq approx 3 years/ Citalipram approx 2 years/. Lexapro a approx 5 years/. Last two years 40mgs Lexapro day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michigan Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Just wanted to make a couple of nominations. I'm working both a family doctor and a therapist who understand withdrawal and who might be a good fit for others in this group. I was lucky enough to find a local family doctor who has been amazing. His name is Dr Peter Macfield at Breton Village Family Medicine in Grand Rapids, MI. He offers remote consults as of last year. Not sure if it's only for certain states or if it's nationwide. Website is https://www.macfieldmd.com/ My previous doctor drank the big pharma kool-aid big time. He tried giving me the spiel about how antidepressants are like insulin for diabetics, yadda yadda, and then told me that withdrawal syndrome didn't exist and it was just an "unmasking" of symptoms. Discouraged me from getting off from meds. Said that supplements were worthless. Encouraged a low fat diet, which has been all but debunked. Anyway, we've all met these types, right? In contrast, Dr Macfield is amazing. He's a DO with an interest in functional and holistic medicine. Rarely prescribes antidepressants, and when he does, it's typically for no more than 6 months. He tries everything else first. He's comfortable helping patients to come off from antidepressants and antipsychotics. Absolutely believes that PAWS is a real thing. He's comfortable optimizing hormones, and believes that they play a major role in mental health. He focused on diet, lifestyle, supplements etc too. And he trusts patients to know their own bodies, and he'll give you just about whatever you ask for, within reason. He's one in a million when it comes to family practice doctors. The one downside is that his office seems to operate only part time. He's only in the office Tuesdays and Thursdays. Not sure what he does the rest of the time. From what I know of him, I wouldn't be surprised if he has some cool side business or hobby that he works on. And then I'd also like to nominate a therapist whom I've been working with. Her name is Kelli Foulkrod. Her website is https://organicmentalhealthcenter.com/ I had actually contact Dr John Breeding, who is recommended elsewhere in this thread. He said that he was booked solid, but he highly recommended Kelli. She's been SO great thus far. She's a survivor of psychiatric medications herself. She takes a holistic approach, grounded in IFS (internal family systems). She's a little bit hippie-ish and new agey, but I like that. She 100% believes in withdrawal syndrome and PAWS, has stated that she believes these meds cause brain damage that takes a long time to heal, and is familiar with this forum and others in the withdrawal community. She's actually leaving her practice in July to cofound an outpatient clinic in Austin devoted to helping people who are withdrawing from psychiatric medications. I feel like this woman could be a powerful ally to this group in general. Anyway, we spend about half of each session talking about withdrawal; symptoms, coping strategies etc. And then the other half addressing the underlying issues that lead to taking meds in the first place. Let me know if anyone has questions! 5 -SSRIs starting at age 16 - around 1996. Tried just about every one available for a period of a few years. Stabilized on Zoloft. Have been on it since about 2003. -Added .5mg Haldol for Tourette's and OCD in 2005 -Tapered in fall/winter of 2012, got off of Zoloft completely. Think I went too fast. Long term withdrawal symptoms persisted for months, to the point that I went back to a 100mg dose. -Found this site, tapered using the 10% plan in 2015. It was really rough. Went back on Zoloft at 100mg. -Found a great therapist in 2017, learned new self care skills. Started tapering again. Got down to 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol by late 2017 (? - memories a little fuzzy these days) - Taper got rough again. Held dose at 50mg Zoloft, .4mg Haldol through early 2018. Wife had a baby. Was putting in a lot of hours at work. Had a "poop out". Brain fog, debilitating fatigue, and the works. - Consulted with a health coach who specializes in mental health and psychiatric drug withdrawal. Developed a plan that involved hormones and supplements. Did a fairly rapid taper on Zoloft and Haldol over the course of 1 year. Felt awful, but it was manageable with the help of the hormones/supplements and frequent visits to my therapist. Psychiatric drug free as of 4/2020. I have about 10 months off of Haldol now, and 6 months off of Zoloft. Battling long term, protracted withdrawal symptoms, and going through h*ll, but so far I've managed to (just barely) keep my high paying job and maintain my relationship with my wife. (Updated 10/2020) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopepersists Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 I’ve had a really positive experience with my psychiatrist, Dr. Deborah Reed. She’s very kind, intuitive and truly seems to understand what’s going on with our bodies. She helped me to obtain a prescription from a local compound pharmacy to help me taper and told me that I should go as slow and small as works best for me and that she’s there to support me. She also a supporter of CBT techniques as well as integrative modalities like meditation, relaxation exercises and acupuncture. While she initially offered me the option to cross taper from Celexa to fluoxetine, she quickly agreed with me that approach wasn’t the best fit given my goals and my current physical symptoms. I feel like she actually listens to the patient. She is located in Lake Forest, IL but everything is currently done via zoom due to Covid. +1 (847) 295-4248 I also had a good compounding experience with Mark drugs in Deerfield, Illinois. They made a liquid form from my branded Celexa pills. 2014-now .0625mg Xanax as needed 2017 20 mg Celexa, 2018 10 mg June 2020 - 15 mg Celexa Sept 2020 10 mg Celexa (2 week taper of alternating 15/10 doses) Jan - Mar 2021 lots of dose changes in attempt to taper Clx per doctor’s recos. 3/31/21 re-stabilized at 15 mg Celexa 4/30/21- 15 mg split dose (7.5 am & pm) 5/28 - 15 mg, transition 5 mg to liquid 6/22/21 14.5 mg, 7/12 14.4 mg, 9/12 14.3 mg, 12/8 14.0mg, 2/24/22 13.8, 8/27/22 13.4 6/12/23 12.9mg, 12/14/23 12.4 mg 3/17/24 11.7 4/28 10.9 360 Mg Glyc, probiotic, Vit D, GABA with l-theanine, 1200 mg ashwaghanda, Calcium Magnesium Butyrate, 60 progesterone, L-Tyrosine 1500 mg, 3 drops iodine, GI Resolve, 3 pills ProMulti+ per day, 4 IgG support, 25mg estrogen cream Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Altostrata Posted May 29, 2021 Administrator Share Posted May 29, 2021 It's heartening to see people finally finding informed doctors and therapists. BTW, I just had a Zoom call with Dr. Lieblich. Australian members would do well to contact him. 1 This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Altostrata Posted June 18, 2021 Administrator Share Posted June 18, 2021 Here is a California, US doctor accepting California patients for benzo tapering. Nathaniel E. Lepp, MD MPH https://www.safetaper.com/about https://www.safetaper.com/values Quote SAFETAPER is guided by the four cornerstones of biomedical ethics. Autonomy We seek to empower patients who struggle with a dependence on benzodiazepines. SafeTaper seeks to help patients establish their optimal neurochemistry and overcome their physical dependence upon their benzodiazepine. We believe that the patient should be in the driver’s seat of their own medical care. The patient’s own desire to get well is one of the most powerful forces of healing available to the patient. We will work with our patients towards their freedom, empowerment, and healing. Patients will be afforded choice during the taper process: start and end of taper, taper time interval, taper dose interval, and taper pauses. Justice SafeTaper was created to right a wrong. We seek to correct the process of benzodiazepine over-prescribing by helping patients safely and slowly taper patients off of benzodiazepines. Knowingly and unknowingly, physicians have caused harm to patients by over-prescribing benzodiazepines, which can produce profound physical and/or psychological dependence. Many patients were never informed of the risk of dependence prior to the initiation of the prescription. Many patients are harmed by their ongoing use of benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines dependence affects people of all types. Over time, we will build an inclusive practice that serves all benzodiazepine-dependent people regardless of income or insurance. Beneficence Benzodiazepines are safe when taken for a limited time (roughly 2 to 4 weeks). However, when taken for months or years, the medication loses its effectiveness and produces dependence and other harms. We believe that long-term use of benzodiazepines almost always represents a net negative for the patient (that the harms outweigh the benefits). Given that many patients have been prescribed benzodiazepines for a long time, and that we believe that such prescriptions harm patients, we believe that many patients on long-term benzodiazepines will be well served to discontinue taking benzodiazepines under medical supervision. SafeTaper was built to safely and slowly taper patients off of benzodiazepines. Non-Maleficence Rapid discontinuation of benzodiazepines can cause an uncomfortable and occasionally dangerous benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome. We pledge to minimize harm to our patients by very gradually tapering - or reducing - the amount of prescribed benzodiazepine until the patient can safely discontinue. 2 This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jojomama Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Any doctors in the Austin Texas area that specialize in tapering? I can’t seem to find any. Looked on the mad in America prover directory and didn’t find any there either. 1998- pediatric ocd dx 40 mg Prozac; 2006- trial of anafranil, failed back to Prozac; 2007- trial of paxil, few months, weight gain, cold turkey no issues, back to Prozac: 2008- panic disorder dx- .25-.5 mg Xanax prn, but developed dependence until 2017, cold turkeyd for pregnancy; 2009- Prozac; 2010-2012- Zoloft, fatigue, weight gain switch to Effexor; 2012-2013- Effexor with bad constipation issues 2013- Prozac, cold turkey, no issues until 4 months later, destabilized, then back to Effexor; 2013-2016- Effexor and Dexedrin; 2017- switch to lexapro, tried to cold turkey, ended up with bad panic attacks. Put on 50 mg pristiq. Quit benzos, quit Dexedrine ct Now 2021- pristiq 50 mg with 50 mg ketamine troches x3 weekly, attempted taper in June cut by 50% in 3 days, nausea, panic Late June, second attempt with compound ex to 45.5 mg, did for two weeks, depression/crying/fatigue, reinstated last week of June to 50 mg. Early July- now suffering nausea, headache, food sensitivity, depression, dizzy feelings, panic. Gave up on taper thendec 2021- switched 50 mg Pristiq cross taper to 50 mg Zoloft april 2022- on 4/3/22 decreased Zoloft from 50 to 37.5 mg over the course of 8 days 4/11/22- having chills, nausea, body aches, and panic attack. Re-instated to 45 mg. Praying to stabilize and taper responsibly later. 4/12/22-reinstated completely back to 50 mg 5/4- residual muscle aches and night mares with panic at night continuing. Hope this gets better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiaJ Posted September 15, 2021 Share Posted September 15, 2021 The doctor I was seeing, who was wonderful and allowing me to taper at my own pace, relocated to a different state. I now have an appointment with the physician who is replacing him. In case this physician refuses to continue to prescribe my med, I want to have a plan B and C in place. I'm in Louisville, KY, USA. I've kept my medical care in Cincinnati, but want to be prepared for the worst. I saw at one point a list of resources that included medical doctors who will continue to prescribe meds until the end of a proper taper, but lists become outdated. Does anyone have an updated list of resources relevant today, Sept 2021? Thank you! 2005-2009 Various ADs and maybe some random Ativan, nothing long-term 2009 Started Celexa 10 mg 2012 Symptoms of depression worsened when I quit drinking, started a course of Viibryd (10 mg), Buspar (5 mg), Xanax 2013 Hospitalized, added Lamictal in the hospital (quit Lamictal cold turkey in 2014) 2014 Switched back to Celexa from Viibryd 2015 Quit Buspar cold turkey 2016 Cut down to 5 mg of Celexa (all seemingly without issues) June-August 2017 tapered off Celexa October 2017 Hospitalized for insomnia (quit sleeping entirely) reinstated w/ Trintellix 5mg (stopped in 1/18) and 7.5 mg of Mirtazapine Mirtazapine (in mgs) 2/18 5, 6/19 3.5, 9/25/19 3.2, 2/24/20 2.9, 3/2020 2.85, 6/20/20 2.5, 10/3/20 2.3, 11/30/20 2.1, 1/1/21 1.95 3/19/21 1.86 9/1/21 1.65 11/30 1.5 mgs 3/1/22 1.41 mgs 6/28/22 1.37 mgs 10/22 1.20 mgs Daily supplements: 470 mgs magnesium, Miralax, 640 Omega complex, probiotic, testosterone 2 gms, progesterone 12.5 mgs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Altostrata Posted September 15, 2021 Administrator Share Posted September 15, 2021 @LiaJ we do the best we can with the members' recommendations in this topic. Unfortunately, doctors who will assist a taper are few and far between (but becoming a little more common every day). The best way for you to find such a doctor in Austin, TX (or your state, many are doing telemedicine appointments) is to phone them and ask them. If you find such, please post here! If you can recommend your doctor who relocated, please also post their contact information here for people in that state. This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Altostrata Posted September 15, 2021 Administrator Share Posted September 15, 2021 On 1/20/2021 at 11:30 AM, dsydney said: Does anyone have any recommendations for therapists that can work with someone going through a taper. I am looking for someone that can do it online. If you know of someone, I would greatly appreciate the information. Thank you. Dr. MJ Paris, 870 Market St. Ste 624 San Francisco, CA 94102. (415) 982-4357, is doing telemedicine appointments. If she is not covered by your insurance, she will accept out-of-pocket clients and clients in other countries. 1 This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiaJ Posted September 20, 2021 Share Posted September 20, 2021 On 9/15/2021 at 5:04 PM, Altostrata said: Dr. MJ Paris, 870 Market St. Ste 624 San Francisco, CA 94102. (415) 982-4357, is doing telemedicine appointments. If she is not covered by your insurance, she will accept out-of-pocket clients and clients in other countries. Thank you for this info! 2005-2009 Various ADs and maybe some random Ativan, nothing long-term 2009 Started Celexa 10 mg 2012 Symptoms of depression worsened when I quit drinking, started a course of Viibryd (10 mg), Buspar (5 mg), Xanax 2013 Hospitalized, added Lamictal in the hospital (quit Lamictal cold turkey in 2014) 2014 Switched back to Celexa from Viibryd 2015 Quit Buspar cold turkey 2016 Cut down to 5 mg of Celexa (all seemingly without issues) June-August 2017 tapered off Celexa October 2017 Hospitalized for insomnia (quit sleeping entirely) reinstated w/ Trintellix 5mg (stopped in 1/18) and 7.5 mg of Mirtazapine Mirtazapine (in mgs) 2/18 5, 6/19 3.5, 9/25/19 3.2, 2/24/20 2.9, 3/2020 2.85, 6/20/20 2.5, 10/3/20 2.3, 11/30/20 2.1, 1/1/21 1.95 3/19/21 1.86 9/1/21 1.65 11/30 1.5 mgs 3/1/22 1.41 mgs 6/28/22 1.37 mgs 10/22 1.20 mgs Daily supplements: 470 mgs magnesium, Miralax, 640 Omega complex, probiotic, testosterone 2 gms, progesterone 12.5 mgs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TinyDancer Posted November 29, 2021 Share Posted November 29, 2021 Hi @Ucfgemini, @Kiasofia, and @Altostrata, I contacted Dr. Mary Jean Paris and Dr. Lepp but I didn't get responses. I also contacted Dr. Paul Abramson and spoke with an oboarding nurse. I have an appointment with him on Thursday, December 2nd. Have you heard any feedback or reviews about him? I'm hoping to find someone that will help me heal over the long term, possibly by reinstating and tapering or using other medications. I hope I find someone the way @Altostrata did. I have trust issues with doctors and anyone prescribing medications so if you've heard anything please share. Thank you! Drug history: Zoloft 10mg 1999 - estimated 2007 Lexapro (escitalopram) 20mg estimated start 2009 - Jan 2021 (self tapered Sep 2020 - Dec 2020) Tried fish oil supplements (1200mg EPA + 900mg DHA) in June and July 2021 but had increased anxiety/agitation SAM-e 400mg estimated start August 2021 to present Introduction post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TinyDancer Posted December 6, 2021 Share Posted December 6, 2021 I had a consultation with Dr. Abramson (San Francisco) and I'm quite conflicted. In general, his demeanor is pretty cold and he reminds you that he has an engineering background, which I assume is his way of explaining himself. That is fine, I can handle that as long as I can trust him. But he has never treated anyone who has been off of SSRIs for an extended amount of time (like me at 11 months). He usually helps people taper or helps with withdrawal symptoms right after stopping the SSRI. I should have asked him how long he typically has people taper off a SSRI. If his taper duration is only a few weeks it would be a good indicator that he doesn't have enough awareness about protracted withdrawal symptoms. If he is careful enough that he plans a year and uses liquid prescriptions it would help me trust him. I asked if he had read any of *****'s articles/papers and he said he hadn't or he couldn't remember if he had. I said I would feel a lot more comfortable if he had, or if he would. He said he doesn't have a lot of time for that, and asked how long the papers were (I said not very long). He kind of brushed it off, but I assume he would read them if I agree to contract his services. He wasn't necessarily surprised that I was having withdrawal symptoms after 11 months (good sign), but he was surprised that I'm 'stuck' on SAM-e. He seemed to think it should be easy to stop taking it. Little things like that make me distrustful. I'm afraid he won't be thoughtful enough when selecting which medication and dosage to prescribe to stabilize my nervous system. He normally takes the Prozac approach with SSRI tapering/withdrawals. I questioned its effectiveness when I am already 11 months out and he seemed to agree. He asked if I'd heard of other treatments and I mentioned Lamictal (lamotrigine), which he said could be a good choice. I'm super worried about my hypersensitivity and introducing another medication. He said it causes a rash if your dose is too high so that is a really easy indicator to use. In general, I didn't feel great putting myself under his care. This is mostly because he didn't do much to earn my trust. I sensed a similar distant, condescending nature that I get from most older, white male doctors. I wish he had some cases that were similar to mine. One thing he said made a big impression on me and it may be clouding my judgement. Quote: "There’s basically 2 options here. One is that this is correct and you’re having medication related side effects and withdrawal symptoms, and all the way to the other extreme, which is underneath the Lexapro you have changed and that off the Lexapro, now there’s the new you. I think it’s probably more the former but I think everybody that’s on suppressive meds long term has to realize that it may not be your 16 year old self that emerges. You might be different." He said this to me after I had explained how extremely different my symptoms are now, such as anxiety (which I've never had before). This is what a Kaiser psychiatrist said to me when I was having early withdrawal symptoms, and it doesn't sit well with me. I told Dr. Abramson that I don't agree with that statement, and could he tell me how that works, how your natural underlying symptoms can be evolving if your brain chemistry is adapting to the medication (how are there 2 processes going on at once?). He didn't have a solid answer for SSRI's. Some of his other quotes about SSRI's: "SSRI’s don’t damage people like long term benzos do." "SSRI’s aren’t obviously as toxic as benzos. But they can be really hard to get off of. And you’ve been on them for a very long time, and so your brain is different now. But it sounds like it is more hypersensitive than anything else." "SSRI don’t fix you, they just suppress symptoms." "SSRI’s, there isn’t much information about what happens underneath." I don't have strong opinions either way about these statements, but if he can say that "your brain is different now" because of the SSRI medication, how can you also believe that these new symptoms may actually be mine or natural? I think my next steps are to consult with other doctors before I make a decision. I've called all the other bay area doctors on the recommended list and they haven't responded to emails and voicemails. I'll look at other geographic areas since most doctors use zoom now. I'm going to read all the replies in this post to see if anyone has a favorable doctor. Drug history: Zoloft 10mg 1999 - estimated 2007 Lexapro (escitalopram) 20mg estimated start 2009 - Jan 2021 (self tapered Sep 2020 - Dec 2020) Tried fish oil supplements (1200mg EPA + 900mg DHA) in June and July 2021 but had increased anxiety/agitation SAM-e 400mg estimated start August 2021 to present Introduction post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Emeritus manymoretodays Posted December 20, 2021 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 20, 2021 On 12/18/2021 at 8:49 AM, Dicks3 said: Hi Faure, The deprescribing clinic is NELFT Psychiatric drug Deprescribing Clinic (PDC) It comes under NELFT NHS Foundation trust and is based at Goodmayes hospital. I can send the leaflet / flyer for clinic to anyone who wants it. It is run by Dr Joanna Moncrieff and Dr Mark Horowitz I hope this helps. Sharing this here, for those fortunate enough to possibly access this. It's a pilot program, with likely limited access, to humans in certain locales in the NHS. Exciting though.....that this is now happening, and that something like this is now available at all! I'll add a thank you Alto(for all you do and all your work), Dr. Moncrieff and Dr. Horowitz. Late 2023- gone to emeritus status, inactive, don't @ me, I can check who I've posted on, and I'm not really here like I used to be......thanks. Started with psycho meds/psychiatric care circa 1988. In retrospect, and on contemplation, situational overwhelm. Rounding up to 30 years of medications(30 medication trials, poly-pharmacy maximum was 3 at one time). 5/28/2015-off Adderal salts 2.5mg. (I had been on that since hospital 10/2014) 12/2015---just holding, holding, holding, with trileptal/oxcarb at 75 mg. 1/2 tab at hs. My last psycho med ever! Tapered @ 10% every 4 weeks, sometimes 2 weeks to 2016 Dec 16, medication free!! Longer signature post here, with current supplements. Herb and alcohol free since 5/15/2016. And.....I quit smoking 11/2021. Lapsed. Redo of quit smoking 9/28/2022. Can you say Hallelujah?(took me long enough)💜 None of my posts are intended as medical advice. Please discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical provider. My success story: Blue skies ahead, clear sailing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardWork Posted December 21, 2021 Share Posted December 21, 2021 Hi, any info on the doctors at Free Range Psychiatry? 1- October 2011- Wellbutrin. Few months later-Zyprexa. Quite some months later-Depakote. Clonapen throughout. November 2014- med free successfully! (Quick doc taper) 2- November 2015- zyprexa (almost sure) May 2015- Lithium 900 mg throughout, carried over to pregnancy and next baby. Currently still on same lithium. 3- June 20, 2017- zyprexa refused. June 21, 2017- forced hospitalization. June 2017- risperdal, lithium raised to 1200. no memory when-zoloft. Got off risperdal with dr- no clue how fast or when. June 2018- got off zoloft extremely fast resulting in complete dissociation (total disconnect of body), depression & severe fatigue Around august 2019- lithium 1050. Lithium 975. Lithium 900. January 11, 2021- Lithium 825. February 5, 2021- Found SA 🌞! February 23, 2021- Compounding natural pharmacy 🙂. May 9, 2021- Lithium 750. August 30, 2021- Lithium 675 (will add in more dates when I figure them out) June 23, 2022- Started brassmonkey slide 💟 June 23, 2022- Lithium 658 >ALL meds were coerced ILLEGALLY< CURRENT MEDS- 610 LITHIUM MG (after 4 week hold. Brass monkey succesful) CURRENT SUPPLEMENTS- magnesium 350 MG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Emeritus ChessieCat Posted December 21, 2021 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 21, 2021 10 minutes ago, HardWork said: Hi, any info on the doctors at Free Range Psychiatry? I did a site search: "Free Range Psychiatry" * NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA * MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: (6 year taper) 0mg Pristiq on 13th November 2021 ADs since ~1992: 25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq: 50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity) Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021 LAST DOSE 0.0025mg Post 0 updates start here My tapering program My Intro (goes to tapering graph) VIDEO: Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardWork Posted December 22, 2021 Share Posted December 22, 2021 Thank you so much! 1- October 2011- Wellbutrin. Few months later-Zyprexa. Quite some months later-Depakote. Clonapen throughout. November 2014- med free successfully! (Quick doc taper) 2- November 2015- zyprexa (almost sure) May 2015- Lithium 900 mg throughout, carried over to pregnancy and next baby. Currently still on same lithium. 3- June 20, 2017- zyprexa refused. June 21, 2017- forced hospitalization. June 2017- risperdal, lithium raised to 1200. no memory when-zoloft. Got off risperdal with dr- no clue how fast or when. June 2018- got off zoloft extremely fast resulting in complete dissociation (total disconnect of body), depression & severe fatigue Around august 2019- lithium 1050. Lithium 975. Lithium 900. January 11, 2021- Lithium 825. February 5, 2021- Found SA 🌞! February 23, 2021- Compounding natural pharmacy 🙂. May 9, 2021- Lithium 750. August 30, 2021- Lithium 675 (will add in more dates when I figure them out) June 23, 2022- Started brassmonkey slide 💟 June 23, 2022- Lithium 658 >ALL meds were coerced ILLEGALLY< CURRENT MEDS- 610 LITHIUM MG (after 4 week hold. Brass monkey succesful) CURRENT SUPPLEMENTS- magnesium 350 MG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnusualRoom Posted December 24, 2021 Share Posted December 24, 2021 (edited) Wisconsin psychiatrists/doctors who specialize in tapering? I hope this is the right place to post this, I apologize if not. I took a look and wasn't completely sure. Does anyone have any recommendations for a psych/dr who deals with SSRI tapering in the Wisconsin area? I looked at the psychiatrist list and can't find any from Wisconsin. i reached out to the ones in Minneapolis and Illinois, and there's a bit of an issue with dual licensing, insurance, etc. I've exhausted my resources trying to find someone in Wisconsin. I literally cannot find anyone despite placing dozens upon dozens of phone calls, emails, etc. Any help or direction would be appreciated. Thank you. Edited December 24, 2021 by ChessieCat added topic title before merging with existing topic Luvox (2015, 100mg) Xanax (2018, 1mg as needed) Pristiq (2018 for 3 weeks then ended CT) Gabapentin (2018) Lyrica (2018) **Weaned off all drugs except Luvox between 2019-2020** Luvox (2020 increased to 300mg) Luvox (2021 decreased to various levels between 200-125; 2021 100-150 around my period for PMDD; Late September 2021: Start weaning off 100mg;September ?-Oct 3 Various dosages between 100 and 75 recommended by doctor; October 3-8: 75mg (various doses through the day for w/d.; October 9-18: 50mg; October 20-29: 37.5mg; October 30-Nov 1: 25mg; November 2-November 19: Back to 37.5mg; November 20-December 4: 31.25mg; December 4-December 21: 25mg;December 21-December 23: up-dosed to 31.25mg doing 6.25 in the morning and 25mg at night; 12/23-present: 6.25mg Luvox AM/25 mg Luvox PM; 0.0625mg of Xanax at 8 AM, 2 PM and 8 PM.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Emeritus manymoretodays Posted December 31, 2021 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 31, 2021 (edited) Here is the leaflet on the de-prescribing clinic mentioned here: On 12/22/2021 at 11:23 AM, Dicks3 said: Hi MMT, Yes I am able to send the the deprescribing clinic leaflet/flyer document as an attachment in this reply. Thank you for your help and guidance. Have a great Christmas and best wishes Dicks3 NELFT PDC Flyer.docx 147.34 kB · 3 downloads I was able to download and take a look at it pretty quickly. And it clarifies a bit more about who they serve. Apparently it is a pilot project, so I don't know how long this might be available to those who are in the NHS area to qualify. I hope a long time. Edited December 31, 2021 by manymoretodays Late 2023- gone to emeritus status, inactive, don't @ me, I can check who I've posted on, and I'm not really here like I used to be......thanks. Started with psycho meds/psychiatric care circa 1988. In retrospect, and on contemplation, situational overwhelm. Rounding up to 30 years of medications(30 medication trials, poly-pharmacy maximum was 3 at one time). 5/28/2015-off Adderal salts 2.5mg. (I had been on that since hospital 10/2014) 12/2015---just holding, holding, holding, with trileptal/oxcarb at 75 mg. 1/2 tab at hs. My last psycho med ever! Tapered @ 10% every 4 weeks, sometimes 2 weeks to 2016 Dec 16, medication free!! Longer signature post here, with current supplements. Herb and alcohol free since 5/15/2016. And.....I quit smoking 11/2021. Lapsed. Redo of quit smoking 9/28/2022. Can you say Hallelujah?(took me long enough)💜 None of my posts are intended as medical advice. Please discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical provider. My success story: Blue skies ahead, clear sailing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victor3 Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 (edited) Psychotherapists in north NJ? Hello. Can anyone recommend a good therapist that can assist me in the tapering process? My psychiatrist doesn’t agree at all in lowering the dose of my 20mg lexapro. And I couldn’t find any psychiatrist here in north NJ that is willing to taper my medication. So I thought May be I can get help from therapist. Edited January 17, 2022 by ChessieCat added topic title before merging with existing topic Jan 2001, was prescribed split personality medications and psychotic meds for severe anxiety, change of behavior and stress and overthinking.( Was 16 years old). I was very very quiet, shy, serious person. Do not remember name of meds. 2005 to 2008 - on and off on same medications. Didn't use any meds for 2 years and had severe panic and psychosis.almost hospitalized. Went to new psychiatrist and gave Zoloft and Xanax for a month. Didn't work much. 2011 - was prescribed cymbalta (don't remember dose) .it changed my life. Felt like I was born again. Did good for about 4 years. Became less effective slowly. Tried to withdraw myself through amino acids. Worked for some months but then had serious psychosis and panic. Felt like dying and loss of complete control of mind and body.2016 - prescribed 20mg Lexapro and 1mg rexulti. I stopped rexulti after like 2 years 6 months on my own. It was successful. March 9 2020 - reduced dose to 17.5 mg. After 2 days, had severe withdrawal symptoms of headache, dry mouth, brain zaps, fever, body and muscle pain, lack of control and coordination, improper sleep. March 13 - went back to 20 mg. March 22 2020 - reduced dose to 10 mg Made significant diet and lifestyle changes. Became vegan, gluten free ( no processed or junk food). April 11, 2020 - dose reduced to 5 mg.having no withdrawal symptoms. May 4, 2020 - dose reduced to 2.5 mg. Started meditation daily. Having no withdrawal symptoms. Just a little disturbed sleep. May 11 - Having improved sleep, increased libido, feeling inner joy, happiness and calmness, increased energy levels, lost 10 lbs in 2 months, increased sense of humor. May 17 - having 2.5 mg dose on alternate days only. May 26 - having 1.25mg dose everyday.June 1, 2020 final dose of 1 mg Lexapro.May 1, 2021 - due to increasing work load and stress, started back on Lexapro 10mgMay 20, 2021 - back to 20mg Lexapro Jan 15 2022 - 18mg Feb 13 2022 - 16.2mg mar 14 - 14.5mg started cold pressed fish oil April 15 - 14.5mg May 14 13mg June 13 11.7mg July 14 10.5mg aug 12 9.5mg sep 12 8.5mg oct 12 7.65mg Nov 10 6.9mg Dec 9 6.2mg Jan 7 5.5mg Feb 5 4.8mg Mar 6 4.2mg Apr 4 3.6mg May 2 3.1mg June 1 2.6mg June 29 2.2mg July 27 1.9mg Aug 24 1.7mg Sept 22 1.5mg Oct 20 1.3mg Nov 17 2023 1.1mg Dec 14 1mg Jan 2024 10 .9mg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OptimisticRP Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 Any good doctors in New York area for withdrawal symptoms/ PSSD symptoms? ProzacNovember 2019: 10MG start January 2021: up to 60MG march 2021: Valium everyday 2MG twice a day for a month or after that take as needed April 2021-May: taper to 0MG June 2021: Zoloft 7 days and ween off. August 2021: escitalopram 5MG-10MG August 2021: Propanol 10MG-20MG as needed September 2021: weened off escitalopram over a week. October 30th: Citalopram 20MG November 10th: stopped - 10MG 2 days. November 14th: Prozac 20MG November 18th: stop C/T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canaanstongue01 Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 @Altostrata I am very surprised to see Joe Tarantolo removed from this list. I am currently one of his patients, tapering Valium. After finding this site and realizing that I got off of Lexapro way too quickly, I have tried to slow my taper and want to suggest reinstatement of Lexapro. Can you give me any additional information as to why he as removed from this list, before I talk to him about reinstatement? -lexapro 10mg daily from 2012 to 2021 (halfed dose in 4/2021, went all the way off 6/21) -various benzos 2014-2019... valium 2019-10/2021~20mg, inconsistent but daily dosing 10/9-17.5mg 10/23-15m 11/29 - 12.5 12/24 - 12 12/31 - 11.5 2/27/22 - 11 3/31 - 10.5 4/14 - 10 5/3 - 9.5 5/15 - 9 6/6 - 8.5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Emeritus ChessieCat Posted February 28, 2022 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted February 28, 2022 2 hours ago, canaanstongue01 said: @Altostrata I am very surprised to see Joe Tarantolo removed from this list. I am currently one of his patients, tapering Valium. After finding this site and realizing that I got off of Lexapro way too quickly, I have tried to slow my taper and want to suggest reinstatement of Lexapro. Can you give me any additional information as to why he as removed from this list, before I talk to him about reinstatement? Q: What has been your experience with Joe Tarantolo? I did a search of this topic and found this post which was from 2011: On 12/7/2011 at 6:19 AM, Altostrata said: It turns out that Dr. Tarantolo is sympathetic but is not knowledgeable about tapering or withdrawal syndrome. I've taken his name off our recommended list until he gets some training in this area. 1 * NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA * MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: (6 year taper) 0mg Pristiq on 13th November 2021 ADs since ~1992: 25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq: 50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity) Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021 LAST DOSE 0.0025mg Post 0 updates start here My tapering program My Intro (goes to tapering graph) VIDEO: Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Altostrata Posted February 28, 2022 Administrator Share Posted February 28, 2022 In 2011, Dr. Tarantolo was aware of benzo tapering but thought antidepressant withdrawal symptoms were psychosomatic. Has his understanding broadened? This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benesh Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Free Range Psychiatry have docs familiar with tapering. I am sorry you have had to deal with this other doctor. Hope this resource helps. Various antidepressants since 1995.Prozac,paxil,lexapro, Wellbutrin. 2004-2021 lexapro 10 mg 2009 added drug Wellbutrin 150mg, 2016 bupropian300 mg XL 2019 start taper June bupropion 300 mg. Now resuming micro dose taper.2.3% reduction. At 51.8 mg.Hope to increase reduction. 2021 January 29 liquid lexapro done by compound pharmacist. 2021 February 4 began lexapro taper 2022 April 7 start 10 mg fluoxetine as bridge. hyperbolic taper. Liquid lexapro 6.60, holding. 2022 April 27 dropped to 5 mg fluoxetine holding. held all taper from March 2023- January 2024 working with mark Horowitz, a taper coach, and doing acupuncture and chiropractic work. SUPPLEMENTS- Vit d3, B-12, Magnesium 200 mg, Ashwagandha 475mg, lithium oratate 5 mg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canaanstongue01 Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 thank you @benesh, unfortunately this looks out of my price range -lexapro 10mg daily from 2012 to 2021 (halfed dose in 4/2021, went all the way off 6/21) -various benzos 2014-2019... valium 2019-10/2021~20mg, inconsistent but daily dosing 10/9-17.5mg 10/23-15m 11/29 - 12.5 12/24 - 12 12/31 - 11.5 2/27/22 - 11 3/31 - 10.5 4/14 - 10 5/3 - 9.5 5/15 - 9 6/6 - 8.5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benesh Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Yup me too. I wrote to them about a scholarship or fee reduction. Maybe they would do some installment plans. It is horrible how expensive this all is. My insurance with bc/ bs has a free service using their tele med people. Anyway we pay $49 a month for keystone hmo. I am not able to work since this ordeal. My hubby only works part time so we were eligible for government assisted health care. Not medicaid. Hope that helps. 🙏 Various antidepressants since 1995.Prozac,paxil,lexapro, Wellbutrin. 2004-2021 lexapro 10 mg 2009 added drug Wellbutrin 150mg, 2016 bupropian300 mg XL 2019 start taper June bupropion 300 mg. Now resuming micro dose taper.2.3% reduction. At 51.8 mg.Hope to increase reduction. 2021 January 29 liquid lexapro done by compound pharmacist. 2021 February 4 began lexapro taper 2022 April 7 start 10 mg fluoxetine as bridge. hyperbolic taper. Liquid lexapro 6.60, holding. 2022 April 27 dropped to 5 mg fluoxetine holding. held all taper from March 2023- January 2024 working with mark Horowitz, a taper coach, and doing acupuncture and chiropractic work. SUPPLEMENTS- Vit d3, B-12, Magnesium 200 mg, Ashwagandha 475mg, lithium oratate 5 mg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Altostrata Posted February 28, 2022 Administrator Share Posted February 28, 2022 17 hours ago, canaanstongue01 said: he says that i am looking for reasons to stay on benzos and not addressing underlying issues. He thinks he is understanding but he doesn't get it. This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner. "It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein All postings © copyrighted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canaanstongue01 Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 @Altostratayes. this realization certainly has me down in a hole today. i appreciate your responses. i hope others are dissuaded from seeking his treatment. this thread is another item to add to the list of things i wish i’d seen months ago. -lexapro 10mg daily from 2012 to 2021 (halfed dose in 4/2021, went all the way off 6/21) -various benzos 2014-2019... valium 2019-10/2021~20mg, inconsistent but daily dosing 10/9-17.5mg 10/23-15m 11/29 - 12.5 12/24 - 12 12/31 - 11.5 2/27/22 - 11 3/31 - 10.5 4/14 - 10 5/3 - 9.5 5/15 - 9 6/6 - 8.5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purple Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 On 2/28/2022 at 9:08 AM, benesh said: I wrote to them about a scholarship or fee reduction. Maybe they would do some installment plans. @benesh were you able to get a response? I thought I saw somewhere on their website that they do offer reductions or payment plans. 2017 Oct sertraline | Nov switched to escitalopram 10mg | 2018 Apr escitalopram fast taper (4-8 weeks) to zero/off 2018 Nov restarted escitalopram, increased to 20mg | 2020 Jan escitalopram fast taper (2-3 months) to zero/off 2020 Aug 27 restarted escitalopram 10mg tablet, came across SA.org 2021 Feb 27 complete switch to liquid 9.8mg | Mar 7 decreased to 9.5mg | Mar 14 decreased to 9.3mg | Mar 21 decreased to 9.0mg | Apr 11 decreased to 8.8mg | Apr 18 decreased to 8.6mg | May 9 decreased to 8.3mg | May 16 decreased to 8.1mg | Jun 6 increased to 9.0mg | July 18 decreased to 8.6mg | Aug 15 decreased to 8.2mg | Sept 19 decreased to 8.0mg | Oct 21 decreased to 7.6mg | Nov 18 decreased to 7.2mg | Dec 16 decreased to 6.9mg 2022 Feb 27 decreased to 6.8mg | Mar 31 decreased to 6.4mg | Jul 5 decreased to 6.1mg | Jul 23 decreased to 5.8mg | Aug 10 increased to 6.0mg | Nov 24 decreased to 5.4mg | Dec 31 decreased to 4.8mg 2023 Feb 1 decreased to 4.4mg | May 17 decreased to 4mg | Jul 6 decreased to 3.8mg | Jul 19 decreased to 3.6 | Aug 11 decreased to 3.2mg | Sept 9 decreased to 3.0mg | Sept 22 decreased to 2.7mg | Oct 24 increased to 2.775mg | Nov 12 decreased to 2.7mg | Dec 20 increased to 3.0mg I hold for longer periods of time when life gets stressful, usually work related. Supplements: currently none Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SolidmiseryonAD Posted March 15, 2022 Share Posted March 15, 2022 Besides the contact listed earlier, the one that just take $ and no insurance, does anyone else know of a therapist in Austin Texas that understands antidepressant tapering? Hopeful one that takes insurance. Thanks! 1997-1999 Xanax 1999-2000 Slow taper off of Xanax nonsupportive by my 'doctor' at the time. 2000- 2018 Burpropion, first at 75 mg, then 100 mg, and finally 300 mg. 2012-2018 Experienced 'poop symptoms: digestive issues, tumors, inability to tolerate stress, weight gain, etc. November 2018 - I decided to start a very slow taper. The initial dose was 300 mg. 2022- As of March 17, at 22-mg Bupropion. 2024 - As of Feb. 14, at 4.5-mg Bupropion The game ended on May 1st, 2024 - Discontinued Bupropion at 4.5 mg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lithiumnomore Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 (edited) Please see member's comment regarding his experience with this medical professional I just wanted to post again about Joe Tarantolo. I'm currently seeing him and am a little upset to find the recent posts about his views on antidepressant withdrawal. I should have caught this in the search before as Alostrata had removed him from the list because of his views. I've had a pretty good experience with him up until recently, though he's maybe concealed his views that ssri with is psychosomatic. I started my taper of lithium while seeing him, and he's been a little more aggressive than some would recommend and was somewhat hesitant when I pushed to slow down. The reports of him terminating patients is troubling, as I was starting to really trust him. The unfortunate thing is that he's actually a very good therapist and to the extent part of withdrawal is addressing the original problems, he has helped me there. I've been able to dive into the trauma of psychiatric harm and what led to my original depressive episode and introduction to psychiatry. I've done some real healing. But you can't disentangle the role drugs have played as well, and PAWS from a fast-taper of prozac is probably still my main issue. Edited April 1, 2022 by ChessieCat added link to member's comment Current Meds/Taper: Lithium 450 mg - only drug. Tapered from 450 mg on 2/4, dropping 50 mg every 2 weeks to 300. Started having extreme insomnia after 2 weeks at 300 mg. Updosed to 350 mg on 3/24 and then back to 450 mg on 4/7. Will resume taper at 5-10%/month or slower when the time comes. Current supplements: Magnesium - Dr Best Chelated 100 mg PM, probiotic. Recent meds/tapers: Seroquel: 9/7/2020 - 25 mg up to 100 mg then tapered off rapidly to 0 mg (took for 2 weeks total) Lithium: 9/4/2020 - 900 mg, 11/20 - 750 mg, 12/15 - 600 mg, 12/21 - 750 mg, 2/11/21 - 600 mg, 3/15/21 - 450 mg Lamictal: 9/7/2020 - 25 mg, 9/17 - 50 mg; 10/1 - 100 mg; 10/13 - 200 mg, 10/23 - 300 mg, 11/6 - 400 mg, 1/15/21 - 200 mg, 4/15/21 - 100 mg, 5/13/21 - 75 mg, 5/27/21 - 62.5 mg, 6/8/21 - 50 mg, 6/22/21 - 37.5 mg, 6/28/21 - 12.5 mg, 7/7/21 - 0 mg Past meds: 2001-2010 - lithium and/or other mood stabilizers, ssris and benzos; 2011 - 2018 - lithium and adderall; 2018 - tapered lithium 900 mg to 0 mg in about 6 months, stopped Nov 2018 (no identified withdrawal symptoms), started fluoxetine @ 20 mg spring 2018 through May 2019, then tapered in two steps: May - 10 mg, Nov - 0 mg; Dec 2019 - ssri withdrawal starts, hell begins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lithiumnomore Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 I haven't had an opportunity to post about Dr. Daniel Lieberman until now. I had seen him last July for a 90 minute consultation. I had finished my taper of lamictal at the time, and wanted to start a taper of lithium. I had been seeing Dr. Jennifer Giordano with freerange psychiatry but at the time felt like I needed a mainstream and local doctor to supervise the taper in case I relapsed. Seeing Dr. Lieberman over here and his academic background led me to think he'd have a good understanding of the drugs and their effects, including withdrawal syndromes, and be a good fit. The appointment didn't go well. I started off going through my story, starting at the beginning, and moving forward. I felt like the history and then going into detail about the timing of my prozac taper and emergence of withdrawal issues was important. About 10-15 minutes into my narrative, he interrupts to say that "it's not working for him" and the detail I was providing was excessive and unnecessary. This made me a little flustered, and I probably started talking faster and in an even less focused way. To make matters worse, he informed me 50 minutes into the appointment that what I thought was a 90 minute consultation, was actually only 70 minutes. So things felt rushed throughout, but I was able to lay out the details of my withdrawal symptoms. I didn't explicitly raise that I thought it was withdrawal and seek his opinion, but with the timing of my taper and the onset of symptoms, he should have made the connection if he's knowledgeable about withdrawal. I did raise that I thought the 7 years I took adderall made things worse for me, and I regretted the long term use. He shot back about why I was questioning the "science" and that there's no research showing that long-term stimulant use is problematic (neglecting to mention that, like with most meds, long terms effects haven't really been studied). He followed by comparing it to insulin and how no one questions the science of insulin. Diabetes of course has an identifiable cause and a treatment intended to remedy it, but never mind that. At the end of my appointment, I laid out my plan to finish tapering meds as I had always questioned my diagnosis, never had a manic episode independent of SSRIs, and felt like meds had worsened my condition long term. He said it would be unethical to allow me to come off of meds and that I clearly had a "serious mental illness" based on my account and hospitalizations. He then diagnosed me with ADD and GAD, in addition to bipolar disorder. ADD was based in part on my presentation but also that I said I sometimes use sticky notes to remember things. It's more as little planning around my work. He may have thought I put them up around the house. I don't know. At some point, he also implied at one point I was harming my children by parenting unmedicated. That was extremely hard to hear. Anyway, I'll leave it to Altostrata to consider if he should be removed based on my appointment but thought others could at least read my account. It's conceivable that he would be open to tapering someone on SSRIs without my history of mania, but overall he came across as very mainstream and pro-drug. Again, he never suspected SSRI withdrawal or followed up on all the new symptoms that developed after stopping Prozac. Current Meds/Taper: Lithium 450 mg - only drug. Tapered from 450 mg on 2/4, dropping 50 mg every 2 weeks to 300. Started having extreme insomnia after 2 weeks at 300 mg. Updosed to 350 mg on 3/24 and then back to 450 mg on 4/7. Will resume taper at 5-10%/month or slower when the time comes. Current supplements: Magnesium - Dr Best Chelated 100 mg PM, probiotic. Recent meds/tapers: Seroquel: 9/7/2020 - 25 mg up to 100 mg then tapered off rapidly to 0 mg (took for 2 weeks total) Lithium: 9/4/2020 - 900 mg, 11/20 - 750 mg, 12/15 - 600 mg, 12/21 - 750 mg, 2/11/21 - 600 mg, 3/15/21 - 450 mg Lamictal: 9/7/2020 - 25 mg, 9/17 - 50 mg; 10/1 - 100 mg; 10/13 - 200 mg, 10/23 - 300 mg, 11/6 - 400 mg, 1/15/21 - 200 mg, 4/15/21 - 100 mg, 5/13/21 - 75 mg, 5/27/21 - 62.5 mg, 6/8/21 - 50 mg, 6/22/21 - 37.5 mg, 6/28/21 - 12.5 mg, 7/7/21 - 0 mg Past meds: 2001-2010 - lithium and/or other mood stabilizers, ssris and benzos; 2011 - 2018 - lithium and adderall; 2018 - tapered lithium 900 mg to 0 mg in about 6 months, stopped Nov 2018 (no identified withdrawal symptoms), started fluoxetine @ 20 mg spring 2018 through May 2019, then tapered in two steps: May - 10 mg, Nov - 0 mg; Dec 2019 - ssri withdrawal starts, hell begins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lithiumnomore Posted April 1, 2022 Share Posted April 1, 2022 On 3/17/2022 at 1:01 PM, lithiumnomore said: I just wanted to post again about Joe Tarantolo. I'm currently seeing him and am a little upset to find the recent posts about his views on antidepressant withdrawal. I should have caught this in the search before as Alostrata had removed him from the list because of his views. I've had a pretty good experience with him up until recently, though he's maybe concealed his views that ssri with is psychosomatic. I started my taper of lithium while seeing him, and he's been a little more aggressive than some would recommend and was somewhat hesitant when I pushed to slow down. The reports of him terminating patients is troubling, as I was starting to really trust him. The unfortunate thing is that he's actually a very good therapist and to the extent part of withdrawal is addressing the original problems, he has helped me there. I've been able to dive into the trauma of psychiatric harm and what led to my original depressive episode and introduction to psychiatry. I've done some real healing. But you can't disentangle the role drugs have played as well, and PAWS from a fast-taper of prozac is probably still my main issue. I just wanted to revisit this to add to my experience with Dr. Tarantolo. After pushing me into the lithium taper sooner than I had planned at a rate faster than planned, he was dismissive of my withdrawal symptoms and worsening, trying to convince me that it was normal or that I just needed to adjust to life off of meds. I complained of my worsening insomnia and his response was Eisenhower didn't sleep a week before D-day. I'm not Eishenhower, and my everyday life can't be D-day. I also talked about headaches, which I had never had before, and he told me "people get headaches." I got a few good months of therapy with him at a critical time, and he actually helped me with my relationship with my wife after withdrawal had really strained things, but his misguided views on meds are dangerous. I would not recommend him to anyone. 1 Current Meds/Taper: Lithium 450 mg - only drug. Tapered from 450 mg on 2/4, dropping 50 mg every 2 weeks to 300. Started having extreme insomnia after 2 weeks at 300 mg. Updosed to 350 mg on 3/24 and then back to 450 mg on 4/7. Will resume taper at 5-10%/month or slower when the time comes. Current supplements: Magnesium - Dr Best Chelated 100 mg PM, probiotic. Recent meds/tapers: Seroquel: 9/7/2020 - 25 mg up to 100 mg then tapered off rapidly to 0 mg (took for 2 weeks total) Lithium: 9/4/2020 - 900 mg, 11/20 - 750 mg, 12/15 - 600 mg, 12/21 - 750 mg, 2/11/21 - 600 mg, 3/15/21 - 450 mg Lamictal: 9/7/2020 - 25 mg, 9/17 - 50 mg; 10/1 - 100 mg; 10/13 - 200 mg, 10/23 - 300 mg, 11/6 - 400 mg, 1/15/21 - 200 mg, 4/15/21 - 100 mg, 5/13/21 - 75 mg, 5/27/21 - 62.5 mg, 6/8/21 - 50 mg, 6/22/21 - 37.5 mg, 6/28/21 - 12.5 mg, 7/7/21 - 0 mg Past meds: 2001-2010 - lithium and/or other mood stabilizers, ssris and benzos; 2011 - 2018 - lithium and adderall; 2018 - tapered lithium 900 mg to 0 mg in about 6 months, stopped Nov 2018 (no identified withdrawal symptoms), started fluoxetine @ 20 mg spring 2018 through May 2019, then tapered in two steps: May - 10 mg, Nov - 0 mg; Dec 2019 - ssri withdrawal starts, hell begins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canaanstongue01 Posted April 1, 2022 Share Posted April 1, 2022 5 hours ago, lithiumnomore said: but his misguided views on meds are dangerous. I would not recommend him to anyone. he is also a strong believer in throwing a whole cocktail of herbal supplements at withdrawal, even going so far as to mail them without prompt, totally ignoring the many potential for adverse reactions or setbacks -lexapro 10mg daily from 2012 to 2021 (halfed dose in 4/2021, went all the way off 6/21) -various benzos 2014-2019... valium 2019-10/2021~20mg, inconsistent but daily dosing 10/9-17.5mg 10/23-15m 11/29 - 12.5 12/24 - 12 12/31 - 11.5 2/27/22 - 11 3/31 - 10.5 4/14 - 10 5/3 - 9.5 5/15 - 9 6/6 - 8.5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowphie Posted April 9, 2022 Share Posted April 9, 2022 In Berlin (Germany), Charité has a special consultation hour for tapering psychiatric drugs. Thanks to @belikeabamboofor sharing this with me. The details for contact can be found here: https://psychiatrie-psychotherapie.charite.de/fuer_patienten/ambulanzen/psychiatrische_institutsambulanz_pia/spezialsprechstunden/ Under “Begleitetes Absetzen von Psychopharmaka” I personally felt very validated and understood by the doctor I saw, Dr. Volkmann, and I will continue seeing him until I taper off Mirtazapine. 1 2015-16 - Desvenlafaxine 35.7mg for 10 months, rapid taper without incident. September 2021 - December 2021 Lorazepam peak 2.5mg, jumped from 0.25mg October ‘21 - November ‘21 - Milnacipran up to 100mg for 3 weeks, rapid tapered off in one week at my insistence, horrible side efffects on medication, including two days of Akathisia. November 2nd - November 12th ‘21 - 7.5mg Mirtazapine November 13th ‘21 - February 8th ‘22 - Mirtazapine 15mg 2022: 07/02 - 14.7mg 14/02 - 14.33mg 21/02 - 13.97mg 28/02 - 13.63mg 07/03 - 13.29mg 14/03 - 12.96mg 21/03 - 12.64mg 28/03 - 12.3mg 04/04 - 11.99mg 11/04 - 11.63mg 18/04 - 11.28mg 25/04 - 10.94mg 16/05 - 9.98mg 30/05 - 9.09mg 13/06 - 8.82mg 27/06 - 8.3mg 03/07 - 8.05mg 18/07 - 7.5mg 12/08 - 6.75mg 16/10 - 4.85mg 05/12 - 3.5mg // 2023: 02/01 - 2.94mg // 2024: 12/02 - 0.98mg Supplements: Magnesium glycinate, Omega-3, Zinc, Lysine, Vitamin D, NAC, Probiotics, Grapeseed extract, Phosphatidylserine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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