LighEmergesFromDarkness: Wellbutrin rapid taper & cold turkey

[LightEmergesFromDarkness]

hey everyone. im new here and just wanted to say hi. im currently 13 months off of Wellbutrin right now. for the most part im doing okay i guess. except that im having physical symptoms that did not start until about 7 or 8 mos after my withdrawal originally started. having balance issues (like the feeling that im either gonna faint, fall on the floor, or that my legs are gonna give out on me.) vertigo, dizziness, my blood pressure gets low alot of the time (especially when im at work.) i get brain zaps, and the electric, shock-like sensations in my body, and formication, the creepy, crawly sensation like bugs or insects are crawling on/under my skin. i suffer from parathesia(s) probably from my Topamax. i get numbness, tingling, burning sensations in my hands, fingers, arms, legs, feet, etc. sometimes there is even a temporary loss of strength in my hands and wrists associated with this. i hope that this withdrawal will be over soon, so that i can get back to being more like myself again. when i am recovered from this later, i plan on doing a slow liquid micro-taper of my other remaining meds, one at a time. thank you so much for having this forum, it is vital to have a supportive community like this.  

[Altostrata]

Welcome, Ravenheart.

 

Very sorry to hear you're having these problems.

 

My guess is the symptoms are not due to decreasing the Wellbutrin specifically, but a cumulative effect of going on and off all the drugs, plus the adverse effects you've been tolerating for so long.

 

Can you see any pattern to your symptoms? Keeping notes on paper helps a lot.

[mammaP]

Hi Ravenheart, welcome to SA. 

[LightEmergesFromDarkness]

Welcome, Ravenheart.

 

Very sorry to hear you're having these problems.

 

My guess is the symptoms are not due to decreasing the Wellbutrin specifically, but a cumulative effect of going on and off all the drugs, plus the adverse effects you've been tolerating for so long.

 

Can you see any pattern to your symptoms? Keeping notes on paper helps a lot.

Altostrata, thank you for the warm welcome and also taking the time to respond back with your feedback. very much appreciated! to be honest I never really thought about if the symptoms Im having now are more of a cumulative effect from going on and off all the different psych meds I have been on over the yrs? and right now the only thing that i do notice with my symptoms is that they seem to happen more at work (i work in retail as a cashier and am on my feet for hrs and hrs at a time) or when moving around (like for example going shopping in a grocery store the simple act of walking from aisle to aisle will trigger dizzy spells, vertigo, etc.) i should also say that for a very longtime i did have sudden drops in my blood pressure as a side effect from many of my psych meds that i had been taking since before 2007. especially when changing positions, from either a sitting to a standing position, or a lying down position to a sitting up position, would suddenly cause me to feel dizzy and like i was gonna fall to the floor very easily. this feeling has only become worse though since being off the Wellbutrin, its more intense. i have not fallen yet, but i do get very scared feeling like i might. and recently i dont like sudden jerky movements while riding inside a car as a passenger. it makes my stomache feel funny, almost like im getting motion sickness. same thing happens to me if im on the bus after work and the bus takes a sharp turn, i get dizzy and lightheaded and feel like im going to fall out of my seat. 

 

mammaP, thank you for the friendly welcome to SA!

[Altostrata]

RavenHeart, please list your other drugs and dosages in your signature, instructions here http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/893-please-put-your-withdrawal-history-in-your-signature/

 

What time of day do your symptoms occur in relation to when you take your medications?

[LightEmergesFromDarkness]

diagnosed as Bipolar NOS Disorder. first entered the mental health system here in the USA back when I was 17 yrs old, and was experience symptoms of depression and anxiety. this was during the winter of 1997. they put me on Paxil. the first 6 mos I was okay until a psych nurse had suddenly made an abrupt change to my dose of Paxil. she updosed me from 20 mgs to 40 mgs. this rapid increase was too much for my central nervous system and I became manic and psychotic very quickly. I did not understand what was happening to me at the time or why I felt so not like myself.
I was not aware that it was in fact because of the Paxil, and that I was intoxicated. it was because of this adverse reaction to the Paxil that I originally got diagnosed back in the fall of 1998. over the yrs I have been on many different psych meds (too many to list!) many different combinations, everything from SSRIS, atypical antidepressants, benzos, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers. I have been in and out of the hospital from 1998 up until 2004, on and off, with periods of wellness in between.

Sept. 98-manic episode

March 99-depressive episode

July 99-depressive episode

June 04-mixed episode

My last hospitalization in 2004 was mostly because I was in a severe withdrawal because I had cold turkey on all my psych meds at that time (I was so sick of the side effects I was desperate for a break from them). I was so lucky that nothing other than the tremors, shakes, and jittery feeling, and my obvious mixed state was all that happened to me.
I did not realize back then how dangerous a thing I was doing to myself. I look back on that sometimes and just think things could have been very different.

In 2007 I made the decision to wean myself from the higher dose of my psych meds down to a lower dose by dry-cutting. I had been taking Wellbutrin (300 mgs), Depakote (500 mgs), Topamax (100 mgs), and Seroquel (200 mgs). Eventually I got down to 75 mgs on the Wellbutrin, and 125 mgs on the Depakote, 50 mgs on the Topamax, and 50 mgs on the Seroquel. I got used to functioning on these lower doses. then in 2011, I wanted off the Seroquel. I tried to do a gradual taper, but was worried about health complications I had been having, so the taper ended up being rapid. I did not seem to have any withdrawal symptoms from the Seroquel.

then in the fall of 2012, I noticed some manic-like symptoms coming on from the Wellbutrin, even though I had been taking that for several yrs. I told my pdoc and he did not seem that concerned. all he wanted to do was increase my Depakote, which I was not okay with (because of my hypothyroidism).I ended up later that winter tapering off the Wellbutrin. that did not go well. my plan ideally was to taper slow, but again I had health concerns that were bothering me. that became a rapid taper down to 37.5 mgs. then from that dose I just cold turkey the rest of the way. at first I was okay, then 7 or 8 mos later, I started having withdrawal symptoms of vertigo.

as you can probably tell, in the past, when I had weaned myself down to the lower doses on my psych meds back in 2007, I had not been aware of the liquid micro-tapers being a safer option! so going foreward, with my remaining meds, I want to really go slow until off my meds.

most recent update-

Seroquel:completely off since Aug. 2011, rapid taper, dry cut for about 6 mos.

Ativan:not sure of the exact month, but came off with no w/d sxs sometime around 2013. 

Wellbutrin:off since Dec. 2012, tried slow taper, got down to 37.5 mgs, got impatient once reached 37.5 mgs by dry cutting for 1 or 2 mos maybe, then cold turkey rest.

Topamax:off since April 2014. did slow micro-taper this time, removed 0.5 mLs per day until down to zero. (from 50 mgs, once daily)

Depakote:currently on slow micro-taper (from 62.5 mgs, once daily) removing 0.25 mLs per day, until down to zero.

in addition to the sxs of vertigo, i also have brain zaps, electric-shock like sensations, twitches, abnormal creepy-crawly bug/insect sensations on or underneath skin, and neuropathy pain. i also have rebound anxiety, and my chronic headaches and chronic insomnia are worse right now.

 

[Petunia]

Hi LightEmergesFromDarkness,

Welcome to SA and thank you for sharing your story, I'm glad you found us and I'm sure we will be able to help you with continuing to safely taper from your medications.

 

First I would like to suggest that if you are having symptoms at the moment, you stop tapering, take the same amount of what you are currently taking every day and then spend some time here, reading and learning about how to protect your nervous system while you are safely tapering.  A nice long hold will help your nervous system to settle down, which will prevent further damage caused by tapering too fast off many drugs.

 

In the past, you have tapered too fast.  We suggest reducing by no more than 10% of the current dose every 4 weeks, this reduces the risk of withdrawal symptoms arising and causing nervous system destabilization.  Please read through this post which will explain why:

 

http://survivinganti...0-of-my-dosage/

 

The more carefully you taper, the greater the chance there is of getting off your medications, staying off and being well.

 

... the nervous system does best in a stable environment. Help your nervous system adapt to life without drugs by maintaining as much stability as you can. This is the way you can take care of yourself and help your nervous system to recover. We are our own worst enemies when it comes to stressing our nervous systems! Examples:
 
3.a. Do not suddenly quit taking your drugs. Do not skip doses to taper. These big, fast changes are the opposite of providing stability for your nervous system. Skipping doses causes the amount of the drug in your bloodstream to go up and down. Do not do this for any psychiatric drug.

 

Please see:  Keep it simple. Keep it slow. Keep it stable

 

 

Please see the Important Topics in Tapering for more information. 

 

Is it correct that the only drug you are currently taking is depakote? What dose are you on now?  You may need to updose if your symptoms don't subside by holding, others with more experience of this kind of drug should be able to help, I don't have any experience with tapering mood stabilizers.

 

You may actually be experiencing withdrawal symptoms from previous too fast tapers and CTs.

 

Please put your drug and withdrawal history in your signature.  Putting a short version of your drug history in your signature helps people understand your context, it appears below each of your posts.  Here are instructions for how to do it:

 

http://survivinganti...your-signature/

 

You will find a lot of friendly help and support here.

 

Petu.

[LightEmergesFromDarkness]

hi Petu,

 

Thank you for your friendly welcome. Yes, it is correct that the only psych drug I am taking right now is Depakote. 
my dose is currently 22 mgs, once a day. I do realize that I tapered too fast on my psych drugs in the past.
I really do believe that I am in a protracted w/d that came from the rapid taper of the Wellbutrin back in 2012.
and I agree with you that the other w/d symptoms I am having could be due to damage to my CNS from previous tapers.
I am going to hold at my current dose for awhile and see if my w/d symptoms improve. I have noticed that of late, the vertigo
is not as severe as what it had been before. it is coming less often, atleast as of the last few weeks anyways. the brain zaps
seem to come and go. as do the electric shock like feelings in my body. the neuropathy pain was a side effect of when I was on the 
Topamax before. I included it as a w/d sxs because it is still bothering me. I will look at the links you posted above in your comment
in regards to tapering. Thank you for the honest and compassionate feedback. I truly appreciate you taking the time to respond.
 

[Altostrata]

Welcome, LEFD.

 

Excellent advice from Petu. What's important is keeping your nervous system calm, not getting off the drug as soon as possible.

 

You've done a remarkable job so far, let your nervous system settle down around that dose of Depakote for quite a while in preparation for the final push.

[LightEmergesFromDarkness]

What time of day do your symptoms occur in relation to when you take your medications?

my symptoms seem to occur more in late morning or early afternoon the majority of the time. i tend to take my depakote later in the afternoon, or early evening. 

 

wondering if i should try dosing the depakote twice a day instead of just once daily...?

[Altostrata]

Merged your 2 Intro topics.

 

Please take the Depakote at the same time each day for a week, then see what your symptom pattern is.

 

If you're taking any other drugs at all, please put ALL the drugs you take in the Drug Interactions Checker http://www.drugs.com/drug_interactions.html and post the results in this topic.