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Melatonin for sleep


Altostrata

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I'm new and I have a question. I take 1 mg Klonopin and 20 mgs Flexeril at night--which I want to taper from. But I'm tapering off Effexor right now. Is it safe to take a minimum amount of Melatonin and try reducing the Flexeril while tapering off Effexor? Thanks!!

Tapered off 21 Rx drugs due to chemical toxicity. 6 years on Abilify, Lamictal, and Effexor. Currently take Klonopin, Flexeril and Vyvanse. Tapering off Effexor.

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Sertraline 50mg and Clonazapam .375mg from 2000 -- symptoms of dizziness Spring 2012

increased to .5 Clonazapam and 100mg Sertraline -- no improvement

Benzo microtaper from November 2012 to November 2014 (followed benzo sites "taper benzo first")

Started Sertraline taper in December 2014 cut by 25mg to 75mg; 62.5mg 1/1/15 and 50mg on 2/1/15

Held at 50mg through April 5 to use liquid 
Reduced dosage in 10% or less drops from 50mg to 25mg -- at single tablet of 25mg on 10/5/15

Transitioned to all liquid for accuracy while tapering -- Horrible insomnia -- back to 25mg liquid and held until October 1, 2016

10/16 -- 11/18 tapered very slowly to 10.6mg.  No real improvement and never really stable so updosed to 12.5mg (1/2 a pill) for convenience and long hold.

After 8+ months of holding with no noticeable improvement decided to add .4ml of liquid Prozac (about 1.5mg) to see if that improves the situation

Supplements, Magnesium, D3, Omega 3, curcumin, Valerian, 81mg Aspirin, L-Theanine, Vit. C,

 

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  • 5 months later...

Melatonin seems to have caused dependence in me. Took it 2 months for 3mg (I now know this might have been too much). It stopped me from waking at night and I had no side effects, so I had no reason to think the dose was high.

 

However, I have 2 serious concerns now:

 

1-As soon as I stopped it, I got severe drowsiness. It lasted 2 days until I reinstated. Got better once I reinstated it. This clearly suggests dependence. Should I taper it???

 

2-There is evidence that Melatonin can decrease Dopamine. I have severe disabling anhedonia, and low Dopamine is the last thing I need. 

 

" Inhibition of dopamine release by melatonin has been demonstrated in specific areas of the mammalian central nervous system (hypothalamus, hippocampus, medulla-pons, and retina). Antidopaminergic activities of melatonin have been demonstrated in the striatum. Dopaminergic transmission has a pivotal role in circadian entrainment of the fetus, in coordination of body movement and reproduction. Recent findings indicate that melatonin may modulate dopaminergic pathways involved in movement disorders in humans."  Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12043836

 

While this inhibition may be normal in a brain with no issues, it has the potential of causing issues in brains already suffering from symptoms of low Dopamine, especially if we supplement Melatonin levels above what is already available in the brain.

 

Thoughts? 

  • SSRIs 3-4 times in the last 14 years; would take them for 6-8 months and then taper off under dr supervision with no problems.
  • Med history prior to 2015: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6012-newbeginning-my-withdrawal-story/?p=267313#entry267313
  • 04/2015: Prozac decreased to 15mg over last 3 months; effexor held steady at 8mg; current effexor XR: 20 beads of a 75mg capsule per day (about 8mg)
  • 06/2015: Prozac: 10mg; effexor XR: 19 beads (about 7.5mg); 07/2015: Prozac: 8.5mg; effexor 18 beads; 08/2015: Prozac: 7.5mg; effexor: 17 beads
  • End of August: withdrawal: depressive symptoms, crying spells. Realized I was measuring prozac dose wrong for the last 2 months. Reinstated Prozac 8.5mg; Kept effexor at 17 beads. Stabilized in 5 weeks.
  • 10/2015: Prozac: 8.5mg; effexor: 17 beads11/2015: Prozac: 1.9ml (7.5mg); effexor: 16 beads12/2015: Prozac: 1.6ml; effexor xr: 16 beads. Withdrawal: neuroemotions
  • 01/2016: prozac: 1.6ml; effexor xr: reinstated 17 beads, withdrawal improved; 02/2016: Prozac 1.5ml; Effexor: 17 beads; 03/2016: Prozac 1.3ml(5mg); Effexor: 17 beads (7mg)-withdrawal (flu-like malaise, lightheaded, drowsy) started end of March. April 15: reinstated Prozac 1.5ml. Stabilized. 2 weeks ok. End of April: Withdrawal (neuroemotions). Eventually stabilized in April-May. Apathy improved.
  • 3 month hold until August. August 2016: apathy came back;

  • October 2016: updosed to Prozac 1.6ml. Bad reaction: anxiety, depression. End of October: went down Prozac 1.5ml. Stabilized over several weeks.

  • Dec 9: tried macca for energy: anxiety/depression. Improved over several weeks, but not completely resolved.

  • Dec 31: cut Effexor 5% to 16 beads. After 9 days: withdrawal anxiety, depression; tried updosing to 17 beads Feb 7 but anxiety got worse; went down to 16 beads

    May 2017: Anxiety improved; severe depression continuesSeptember 2017: finally stabilized!!!!!! 09/07/2017-12/31/2017: hold

  • Stable on Effexor 6mg and Prozac 6mg until around 2019-2020. Side effects (fatigue, anhedonia) continued, but had some long lasting windows thanks to therapy. Windows lasting 5-6 months each year followed by relapses.

  • 2019: bad reaction to melatonin 3 mg. Withdrawal after taking it 2 months. When I tried to stop it developed severe insomnia that lasted 6 months even after I reinstated melatonin. Only slept again because I took hydroxyzine 5 mg 3 times a week for few months. Stopped hydroxyzine with no issues. Sleep normalized.

  • 2020-2021: Holding on Prozac 6mg, Effexor 6mg, Tapered melatonin 1 drop every 2-4 weeks down to 1.5mg. Had to hold because further cuts were causing severe drowsiness. 

  • 2021: Insomnia returned due to caffeine use for few months (only started after months of use). I also had a concussion at this time.

  • 2023: took hydroxyzine 5-100mg for one month (kept increasing dose every 3 days because I developed tolerance). Tapered for 1 week. After 1 month: withdrawal neuroemotions. Reinstated 5mg 2 months after stopping. Gradually increased to 25mg, stabilized, but withdrawal came back after 10 days. Kept increasing dose and withdrawal returning. Currently at 40mg. Not sure how to stabilize. 

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11 hours ago, Newbeginning said:

Melatonin seems to have caused dependence in me. Took it 2 months for 3mg (I now know this might have been too much). ..

1-As soon as I stopped it, I got severe drowsiness. It lasted 2 days until I reinstated. Got better once I reinstated it. This clearly suggests dependence. Should I taper it???

...

Newbeginning - Sure, it's almost always better to taper off psychoactive substances than discontinue from a regular dose to 0 in a single large decrease. Can you get 1 mg (or less) tablets or capsules?

Edited by scallywag
add quote of relevant question

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.
1997-1999 Effexor; 2002-2005 Effexor XR 37.5 mg linear taper, dropping same #beads/week with bad results

Cymbalta 60 mg 2012 - 2015; 2016: 20 mg to 7 mg exact doses and dates in this post; 2017: 6.3 mg to  0.0 mg  Aug. 12; details here


scallywag's Introduction
Online spreadsheet for dose taper calculations and nz11's THE WORKS spreadsheet

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  • 3 months later...

To all of you struggling with insomnia, here is a product I recently discovered. It's been magical for me! It's Liposomal Melatonin by Quicksilver. here is the link: 

https://www.quicksilverscientific.com/resource-center/the-blog/quicksilver-scientific-launches-liposomal-melatonin-a-natural-sleep-aid

 

I have been taking melatonin for years and up to 10-20 mg sometimes. And, when I started tapering off wellbutrin, the conventional melatonin you buy at the stores just didn't work anymore. So, a friend recommend liposomal melatonin. It puts me to sleep almost immediately. I take 4 pumps (4 mg) and typically sleep through the night, at least 7 hours. Liposomal melatonin absorbs faster and is also detoxes the brain while you sleep. You can read more about it on the site.

Wellbutrin 300 mg XL July 2015 to January 2018

Wellbutrin 150 mg XL on and off from November 2008 to July 2015

Took Ativan from January 2017 to Feb 2017 (abrupt stop) 

 

History: 

ADs: Cymbalta - June 2005 to July 2006,  Lexapro - August 2005 to July 2006,  Prozac - July 2006 to May 2007, August 2007 to November 2008,  Wellbutrin (Bupropion) XL - November 2008 to Present 

StimulantsAdderall XR - August 2005 to February 2006; November 2010 to December 2010,   Adderall IR - September 2005 to Feb 2006,  January 2013 to March 2013, Ritalin XR - June 2006 to August 2006,  Another drug (forgot name) for ADD - August 2006 to October 2006 

Benzos: Ativan - October 2007 to January 2008; January 2017 to February 2017,  Klonopin - April 2013  

 

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I'm going to buy some, liposomal anything is awesome.

Taper commencing 14/06/18:

  • Going down by 2.5mg per month from 35mg - once 2.5mg is bigger than the recommended 10%, I'll switch to a water solution. 
  • Planning to taper until October and then hold until 2019 - balancing study, work, life and holiday season.

 

Medication / withdrawal history:

  • Tapered July 2016 to October 2016, unsuccessful and reinstated to 30mg (didn't track specifics)
  • Tapered March 2017 to August 2017, was unsuccessful and reinstated to 35mg (didn't track specifics).
  • Current taper - started 1st January 2018 @ 32.5mg and 2.5mg per month until I reach a dose where 2.5 is > 10% of dose.

 

Morning supplements:

B complex, Niagen, COQ10, Black seed oil, Vitamin C, Zinc, Fish Oil, EGCG, Bosweilla Extract, Curcumin (Longvida), Vitamin D, R-ALA, NAC, Ashwagandha (occasionally), Epimedium / Icariin, Resveratol.

 

Evening supplements:

NatureCalm Magnesium, Glycine, Ashwagandha, Reishi, Schisandra, Melatonin.

I also take Phenibut (maximum 3 times weekly at a dose that doesn't build tolerance) and Oleamide when required.

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Sublingual melatonin can also be very effective.

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.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • Moderator Emeritus

My doctor wants me to try liquid melatonin drops.  I was reading on Consumer Labs yesterday, and they talked about combination pills - some immediate release, some time release.  It seemed to come in the big 5 mg tablets, though - which is too much for most of us.  There was a 0.3 mg version, but it didn't "extend" as long as the other.  The 5 mg offered almost 8 hours of sleep, while the 0.3 mg offered 6 hours.  For us - 6 hours might be a heavenly option.

 

They claim that the "regular release" melatonin does not seem to cause "hungover" symptoms the next day, but it did for me.

 

In other news, 3 mg of melatonin, in a study in China, caused dizziness and balance problems, especially one hour after taking.  This would not be a good thing for someone with these symptoms to trial.

"Easy, easy - just go easy and you'll finish." - Hawaiian Kapuna

 

Holding is hard work, holding is a blessing. Give your brain time to heal before you try again.

 

My suggestions are not medical advice, you are in charge of your own medical choices.

 

A lifetime of being prescribed antidepressants that caused problems (30 years in total). At age 35 flipped to "bipolar," but was not diagnosed for 5 years. Started my journey in Midwest United States. Crossed the Pacific for love and hope; currently living in Australia.   CT Seroquel 25 mg some time in 2013.   Tapered Reboxetine 4 mg Oct 2013 to Sept 2014 = GONE (3 years on Reboxetine).     Tapered Lithium 900 to 475 MG (alternating with the SNRI) Jan 2014 - Nov 2014, tapered Lithium 475 mg Jan 2015 -  Feb 2016 = GONE (10 years  on Lithium).  Many mistakes in dry cutting dosages were made.


The tedious thread (my intro):  JanCarol ☼ Reboxetine first, then Lithium

The happy thread (my success story):  JanCarol - Undiagnosed  Off all bipolar drugs

My own blog:  https://shamanexplorations.com/shamans-blog/

 

 

I have been psych drug FREE since 1 Feb 2016!

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1 hour ago, JanCarol said:

My doctor wants me to try liquid melatonin drops.  I was reading on Consumer Labs yesterday, and they talked about combination pills - some immediate release, some time release.  It seemed to come in the big 5 mg tablets, though - which is too much for most of us.  There was a 0.3 mg version, but it didn't "extend" as long as the other.  The 5 mg offered almost 8 hours of sleep, while the 0.3 mg offered 6 hours.  For us - 6 hours might be a heavenly option.

 

They claim that the "regular release" melatonin does not seem to cause "hungover" symptoms the next day, but it did for me.

 

In other news, 3 mg of melatonin, in a study in China, caused dizziness and balance problems, especially one hour after taking.  This would not be a good thing for someone with these symptoms to trial.

 

not tried melatonin liquid drops yet but tried many brands of different tablets and at different strengths, the most effective for me are these 0.3mg slow release, they almost never fail me and never cause me to feel hungover the next day:

 

https://uk.iherb.com/pr/Life-Extension-Melatonin-6-Hour-Timed-Release-300-mcg-100-Veggie-Tabs/47832

2001 - 2005 prozac,  2001 - 2017 various benzos, mainly diazapem and zanex,  2002 - 2017 olanzapine or seroquel,  2002 -2017 propanolol, 2005 - 2009 venlafaxine 75mg , forced to go cold turkey off venlafaxine as moved Thailand, doctor cut me off and couldn't get it there, severely ill for over 2 years, countered withdrawals with more zanex and seroquel

2014 returned to UK, mainly to get treatment getting off meds

doctor advised to taper seroquel over a few weeks, severely ill and bed bed-bound so reinstated it, 2015 tapered seroquel myself slower over a few months, was off it 2 months and was too ill so went on olanzapine, became zombie and too tired to get out of bed, went back on seroquel, very depressed so went back on venlafaxine, didnt work  so doctor swapped to zoloft became very agitated so back on venlafaxine

June 2016 - felt strong enough to begin tapering again, started what I thought was a slow taper of all meds,  2016 July Not had any alcoholic drink since this date, 

2016 October completely off diazepem, 2017 Feb completely off seroquel, 2017 March completely off proponanlol, 2017 April (day before birthday) completely off venlafaxine, OFF ALL MEDS 11/4/2017, was fine for nearly 3 months and then delayed withdrawal hit,

supplements taking: turmeric capsules, NiaCel (nicotinamide riboside), Vit B12 sublingual, Vit B3, Vit B6, Vit B1, apple cider vinegar, manuka umf 10 honey, camu camu powder,  melatonin when needed, epsom salt baths, juices, smoothies, 

Intro: http://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/15175-dj2010-off-all-meds-for-3-months-and-been-fine-now-bad-insomnia/

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Please be careful if you are taking melatonin products to check the label for the ingredients.  A member here was using a melatonin product that turned out to contain many ingredients, including tryptophan and 5HTP (which are not safe to take with ADs).  It's best if your melatonin product contains only melatonin - no other active ingredients.

2001–2002 paroxetine

2003  citalopram

2004-2008  paroxetine (various failed tapers) 
2008  paroxetine slow taper down to

2016  Aug off paroxetine
2016  citalopram May 20mg  Oct 15mg … slow taper down
2018  citalopram 13 Feb 4.6mg 15 Mar 4.4mg 29 Apr 4.2mg 6 Jul 4.1mg 17 Aug 4.0mg  18 Nov 3.8mg
2019  15 Mar 3.6mg  21 May 3.4mg  26 Dec 3.2mg 

2020  19 Feb 3.0mg 19 Jul 2.9mg 16 Sep 2.8mg 25 Oct 2.7mg 23 Oct 2.6mg 24 Dec 2.5mg

2021   29 Aug 2.4mg   15 Nov 2.3mg

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14 minutes ago, Songbird said:

Please be careful if you are taking melatonin products to check the label for the ingredients.  A member here was using a melatonin product that turned out to contain many ingredients, including tryptophan and 5HTP (which are not safe to take with ADs).  It's best if your melatonin product contains only melatonin - no other active ingredients.

 

yeh I was using the one in the below link for a long time, it worked great at first but then I found it working sometimes and other times found it extremely activating, after many months I noticed it contained 10mg Vitamin B6, my own fault for not properly reading the label:

 

https://uk.iherb.com/pr/Natrol-Melatonin-Time-Release-1-mg-90-Tablets/41639

Edited by Songbird
remove commercial link

2001 - 2005 prozac,  2001 - 2017 various benzos, mainly diazapem and zanex,  2002 - 2017 olanzapine or seroquel,  2002 -2017 propanolol, 2005 - 2009 venlafaxine 75mg , forced to go cold turkey off venlafaxine as moved Thailand, doctor cut me off and couldn't get it there, severely ill for over 2 years, countered withdrawals with more zanex and seroquel

2014 returned to UK, mainly to get treatment getting off meds

doctor advised to taper seroquel over a few weeks, severely ill and bed bed-bound so reinstated it, 2015 tapered seroquel myself slower over a few months, was off it 2 months and was too ill so went on olanzapine, became zombie and too tired to get out of bed, went back on seroquel, very depressed so went back on venlafaxine, didnt work  so doctor swapped to zoloft became very agitated so back on venlafaxine

June 2016 - felt strong enough to begin tapering again, started what I thought was a slow taper of all meds,  2016 July Not had any alcoholic drink since this date, 

2016 October completely off diazepem, 2017 Feb completely off seroquel, 2017 March completely off proponanlol, 2017 April (day before birthday) completely off venlafaxine, OFF ALL MEDS 11/4/2017, was fine for nearly 3 months and then delayed withdrawal hit,

supplements taking: turmeric capsules, NiaCel (nicotinamide riboside), Vit B12 sublingual, Vit B3, Vit B6, Vit B1, apple cider vinegar, manuka umf 10 honey, camu camu powder,  melatonin when needed, epsom salt baths, juices, smoothies, 

Intro: http://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/15175-dj2010-off-all-meds-for-3-months-and-been-fine-now-bad-insomnia/

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 2/13/2018 at 9:51 AM, scallywag said:

Newbeginning - Sure, it's almost always better to taper off psychoactive substances than discontinue from a regular dose to 0 in a single large decrease. Can you get 1 mg (or less) tablets or capsules?

 

I just saw your comment Scally. I did try decreasing more gradually and it gave me severe insomnia. So I reinstated after a few days, but the insomnia persisted. It's been 4 months and my sleep is not back to normal.

 

I never had severe issues with sleep before trying Melatonin. Not even in withdrawal from antidepressants. I realize the dose I took was high, but I never expected it to ruin my sleep like that. 

 

On top of that, I can't stop it. I tolerated a 20% decrease using liquid drops, but a month later I could not tolerate another drop.because it caused insomnia and anxiety. Even 10% did. Have not tried another drop for 2 months, but will try again soon. 

 

Please be careful with Melatonin, especially in doses above 1mg. I realize the high dose was a big part of it, but I never thought it could cause si much damage. 

  • SSRIs 3-4 times in the last 14 years; would take them for 6-8 months and then taper off under dr supervision with no problems.
  • Med history prior to 2015: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6012-newbeginning-my-withdrawal-story/?p=267313#entry267313
  • 04/2015: Prozac decreased to 15mg over last 3 months; effexor held steady at 8mg; current effexor XR: 20 beads of a 75mg capsule per day (about 8mg)
  • 06/2015: Prozac: 10mg; effexor XR: 19 beads (about 7.5mg); 07/2015: Prozac: 8.5mg; effexor 18 beads; 08/2015: Prozac: 7.5mg; effexor: 17 beads
  • End of August: withdrawal: depressive symptoms, crying spells. Realized I was measuring prozac dose wrong for the last 2 months. Reinstated Prozac 8.5mg; Kept effexor at 17 beads. Stabilized in 5 weeks.
  • 10/2015: Prozac: 8.5mg; effexor: 17 beads11/2015: Prozac: 1.9ml (7.5mg); effexor: 16 beads12/2015: Prozac: 1.6ml; effexor xr: 16 beads. Withdrawal: neuroemotions
  • 01/2016: prozac: 1.6ml; effexor xr: reinstated 17 beads, withdrawal improved; 02/2016: Prozac 1.5ml; Effexor: 17 beads; 03/2016: Prozac 1.3ml(5mg); Effexor: 17 beads (7mg)-withdrawal (flu-like malaise, lightheaded, drowsy) started end of March. April 15: reinstated Prozac 1.5ml. Stabilized. 2 weeks ok. End of April: Withdrawal (neuroemotions). Eventually stabilized in April-May. Apathy improved.
  • 3 month hold until August. August 2016: apathy came back;

  • October 2016: updosed to Prozac 1.6ml. Bad reaction: anxiety, depression. End of October: went down Prozac 1.5ml. Stabilized over several weeks.

  • Dec 9: tried macca for energy: anxiety/depression. Improved over several weeks, but not completely resolved.

  • Dec 31: cut Effexor 5% to 16 beads. After 9 days: withdrawal anxiety, depression; tried updosing to 17 beads Feb 7 but anxiety got worse; went down to 16 beads

    May 2017: Anxiety improved; severe depression continuesSeptember 2017: finally stabilized!!!!!! 09/07/2017-12/31/2017: hold

  • Stable on Effexor 6mg and Prozac 6mg until around 2019-2020. Side effects (fatigue, anhedonia) continued, but had some long lasting windows thanks to therapy. Windows lasting 5-6 months each year followed by relapses.

  • 2019: bad reaction to melatonin 3 mg. Withdrawal after taking it 2 months. When I tried to stop it developed severe insomnia that lasted 6 months even after I reinstated melatonin. Only slept again because I took hydroxyzine 5 mg 3 times a week for few months. Stopped hydroxyzine with no issues. Sleep normalized.

  • 2020-2021: Holding on Prozac 6mg, Effexor 6mg, Tapered melatonin 1 drop every 2-4 weeks down to 1.5mg. Had to hold because further cuts were causing severe drowsiness. 

  • 2021: Insomnia returned due to caffeine use for few months (only started after months of use). I also had a concussion at this time.

  • 2023: took hydroxyzine 5-100mg for one month (kept increasing dose every 3 days because I developed tolerance). Tapered for 1 week. After 1 month: withdrawal neuroemotions. Reinstated 5mg 2 months after stopping. Gradually increased to 25mg, stabilized, but withdrawal came back after 10 days. Kept increasing dose and withdrawal returning. Currently at 40mg. Not sure how to stabilize. 

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New information in from Consumer Labs, citing a small study:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20226733  

 

3 mg melatonin increased symptoms of restless legs.  Since "restless legs disorder" seems to be most often a drug induced effect (antidepressants and stuff like Lyrica), I would put it under the "akathisia" umbrella.

 

If you are having "restless legs" or suffering akathisia, then melatonin is probably not for you.

 

NewBeginning, you may have to go through some periods of insomnia in order to get off the melatonin and regulate.  Most of us have, at some point, gone through an insomnia phase before sleep regulates to something more workable.

 

ALSO this Consumer Labs article issued a firm warning:  melatonin is not to be taken with benzos or Z-drugs.  It's not a "toxic" interaction, but it's like trying to put out a fire with kerosene.

"Easy, easy - just go easy and you'll finish." - Hawaiian Kapuna

 

Holding is hard work, holding is a blessing. Give your brain time to heal before you try again.

 

My suggestions are not medical advice, you are in charge of your own medical choices.

 

A lifetime of being prescribed antidepressants that caused problems (30 years in total). At age 35 flipped to "bipolar," but was not diagnosed for 5 years. Started my journey in Midwest United States. Crossed the Pacific for love and hope; currently living in Australia.   CT Seroquel 25 mg some time in 2013.   Tapered Reboxetine 4 mg Oct 2013 to Sept 2014 = GONE (3 years on Reboxetine).     Tapered Lithium 900 to 475 MG (alternating with the SNRI) Jan 2014 - Nov 2014, tapered Lithium 475 mg Jan 2015 -  Feb 2016 = GONE (10 years  on Lithium).  Many mistakes in dry cutting dosages were made.


The tedious thread (my intro):  JanCarol ☼ Reboxetine first, then Lithium

The happy thread (my success story):  JanCarol - Undiagnosed  Off all bipolar drugs

My own blog:  https://shamanexplorations.com/shamans-blog/

 

 

I have been psych drug FREE since 1 Feb 2016!

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  • 4 weeks later...

I don’t know what to do! I’m off of all meds & my only issue is sleep! It’s like I’ve created this terrible bad habit of a thought and don’t know how to fix it! I NEVER had a problem with sleep until 3 yrs ago. I’ve tried everything under the sun and now my new choice of self medicating for sleep is wine. I’ve been getting drunk literally every night for the past 10 months and now I worry about my damn liver!!!! 

 

Ill g by this melatonin and will take about 8pm but what if it wears off by the time I go to bed at like 11? 

 

In 2015- had UTI put on Microbid. Stopped sleeping & had a nervous breakdown! Was put on Seroquil, Trazadone, Klonopin, just to name a few! Got off all drugs except Celexa until May of 2018. 

 

Update as of 1/19- reinstated Celexa 20mg. Drinking wine nightly along with a slew of meds/supplements to try and get to sleep. 

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1 hour ago, freespirit123 said:

I don’t know what to do! I’m off of all meds & my only issue is sleep! It’s like I’ve created this terrible bad habit of a thought and don’t know how to fix it! I NEVER had a problem with sleep until 3 yrs ago. I’ve tried everything under the sun and now my new choice of self medicating for sleep is wine. I’ve been getting drunk literally every night for the past 10 months and now I worry about my damn liver!!!! 

 

Ill g by this melatonin and will take about 8pm but what if it wears off by the time I go to bed at like 11? 

 

 

sorry to hear you are having sleep issues, I am having these also, if you go to bed at 11 then you need to take the melatonin at around 10pm, when my sleep is bad I find slow release melatonin the best, regular melatonin gets me to sleep but doesn't keep me asleep, see below a couple of types of melatonin I find best for me:

 

 https://uk.iherb.com/pr/Life-Extension-Melatonin-6-Hour-Timed-Release-300-mcg-100-Veggie-Tabs/47832

 

https://uk.iherb.com/pr/Life-Extension-Melatonin-IR-XR-60-Capsules/83555

2001 - 2005 prozac,  2001 - 2017 various benzos, mainly diazapem and zanex,  2002 - 2017 olanzapine or seroquel,  2002 -2017 propanolol, 2005 - 2009 venlafaxine 75mg , forced to go cold turkey off venlafaxine as moved Thailand, doctor cut me off and couldn't get it there, severely ill for over 2 years, countered withdrawals with more zanex and seroquel

2014 returned to UK, mainly to get treatment getting off meds

doctor advised to taper seroquel over a few weeks, severely ill and bed bed-bound so reinstated it, 2015 tapered seroquel myself slower over a few months, was off it 2 months and was too ill so went on olanzapine, became zombie and too tired to get out of bed, went back on seroquel, very depressed so went back on venlafaxine, didnt work  so doctor swapped to zoloft became very agitated so back on venlafaxine

June 2016 - felt strong enough to begin tapering again, started what I thought was a slow taper of all meds,  2016 July Not had any alcoholic drink since this date, 

2016 October completely off diazepem, 2017 Feb completely off seroquel, 2017 March completely off proponanlol, 2017 April (day before birthday) completely off venlafaxine, OFF ALL MEDS 11/4/2017, was fine for nearly 3 months and then delayed withdrawal hit,

supplements taking: turmeric capsules, NiaCel (nicotinamide riboside), Vit B12 sublingual, Vit B3, Vit B6, Vit B1, apple cider vinegar, manuka umf 10 honey, camu camu powder,  melatonin when needed, epsom salt baths, juices, smoothies, 

Intro: http://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/15175-dj2010-off-all-meds-for-3-months-and-been-fine-now-bad-insomnia/

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  • 2 weeks later...

Could anyone advice me how to taper melatonin? I'm at 25 drops, which is a little over 3mg (24 drops is 3mg).

 

I was at 30 drops and decreased 5 drops in 27 days. Didn't do it all at once. I did 1 drop every 4 to 7 days.

 

2 weeks ago started having waves of daytime drowsiness that I didn't think were related to the cuts. But 4 days ago I started getting the hangover headaches, muscle tension, worse sleep and stomach upset that seemed more like withdrawal. Sleep has improved as I go down in dose of melatonin. 

 

I have no idea how to taper it anymore. I thought 1 drop (3%) every 4 to 7 days was slow enough, but I'm feeling quite sick last 2 weeks. 

 

Any thoughts on how to do it would be appreciated. Thanks!

  • SSRIs 3-4 times in the last 14 years; would take them for 6-8 months and then taper off under dr supervision with no problems.
  • Med history prior to 2015: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6012-newbeginning-my-withdrawal-story/?p=267313#entry267313
  • 04/2015: Prozac decreased to 15mg over last 3 months; effexor held steady at 8mg; current effexor XR: 20 beads of a 75mg capsule per day (about 8mg)
  • 06/2015: Prozac: 10mg; effexor XR: 19 beads (about 7.5mg); 07/2015: Prozac: 8.5mg; effexor 18 beads; 08/2015: Prozac: 7.5mg; effexor: 17 beads
  • End of August: withdrawal: depressive symptoms, crying spells. Realized I was measuring prozac dose wrong for the last 2 months. Reinstated Prozac 8.5mg; Kept effexor at 17 beads. Stabilized in 5 weeks.
  • 10/2015: Prozac: 8.5mg; effexor: 17 beads11/2015: Prozac: 1.9ml (7.5mg); effexor: 16 beads12/2015: Prozac: 1.6ml; effexor xr: 16 beads. Withdrawal: neuroemotions
  • 01/2016: prozac: 1.6ml; effexor xr: reinstated 17 beads, withdrawal improved; 02/2016: Prozac 1.5ml; Effexor: 17 beads; 03/2016: Prozac 1.3ml(5mg); Effexor: 17 beads (7mg)-withdrawal (flu-like malaise, lightheaded, drowsy) started end of March. April 15: reinstated Prozac 1.5ml. Stabilized. 2 weeks ok. End of April: Withdrawal (neuroemotions). Eventually stabilized in April-May. Apathy improved.
  • 3 month hold until August. August 2016: apathy came back;

  • October 2016: updosed to Prozac 1.6ml. Bad reaction: anxiety, depression. End of October: went down Prozac 1.5ml. Stabilized over several weeks.

  • Dec 9: tried macca for energy: anxiety/depression. Improved over several weeks, but not completely resolved.

  • Dec 31: cut Effexor 5% to 16 beads. After 9 days: withdrawal anxiety, depression; tried updosing to 17 beads Feb 7 but anxiety got worse; went down to 16 beads

    May 2017: Anxiety improved; severe depression continuesSeptember 2017: finally stabilized!!!!!! 09/07/2017-12/31/2017: hold

  • Stable on Effexor 6mg and Prozac 6mg until around 2019-2020. Side effects (fatigue, anhedonia) continued, but had some long lasting windows thanks to therapy. Windows lasting 5-6 months each year followed by relapses.

  • 2019: bad reaction to melatonin 3 mg. Withdrawal after taking it 2 months. When I tried to stop it developed severe insomnia that lasted 6 months even after I reinstated melatonin. Only slept again because I took hydroxyzine 5 mg 3 times a week for few months. Stopped hydroxyzine with no issues. Sleep normalized.

  • 2020-2021: Holding on Prozac 6mg, Effexor 6mg, Tapered melatonin 1 drop every 2-4 weeks down to 1.5mg. Had to hold because further cuts were causing severe drowsiness. 

  • 2021: Insomnia returned due to caffeine use for few months (only started after months of use). I also had a concussion at this time.

  • 2023: took hydroxyzine 5-100mg for one month (kept increasing dose every 3 days because I developed tolerance). Tapered for 1 week. After 1 month: withdrawal neuroemotions. Reinstated 5mg 2 months after stopping. Gradually increased to 25mg, stabilized, but withdrawal came back after 10 days. Kept increasing dose and withdrawal returning. Currently at 40mg. Not sure how to stabilize. 

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On 7/15/2018 at 3:32 PM, JanCarol said:

New information in from Consumer Labs, citing a small study:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20226733  

 

3 mg melatonin increased symptoms of restless legs.  Since "restless legs disorder" seems to be most often a drug induced effect (antidepressants and stuff like Lyrica), I would put it under the "akathisia" umbrella.

 

If you are having "restless legs" or suffering akathisia, then melatonin is probably not for you.

 

NewBeginning, you may have to go through some periods of insomnia in order to get off the melatonin and regulate.  Most of us have, at some point, gone through an insomnia phase before sleep regulates to something more workable.

 

ALSO this Consumer Labs article issued a firm warning:  melatonin is not to be taken with benzos or Z-drugs.  It's not a "toxic" interaction, but it's like trying to put out a fire with kerosene.

 

JanCarol, did you mean I should go faster than 3% every 4 to 7 days and just endure the withdrawal? I would be glad to do that if I had the certainty I would not be left in withdrawal for many months, the way I get now with cutting antidepressants even at 10%. 

 

Melatonin messed my sleep for 6 months. It seems it has a strong effect in me now, after being sensitized by antidepressants. 

  • SSRIs 3-4 times in the last 14 years; would take them for 6-8 months and then taper off under dr supervision with no problems.
  • Med history prior to 2015: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6012-newbeginning-my-withdrawal-story/?p=267313#entry267313
  • 04/2015: Prozac decreased to 15mg over last 3 months; effexor held steady at 8mg; current effexor XR: 20 beads of a 75mg capsule per day (about 8mg)
  • 06/2015: Prozac: 10mg; effexor XR: 19 beads (about 7.5mg); 07/2015: Prozac: 8.5mg; effexor 18 beads; 08/2015: Prozac: 7.5mg; effexor: 17 beads
  • End of August: withdrawal: depressive symptoms, crying spells. Realized I was measuring prozac dose wrong for the last 2 months. Reinstated Prozac 8.5mg; Kept effexor at 17 beads. Stabilized in 5 weeks.
  • 10/2015: Prozac: 8.5mg; effexor: 17 beads11/2015: Prozac: 1.9ml (7.5mg); effexor: 16 beads12/2015: Prozac: 1.6ml; effexor xr: 16 beads. Withdrawal: neuroemotions
  • 01/2016: prozac: 1.6ml; effexor xr: reinstated 17 beads, withdrawal improved; 02/2016: Prozac 1.5ml; Effexor: 17 beads; 03/2016: Prozac 1.3ml(5mg); Effexor: 17 beads (7mg)-withdrawal (flu-like malaise, lightheaded, drowsy) started end of March. April 15: reinstated Prozac 1.5ml. Stabilized. 2 weeks ok. End of April: Withdrawal (neuroemotions). Eventually stabilized in April-May. Apathy improved.
  • 3 month hold until August. August 2016: apathy came back;

  • October 2016: updosed to Prozac 1.6ml. Bad reaction: anxiety, depression. End of October: went down Prozac 1.5ml. Stabilized over several weeks.

  • Dec 9: tried macca for energy: anxiety/depression. Improved over several weeks, but not completely resolved.

  • Dec 31: cut Effexor 5% to 16 beads. After 9 days: withdrawal anxiety, depression; tried updosing to 17 beads Feb 7 but anxiety got worse; went down to 16 beads

    May 2017: Anxiety improved; severe depression continuesSeptember 2017: finally stabilized!!!!!! 09/07/2017-12/31/2017: hold

  • Stable on Effexor 6mg and Prozac 6mg until around 2019-2020. Side effects (fatigue, anhedonia) continued, but had some long lasting windows thanks to therapy. Windows lasting 5-6 months each year followed by relapses.

  • 2019: bad reaction to melatonin 3 mg. Withdrawal after taking it 2 months. When I tried to stop it developed severe insomnia that lasted 6 months even after I reinstated melatonin. Only slept again because I took hydroxyzine 5 mg 3 times a week for few months. Stopped hydroxyzine with no issues. Sleep normalized.

  • 2020-2021: Holding on Prozac 6mg, Effexor 6mg, Tapered melatonin 1 drop every 2-4 weeks down to 1.5mg. Had to hold because further cuts were causing severe drowsiness. 

  • 2021: Insomnia returned due to caffeine use for few months (only started after months of use). I also had a concussion at this time.

  • 2023: took hydroxyzine 5-100mg for one month (kept increasing dose every 3 days because I developed tolerance). Tapered for 1 week. After 1 month: withdrawal neuroemotions. Reinstated 5mg 2 months after stopping. Gradually increased to 25mg, stabilized, but withdrawal came back after 10 days. Kept increasing dose and withdrawal returning. Currently at 40mg. Not sure how to stabilize. 

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On 7/15/2018 at 3:32 PM, JanCarol said:

New information in from Consumer Labs, citing a small study:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20226733  

 

3 mg melatonin increased symptoms of restless legs.  Since "restless legs disorder" seems to be most often a drug induced effect (antidepressants and stuff like Lyrica), I would put it under the "akathisia" umbrella.

 

If you are having "restless legs" or suffering akathisia, then melatonin is probably not for you.

 

NewBeginning, you may have to go through some periods of insomnia in order to get off the melatonin and regulate.  Most of us have, at some point, gone through an insomnia phase before sleep regulates to something more workable.

 

ALSO this Consumer Labs article issued a firm warning:  melatonin is not to be taken with benzos or Z-drugs.  It's not a "toxic" interaction, but it's like trying to put out a fire with kerosene.

 

I don't believe melatonin is all that dangerous, but higher doses are not better and can cause unpleasant reactions.

 

We do know that "restless legs" (another vague diagnosis extensively promoted to sell drugs for it) tend to be worse at night -- but often taking magnesium supplements completely relieves "restless legs," which suggests it's due to a mineral deficiency or electrolyte imbalance (too much sodium vs magnesium).

 

NewBeginnings: Melatonin is fairly easy to taper. I'd taper it by 25% every few days. It could be that you'll find a much lower dose than 3mg to be quite effective, or maybe you don't need it at all anymore.

 

(Get off electronic devices at night, they very much affect your own melatonin production, and taking melatonin doesn't quite compensate. I know this from personal experience!)

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.

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Altostrata

 

Melatonin can be dangerous. I find it hard to hear you keep defending melatonin. Melatonin is known to cause akathisia and dyskinesia upon withdrawal. This is common knowledge for many neurologists.

 

Medications Associated with the Onset of Tardive Dyskinesia

Presentation on movement disorders that mentions melatonin

Melatonin-induced withdrawal emergent dyskinesia and akathisia [Paper]

 

I myself developed dystonia-like reactions when withdrawing. And my akathisia from Lexapro still hasn't resolved after 13 months. All while using melatonin to sleep everyday. Now tapering, but the dystonic reactions and increasing akathisia with each drop are making it very very difficult. The neurologist want me to stop using the melatonin ASAP because of the well-known D2 blocking activity. After each drop, the akathisia first grows in intensity and afterwards goes to a lower intensity. It messes bigtime with my dopamine receptors.

 

In the facebook group 'Living with akathisia', a good portion of people that stop using melatonin feel some relief from the akathisia.

 

I get insane restless legs episodes while withdrawing from melatonin. This is not a vague diagnosis and magnesium doesn't help at all.

 

But I get it; if you suffer from insane insomnia, I know you want something. If you want something for every day, don't take more than 0.3mg melatonin (this brings your blood levels to the same levels as your normal circadian melatonin, 0.3mg for normal male adults, 0.1mg for older people).

 

Just for the record, citing the link again from JanCarol again: Melatonin and its effects on Restless Legs

 

So I would suggest to stop advocating melatonin, it is not safe for people with a sensitive CNS. Please add some warnings in the intro topic. People need to make informed decisions regarding their med or supplement choices. And need to be aware of possible side effects to look out for.

 

Origin of Panic Attack and Anxiety Disorder: Overdose of Hallucinogenic HOT-7.

2013-09 20mg escitalopram. In the 4 first months 0.5-1mg/day Alprazolam for sleep & difficult situations.

Tapered the first time from 20mg to 0mg in 17 months or so. Withdrawal 6-8 weeks after last dose. Didn't taper enough to low enough doses (+-1mg).

2015-01-02 Back on 10mg after one week of delayed withdrawal. Stable in 8 days.

Second time tapered 2 years from 10mg to 1.6mg. Stable for half a year in range 2.5mg-1.6mg.

2017-07-28 Measurement errors: went for 1-2 weeks on 2mg. Restlessness and anxiety. Tried back to go back to 1.7mg for 5 days. Anxiety stayed.

2017-08-03 - 2017-08-20 Switched to liquid Lexapro 20mg/ml (1 drop is 1mg). Updosed to 2mg hoping to stabilize. Horrible Panic and Anxiety. Hold for 17 days hoping to stabilize. Didn't work enough for me at the time.

2017-08-20 End of holiday approaching. No more time. Decision to up dose to 5mg escitalopram. Back to the pills. Tapering alprazolam.

A lot of side effects: Akathisia, more anxiety, very troubling sleep, every thought and movement gave me panic attacks. Worst time of my life. I did learn coping skills in this period. A lot. Mastering meditation, mastering floating technique and more Claire Weekes stuff... Can handle extreme anxiety pretty decent now.

2017-09-30 Going down again because holding got worse almost every day. ADVICE TO OTHER ESCITALOPRAM PEOPLE, if updose doesn't work in two weeks, go down again!!! WD is not as brutal as adverse updose effects! After every taper (while tapering pretty manageable, after couple weeks holding, akathisia and extreme anxiety came back)

2018-01-29 Got to ZERO. A hard way down for sure. And now hoping for improvements along the way... Tapering melatonin gave me dystonic reactions however.
14 months after zero: Alternating akathisia, dystonic reactions and WD. Very unstable. No meds whatsoever. 31 months after zero: dystonia got worse, still very high anxiety, and many symptoms... no healing in sight. Adverse reaction destroyed me.

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Alto, I'm getting withdrawal from 3-5% drops once a week. I agree that I may feel better off of it. My concern is tapering faster and ending up in withdrawal for many months.

 

I know this is very rare with melatonin. When I tried it before withdrawal, I stopped it with no issues. But my body is having a strong reaction to decreasing it now. I have been on it like 7 months now because I have difficulty stopping it.

 

TheWayBack, it's interesting you mentioned Dopamine. I noticed I had a relapse of apathy/anhedonia a month into starting melatonin. I was stable from withdrawal, holding my taper and in the middle of a window. In fact, I tried stopping melatonin the first time because of my concern about its effects on dopamine. I probably have some vulnerability in dopamine regulation, because this side effect of antidepressants (anhedonia) doesn't go away even when I'm off meds (takes a while). Maybe in those of us with dopamine issues who are sensitized by withdrawal, melatonin has a higher likelihood of adverse reactions?

 

May I ask how you're tapering it? I'm trying to semi-function while tapering it. Haven't found a way.

 

  • SSRIs 3-4 times in the last 14 years; would take them for 6-8 months and then taper off under dr supervision with no problems.
  • Med history prior to 2015: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6012-newbeginning-my-withdrawal-story/?p=267313#entry267313
  • 04/2015: Prozac decreased to 15mg over last 3 months; effexor held steady at 8mg; current effexor XR: 20 beads of a 75mg capsule per day (about 8mg)
  • 06/2015: Prozac: 10mg; effexor XR: 19 beads (about 7.5mg); 07/2015: Prozac: 8.5mg; effexor 18 beads; 08/2015: Prozac: 7.5mg; effexor: 17 beads
  • End of August: withdrawal: depressive symptoms, crying spells. Realized I was measuring prozac dose wrong for the last 2 months. Reinstated Prozac 8.5mg; Kept effexor at 17 beads. Stabilized in 5 weeks.
  • 10/2015: Prozac: 8.5mg; effexor: 17 beads11/2015: Prozac: 1.9ml (7.5mg); effexor: 16 beads12/2015: Prozac: 1.6ml; effexor xr: 16 beads. Withdrawal: neuroemotions
  • 01/2016: prozac: 1.6ml; effexor xr: reinstated 17 beads, withdrawal improved; 02/2016: Prozac 1.5ml; Effexor: 17 beads; 03/2016: Prozac 1.3ml(5mg); Effexor: 17 beads (7mg)-withdrawal (flu-like malaise, lightheaded, drowsy) started end of March. April 15: reinstated Prozac 1.5ml. Stabilized. 2 weeks ok. End of April: Withdrawal (neuroemotions). Eventually stabilized in April-May. Apathy improved.
  • 3 month hold until August. August 2016: apathy came back;

  • October 2016: updosed to Prozac 1.6ml. Bad reaction: anxiety, depression. End of October: went down Prozac 1.5ml. Stabilized over several weeks.

  • Dec 9: tried macca for energy: anxiety/depression. Improved over several weeks, but not completely resolved.

  • Dec 31: cut Effexor 5% to 16 beads. After 9 days: withdrawal anxiety, depression; tried updosing to 17 beads Feb 7 but anxiety got worse; went down to 16 beads

    May 2017: Anxiety improved; severe depression continuesSeptember 2017: finally stabilized!!!!!! 09/07/2017-12/31/2017: hold

  • Stable on Effexor 6mg and Prozac 6mg until around 2019-2020. Side effects (fatigue, anhedonia) continued, but had some long lasting windows thanks to therapy. Windows lasting 5-6 months each year followed by relapses.

  • 2019: bad reaction to melatonin 3 mg. Withdrawal after taking it 2 months. When I tried to stop it developed severe insomnia that lasted 6 months even after I reinstated melatonin. Only slept again because I took hydroxyzine 5 mg 3 times a week for few months. Stopped hydroxyzine with no issues. Sleep normalized.

  • 2020-2021: Holding on Prozac 6mg, Effexor 6mg, Tapered melatonin 1 drop every 2-4 weeks down to 1.5mg. Had to hold because further cuts were causing severe drowsiness. 

  • 2021: Insomnia returned due to caffeine use for few months (only started after months of use). I also had a concussion at this time.

  • 2023: took hydroxyzine 5-100mg for one month (kept increasing dose every 3 days because I developed tolerance). Tapered for 1 week. After 1 month: withdrawal neuroemotions. Reinstated 5mg 2 months after stopping. Gradually increased to 25mg, stabilized, but withdrawal came back after 10 days. Kept increasing dose and withdrawal returning. Currently at 40mg. Not sure how to stabilize. 

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No special way, to taper ordered 0.1mg pills on the internet. Makes dosing much easier, but tapering over two months from 3mg to 0.4mg still gave me extreme WD, didn't expect that. Took almost two months to get to my baseline again. But the dystonia still wasn't resolved. Dropped again to 0.15mg, again huge increasing dystonia and increasing akathisia waves. Again, took some weeks to lessen. And now even the last drop of 0.05mg was no laughing matter. But I'm almost there now!

 

So just buckle up if you want off fast, or do it very very slow. I found the real WD of mela only starts a couple of days later. So the first three days were each time quite uneventful, but the bom dropped hard each time some days later.

 

Good luck!

 

 

Origin of Panic Attack and Anxiety Disorder: Overdose of Hallucinogenic HOT-7.

2013-09 20mg escitalopram. In the 4 first months 0.5-1mg/day Alprazolam for sleep & difficult situations.

Tapered the first time from 20mg to 0mg in 17 months or so. Withdrawal 6-8 weeks after last dose. Didn't taper enough to low enough doses (+-1mg).

2015-01-02 Back on 10mg after one week of delayed withdrawal. Stable in 8 days.

Second time tapered 2 years from 10mg to 1.6mg. Stable for half a year in range 2.5mg-1.6mg.

2017-07-28 Measurement errors: went for 1-2 weeks on 2mg. Restlessness and anxiety. Tried back to go back to 1.7mg for 5 days. Anxiety stayed.

2017-08-03 - 2017-08-20 Switched to liquid Lexapro 20mg/ml (1 drop is 1mg). Updosed to 2mg hoping to stabilize. Horrible Panic and Anxiety. Hold for 17 days hoping to stabilize. Didn't work enough for me at the time.

2017-08-20 End of holiday approaching. No more time. Decision to up dose to 5mg escitalopram. Back to the pills. Tapering alprazolam.

A lot of side effects: Akathisia, more anxiety, very troubling sleep, every thought and movement gave me panic attacks. Worst time of my life. I did learn coping skills in this period. A lot. Mastering meditation, mastering floating technique and more Claire Weekes stuff... Can handle extreme anxiety pretty decent now.

2017-09-30 Going down again because holding got worse almost every day. ADVICE TO OTHER ESCITALOPRAM PEOPLE, if updose doesn't work in two weeks, go down again!!! WD is not as brutal as adverse updose effects! After every taper (while tapering pretty manageable, after couple weeks holding, akathisia and extreme anxiety came back)

2018-01-29 Got to ZERO. A hard way down for sure. And now hoping for improvements along the way... Tapering melatonin gave me dystonic reactions however.
14 months after zero: Alternating akathisia, dystonic reactions and WD. Very unstable. No meds whatsoever. 31 months after zero: dystonia got worse, still very high anxiety, and many symptoms... no healing in sight. Adverse reaction destroyed me.

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1 hour ago, TheWayBack said:

No special way, to taper ordered 0.1mg pills on the internet. Makes dosing much easier, but tapering over two months from 3mg to 0.4mg still gave me extreme WD, didn't expect that. Took almost two months to get to my baseline again. But the dystonia still wasn't resolved. Dropped again to 0.15mg, again huge increasing dystonia and increasing akathisia waves. Again, took some weeks to lessen. And now even the last drop of 0.05mg was no laughing matter. But I'm almost there now!

 

So just buckle up if you want off fast, or do it very very slow. I found the real WD of mela only starts a couple of days later. So the first three days were each time quite uneventful, but the bom dropped hard each time some days later.

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

never heard of withdrawal from melatonin but everyones different i suppose, melatonin has been a absolute gift from god for me, I couldnt of imagined going through this withdrawal without it, 0.3mg slow release is the most effective dose for me,

 

take care

2001 - 2005 prozac,  2001 - 2017 various benzos, mainly diazapem and zanex,  2002 - 2017 olanzapine or seroquel,  2002 -2017 propanolol, 2005 - 2009 venlafaxine 75mg , forced to go cold turkey off venlafaxine as moved Thailand, doctor cut me off and couldn't get it there, severely ill for over 2 years, countered withdrawals with more zanex and seroquel

2014 returned to UK, mainly to get treatment getting off meds

doctor advised to taper seroquel over a few weeks, severely ill and bed bed-bound so reinstated it, 2015 tapered seroquel myself slower over a few months, was off it 2 months and was too ill so went on olanzapine, became zombie and too tired to get out of bed, went back on seroquel, very depressed so went back on venlafaxine, didnt work  so doctor swapped to zoloft became very agitated so back on venlafaxine

June 2016 - felt strong enough to begin tapering again, started what I thought was a slow taper of all meds,  2016 July Not had any alcoholic drink since this date, 

2016 October completely off diazepem, 2017 Feb completely off seroquel, 2017 March completely off proponanlol, 2017 April (day before birthday) completely off venlafaxine, OFF ALL MEDS 11/4/2017, was fine for nearly 3 months and then delayed withdrawal hit,

supplements taking: turmeric capsules, NiaCel (nicotinamide riboside), Vit B12 sublingual, Vit B3, Vit B6, Vit B1, apple cider vinegar, manuka umf 10 honey, camu camu powder,  melatonin when needed, epsom salt baths, juices, smoothies, 

Intro: http://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/15175-dj2010-off-all-meds-for-3-months-and-been-fine-now-bad-insomnia/

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  • 2 weeks later...

dj2010, I can imagine it being a godsent for you, but you took Seroquel before without significant problems. Akathisia-prone people, like myself and others, couldn't even imagine taking something like that. Both are D2 blockers (of course Seroquel being much more powerful and blocks much more dopamine receptors).

 

 

Origin of Panic Attack and Anxiety Disorder: Overdose of Hallucinogenic HOT-7.

2013-09 20mg escitalopram. In the 4 first months 0.5-1mg/day Alprazolam for sleep & difficult situations.

Tapered the first time from 20mg to 0mg in 17 months or so. Withdrawal 6-8 weeks after last dose. Didn't taper enough to low enough doses (+-1mg).

2015-01-02 Back on 10mg after one week of delayed withdrawal. Stable in 8 days.

Second time tapered 2 years from 10mg to 1.6mg. Stable for half a year in range 2.5mg-1.6mg.

2017-07-28 Measurement errors: went for 1-2 weeks on 2mg. Restlessness and anxiety. Tried back to go back to 1.7mg for 5 days. Anxiety stayed.

2017-08-03 - 2017-08-20 Switched to liquid Lexapro 20mg/ml (1 drop is 1mg). Updosed to 2mg hoping to stabilize. Horrible Panic and Anxiety. Hold for 17 days hoping to stabilize. Didn't work enough for me at the time.

2017-08-20 End of holiday approaching. No more time. Decision to up dose to 5mg escitalopram. Back to the pills. Tapering alprazolam.

A lot of side effects: Akathisia, more anxiety, very troubling sleep, every thought and movement gave me panic attacks. Worst time of my life. I did learn coping skills in this period. A lot. Mastering meditation, mastering floating technique and more Claire Weekes stuff... Can handle extreme anxiety pretty decent now.

2017-09-30 Going down again because holding got worse almost every day. ADVICE TO OTHER ESCITALOPRAM PEOPLE, if updose doesn't work in two weeks, go down again!!! WD is not as brutal as adverse updose effects! After every taper (while tapering pretty manageable, after couple weeks holding, akathisia and extreme anxiety came back)

2018-01-29 Got to ZERO. A hard way down for sure. And now hoping for improvements along the way... Tapering melatonin gave me dystonic reactions however.
14 months after zero: Alternating akathisia, dystonic reactions and WD. Very unstable. No meds whatsoever. 31 months after zero: dystonia got worse, still very high anxiety, and many symptoms... no healing in sight. Adverse reaction destroyed me.

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  • Administrator

TheWayBack, you have no idea what you're talking about. Plus, you need to realize NOT EVERYONE IS JUST LIKE YOU.

 

Stop posting all over this site with your drug and supplement suggestions. They are ill-informed. I hope this warning is clear.

 

@Newbeginning Let's discuss in your Intro topic.

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.

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  • 1 month later...
  • Moderator Emeritus

Interesting information from Dr. Mark Hyman regarding the benefits of melatonin:

 

 

Melatonin is usually only associated with sleep. It’s taken by those who struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep in an effort to get that high-quality rest for better health I talk about so often. 

Many people find it’s helpful for regulating their sleep patterns, which includes those with insomnia and jet lag, shift workers, and even the blind. It doesn’t work for everyone, but there are most definitely those who swear by it. 

To help you better understand how melatonin works, let me tell you a little bit more about it. It’s a hormone naturally produced by the pineal gland (and also the digestive mucosal cells), to help control circadian rhythm so we are in line with the natural light and dark cycles of the sun. Our production can get thrown off, though, by crazy schedules, staring at screens for long hours, and even diet. That’s why some folks choose to supplement with it. 

Research continues to reveal, though, that melatonin plays a role in much more than just sleep. 

Remember how I mentioned some melatonin is produced in the digestive tract? Well, it’s actually produced in even higher levels here than the pineal gland, and it plays an important role in gastrointestinal motility and even acts as a local anti-inflammatory and moderator of visceral sensation. 

For this reason, some studies have indicated it could be useful for treating irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS.

This diagnosis is basically given for lack of a better one when someone is suffering from a wide range of digestive complaints like constipation, diarrhea, a combination of irregular bowel habits, abdominal pain, bloating and cramping, urgency, and more. Taking 3 mg of melatonin helped some study participants feel less abdominal pain and bloating and increased quality of life. There’s more research needed, but this is definitely a topic worth following for those dealing with IBS.

Other studies show that melatonin may have a place in treatment for gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. Taking between 3 mg and 6 mg provided symptom control for participants, including relief of heartburn and epigastric pain. 

Melatonin has potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which could explain some of its benefits for the conditions mentioned above.

It can directly reduce reactive oxygen and reactive nitrogen species (two types of oxidative stressors) and also stimulates the antioxidant enzymes already present within the body. The high concentrations of melatonin in mitochondria (our cellular energy factories) provide some insight into why it may be helpful for age-related diseases related to cellular death. It’s also interesting to note that melatonin levels gradually decline as we age and sleep issues are a common complaint of getting older.

While it’s clear that melatonin serves an important role in the body and may help with a variety of health issues, you don’t have to get melatonin strictly through supplements if you’re looking for a boost. Many foods naturally contain melatonin, with some of the highest being pistachios, red and black rice, orange bell peppers, walnuts, cherries, lentils, and even coffee (though this is best to avoid in the evening). 

You know I always say food is medicine; you'll get so many other valuable nutrients in addition to melatonin by eating the foods mentioned above. Supplementing with melatonin may not be right for everyone, though, so if you’re dealing with some of the more severe symptoms I talked about, talk to your practitioner to decide if taking melatonin aligns with your unique needs. 

 

Best,

 

Andy

 

Edited by ChessieCat
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Sertraline 50mg and Clonazapam .375mg from 2000 -- symptoms of dizziness Spring 2012

increased to .5 Clonazapam and 100mg Sertraline -- no improvement

Benzo microtaper from November 2012 to November 2014 (followed benzo sites "taper benzo first")

Started Sertraline taper in December 2014 cut by 25mg to 75mg; 62.5mg 1/1/15 and 50mg on 2/1/15

Held at 50mg through April 5 to use liquid 
Reduced dosage in 10% or less drops from 50mg to 25mg -- at single tablet of 25mg on 10/5/15

Transitioned to all liquid for accuracy while tapering -- Horrible insomnia -- back to 25mg liquid and held until October 1, 2016

10/16 -- 11/18 tapered very slowly to 10.6mg.  No real improvement and never really stable so updosed to 12.5mg (1/2 a pill) for convenience and long hold.

After 8+ months of holding with no noticeable improvement decided to add .4ml of liquid Prozac (about 1.5mg) to see if that improves the situation

Supplements, Magnesium, D3, Omega 3, curcumin, Valerian, 81mg Aspirin, L-Theanine, Vit. C,

 

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  • 1 month later...

If I am currently taking 10mg XR Melatonin (and also taking Seroquel), can I go directly down to 2mg without having to worry about it negatively impacting my sleep?

 

@Altostrata

--Synthroid: 150mg for the last 10 years, to present

--Melatonin: 3mg to present

(--Alfuzosin: 6/1/16 to 8/1/18--Flowmax: 8/1/18 to 8/14/18-- Ciprofloxacin: 7/26 to 8/4; 9/1-9/5. Augmentin: 9/5 to 9/12

--Ambien: 10mg-12.5mg July 26, 2018 to Sep 20, 2018 As needed--Ativan: 1mg Aug 1, 2018 to Oct 3rd, 2018 As Needed

--Clonazepam (2mg) & Restoril (30mg): Sept 20, 2018 to Oct 3rd, 2018--Valium (Benzo Taper): Oct 3rd to Oct 8th 5mg; Oct 8th to Oct 13th 2.5mg)

--Seroquel:  25mg, 1 Aug 2018; 0mg 20 Sept; 50mg, 3 Oct; 21mg, 21 Dec; 37mg, 31 Dec; Feb 1-March 1 2019: Cross-Tapered to 300mg Trazodone and 900mg Gabapentin

--Trazodone: 300mg March 1, 2019 to 250mg July 1, 2019

--Gabapentin: 900mg March 1, 2019 to 500mg July 1, 2019

 

 

 

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On 12/21/2018 at 3:59 PM, matt7777 said:

If I am currently taking 10mg XR Melatonin (and also taking Seroquel), can I go directly down to 2mg without having to worry about it negatively impacting my sleep?

 

@Altostrata

 

That's a lot of melatonin. Yes, you can reduce it. You might want to try 5mg and see what that does.

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.

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How long have you been on 10mg Matt? Thats a huge dose indeed. I was doing 3mg and felt it was too much. When I try stopping, I got severe insomnia and it didn't resolve for months, even though I reinstated within days of stopping. I had never gotten insomnia from antidepressant withdrawal. 

 

Everyone is different. I did need to taper it quite slowly myself. I have managed to reduce 30% over several months. Even at that rate, I could feel it. Headaches, malaise and feeling like I have the flu for days or weeks after each drop. Not fun. But at least the severe insomnia calmed down. I'm only decreasing one drop every 2-4 weeks though. It's like 5%. If I went faster, withdrawal would probably be a lot worse. 

 

Other people taper it fast or stop it with no issues. Hopefully, you're one of them. Hopefully you're one of them. And Seroquel may help with withdrawal too. Good luck!

 

 

  • SSRIs 3-4 times in the last 14 years; would take them for 6-8 months and then taper off under dr supervision with no problems.
  • Med history prior to 2015: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6012-newbeginning-my-withdrawal-story/?p=267313#entry267313
  • 04/2015: Prozac decreased to 15mg over last 3 months; effexor held steady at 8mg; current effexor XR: 20 beads of a 75mg capsule per day (about 8mg)
  • 06/2015: Prozac: 10mg; effexor XR: 19 beads (about 7.5mg); 07/2015: Prozac: 8.5mg; effexor 18 beads; 08/2015: Prozac: 7.5mg; effexor: 17 beads
  • End of August: withdrawal: depressive symptoms, crying spells. Realized I was measuring prozac dose wrong for the last 2 months. Reinstated Prozac 8.5mg; Kept effexor at 17 beads. Stabilized in 5 weeks.
  • 10/2015: Prozac: 8.5mg; effexor: 17 beads11/2015: Prozac: 1.9ml (7.5mg); effexor: 16 beads12/2015: Prozac: 1.6ml; effexor xr: 16 beads. Withdrawal: neuroemotions
  • 01/2016: prozac: 1.6ml; effexor xr: reinstated 17 beads, withdrawal improved; 02/2016: Prozac 1.5ml; Effexor: 17 beads; 03/2016: Prozac 1.3ml(5mg); Effexor: 17 beads (7mg)-withdrawal (flu-like malaise, lightheaded, drowsy) started end of March. April 15: reinstated Prozac 1.5ml. Stabilized. 2 weeks ok. End of April: Withdrawal (neuroemotions). Eventually stabilized in April-May. Apathy improved.
  • 3 month hold until August. August 2016: apathy came back;

  • October 2016: updosed to Prozac 1.6ml. Bad reaction: anxiety, depression. End of October: went down Prozac 1.5ml. Stabilized over several weeks.

  • Dec 9: tried macca for energy: anxiety/depression. Improved over several weeks, but not completely resolved.

  • Dec 31: cut Effexor 5% to 16 beads. After 9 days: withdrawal anxiety, depression; tried updosing to 17 beads Feb 7 but anxiety got worse; went down to 16 beads

    May 2017: Anxiety improved; severe depression continuesSeptember 2017: finally stabilized!!!!!! 09/07/2017-12/31/2017: hold

  • Stable on Effexor 6mg and Prozac 6mg until around 2019-2020. Side effects (fatigue, anhedonia) continued, but had some long lasting windows thanks to therapy. Windows lasting 5-6 months each year followed by relapses.

  • 2019: bad reaction to melatonin 3 mg. Withdrawal after taking it 2 months. When I tried to stop it developed severe insomnia that lasted 6 months even after I reinstated melatonin. Only slept again because I took hydroxyzine 5 mg 3 times a week for few months. Stopped hydroxyzine with no issues. Sleep normalized.

  • 2020-2021: Holding on Prozac 6mg, Effexor 6mg, Tapered melatonin 1 drop every 2-4 weeks down to 1.5mg. Had to hold because further cuts were causing severe drowsiness. 

  • 2021: Insomnia returned due to caffeine use for few months (only started after months of use). I also had a concussion at this time.

  • 2023: took hydroxyzine 5-100mg for one month (kept increasing dose every 3 days because I developed tolerance). Tapered for 1 week. After 1 month: withdrawal neuroemotions. Reinstated 5mg 2 months after stopping. Gradually increased to 25mg, stabilized, but withdrawal came back after 10 days. Kept increasing dose and withdrawal returning. Currently at 40mg. Not sure how to stabilize. 

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12 hours ago, Altostrata said:

 

That's a lot of melatonin. Yes, you can reduce it. You might want to try 5mg and see what that does.

 

Ok. I probably need to stabilize my sleeping first with the Seroquel before reducing the Melatonin.

--Synthroid: 150mg for the last 10 years, to present

--Melatonin: 3mg to present

(--Alfuzosin: 6/1/16 to 8/1/18--Flowmax: 8/1/18 to 8/14/18-- Ciprofloxacin: 7/26 to 8/4; 9/1-9/5. Augmentin: 9/5 to 9/12

--Ambien: 10mg-12.5mg July 26, 2018 to Sep 20, 2018 As needed--Ativan: 1mg Aug 1, 2018 to Oct 3rd, 2018 As Needed

--Clonazepam (2mg) & Restoril (30mg): Sept 20, 2018 to Oct 3rd, 2018--Valium (Benzo Taper): Oct 3rd to Oct 8th 5mg; Oct 8th to Oct 13th 2.5mg)

--Seroquel:  25mg, 1 Aug 2018; 0mg 20 Sept; 50mg, 3 Oct; 21mg, 21 Dec; 37mg, 31 Dec; Feb 1-March 1 2019: Cross-Tapered to 300mg Trazodone and 900mg Gabapentin

--Trazodone: 300mg March 1, 2019 to 250mg July 1, 2019

--Gabapentin: 900mg March 1, 2019 to 500mg July 1, 2019

 

 

 

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12 hours ago, Newbeginning said:

How long have you been on 10mg Matt?

 

I have been on 10mg of Melatonin since Nov 1, 2018.

 

I should probably first try to stabilize my insomnia related to the failed Seroquel taper event three days ago. Do you think coming down to 5mg right off the bat which Altostrata suggested, make sense?

--Synthroid: 150mg for the last 10 years, to present

--Melatonin: 3mg to present

(--Alfuzosin: 6/1/16 to 8/1/18--Flowmax: 8/1/18 to 8/14/18-- Ciprofloxacin: 7/26 to 8/4; 9/1-9/5. Augmentin: 9/5 to 9/12

--Ambien: 10mg-12.5mg July 26, 2018 to Sep 20, 2018 As needed--Ativan: 1mg Aug 1, 2018 to Oct 3rd, 2018 As Needed

--Clonazepam (2mg) & Restoril (30mg): Sept 20, 2018 to Oct 3rd, 2018--Valium (Benzo Taper): Oct 3rd to Oct 8th 5mg; Oct 8th to Oct 13th 2.5mg)

--Seroquel:  25mg, 1 Aug 2018; 0mg 20 Sept; 50mg, 3 Oct; 21mg, 21 Dec; 37mg, 31 Dec; Feb 1-March 1 2019: Cross-Tapered to 300mg Trazodone and 900mg Gabapentin

--Trazodone: 300mg March 1, 2019 to 250mg July 1, 2019

--Gabapentin: 900mg March 1, 2019 to 500mg July 1, 2019

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, matt7777 said:

 

I have been on 10mg of Melatonin since Nov 1, 2018.

.....

 

Do you think coming down to 5mg right off the bat which Altostrata suggested, make sense?

 

 

You've only been on it a short while.  If you are concerned about jumping straight down to 5mg you could go to 7.5mg first and then 5mg.

 

This is what Gridley posted in your intro topic:

 

On 12/22/2018 at 5:36 AM, Gridley said:

 

10mg Melatonin is a very high dose of Melatonin for someone in WD.  At this high dose it can have a paradoxical effect and cause you to stay awake.

 

 

You are assuming that your insomnia is due to the Seroquel issues.  It may not be.

* 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

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12 hours ago, matt7777 said:

 

I have been on 10mg of Melatonin since Nov 1, 2018.

 

I should probably first try to stabilize my insomnia related to the failed Seroquel taper event three days ago. Do you think coming down to 5mg right off the bat which Altostrata suggested, make sense?

 

I agree with ChessieCat that you've been on it a short time, and that should help. I got withdrawal after just 4 months on it though. I am very sensitized right now, because I have had several drops in the 2 meds I'm on that I didn't tolerate (even though I went slow). I think repeatedly experiencing withdrawal sensitized my brain A LOT. So my situation is unique in that respect, and you're likely to have a much easier time than me stopping Melatonin.

 

That said, if you're still stabilizing from cutting Seroquel AND experiencing insomnia as part of that withdrawal, it may be wise to wait until you stabilize before adding an additional stressor. Or you may try a small cut like 10% or 20% and see how you feel. That way you don't prolong the time you stay on it. Both routes seem sensible to me.

 

As I said before, some people reduce the dose rather quickly with no issues. That includes many on this forum who are very sensitized from antidepressant withdrawal. Listen to your body. It will tell you what you can and can't tolerate.  Best of luck!

 

PS: if you do need to do a slower taper, you may want to switch to the liquid for smaller drops. Feel free to PM me, if you want to ask me anything about tapering, or tag me here if you prefer :)

 

  • SSRIs 3-4 times in the last 14 years; would take them for 6-8 months and then taper off under dr supervision with no problems.
  • Med history prior to 2015: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6012-newbeginning-my-withdrawal-story/?p=267313#entry267313
  • 04/2015: Prozac decreased to 15mg over last 3 months; effexor held steady at 8mg; current effexor XR: 20 beads of a 75mg capsule per day (about 8mg)
  • 06/2015: Prozac: 10mg; effexor XR: 19 beads (about 7.5mg); 07/2015: Prozac: 8.5mg; effexor 18 beads; 08/2015: Prozac: 7.5mg; effexor: 17 beads
  • End of August: withdrawal: depressive symptoms, crying spells. Realized I was measuring prozac dose wrong for the last 2 months. Reinstated Prozac 8.5mg; Kept effexor at 17 beads. Stabilized in 5 weeks.
  • 10/2015: Prozac: 8.5mg; effexor: 17 beads11/2015: Prozac: 1.9ml (7.5mg); effexor: 16 beads12/2015: Prozac: 1.6ml; effexor xr: 16 beads. Withdrawal: neuroemotions
  • 01/2016: prozac: 1.6ml; effexor xr: reinstated 17 beads, withdrawal improved; 02/2016: Prozac 1.5ml; Effexor: 17 beads; 03/2016: Prozac 1.3ml(5mg); Effexor: 17 beads (7mg)-withdrawal (flu-like malaise, lightheaded, drowsy) started end of March. April 15: reinstated Prozac 1.5ml. Stabilized. 2 weeks ok. End of April: Withdrawal (neuroemotions). Eventually stabilized in April-May. Apathy improved.
  • 3 month hold until August. August 2016: apathy came back;

  • October 2016: updosed to Prozac 1.6ml. Bad reaction: anxiety, depression. End of October: went down Prozac 1.5ml. Stabilized over several weeks.

  • Dec 9: tried macca for energy: anxiety/depression. Improved over several weeks, but not completely resolved.

  • Dec 31: cut Effexor 5% to 16 beads. After 9 days: withdrawal anxiety, depression; tried updosing to 17 beads Feb 7 but anxiety got worse; went down to 16 beads

    May 2017: Anxiety improved; severe depression continuesSeptember 2017: finally stabilized!!!!!! 09/07/2017-12/31/2017: hold

  • Stable on Effexor 6mg and Prozac 6mg until around 2019-2020. Side effects (fatigue, anhedonia) continued, but had some long lasting windows thanks to therapy. Windows lasting 5-6 months each year followed by relapses.

  • 2019: bad reaction to melatonin 3 mg. Withdrawal after taking it 2 months. When I tried to stop it developed severe insomnia that lasted 6 months even after I reinstated melatonin. Only slept again because I took hydroxyzine 5 mg 3 times a week for few months. Stopped hydroxyzine with no issues. Sleep normalized.

  • 2020-2021: Holding on Prozac 6mg, Effexor 6mg, Tapered melatonin 1 drop every 2-4 weeks down to 1.5mg. Had to hold because further cuts were causing severe drowsiness. 

  • 2021: Insomnia returned due to caffeine use for few months (only started after months of use). I also had a concussion at this time.

  • 2023: took hydroxyzine 5-100mg for one month (kept increasing dose every 3 days because I developed tolerance). Tapered for 1 week. After 1 month: withdrawal neuroemotions. Reinstated 5mg 2 months after stopping. Gradually increased to 25mg, stabilized, but withdrawal came back after 10 days. Kept increasing dose and withdrawal returning. Currently at 40mg. Not sure how to stabilize. 

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  • 3 months later...

Melatonin helped me to sleep in this problem I had: I was on seroquel/quetiapine 100mg IR for several months and I was able to sleep good at that time, then I switched to 300mg XR of seroquel for 2 days, which made me sleep the entire day, so I switched to 150mg XR of seroquel for 2 days and then I decided to switch back to 100mg IR of seroquel, when I switched back to 100mg IR of seroquel, I couldn't sleep, so that night I used like 4 different supplements to sleep but I felt bad because later I learned at SA that taking more than one supplement is bad, so the next night, besides of taking 100mg of quetiapine IR at bedtime, I only added 1.5mg of melatonin at bedtime also and I got my sleep back, started to sleep very good again. SInce months before I was also taking daily at night (with my dinner) omega 3 fish oil and magnesium. I've been using melatonin ever since and I still sleep very good.

In 2008 I was 16 years old. 2008 - 2010 paxil, clonazepam & semisodium valproate. 2013 - 2017 many psych meds with cold switches and CT's prescribed by psychiatrists.

Nov/30/17 started quetiapine IR tablets 100mg 0-0-1. Dec/1/17 started pristiq 50mg tablets 1-0-0. Jan/14/18 started 1.5mg melatonin 0-0-1

Tramadol: 2 year well done (slow and gradual) taper: from Mar/12/18 to Feb/11/20 

Pristiq taper: Jun/15/20 Converted from pristiq 50mg to efexor xr 75mg for 57 days (felt good).  Aug/11/20 weaned to efexor 37.5mg and stayed there for 2 months with 26 days (felt good). Nov/6/20  CT 0mg of efexor xr (felt good). Total time in tapering pristiq 50mg by converting to efexor xr 75mg: 4 months with 22 days: Jun/15/20 to Nov/6/20. (felt good)

Efexor 0mg and quetiapine 100mg (Nov/6/20 to Dic/11/20) (felt good being without effexor and taking 100mg quetiapine)

Dic/11/20 quetiapine 75mg, so 75mg from Dic/11/20 to Jan/4/21  25 days. Jan/5/21 quetiapine 50mg (1 day in 50mg).

Jan/6/21 1st CT of quetiapine. Mar/1/21 CT melatonin. Felt terrible so Mar/25/21 reinstated 100mg quetiapine. 

100mg quetiapine 19 days (Mar/25/21 - Apr/13/21) Felt good while in quetiapine 100mg. 75mg quetiapine 55 days (Apr/14/21 - Jun/8/21) the 55th day (Jun/8/21)  felt hellish so CT'd quetiapine for a 2nd time on Jun/9/21. 

Jun/9/21 - Nov/16/21 1st days insomnia, anxiety, took cbd and felt very good many days (healed insomnia & anxiety), CT'd ginkgo which made me felt terrible so reinstated ginkgo. Started intolerable back pain (spasm) so tried other herbs along with cbd, then started derealization, panic, indecisiveness, nostalgia & others. Stopped taking cbd & herbs, reinstated quetiapine 75mg Nov/17/21, immediately after taking it, had severe heart palpitations, so Nov/18/21 back to cbd (no quetiapine). Nov/20/21 reinstated 75mg quetiapine (stopped cbd & herbs), severely couldn't breathe for 5 seconds after taking quetiapine 75mg so reduced to 50 mg on Nov/28/21 had new and worse and very severe adverse effects, got indecisive if CT or keep taking quetiapine because I was terrified of CT, but since the new severe adverse effects were very severe I CT, and because of indecisiveness and panic to CT, I reinstated again, then CT'd and reinstated many times, last time I was taking quetiapine it was 25mg and had severe TD, hellish anhedonia, suicidal, intrusive thoughts of imagining myself running into a wall and crashing into it and I was feeling the pain as if I was doing it in real life, involuntary thoughts of punching my face or head and shashing it against the wall and some times I did punch my face, and when I didn't, I also felt the pain just by imagining it, so definitive CT on Jul/15/22. 

Free from quetiapine and psych meds since Jul/15/22.

MY BEST ADVICE: FOLLOW SA'S GUIDELINES, DON'T CT BECAUSE IT IS HORRIFIC AND BE PATIENT TO WAIT A LONG TIME TO DO VERY SLOW AND GRADUAL TAPERS IN ORDER TO GET OFF OF YOUR MEDICATIONS, IT IS WORTH IT. THE ONLY MOMENTS WHERE IS RIGHT TO CT IS AFTER YOUR 1ST CT THAT YOU DID BECAUSE OF IGNORANCE OR IMPATIENCE, IF YOU REINSTATE AND FEEL SEVERE ADVERSE EFFECTS LIKE TD, ANHEDONIA, FEEL LIKE YOU ARE DROWNING, OR THE ONE'S I HAD, IT IS BEST TO CT IN MY EXPERIENCE, BECAUSE WHEN I REINSTATED I GOT MUCH WORSE THAN WHEN I WAS IN THE PREVIOUS CT. I'm not a doctor.

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  • 1 month later...

I appreciate the balanced sharing of information, both positive and negative, about the various tools that people have been using to help manage their sleep issues.   I find it's important to remind myself that everyone is different and that we all respond differently to medications and supplements.

 

There are some anecdotal stories in the comments section of the following article which suggest that if one chooses to discontinue melatonin then tapering is a good idea:

 

https://soveryblessed.com/stop-taking-melatonin-every-night/

  • 2019-01-16 50 mg of Trazodone 2x/week
  • 01-23 up to 100 mg, various frequencies and dosages
  • 05-03 100 mg
  • 05-10 90 mg
  • 05-16 Starting tapering by 2.5 mg/day
  • 05-30 50 mg
  • 05-31 65 mg
  • 06-07 75 mg
  • 06-15 67.5 mg
  • 06-17 75 mg
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  • 2 weeks later...

So I bought the Nature made brand 3mg's of melatonin. Since that is considered too much should I cut it in half?

Drugs I have been on- Vyvanse 30mg, Adderal, citalopram 30mg, Zoloft 20mg, rexulti 10mg,Wellbutrin, Lexapro 20mg, buspar, Prozac 20mg, Trazodone 50mg, Ritalin 20mg.

some of them I can't remember doses for. 

 

was on on Zoloft, Ritalin, and adderal between the ages of 11-13. Then I was on Celexa and Vyvanse, between the ages of 13-21. Don't remember exact dates. 

 

Then when I went off the celexa and Vyvanse abruptly and went on all of the other medications. Between the ages of 21 and 22. 

 I saw psychiatrist for about 3 months and was put on most of them on and off. I think it was the other SSRI's besides celexa and Zoloft , buspar, Wellbutrin, and rexulti. 

 

 Then I went inpatient a few times after that where it was diagnosed as a recurrence of depression and went on and off medications like celexa, Trazodone, and most recently about 3-4 weeks ago EMSam. I have been completely off medication since than.

supplements- magnesium 250mg, and 2 omega 3's. 

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  • Moderator Emeritus
8 hours ago, Mikegs96 said:

So I bought the Nature made brand 3mg's of melatonin. Since that is considered too much should I cut it in half?

 

Are you able to cut it into smaller pieces?  e.g. if you could cut it into quarters that would give you a 0.75mg dose.

2001–2002 paroxetine

2003  citalopram

2004-2008  paroxetine (various failed tapers) 
2008  paroxetine slow taper down to

2016  Aug off paroxetine
2016  citalopram May 20mg  Oct 15mg … slow taper down
2018  citalopram 13 Feb 4.6mg 15 Mar 4.4mg 29 Apr 4.2mg 6 Jul 4.1mg 17 Aug 4.0mg  18 Nov 3.8mg
2019  15 Mar 3.6mg  21 May 3.4mg  26 Dec 3.2mg 

2020  19 Feb 3.0mg 19 Jul 2.9mg 16 Sep 2.8mg 25 Oct 2.7mg 23 Oct 2.6mg 24 Dec 2.5mg

2021   29 Aug 2.4mg   15 Nov 2.3mg

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