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Phenom: I think I screwed myself and my taper up bad (with an updose)


Phenom

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Hi all,

 

This is my first post here, here is a quick and dirty summary of my history.

 

- Weird post-viral infection wrecked my CNS, prescribed Klonopin (2mg/day) & Celexa (30mg) Summer 2013

- Tapered off Klonopin 1/8mg per 2 weeks and was off by early 2014, had some fairly significant withdrawals/anxiety, but contrary to what I've read, the benzo was much easier than the Celexa has been to taper off.

- Held steady on the Celexa until Summer 2014 (doc said to stay on full dose a year and then drop 10mg/week and be off in 3 weeks).

- His method failed miserably, did my own research, found more conservative tapering methods.

- Went too fast many times followed by updosing/relief, trial and error, finally through more gradual tapering worked my way down to 20mg and was stable around November 2014 at 20mg

- Decided to taper from 20 to 10 at 2.5mg every 3 weeks or so, made good progress and was down from 20mg to 12.5mg 7 weeks later and then got crushed.

- Some mild anxiety feelings had been building a little, and I decided it may just be normal w/d that comes after a drop and waited it out for a week, during which time it continues to worsen instead of subside.

- Realized I probably went too fast and the delayed w/d from each drop was hitting my all at once like a tidal wave.

- Week and a half ago updosed back to 20mg (probably too much since it was a 60% increase) and decided I was one of the very sensitive people to this stuff and would taper 10% per month from there after stabilizing.

 

Now here comes the real issue... In the past when I've updosed it's been quickly (within a week of dropping to a certain dose). This time I had worked down from 20 to 12.5 over a period of 2+ months, so my CNS may well have already begun adjusting to lower levels much more than when I updosed in the past.

 

In the past when I updosed I felt fine again within a couple days, however this time I felt like I did when I very first started Celexa, that zonked out zombie feeling for a few days, rather than feeling normal. That feeling went away 5 days or so ago and now I'm feeling worse anxiety and derealization than I have since I started the meds a year and a half ago.

 

So it seems I went too fast, screwed things up, updosed too much, and screwed things up even more.

 

I don't know what to do or where to go from here, or when I'll start to feel normal again, but this is a very disappointing backslide and I know once I stabilize there's no way in hell I'll ever go faster than 10% a month again.

 

Can anyone help me, has anyone gone through this before? My best guess, unless someone experienced has better advice, is to stay at 20mg and hope I stabilize with time, and then taper very slowly from there after that happens. Would it be better to go back to 12.5 though, somewhere in between? I have no idea. I'm a bit worried though that things are slowly getting worse rather than improving 10 days after my updose though.

 

 

06/13 - Celexa 30mg Klonopin 2 mg 

 

02/14 Celexa 30mg (Successfully completed 32 week Klonopin taper dropped 1/8 every two weeks)

Celexa Taper: 06/14 25mg 07/14 20mg 09/14 15mg 10/14 17.5mg 11/14 15mg 12/14 12.5mg 01/15 20mg (updose after going too fast bad w/d for 3-4 weeks after) 05/15 17.5mg 06/15 15mg 07/15 13.5mg 08/15 11.75mg 09/15 10mg 10/15 7.5mg 11/15 5mg 12/15 3.33mg 01/16 2.5mg 2/16 0mg (CT from 2.5mg) 3/16 (3-4 weeks after CT bad W/D symptoms, updose) 1.67mg

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Hello Phenom and welcome to SA,

 

I have moved your topic from Tapering section to Introductions. You can continue to journal your progress here and get input and advice from others.

 

I'm glad you ahve found this forum which has helped me a lot to get my life under control by learning how to manage my drug situation properly.

 

I'm in a hurry right now so can't do much more than welcome you and also ask for something that would, in addition to what you wrote, help us to give you moreopinions on what would be the best thing to do in your situation. Can you put your drug history in your signature as described here?http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/893-please-put-your-withdrawal-history-in-your-signature/

 

Did you use any drugs before 2013?

 

Thanks and welcome once again.

Bubble

Current: 9/2022 Xanax 0.08, Lexapro 2

2020 Xanax 0.26 (down from 2 mg in 2013), Lexapro 2.85 mg (down from 5 mg 2013)

Amitriptyline (tricyclic AD) and clonazepam for 3 months to treat headache in 1996 
1999. - present Xanax prn up to 3 mg.
2000-2005 Prozac CT twice, 2005-2010 Zoloft CT 3 times, 2010-2013 Escitalopram 10 mg
went from 2.5 to zero on 7 Aug 2013, bad crash 40 days after
reinstated to 5 mg Escitalopram 4Oct 2013 and holding liquid Xanax every 5 hours
28 Jan 2014 Xanax 1.9, 18 Apr  2015 1 mg,  25 June 2015 Lex 4.8, 6 Aug Lexapro 4.6, 1 Jan 2016 0.64  Xanax     9 month hold

24 Sept 2016 4.5 Lex, 17 Oct 4.4 Lex (Nov 0.63 Xanax, Dec 0.625 Xanax), 1 Jan 2017 4.3 Lex, 24 Jan 4.2, 5 Feb 4.1, 24 Mar 4 mg, 10 Apr 3.9 mg, May 3.85, June 3.8, July 3.75, 22 July 3.7, 15 Aug 3.65, 17 Sept 3.6, 1 Jan 2018 3.55, 19 Jan 3.5, 16 Mar 3.4, 14 Apr 3.3, 23 May 3.2, 16 June 3.15, 15 Jul 3.1, 31 Jul 3, 21 Aug 2.9 26 Sept 2.85, 14 Nov Xan 0.61, 1 Dec 0.59, 19 Dec 0.58, 4 Jan 0.565, 6 Feb 0.55, 20 Feb 0.535, 1 Mar 0.505, 10 Mar 0.475, 14 Mar 0.45, 4 Apr 0.415, 13 Apr 0.37, 21 Apr 0.33, 29 Apr 0.29, 10 May 0.27, 17 May 0.25, 28 May 0.22, 19 June 0.22, 21 Jun updose to 0.24, 24 Jun updose to 0.26

Supplements: Omega 3 + Vit E, Vit C, D, magnesium, Taurine, probiotic 

I'm not a medical professional. Any advice I give is based on my own experience and reading. 

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Hi,

 

I can only go by my own experience and let you know what I would do if I were in your situation as I am familiar with this as I tapered off Remeron 6 months ago whereas withdrawal sx's are similar although the drug may be different...Many if not all w/d sx's are very similar in nature...

 

You said that you went back up to 20mg...I would STAY there...Only because making a 50% cut might be too much since you have re-entered that into the body system and there has been some recent adjustment to that...I know it may seem like you are going backwards by staying there and anxious to get off this as quickly and efficiently as possible but there is wisdom in going micro minutely slow....You were keen to accept the fact that you're doctor is not well informed when it comes to this as to his advice of dropping 10mg which is NOT wise at all concerning all the recent literature regarding slow cuts of 10%..some people still find 10% way too harsh and must go slower even at 5% or 2.5%...which can be done through liquid taper or counting beads...

 

So, I had to reinstate Remeron after making a 50% cut the first time, bringing my tapering plans back to original status and a longer taper however I am glad that I did it even though it took longer...

 

Stabilization seems to be a misnomer to me...only because it is difficult to determine exactly at least it was for me what true stabilization meant in any respect...it seemed as though w/d sx's varied depending what other issues, environmental, relationship wise, and my own body changes, menstruation, etc..had other influences going on...

 

Stabilization can be interpreted different ways...how stable you feel, how much drug is in the system, etc...cessation of some sx's...but in all reality, you will feel sx's no matter how you cut it, so that is why I think true stabilization really just does not come into play, some stabilization yes but only you can determine that....as to your own body and circumstances...

 

Make cuts 2-3 weeks at a time, I did it a little faster at 1-2 weeks but you need to do it at your comfort level....

 

I hope this gives you more information...and I am sorry for your plight and HANG in there...its rough but once FREE its a good reminder of how your strength, resilence and resolve will grow in time...

 

Hope this Helps....

med exp since 1985- abilify, latuda, Seroquel, risperadol, zyprexa, Haldol. latuda, saphris, mellaril, thorazine, lithium, tegretol, Depakote, lamictal, Prozac, pamelor, wellbutrin, Ativan, klonipin, etc.

 currently only on remeron: 3/13/14-6/5/14- 15mg

6/20/14 -9.5mg < 0.75-1.5 per week

7/12/14-3.75mg

8/11/14- 0.6mg of Remeron (almost off)

8/16/14--last dose of remeron...now completely drug free....

11/21/14-- 95 DAYS DRUG FREE!!!!

 

I do not give out medical advice only personal experience.

dx: BPI, II, CKD, secondary hyperparathyroidism, Chronic pain, fibro,

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Thanks for the advice, and to answer bubbles' question I had never taken any meds prior to 2013. I had a bout of DP/DR when I was around 12 years old as I hit puberty but didn't know what it was.

 

Told my pediatrician I felt lightheaded/foggy and like I was in a dream, and everything seemed boring to me but that was the best I could describe it and he wasn't able to connect the dots from there (probably luckily).

 

Anyway it subsided without meds after a few months and I never looked back, now I'm 25 and my entire body got wrecked by some virus which sent my CNS into overdrive and out of balance when I was 23 so here I am.

 

I am going to stick to your advice Abilify and stick this out at 20mg for the next couple weeks, hopefully that does the trick and my body normalizes to the dose.

 

In retrospect I should have updosed from 12.5 to 15 (my previous dose) rather than to 20. That way I would have probably been closer to a dose that my body was adapted to and not wiped out progress.

 

I didn't know that going up too much was just as bad as going down too much, and thought just going back to 20 would make me feel better faster. Very different than a benzo in that this is a long term brain chemistry balance thing and not a med you just take and feel an effect from immediately.

06/13 - Celexa 30mg Klonopin 2 mg 

 

02/14 Celexa 30mg (Successfully completed 32 week Klonopin taper dropped 1/8 every two weeks)

Celexa Taper: 06/14 25mg 07/14 20mg 09/14 15mg 10/14 17.5mg 11/14 15mg 12/14 12.5mg 01/15 20mg (updose after going too fast bad w/d for 3-4 weeks after) 05/15 17.5mg 06/15 15mg 07/15 13.5mg 08/15 11.75mg 09/15 10mg 10/15 7.5mg 11/15 5mg 12/15 3.33mg 01/16 2.5mg 2/16 0mg (CT from 2.5mg) 3/16 (3-4 weeks after CT bad W/D symptoms, updose) 1.67mg

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Hi Phenom, you did the best you could with what information you had. Sadly doctors know zilch about tapering the meds they dish out like candy! 

You may have been better updosing a smaller dose but did what you felt was right at the time. You need to hold where you are until you stabilise, it could take

a few weeks, or even longer but it is important to stay put and take the same dose at the same time every day. I would wait until I have been stable for a few months before starting to taper again. I know you want to be off but it will take time for your brain and nervous system to stabilise.  

 

Once you are stable we usually recommend cuts of 10%  of the current dose with at least 4 weeks between cuts. In your case though, because of the number of failed attempts and because your central nervous system was previously affects by the virus, I would suggest a micro taper instead. Micro tapering is cutting by tiny amounts so as to 'sneak' the drug away without any withdrawal.  I have to add that I am shocked that a doctor prescribed a benzo and anti depressant when your nervous system was wrecked! 

 

Here is a topic on micro tapering http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2878-micro-taper-instead-of-10-or-5-decreases/

 

This one explains what withdrawal is.http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/603-what-is-withdrawal-syndrome/

 

Thank you for filling out your signature, it is very helpful to have tapering history in a signature.  

**I am not a medical professional, if in doubt please consult a doctor with withdrawal knowledge.

 

 

Different drugs occasionally (mostly benzos) 1976 - 1981 (no problem)

1993 - 2002 in and out of hospital. every type of drug + ECT. Staring with seroxat

2002  effexor. 

Tapered  March 2012 to March 2013, ending with 5 beads.

Withdrawal April 2013 . Reinstated 5 beads reduced to 4 beads May 2013

Restarted taper  Nov 2013  

OFF EFFEXOR Feb 2015    :D 

Tapered atenolol and omeprazole Dec 2013 - May 2014

 

Tapering tramadol, Feb 2015 100mg , March 2015 50mg  

 July 2017 30mg.  May 15 2018 25mg

Taking fish oil, magnesium, B12, folic acid, bilberry eyebright for eye pressure. 

 

My story http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/4199-hello-mammap-checking-in/page-33

 

Lesson learned, slow down taper at lower doses. Taper no more than 10% of CURRENT dose if possible

 

 

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  • Moderator Emeritus

thanks MammaP on behalf of Phenom;)

 

Phenom, I'd just like to add that you have a very mature and also well-informed attitude. Things might be rough for some time but they will settle down eventually. You came to a great place. Not having a prior history and luckily missing "intervention" in your teens should make things easier for you now.

 

Good luck, browse the site and keep us posted.

 

Bubble

Current: 9/2022 Xanax 0.08, Lexapro 2

2020 Xanax 0.26 (down from 2 mg in 2013), Lexapro 2.85 mg (down from 5 mg 2013)

Amitriptyline (tricyclic AD) and clonazepam for 3 months to treat headache in 1996 
1999. - present Xanax prn up to 3 mg.
2000-2005 Prozac CT twice, 2005-2010 Zoloft CT 3 times, 2010-2013 Escitalopram 10 mg
went from 2.5 to zero on 7 Aug 2013, bad crash 40 days after
reinstated to 5 mg Escitalopram 4Oct 2013 and holding liquid Xanax every 5 hours
28 Jan 2014 Xanax 1.9, 18 Apr  2015 1 mg,  25 June 2015 Lex 4.8, 6 Aug Lexapro 4.6, 1 Jan 2016 0.64  Xanax     9 month hold

24 Sept 2016 4.5 Lex, 17 Oct 4.4 Lex (Nov 0.63 Xanax, Dec 0.625 Xanax), 1 Jan 2017 4.3 Lex, 24 Jan 4.2, 5 Feb 4.1, 24 Mar 4 mg, 10 Apr 3.9 mg, May 3.85, June 3.8, July 3.75, 22 July 3.7, 15 Aug 3.65, 17 Sept 3.6, 1 Jan 2018 3.55, 19 Jan 3.5, 16 Mar 3.4, 14 Apr 3.3, 23 May 3.2, 16 June 3.15, 15 Jul 3.1, 31 Jul 3, 21 Aug 2.9 26 Sept 2.85, 14 Nov Xan 0.61, 1 Dec 0.59, 19 Dec 0.58, 4 Jan 0.565, 6 Feb 0.55, 20 Feb 0.535, 1 Mar 0.505, 10 Mar 0.475, 14 Mar 0.45, 4 Apr 0.415, 13 Apr 0.37, 21 Apr 0.33, 29 Apr 0.29, 10 May 0.27, 17 May 0.25, 28 May 0.22, 19 June 0.22, 21 Jun updose to 0.24, 24 Jun updose to 0.26

Supplements: Omega 3 + Vit E, Vit C, D, magnesium, Taurine, probiotic 

I'm not a medical professional. Any advice I give is based on my own experience and reading. 

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  • Moderator Emeritus

I have done similar failed tapers before and had to updose.  Fortunately I have never had any trouble with large updoses, however it usually took around 3 weeks to feel significant improvement.  How long have you been back on the 20mg?

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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Thanks so much for the advice above, glad to see my plan of sticking to 20 and stabilising was in agreement, as I've already been there a little while :)

 

I've been on the 20mg for about a week and a half Songbird... I guess what caught me off guard was that I expected to feel better after a few days once the higher dose reached full blood concentration.

 

But what I ended up feeling was a gradual worsening of symptoms after a few days, which freaked me out. Led to that voice of "I'll never get better, what if it doesn't work, etc".

 

At least I know that the fear mentality is the only thing that could keep me feeling bad, and that if I accept it'll take a little bit and patiently wait without being scared or getting into a vicious anxiety cycle I'll be fine.

 

Now that I've sidetracked myself, I'll wait until March/April timeframe to consider anymore tapering (assuming I stabilise somewhat by Feb). In the meantime I'll focus on getting back into my exercise/meditation regimine to help me along the way.

06/13 - Celexa 30mg Klonopin 2 mg 

 

02/14 Celexa 30mg (Successfully completed 32 week Klonopin taper dropped 1/8 every two weeks)

Celexa Taper: 06/14 25mg 07/14 20mg 09/14 15mg 10/14 17.5mg 11/14 15mg 12/14 12.5mg 01/15 20mg (updose after going too fast bad w/d for 3-4 weeks after) 05/15 17.5mg 06/15 15mg 07/15 13.5mg 08/15 11.75mg 09/15 10mg 10/15 7.5mg 11/15 5mg 12/15 3.33mg 01/16 2.5mg 2/16 0mg (CT from 2.5mg) 3/16 (3-4 weeks after CT bad W/D symptoms, updose) 1.67mg

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  • Moderator Emeritus

What I've found is that it can be up and down a bit for a while on the way to stabilising.  I know it is hard not to freak out every time something gets worse.

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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Just a quick update things were bad dealing with all of that and working especially by the end of last week... I took it easy during the weekend and felt a LITTLE bit better Saturday and quite a bit better Sunday.

 

Still not completely to the stabilization point but I feel much better than I did last week. It was definitely the updose that stimulated me, as my body was getting all kinds of crazy sensations and anxiety/panic feelings.

 

Work isn't bothering me or triggering anxiety, neither is driving in traffic or drinking my morning cup of coffee, so things have definitely improved but I still have some residual Tinnitus which I'm sure will subside as well.

 

These meds are insane, it's a little scary at time to think about how at the mercy of my neurochemistry I am... If stuff gets out of whack there's no amount of rationalization that can stop it until time allows your body to normalize. All you can do is ride it out and take the steps to allow yourself to normalize ASAP.

 

Anyway, not even considering cutting again until March and there's no way in hell I'll be cutting more than 10% every 3-4 weeks and I'm leaning towards a microtaper of 3% per week. Anyone else who comes across this and is in a similar situation after updosing... Keep your dose consistent and give it a few weeks and it'll subside.

06/13 - Celexa 30mg Klonopin 2 mg 

 

02/14 Celexa 30mg (Successfully completed 32 week Klonopin taper dropped 1/8 every two weeks)

Celexa Taper: 06/14 25mg 07/14 20mg 09/14 15mg 10/14 17.5mg 11/14 15mg 12/14 12.5mg 01/15 20mg (updose after going too fast bad w/d for 3-4 weeks after) 05/15 17.5mg 06/15 15mg 07/15 13.5mg 08/15 11.75mg 09/15 10mg 10/15 7.5mg 11/15 5mg 12/15 3.33mg 01/16 2.5mg 2/16 0mg (CT from 2.5mg) 3/16 (3-4 weeks after CT bad W/D symptoms, updose) 1.67mg

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*post moved from symptoms

 

I currently take Celexa 20mg every night around 10pm before bed.

 

I've been noticing some w/d symptoms that seem to increase throughout the next day (starting around 1pm and increasing).

 

Has anyone else experienced withdrawal between doses like this or am I imagining it? I've been attributing it to perhaps building stress throughout the day at work or something.

 

Just curious to see if anyone else has observed something like this.

Edited by Petu
added note

06/13 - Celexa 30mg Klonopin 2 mg 

 

02/14 Celexa 30mg (Successfully completed 32 week Klonopin taper dropped 1/8 every two weeks)

Celexa Taper: 06/14 25mg 07/14 20mg 09/14 15mg 10/14 17.5mg 11/14 15mg 12/14 12.5mg 01/15 20mg (updose after going too fast bad w/d for 3-4 weeks after) 05/15 17.5mg 06/15 15mg 07/15 13.5mg 08/15 11.75mg 09/15 10mg 10/15 7.5mg 11/15 5mg 12/15 3.33mg 01/16 2.5mg 2/16 0mg (CT from 2.5mg) 3/16 (3-4 weeks after CT bad W/D symptoms, updose) 1.67mg

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Phenom this is more a question for your individual thread in Intros so I will reply there.

Started on Prozac and Xanax in 1992 for PTSD after an assault. One drug led to more, the usual story. Got sicker and sicker, but believed I needed the drugs for my "underlying disease". Long story...lost everything. Life savings, home, physical and mental health, relationships, friendships, ability to work, everything. Amitryptiline, Prozac, bupropion, buspirone, flurazepam, diazepam, alprazolam, Paxil, citalopram, lamotrigine, gabapentin...probably more I've forgotten. 

Started multidrug taper in Feb 2010.  Doing a very slow microtaper, down to low doses now and feeling SO much better, getting my old personality and my brain back! Able to work full time, have a full social life, and cope with stress better than ever. Not perfect, but much better. After 23 lost years. Big Pharma has a lot to answer for. And "medicine for profit" is just not a great idea.

 

Feb 15 2010:  300 mg Neurontin  200 Lamictal   10 Celexa      0.65 Xanax   and 5 mg Ambien 

Feb 10 2014:   62 Lamictal    1.1 Celexa         0.135 Xanax    1.8 Valium

Feb 10 2015:   50 Lamictal      0.875 Celexa    0.11 Xanax      1.5 Valium

Feb 15 2016:   47.5 Lamictal   0.75 Celexa      0.0875 Xanax    1.42 Valium    

2/12/20             12                       0.045               0.007                   1 

May 2021            7                       0.01                  0.0037                1

Feb 2022            6                      0!!!                     0.00167               0.98                2.5 mg Ambien

Oct 2022       4.5 mg Lamictal    (off Celexa, off Xanax)   0.95 Valium    Ambien, 1/4 to 1/2 of a 5 mg tablet 

 

I'm not a doctor. Any advice I give is just my civilian opinion.

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  • Moderator Emeritus

From your question under Symptoms:

 

I currently take Celexa 20mg every night around 10pm before bed.

 

I've been noticing some w/d symptoms that seem to increase throughout the next day (starting around 1pm and increasing).

 

Has anyone else experienced withdrawal between doses like this or am I imagining it? I've been attributing it to perhaps building stress throughout the day at work or something.

 

Just curious to see if anyone else has observed something like this.

 

It's not unusual for people in withdrawal, tapering, or after going on and off and up and down on meds like you have, to develop increased sensitivity to fluctuations in blood plasma levels of drugs. Often in this situation folks will split the dose in half (of a once-a-day drug, that is) and take each half 12 hours apart. I do that with my own Celexa dose.

 

Given your history it's impossible to say exactly what's going on. Every time we start these drugs, stop them, go up and down in dosages, whatever, our bodies struggle to reestablish homeostasis, turning genes on and off, attempting to activate and deactivate complex nanosecond feedback loops, synthesizing proteins, breaking down proteins, and that's just the little bit that I've learned about it; there's much, much more.

 

Neurophysiology is incredibly complex (a couple of orders of magnitude more complex than even the most exquisite device ever created by humans)(amazing what nature can do with four billion years of tweaking time). And as organisms, we have never before encountered anything anywhere close to what these drugs do to disrupt neurochemistry and the endocrine system. Evolution hasn't had the chance to develop ways to adjust, heal, tweak and adapt to these drugs. Our brains are accustomed to much more subtle and gradual variations in neurotransmitters (caused by things like hormonal changes of puberty, seasonal changes in day length, aging, etc.) and even those can mess us up. 

 

And the drugs affect more than just neurotransmitters. Celexa, for example, has strong effects on cortisol release and production, apparently, and no doubt many others.

 

So you've been through the wringer. Your brain has been in the blender in the Chop Ice mode. Be gentle with it.

 

The subject of needing to break daily doses up into multiple doses comes up often and I'm sure there are lots of threads on it in the forum. You might try doing a search if you want to hear what other folks have said. Best way to search the forum is using Google (for example, "surviving antidepressants multiple doses" or something like that). Unfortunately most of the discussion probably revolves around dealing with short term benzos, which regularly produce interdose withdrawal, so you may have to sort through some of that.

 

Oh, and just a note as you mentioned benzos above: Actually, no, sadly, they're just as disruptive as ADs. They cause brain changes/adaptation, maybe even faster than ADs. They do have an immediate effect, it's true, but they cause the same kinds of problems if you take them daily, even just for a week or two for some people. None of these psych drugs are like aspirin or alcohol, only having an effect while they're in your body and then going away. (Actually aspirin causes permanent changes to coagulation factors which take months to replace, come to think of it. I'm not sure that ANY drug$ are as benign and temporary as we have been told.)

 

I'm giving you the long lecture because you're a scientific brain kind of person, and one of the most important things to "get" really fast if you want to deal with what these drugs do to us, is that the brain and body are not, not, NOT machines. We have this unconscious bias in Western science, due to human arrogance or what-have-you, that makes us think we humans are smarter than nature, and we talk about bodies as if they were like cars, just an assemblage of parts, easily understood. Not, sadly, true. Biochemistry is amazingly, incredibly, unbelievably complex, and nowhere more complex than in the nervous system. Far, far beyond anything humans can even imagine creating. Not mechanical in function. And much more poorly understood than anyone wants to admit.

Started on Prozac and Xanax in 1992 for PTSD after an assault. One drug led to more, the usual story. Got sicker and sicker, but believed I needed the drugs for my "underlying disease". Long story...lost everything. Life savings, home, physical and mental health, relationships, friendships, ability to work, everything. Amitryptiline, Prozac, bupropion, buspirone, flurazepam, diazepam, alprazolam, Paxil, citalopram, lamotrigine, gabapentin...probably more I've forgotten. 

Started multidrug taper in Feb 2010.  Doing a very slow microtaper, down to low doses now and feeling SO much better, getting my old personality and my brain back! Able to work full time, have a full social life, and cope with stress better than ever. Not perfect, but much better. After 23 lost years. Big Pharma has a lot to answer for. And "medicine for profit" is just not a great idea.

 

Feb 15 2010:  300 mg Neurontin  200 Lamictal   10 Celexa      0.65 Xanax   and 5 mg Ambien 

Feb 10 2014:   62 Lamictal    1.1 Celexa         0.135 Xanax    1.8 Valium

Feb 10 2015:   50 Lamictal      0.875 Celexa    0.11 Xanax      1.5 Valium

Feb 15 2016:   47.5 Lamictal   0.75 Celexa      0.0875 Xanax    1.42 Valium    

2/12/20             12                       0.045               0.007                   1 

May 2021            7                       0.01                  0.0037                1

Feb 2022            6                      0!!!                     0.00167               0.98                2.5 mg Ambien

Oct 2022       4.5 mg Lamictal    (off Celexa, off Xanax)   0.95 Valium    Ambien, 1/4 to 1/2 of a 5 mg tablet 

 

I'm not a doctor. Any advice I give is just my civilian opinion.

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Thank you Rhi for such a descriptive response, and yes you were correct in that I much prefer the long lecture :)

 

Just a quick update, knock on wood, I'm feeling quite a bit better and more stable after 3.5ish weeks on the higher dose.

 

Also, I've noticed that everything is smoother and more consistent when I take 10mg twice a day, of course any doctor would tell me I'm crazy and it's impossible to feel a difference between 20mg once a day and 10mg twice a day.

 

Regardless, I feel the difference, and I don't have symptoms that creep up and gain strength near the end of the day hours 20-24 between doses (because I only go 12 hours between now).

 

It's definitely a trial/error learning experience... at least I feel I'm most of the way done establishing the habits and stable ground I need to begin a proper 10% taper.

 

Will still hold until March 1, that is when I will begin the 10% taper... Not concerned with how long it'll take anymore, my concern is to do it correctly so it is the last time I have to try to taper.

 

I've finally admitted that my body is a very sensitive one to any chemical changes, which I stubbornly refused to admit... My competitive nature wants me to be the "fastest taperer in the west", but it definitely doesn't work that way lol.

06/13 - Celexa 30mg Klonopin 2 mg 

 

02/14 Celexa 30mg (Successfully completed 32 week Klonopin taper dropped 1/8 every two weeks)

Celexa Taper: 06/14 25mg 07/14 20mg 09/14 15mg 10/14 17.5mg 11/14 15mg 12/14 12.5mg 01/15 20mg (updose after going too fast bad w/d for 3-4 weeks after) 05/15 17.5mg 06/15 15mg 07/15 13.5mg 08/15 11.75mg 09/15 10mg 10/15 7.5mg 11/15 5mg 12/15 3.33mg 01/16 2.5mg 2/16 0mg (CT from 2.5mg) 3/16 (3-4 weeks after CT bad W/D symptoms, updose) 1.67mg

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  • Moderator Emeritus

That all sounds good to me, Phenom.

 

I don't see why it wouldn't be logical that a higher dose taken once a day is going to produce higher peaks and lower troughs than a half dose taken twice a day. Seems quite probable to me. And given your history and the recent updose it makes absolute sense that you'd feel a difference between wider fluctuations and gentler fluctuations.

 

Rereading your thread I see I didn't address your speculations about updosing further out (that maybe you had adapted to the lower dose partially and needed a smaller updose): yep, that seems to be a thing that happens. I would probably have suggested an updose from the 12.5 to 15 or so, no more. We find that very small updoses are often just as effective as, and less disruptive than, bigger updoses.

 

And yes, the competitive "fastest taperer in the west" thing gets a lot of people in trouble. Me, for one. After making myself ill probably a couple dozen times, I think I've finally gotten the hang of catching myself before I go all yahoo, but I've been at this for five years, so I've had practice.

 

It's a good thing to be aware of. I've seen a lot of failed tapers and suffering resulting from the "hey I'm tough I can do this" approach. Tough is good, don't get me wrong, you'll need it for the persistence and commitment and determination that this process takes, but inner strength doesn't seem to translate to less CNS sensitivity.

Started on Prozac and Xanax in 1992 for PTSD after an assault. One drug led to more, the usual story. Got sicker and sicker, but believed I needed the drugs for my "underlying disease". Long story...lost everything. Life savings, home, physical and mental health, relationships, friendships, ability to work, everything. Amitryptiline, Prozac, bupropion, buspirone, flurazepam, diazepam, alprazolam, Paxil, citalopram, lamotrigine, gabapentin...probably more I've forgotten. 

Started multidrug taper in Feb 2010.  Doing a very slow microtaper, down to low doses now and feeling SO much better, getting my old personality and my brain back! Able to work full time, have a full social life, and cope with stress better than ever. Not perfect, but much better. After 23 lost years. Big Pharma has a lot to answer for. And "medicine for profit" is just not a great idea.

 

Feb 15 2010:  300 mg Neurontin  200 Lamictal   10 Celexa      0.65 Xanax   and 5 mg Ambien 

Feb 10 2014:   62 Lamictal    1.1 Celexa         0.135 Xanax    1.8 Valium

Feb 10 2015:   50 Lamictal      0.875 Celexa    0.11 Xanax      1.5 Valium

Feb 15 2016:   47.5 Lamictal   0.75 Celexa      0.0875 Xanax    1.42 Valium    

2/12/20             12                       0.045               0.007                   1 

May 2021            7                       0.01                  0.0037                1

Feb 2022            6                      0!!!                     0.00167               0.98                2.5 mg Ambien

Oct 2022       4.5 mg Lamictal    (off Celexa, off Xanax)   0.95 Valium    Ambien, 1/4 to 1/2 of a 5 mg tablet 

 

I'm not a doctor. Any advice I give is just my civilian opinion.

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Will try to follow this micro-tapering schedule... It will take years but hopefully I'll barely even feel it when coming off the SSRI, and that is my goal. Between 2%-3% drops each week. Obviously I can't predict the future but this gives me a sense of the timeline, will hold in certain areas if necessary but hopefully this will be conservative enough to prevent me from needing any prolonged holding periods.

 

Occupancy-Taper.xlsx

06/13 - Celexa 30mg Klonopin 2 mg 

 

02/14 Celexa 30mg (Successfully completed 32 week Klonopin taper dropped 1/8 every two weeks)

Celexa Taper: 06/14 25mg 07/14 20mg 09/14 15mg 10/14 17.5mg 11/14 15mg 12/14 12.5mg 01/15 20mg (updose after going too fast bad w/d for 3-4 weeks after) 05/15 17.5mg 06/15 15mg 07/15 13.5mg 08/15 11.75mg 09/15 10mg 10/15 7.5mg 11/15 5mg 12/15 3.33mg 01/16 2.5mg 2/16 0mg (CT from 2.5mg) 3/16 (3-4 weeks after CT bad W/D symptoms, updose) 1.67mg

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  • Administrator

Good point about splitting Celexa doses. Please let us know how you're doing.

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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  • 2 weeks later...

Continuing to split the doses, as it seems to make a difference for me. With a 36 hour half life taking 20mg a day you have almost 7mg swings between 24 hour doses. Splitting into two 10mg doses you cut the swings in half, and from my anecdotal experience I can feel that difference.

 

Anyway, I've held at 20mg for just under a month now and I am glad to say I've been doing really well. My capacity for stress and higher workloads is significantly higher and I no longer feel rushes of adrenaline or anxiety at all throughout the day. I worked my ass off (pardon my french) at work and more at home yesterday for 12-14 hours to meet a deadline, had to take down 3 cups of coffee to keep gas in the tank, and still did just fine.

 

I have a mind that thrives working hard and gets bored very easily, but it's a delicate balance trying to keep my mind busy and satisfied without overloading/overstressing/overworking myself so I'm still trying to work that formula out.

 

Anyway, I've incorporated other positive life changes to continue the momentum and hopefully these habits will stick, as they clearly benefit my life and wellbeing. One of the biggest changes that I felt a difference from was swapping out a habit of 4 diet cokes a day for a coffee and a couple green teas. Again anecdotal, but cutting out artificial sweeteners seems to have had a positive effect on my mind & body.

 

I'm also working on cementing a meditation practice of 20-30 minutes a day into my life, but I have been very flakey with that. I always feel amazing and so calm/relaxed after meditating but I haven't prioritized it high enough to make it a daily habit, which I need to work on.

 

This weekend I begin my micro taper, and I can honestly say I feel I have been consistently stable and I have the foundation I was looking for to begin the process. I'll be cutting 5% of my current dose (from 20 to 19) and holding for two weeks. My goal is to follow the tapering guidelines set forth here (10% of current dose per month) but to make 2-4 cuts each month rather than 1 10% cut.

 

So for example my goal for Feb is 20mg to 18mg, which for me means either two cuts of 1mg or four cuts of 0.5 mg evenly spaced throughout the month. I am choosing two cuts to simplify things and because I know my wall begins around the 12-15mg area, where I will probably do 4 cuts per month.

 

tldr; Summary: I'm doing great, starting micro taper this weekend, cheers and best wishes to all!

06/13 - Celexa 30mg Klonopin 2 mg 

 

02/14 Celexa 30mg (Successfully completed 32 week Klonopin taper dropped 1/8 every two weeks)

Celexa Taper: 06/14 25mg 07/14 20mg 09/14 15mg 10/14 17.5mg 11/14 15mg 12/14 12.5mg 01/15 20mg (updose after going too fast bad w/d for 3-4 weeks after) 05/15 17.5mg 06/15 15mg 07/15 13.5mg 08/15 11.75mg 09/15 10mg 10/15 7.5mg 11/15 5mg 12/15 3.33mg 01/16 2.5mg 2/16 0mg (CT from 2.5mg) 3/16 (3-4 weeks after CT bad W/D symptoms, updose) 1.67mg

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  • Administrator

Good to hear.

 

You might add your observations to Dividing doses of short half-life drugs?

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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  • Moderator

That sounds very similar to my Brassmonkey Slide Method.  I drop 2.5% a week for four weeks and then hold an additional two weeks to let things settle out.  that give me a total drop of 10% every 6 weeks.  I did that the entire way down from 40mgs of paxil to 3mgs and I was very pleased with the results.  I wasn't symptom free, but never got hit with the debilitating waves the a lot of others have described.  I hope it worls as well for you.

20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013.

Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks.  The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better.

Final Dose 0.016mg.     Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017

 

"It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general."  Stephen Hawking

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Hi Phenom ,   I'm glad to hear you're feeling a lot better.     I am concerned though that you're already going to start tapering.   You only up-dosed less than a month ago , so you're still settling on the current dose.    I wouldn't rush it , you know we can't win that way.

Best wishes ,  Fresh

1987-1997 pertofran , prothiaden , Prozac 1997-2002 Zoloft 2002-2004 effexor 2004-2010 Lexapro 40mg

2010-2012Cymbalta 120mg

Sept. 2012 -decreased 90mg in 6months. Care taken over by Dr Lucire in March 2013 , decreased last 30mg at 2mg per week over 3 months. July 21 , 2013- last dose of Cymbalta

Protracted withdrawal syndrome kicked in badly Jan.2014 Unrelenting akathisia until May 2014. Voluntary hosp. admission. Cocktail of Seroquel, Ativan and mirtazapine and I was well enough to go home after 14 days. Stopped all hosp. meds in next few months.

July 2014 felt v.depressed - couldn't stop crying. Started pristiq 50mg. Felt improvement within days and continued to improve, so stayed on 50mg for 8 months.

Began taper 28 Feb. 2015. Pristiq 50mg down to 45mg. Had one month of w/d symptoms. Started CES therapy in March. No w/d symptoms down to 30mg.

October 2015 , taking 25mg Pristiq. Capsules compounded with slow-release additive.

March 2016 , 21mg

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Update, did a little more reading into the effects of coffee... namely its impact on increasing CNS fight or flight activity and the stress response. It also increases Cortisol levels and creates ups and downs when it comes to overall mood and energy levels.

 

Given my body's sensitivity to CNS stimulation & the peaks+valleys that come with caffeine consumption I've decided to discontinue my habit of 2-3 coffees a day. I'm sick of waking up in the morning feeling terrible until I get that cup of coffee, and having the end of day crash when all my coffee wears off.

 

I continue to learn in this process... But given that mood and energy levels will be greatly impacted by my coffee/caffeine withdrawals the next couple weeks, I don't want to add to it by dropping my Celexa dose.

 

Taper will start March 1, when I've reached my goal of drinking only water and 1-3 cups of green tea per day, and hopefully am feeling energetic again and through the worst of the caffeine w/d. 

 

I'm going to be a much healthier person by the end of this experience, because it's forced me to pay attention to my body and what I'm putting in it.

06/13 - Celexa 30mg Klonopin 2 mg 

 

02/14 Celexa 30mg (Successfully completed 32 week Klonopin taper dropped 1/8 every two weeks)

Celexa Taper: 06/14 25mg 07/14 20mg 09/14 15mg 10/14 17.5mg 11/14 15mg 12/14 12.5mg 01/15 20mg (updose after going too fast bad w/d for 3-4 weeks after) 05/15 17.5mg 06/15 15mg 07/15 13.5mg 08/15 11.75mg 09/15 10mg 10/15 7.5mg 11/15 5mg 12/15 3.33mg 01/16 2.5mg 2/16 0mg (CT from 2.5mg) 3/16 (3-4 weeks after CT bad W/D symptoms, updose) 1.67mg

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  • Administrator

Please taper off the coffee, maybe by a half-cup per day. Caffeine withdrawal often comes with a nasty headache.

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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  • Moderator

Green tea is loaded with caffeine too.  I love the stuff but can't have it for that reason. 

20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013.

Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks.  The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better.

Final Dose 0.016mg.     Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017

 

"It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general."  Stephen Hawking

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Definitely tapering off the caffeine as well... I'm guesstimating 3 cups of green tea per cup of coffee.

 

So I'll be starting at 1 coffee and 3 cups of green tea today, and dropping 1 cup of green tea per day the next three days.

 

Once I'm at just 1 cup of coffee and no green tea I'll switch to no coffee and 3 cups of green tea and then next week I'll be at my goal of just 1-2 cups of green tea and no coffee.

 

The reason I'm not dropping the green tea entirely is because of the many health benefits that come with it. Also, if I limit to only 1-2 cups a day it shouldn't be unbearable or really noticeable if I ever have to go a day or two without caffeine.

 

I'm also hoping 70mg of caffeine a day is low enough that it doesn't impact my stress/anxiety levels or cause huge spikes/crashes in energy throughout the day.

 

I am assuming even tapering like this my body will need a couple weeks to totally adjust to the lower amounts of caffeine, as I've been a large caffeine consumer for years. There were times when I was around 500mg a day.

06/13 - Celexa 30mg Klonopin 2 mg 

 

02/14 Celexa 30mg (Successfully completed 32 week Klonopin taper dropped 1/8 every two weeks)

Celexa Taper: 06/14 25mg 07/14 20mg 09/14 15mg 10/14 17.5mg 11/14 15mg 12/14 12.5mg 01/15 20mg (updose after going too fast bad w/d for 3-4 weeks after) 05/15 17.5mg 06/15 15mg 07/15 13.5mg 08/15 11.75mg 09/15 10mg 10/15 7.5mg 11/15 5mg 12/15 3.33mg 01/16 2.5mg 2/16 0mg (CT from 2.5mg) 3/16 (3-4 weeks after CT bad W/D symptoms, updose) 1.67mg

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Ended up dropping caffeine intake slower than initially planned. Lot of stuff happened at work and I was quite sleep deprived but still managed to cut down to one coffee and one green tea per day now.

 

Will be subbing out the coffee at some point this week and move to only green tea (starting at 3 cups per day when I cut out coffee).

 

Definitely less anxious but also more tired. My mood hasn't been horrible but it hasn't been great either. No horrible headaches or anything but I'm sure it'll take a little time for my body to adjust to going from ~400mg caffeine per day down to the 200mg I'm at now and I'm sure I'll really feel it when I'm down under 100mg where my goal is.

 

Think I'm stable on the Celexa 20mg since it's been well over a month since I re-upped, but I'll still hold out til March 1 when I'm done dealing with the worst of the caffeine w/d sluggishness. Definitely still have some anxiety here and there, still always comes around the same times of the day regardless of stress levels.

 

Taking one dose instead of two again (was forgetting to take two too often), but I just take it in the AM now since I have no sides and if I have any issues of feeling interdose swings closer to 24 hours after dosing I'll be asleep through it anyway. Been having some slight depression feels here and there which I've never experienced before (my issue was always anxiety, never in my life felt any symptoms of depression or apathy). Hoping it's just a side effect of the caffeine w/d as well, time will tell.

06/13 - Celexa 30mg Klonopin 2 mg 

 

02/14 Celexa 30mg (Successfully completed 32 week Klonopin taper dropped 1/8 every two weeks)

Celexa Taper: 06/14 25mg 07/14 20mg 09/14 15mg 10/14 17.5mg 11/14 15mg 12/14 12.5mg 01/15 20mg (updose after going too fast bad w/d for 3-4 weeks after) 05/15 17.5mg 06/15 15mg 07/15 13.5mg 08/15 11.75mg 09/15 10mg 10/15 7.5mg 11/15 5mg 12/15 3.33mg 01/16 2.5mg 2/16 0mg (CT from 2.5mg) 3/16 (3-4 weeks after CT bad W/D symptoms, updose) 1.67mg

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  • 2 weeks later...

I can officially say I've gone this entire week with no bad feelings or anxiety/irritability.

 

My mood is finally stable again and I've felt normal with no waves of anxiety or depression at all despite a fairly hectic week.

 

I don't know if the splitting of doses that I did before was ever really necessary, I think it was more that my body still hadn't fully adjusted and I was experiencing the typical cycle of anxiety/stress response late in the work day after having a lot of stimulation.

 

I'm still just taking one dose in the morning when I wake up (a couple times I forgot until the afternoon and didn't even notice).

 

Thanks to those who recommended I wait and stabilize longer before beginning the taper, it really did take 7-8 weeks after the updose to get back to my baseline (which surprised the hell out of me).

 

I'm not letting myself get that far out of balance again, this is my last taper, and I will allow it to take as long as it needs to take, if I feel instability I will stop for a couple weeks.

 

Still doing the micro-taper, starting March 1 (this Sunday), and feeling optimistic about the whole thing. I'll try to update with my progress as the process goes on.

06/13 - Celexa 30mg Klonopin 2 mg 

 

02/14 Celexa 30mg (Successfully completed 32 week Klonopin taper dropped 1/8 every two weeks)

Celexa Taper: 06/14 25mg 07/14 20mg 09/14 15mg 10/14 17.5mg 11/14 15mg 12/14 12.5mg 01/15 20mg (updose after going too fast bad w/d for 3-4 weeks after) 05/15 17.5mg 06/15 15mg 07/15 13.5mg 08/15 11.75mg 09/15 10mg 10/15 7.5mg 11/15 5mg 12/15 3.33mg 01/16 2.5mg 2/16 0mg (CT from 2.5mg) 3/16 (3-4 weeks after CT bad W/D symptoms, updose) 1.67mg

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  • Moderator Emeritus

That's PHENOMinal news  , am really happy for you  :D

1987-1997 pertofran , prothiaden , Prozac 1997-2002 Zoloft 2002-2004 effexor 2004-2010 Lexapro 40mg

2010-2012Cymbalta 120mg

Sept. 2012 -decreased 90mg in 6months. Care taken over by Dr Lucire in March 2013 , decreased last 30mg at 2mg per week over 3 months. July 21 , 2013- last dose of Cymbalta

Protracted withdrawal syndrome kicked in badly Jan.2014 Unrelenting akathisia until May 2014. Voluntary hosp. admission. Cocktail of Seroquel, Ativan and mirtazapine and I was well enough to go home after 14 days. Stopped all hosp. meds in next few months.

July 2014 felt v.depressed - couldn't stop crying. Started pristiq 50mg. Felt improvement within days and continued to improve, so stayed on 50mg for 8 months.

Began taper 28 Feb. 2015. Pristiq 50mg down to 45mg. Had one month of w/d symptoms. Started CES therapy in March. No w/d symptoms down to 30mg.

October 2015 , taking 25mg Pristiq. Capsules compounded with slow-release additive.

March 2016 , 21mg

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  • 3 weeks later...

Feeling good still, though work pressure is at an all time high. I was simultaneously given more responsibility than anyone else on the team by far and a mediocre performance review (ironically my lowest ever when I was working my hardest ever).

 

My boss was angry that his boss overruled him on the review and gave me the lower one because I was more recently promoted, despite the fact that I've outworked damn near everyone else at my new level.

 

Anyway, on another note I've found something great that I'm incorporating into my every day diet, green smoothies!

 

Placebo effect or not I feel noticeably better, healthier, etc after drinking these on a daily basis in the morning.

 

Current recipe I'm using includes Kale, Spinach, Banana, Greek Yogurt, Flax seeds, Garlic, and Ginger. Tastes good (and I HATE greens), and is extremely nutritious and healthy so I'll be sticking to it.

06/13 - Celexa 30mg Klonopin 2 mg 

 

02/14 Celexa 30mg (Successfully completed 32 week Klonopin taper dropped 1/8 every two weeks)

Celexa Taper: 06/14 25mg 07/14 20mg 09/14 15mg 10/14 17.5mg 11/14 15mg 12/14 12.5mg 01/15 20mg (updose after going too fast bad w/d for 3-4 weeks after) 05/15 17.5mg 06/15 15mg 07/15 13.5mg 08/15 11.75mg 09/15 10mg 10/15 7.5mg 11/15 5mg 12/15 3.33mg 01/16 2.5mg 2/16 0mg (CT from 2.5mg) 3/16 (3-4 weeks after CT bad W/D symptoms, updose) 1.67mg

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Feeling good still, though work pressure is at an all time high. I was simultaneously given more responsibility than anyone else on the team by far and a mediocre performance review (ironically my lowest ever when I was working my hardest ever).

 

This is the kind of stuff that was happening to me at work, which is part of the reason I eventually left when I got the chance.  Sounds like you are handling it better than I did.  The smoothies sound great, I haven't really managed to organise a healthy diet.

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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The work stuff definitely left a sour taste in my mouth and despite rationalizing it, my subconscious is more bothered by it than I'd like to admit.

 

It was a bit of a slap in the face, and since I had the luxury of several recruiters reaching out from other better companies I immediately began discussions.

 

I have been at this place 4 years and though it was a less prestigious place I always stuck around because the work culture was laid back and they took care of top performers.

 

Now the work culture has shifted in a very unfavorable direction and they don't seem to be taking care of me as much, so I'm excited to pursue other opportunities. 

06/13 - Celexa 30mg Klonopin 2 mg 

 

02/14 Celexa 30mg (Successfully completed 32 week Klonopin taper dropped 1/8 every two weeks)

Celexa Taper: 06/14 25mg 07/14 20mg 09/14 15mg 10/14 17.5mg 11/14 15mg 12/14 12.5mg 01/15 20mg (updose after going too fast bad w/d for 3-4 weeks after) 05/15 17.5mg 06/15 15mg 07/15 13.5mg 08/15 11.75mg 09/15 10mg 10/15 7.5mg 11/15 5mg 12/15 3.33mg 01/16 2.5mg 2/16 0mg (CT from 2.5mg) 3/16 (3-4 weeks after CT bad W/D symptoms, updose) 1.67mg

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  • 3 months later...

Update from my side... been ~15 weeks since my last post when I went too quickly, updosed too much and threw my stability off.

 

I stabilized for ~4 weeks on 20 mg and then began the taper again (I'm getting off this crap at some point lol).

 

Been tapering for ~10-11 weeks from 20mg now and I'm down to 13.5 mg and feeling well, smooth sailing with a slower taper for sure.

 

Some minor w/d but nothing game changing, and plan on keeping it up! 

06/13 - Celexa 30mg Klonopin 2 mg 

 

02/14 Celexa 30mg (Successfully completed 32 week Klonopin taper dropped 1/8 every two weeks)

Celexa Taper: 06/14 25mg 07/14 20mg 09/14 15mg 10/14 17.5mg 11/14 15mg 12/14 12.5mg 01/15 20mg (updose after going too fast bad w/d for 3-4 weeks after) 05/15 17.5mg 06/15 15mg 07/15 13.5mg 08/15 11.75mg 09/15 10mg 10/15 7.5mg 11/15 5mg 12/15 3.33mg 01/16 2.5mg 2/16 0mg (CT from 2.5mg) 3/16 (3-4 weeks after CT bad W/D symptoms, updose) 1.67mg

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  • Administrator

Thanks for checking in with such good news. Are you still splitting doses?
 
See

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?
 
Tips for tapering off Celexa (citalopram)

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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No not splitting doses anymore... The precision of my cuts would probably not be the best if I tried to do 6.75mg splits.

 

My main pain point has been working through the w/d after this last drop I did (from 15mg to 13.5mg).

 

Not sure why but below 15mg seems to be a big sticking point, this is where I updosed before and messed myself up.

 

I went from 20 to 15 again gradually and without issue, I've now been at 13.5 for about a week and have some noticeable depressive feelings & anxiety.

 

Not a cause for alarm but a bit uncomfortable, hoping that it tapers off.

06/13 - Celexa 30mg Klonopin 2 mg 

 

02/14 Celexa 30mg (Successfully completed 32 week Klonopin taper dropped 1/8 every two weeks)

Celexa Taper: 06/14 25mg 07/14 20mg 09/14 15mg 10/14 17.5mg 11/14 15mg 12/14 12.5mg 01/15 20mg (updose after going too fast bad w/d for 3-4 weeks after) 05/15 17.5mg 06/15 15mg 07/15 13.5mg 08/15 11.75mg 09/15 10mg 10/15 7.5mg 11/15 5mg 12/15 3.33mg 01/16 2.5mg 2/16 0mg (CT from 2.5mg) 3/16 (3-4 weeks after CT bad W/D symptoms, updose) 1.67mg

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  • Administrator

You may wish to hold on tapering for a bit and let your nervous system settle down.

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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