Pattycat: is vortioxetine / Trintellix / Brintellix soluble?

[Pattycat]

Hi there.im on brintellix 10 mg.

I started at 5mg, then 10, then 20 mg.after feeling lost and broken my psychiatrist told me to "break the tablet in half " so now im on 10mg.this is a period of around 2 years.i believe its taken me since August to recover from that 10 mg drop.when things settle down, i plan to do a liquid taper @ 10% per month .

[Pattycat]

Hi my names patrick,in the past ive been on 250 mg of pristiq for some 4 years.then down to 40 mg prozac, now at the moment, im on 10 mg brintellex. Ive read about the water taper and im wondering if brintellix is soluble? It does dissolve in water, but ive been doing it for a week, and seem to be experiencing withdrawal symptoms. I haven't changed my dose. Would these symptoms be still from the 10 mg drop (from 20mg to 10 mg) back 5 months ago? (Doctors orders ) any help would be greatly appreciated.

[dalsaan]

Hi Pattycat

 

Welcome to SA. Were you having withdrawal symptoms before you started on the liquid? Or have new ones arisen since you started dissolving your dose in water?

 

Dalsaan

[Pattycat]

Before i started the liquid.

[Pattycat]

They feel like they worsend once i started dissolving the the tablet. I have been dissolving for 5-6 days.i was hoping to "ride"the withdrawal from 20 mg to 10 mg.its been 5 months.

[dalsaan]

If you were already experiencing symptoms it means you had a destabilised nervous system. Any changes can exacerbate that. We do see symptoms linger, particularly after a big cut.

 

What symptoms do you have and how much have they changed since the switch to liquid?

 

D

[Pattycat]

I feel sleepy, angry and kind of out of it. I cant seem to think clearly. And i feel quite nervous. When i started to dissolve my dose 5 days ago, these symptoms worsend .should i go back up to 15 /20 mg?

[Fresh]

Hi Pattycat , welcome.

 

Your symptoms could be from the 50% drop you did 5 months ago.   

However , if they've worsened since starting liquid , I'd be inclined to go back to the tablet and stabilize there.

 

Many people have similar problems changing from tabs to liquid (see simack) , so it's not just you.

 

Best wishes ,  Fresh

[Pattycat]

Many thanks fresh, i will start back on the tablet tonight. Just one more question, do you think i should keep taking the 20 mg (cut in half to 10 mg) nightly? Or ask my doc to write up a new script for 10 mg, so i just take the 10 mg tablet whole, instead of cutting the tear shaped tablet in half? Im just curious if im cutting the 20 mg tablet, and getting say 13 mg one night, and 7 mg the next may cause some discomfort. I really appreciate your help.

[Fresh]

If there are 10mg tablets , that's a better choice , for 2 reasons:

 

1.  As you say , unless you're weighing on a digital jewellers' scale , you may not be accurate.  That's a big

     swing to potentially be going from 7 to 13mg daily.  It would keep things a bit unstable for sure.

2.  Once the pills are broken , they absorb at a different rate to a whole tablet.  That caused problems for me

     splitting pristiq . . . I got "dose-dumping" within an hour after taking it at night , and then w/d achy-jaw a few

     hours before it was due ,  because it hadn't lasted the distance.   

 

Until you get 10mg tablets , see how to use your own liquid precisely.

If you mix a 20mg tab in 20 mg water , you can draw 10mg into an oral syringe.

See How to make a liquid from tablets or capsules

 

This is your thread , and you can ask as many questions as you want.

It would be helpful if you fill in your signature , so we can see your history at a glance.

 

[ChessieCat]

Hi PattyCat,

 

Welcome to SA.  You'll find plenty of felines around this forum .

 

Instructions for signature either computer or tablet/phone:  Withdrawal History in Signature OR Complete your Signature from Phone or Tablet

 

To find your Topic again, click Follow Topic (top right) and you'll receive an email when someone replies or Favourite/Bookmark in your web browser.

 

This is a very supportive community and there is plenty of information here.  If you want to search for something it is best to use Google and type in survivingantidepressants.org and the topic you are looking for.

 

All the best, CC (@ Fresh SNAP!!!)

[Pattycat]

Also, dose any one here find that when they stop taking these drugs, they immediately feel better? I mean that is before i found the safe way to taper, in the past, when i stop cold turkey, for the 3-4 weeks untill withdrawal kicks in, i feel like "normal" and like i found a childhood friend,but its me? Can anyone relate?

[Pattycat]

Like i haven't felt in years..

[brassmonkey]

Hi Pat-- Delayed WD is one of the big problems we see here.   People stop CT and feel great for a few weeks to a few months and then get blindsided by the symptoms.  The problem is that by that time their CNS has become sensitive which makes it very trick to reinstate.  The risk of an adverse reaction increases the longer a person is off.  Also it takes such a long time for a small dose to have any affect people start to panic that they won't get better and start changing up doses which just compounds the problem.

[Pattycat]

Hi brassmonkey..is this indicative of how we may feel after withdrawal?

[Pattycat]

As in feel better?

[Pattycat]

Thank you chessiecat

[JanCarol]

Hey Patty - yes, there is often a honeymoon period.

 

It's what makes it difficult to convince someone that reinstatement may reduce their symptoms, because folks remember how great and clear they felt after getting the drug out of their bloodstream

 

Problem is, the architecture of the brain has been changed, and even though there may be fresh breezes, the structure is collapsing and needs to be propped up.  Stabilized.

 

Another way to think of it is jumping off the cliff - the flight through the air (which can take 6-12 months from an AD) - is exhilarating, but the landing isn't.

 

It is why we prefer to abseil down the cliff, slowly, gently, and carefully, to prevent that messy crash at the bottom (which makes healing so much slower).  Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

Additionally, if you think of the brain as a basketball, every time you make a change - sometimes that's a change as simple as brand name to generic, or a course of antibiotics, or tablet-to-liquid, or an extra cup of coffee - it gives the brain an extra bounce.  The goal in withdrawal is to keep that brain/basketball still, so that it can heal.

 

It sounds to me like getting 10mg tabs until you stabilize is the best option.  Until you can get that arranged, please continue cutting your tablets, as it seems the liquid is going to be a big adjustment.  Did you make a decrease in dose when you went to liquid?  Or were you just trying to make the liquid at the same dose? 

 

Because if you decreased dose AND switched form (to liquid) at the same time, that could cause destabilization, too.  You might check your maths, as Fresh suggested, to make sure you were actually taking a 10mg dose with the liquid you made.  See:  How to Make a Liquid from Tablets or Capsule

 

Many people find Magnesium and Omega-3 fish oil helpful, too.

 

Welcome to SA!

[Pattycat]

Thank you so much for your reply.you have confirmed in writing what i have suspected for a long time..

[Pattycat]

Also, when i made up the liquid, i was still taking the 10 mg.so now i have a new script from the doctor, made up as 10 mg tablets.i will continue with the 10 mg until things really settle down..then taper 10 percent. Has anyone here seen the tread with the lady who used sandpaper to grind her tablet, then putting it in a vice/clamp like devise, turning the handle once every withdrawal.? I will do more investigation

[Fresh]

Yup , I used to enjoy the touch of euphoria that came with destabization.

 

LOL @ using a vice to grind down tablets.  Please share the link if you find it.

 

I haven't read this thread , but it may be here Using an oral syringe and other tapering techniques

[ChessieCat]

Is this is?  hudgens-success-story/#entry181314

[Fresh]

Great work CC  .

 

"I've tried to explain this several times before, but it's difficult. I went looking through a junk drawer at the beginning of my taper in 2010 and found a sort of device-I still have no idea what it's real purpose is- that I used for measuring. Looks a little like the top of a small monkey wrench (but it's not a wrench). It's got screw and a locking nut for the screw (wish I could just download a picture, but I have no idea how), anyway, what I'd do is take a white, round, generic Effexor pill and take a tiny section off of the pill's edge by rubbing it on a piece of sandpaper, then put the pill in the adjustable gap of my measuring mechanism-lock the screw-and that way know exactly how much to take off of the pill each time (that is, by reducing the pill on the sandpaper until it fit neatly into the previously set gap of the device). When I was ready to make another reduction-I would prepare the pill to fit the gap and then take a tiny bit more off, readjust the screw on the device and lock it in place again for the new smaller dose. When I got to the center dividing line in the pill I just cut the pill in half for a half dose."

[Pattycat]

Thanks chessie,thats the one..????

[Pattycat]

Does anything help with brain fog?

[brassmonkey]

Fish oil tends to have some good effects.

[Fresh]

This is a good article that suggests Omega-3's , b-vitamins and adaptogens (herbs).

http://draxe.com/brain-fog/

[Pattycat]

Thanks, it seems to hang around from 8am till about 11 or 12 pm.i cant even think, or perform basic math, and seem to get offended easily. Hope its just a phase, and will wear off until the 10mg tablet kicks in..????????

[JanCarol]

Hey Pattycat, have you checked in with other Australian members here?

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6284-australia-members-please-check-in-here/

 

Seems our doctors like to prescribe these drugs a lot.  There are, as in many arenas, a high percentage of Aussies in the room!

[Pattycat]

Hi jan carol, thanks for the tip, today was a great day, no brain fog, i felt switched on, and in control ????

[Pattycat]

Hello, any more folks on brintellix? Is anyone attempting to taper? After stabilising on ten mg, im starting a 10% taper tonight.

[Pattycat]

Hey folkes. After switching back to the 10 mg tablet, i stabilized, and felt fairly well .so i stayed there for a month, before using the vice (g clamp and sandpaper) method to taper.its now been 3 weeks since i started that, and i am experiencing some withdrawal symptoms. Mind you i am shaving the tiniest peice of a 10 mg tablet . tonight i plan to halve that again, and try that..it is quite frustrating, but i am learning about myself and these drugs at the same time.this is not a race..i plan to find a open minded doctor and at the very least let him know what im doing..at the moment i dont really have one, and at the very least i may be able to regulate things a bit, and have someone to lean on..will keep you posted. .thank god for this page..

[Altostrata]

Hi, Pattycat. How are you doing?

[Pattycat]

Hi @Altostrata !

Many thanks for checking in😊

I forgot my login details🐱.

I am down to 2.5 mg brintellix daily, i cut a tablet in half.its been a year or two since i last posted here,i guess after repeated attempts to taper/cut back, i put it in the too hard basket. The negative effects my family had to endure made it easier just to take the damm tablets.

Just today it was time to renew my script and i spoke with my dr about safely cutting back.he basically said that there is no safe way.

There has been a simmering resentment over the last few years with this, and now im back,ready to have another go.😊

[ChessieCat]

Hi Pattycat and welcome back,

 

This topic has been updated since you were last here: tips-for-tapering-vortioxetine-trintellix-brintellix

 

Edited July 28, 2017 by scallywag 
added solubility details re: DMSO

 

We have also had other members join who are taking the same drug so you could check out their Intros and see how they are tapering.  This is the link to the Introduction forum site search I did:  vortioxetine Trintellix Brintellix

[ChessieCat]

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