greentrain Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Hi - It's me again, Greentrain. My mother (70 yo) has been on Celexa for 20+ yrs. Her doctor is like all the others and has continued to bump her up over the years until she's now been on a significant dose - 40 mgs - for years. My mom doesn't like to take it everyday because it makes her very fatigued, has decimated her cognition, and gives her stomach pain so she decided without telling anyone that she would take it every other day or so. She's been doing this for about a year. I just found out. I'm trying to help her but don't know where to begin. I will be talking to her doctor tomorrow. Should we be trying to get her on a regular dose at a lower level? Should I ask for liquid since she just has 40 mg pills? Or should we be doing every other day for awhile while we slowly bring her down to a more reasonable dose that doens't (hopefully) give her such drastic side effects and then transition her to everyday? She is the sole caregiver for my father who is very ill and her children all live 5 + hours away so I really have to avoid rocking the boat too much here. She really needs to be functional. THANK YOU for any direction you can offer! 9/2006 Began Lexapro 1/2014 Began taper from 15mg Cut dose by 2.5 mg every two weeks or until stabilized 5/25/2014 Last dose Experienced: Anxiety/depression, intrusive thoughts, dizziness, de-personalization, mood swings, stomach pains, nausea, headaches, gastro upset, anger, many spells of brain fog, chills, water retention, hypoglycemia, heart palpitations, weight gain, light headedness, muscle constriction - jaw, chest, neck, cortisol surges waking me several times at night with heart racing, blurry eyesight / visual snow, neuropathic pain, burning/numbness in hands and feet, muscle twitching, light sensitivity, sinuses, temperature disregulation, ear zaps, FEAR, hopelessness, doom and gloom, muscle spasms and tension across whole body, low energy, apathy, depression, constant post nasal drip, ear pain, jaw pain and cracking, tooth pain, burning/tingling/numbing, right rib cage pain FOREVER, lymph congestion, hypersensitivity to many foods and many supplements, bladder/ urination issues, creaky bones, sallow, yellow skin on hands/feet, emotional dysregulation, back pain, vivid dreams, mucus, peeling lips. What's left: Low energy some days, muscle pain, hormone imbalance, GI stuff here and there, eye floaters, peeling, red lips. Link to comment
nz11 Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 In the absence of other voices i will put out my 2 cents worth. Wow greentrain i am so sorry for the massive iatrogenic effect on many family members. Your mum is so lucky to have you take a proactive involvement and desire to get out from under this psychotropic weight. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1024-why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage/ As you will read Its best not to skip doses or alternate. Should we be trying to get her on a regular dose at a lower level? Yeah i reckon thats the way to go. Thinking out loud here, if she has been ok alternating 40 / 0 for a year, i wonder if she will cope with taking 20 every day. (its essentially the same right) Then if and when stable taper down off this at the 10 % or even perhaps 5% rate. Getting liquid is a good idea. Be interesting to hear others thoughts here. As you mentioned she needs to be functional so the key is not to shock the cns or brain doing this. I'm trying to help her but don't know where to begin. I will be talking to her doctor tomorrow. Are you able to do some reading here and then go in with a game plan...cos the chances are the doc may not have one) Tips for tapering off Celexa (citalopram) http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6632-the-rule-of-3kis-keep-it-simple-keep-it-slow-keep-it-stable/ Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing. http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651 Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos. Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you Recovering paxil addict None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped." Dr Mosher. Me too! Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015 I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015 Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017 Link to comment
nz11 Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 ok just been reading the citalopram link for myself....it is very informative. I note the following" 1). liquid is available: Use Celexa liquid concentrate to taperIn the US, the liquid oral solution comes in 10 mg/5 mL (2 mg/mL), peppermint flavor. The bottle contains 240 mL. Pharmacy identifier is NDC 0456-4130-08 As Alto points out it is important to note the liquid is a 2 mg/mL that means if one wants to take 20 mg you have to take only 10ml of liquid. 2). It appears that we have agreement that 'x' mg on alternate days is the same as 'x'/2 mg every day. 3). Using a combination of tablets and liquid Rather than switch directly to an all-liquid dose, you may wish to take part of your dose in liquid and part in tablets, gradually converting to all-liquid as you get to lower dosages. This can be very convenient and reduce any problems switching from one form of the drug to another. So we see here a concern that moving from tablet to liquid in one go may cause switching problems. Do you think your mum is up to cutting and weighing out doses and combining with liquid? perhaps one way to go A. take 10mg tablet and 5ml of liquid (being the equiv of 10mg). Daily. If ok with that then take 9mg tablet and 5ml liquid for a month. (This is a 5% taper). If ok after a month then continue with the 5 % of the total off the tablet. This may be difficult to someone older with responsibilities and time consuming and not to mention open to error. Heres another thought B. slowly over a one or two month period (say) convert the tablet to all liquid. 15mg tablet 2.5ml liquid for say two weeks if ok then take 10mg tablet and 5ml liquid for two weeks say then 5mg tablet and 7.5 ml of liquid then all 10ml liquid. Then start a 5% taper per month of the previous dose off the 10ml of liquid. (After 20 yrs use it may be best to play safe and proceed cautiously and gently (5%)...imo, the last thing you want is more iatrogenic damage in the family, this taper would take 5 years) I like the idea of runnning with B. Whatever you decide remember you are in control the doc isnt the one in the plane your mum is and you want it landed safely not kamakzi style. Good luck whatever you decide. If you want to take the docs advise then it would be most wise to get a second opinion from sa. What do you think? nz11 Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing. http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651 Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos. Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you Recovering paxil addict None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped." Dr Mosher. Me too! Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015 I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015 Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017 Link to comment
Moderator brassmonkey Posted December 14, 2015 Moderator Share Posted December 14, 2015 Hi Greentrain-- I'm sorry to hear that your mother is having trouble with her Celexa, but after 20 years I can see why. I started having real trouble with my paxil at about the 15 year mark. Alternating doses every other day is really rough on the body. It effectively throws you into WD every other day. This is why we don't recommend it. This brings up a big question, how has she been handling it? Has it alleviated the symptoms that were bothering her? Because of the changing amount of drug in the blood stream caused by the alternating dose her average effective dose has been around 20mg for a year now. So if you were to start daily dosing that would be a good level. Getting her stable on a daily dose is essential if you then want to start a taper to reduce the amount she is using. The doctor should be able to prescribe 20mg tablets, otherwise cutting the pill in half would work as you transition her to the liquid. The links that NZ11 gave you have a lot of good information, so please have a read through them. 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 Link to comment
Purplestars22 Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Greentrain, alternating doses is an awful way to taper off meds because its really destabilizing on the CNS. It has caused me severe withdrawal. Here is a link of the rule of 3KIS: Keep it simple, slow and stable hope it helps your mom taper off. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6632-the-rule-of-3kis-keep-it-simple-keep-it-slow-keep-it-stable/ Celexa 20mg 2008-2012 for Social Anxiety Failed attempt to stop reinstated 1 year taper skipping doses Celexa free 12/2013 1/2014-5/2014 took 5 htp every other day Failed Reinstatement 5mg of Celexa on 12/2014 for 5 days only Link to comment
nz11 Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Greentrain just wanted to rec 2 books to you they are stunningly informative and i think could be enlightening for you and your family. they are 'Anatomy of an epidemic ' by R whitaker, and 'Psychiatric drug withdrawal ' by P Breggin. Maybe you can get them from your library. Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing. http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651 Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos. Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you Recovering paxil addict None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped." Dr Mosher. Me too! Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015 I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015 Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017 Link to comment
greentrain Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 Thanks everybody! 1) I'll discuss with her doctor is getting her to cut the 40mg pills in half and take it everyday. I hope this isn't too destabilizing. She didn't note big changes when she switched from everyday to every other day usage a year or so ago. *The half life is 36 hrs - does that matter in calculating the safety of moving from 40 mg every other to 20 mg everyday? 2) Then the next step after she's stable on 20 mg a day is to transition slowly to the liquid equivalent of 20mg. 3) Once she's stable there we can bring her down VERY slowly, i.e., 5% a month. RE: how she's handling the every other day dosing: She is not very in touch with her body and tolerates many things I would be complaining about and trying to fix, but she doesn't seem truly disabled in the way I am in withdrawal. I was just visiting and she was running around with my kids while I was zonked on the couch in a wave. She still works part-time everyday and takes care of my father who has needed A LOT of support over the past few years. She is definitely suffering from the ill effects of LT SSRI use - an eye twitch for which she gets botox, reflux, possibly some food sensitivities she ignores, fast heart rate, etc. I'm sure there is more that she doesn't tell me. She's 70 so she just attributed it all to age. *****Does this sound like a safe plan for an older person who needs to be functional? If so, that's what I'll aim for with the doctor convo. THANK YOU all. 9/2006 Began Lexapro 1/2014 Began taper from 15mg Cut dose by 2.5 mg every two weeks or until stabilized 5/25/2014 Last dose Experienced: Anxiety/depression, intrusive thoughts, dizziness, de-personalization, mood swings, stomach pains, nausea, headaches, gastro upset, anger, many spells of brain fog, chills, water retention, hypoglycemia, heart palpitations, weight gain, light headedness, muscle constriction - jaw, chest, neck, cortisol surges waking me several times at night with heart racing, blurry eyesight / visual snow, neuropathic pain, burning/numbness in hands and feet, muscle twitching, light sensitivity, sinuses, temperature disregulation, ear zaps, FEAR, hopelessness, doom and gloom, muscle spasms and tension across whole body, low energy, apathy, depression, constant post nasal drip, ear pain, jaw pain and cracking, tooth pain, burning/tingling/numbing, right rib cage pain FOREVER, lymph congestion, hypersensitivity to many foods and many supplements, bladder/ urination issues, creaky bones, sallow, yellow skin on hands/feet, emotional dysregulation, back pain, vivid dreams, mucus, peeling lips. What's left: Low energy some days, muscle pain, hormone imbalance, GI stuff here and there, eye floaters, peeling, red lips. Link to comment
greentrain Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 Thanks for the book recommendations: I've seen them mentioned here a lot but the fear of what's happened to my body and what's the fallout from the use of Lexapro has been so bad during the withdrawal that I really couldn't have tolerated that kind of info. I'm finally to a point where I can read that type of stuff. Looking at my body and not panicking about symptoms and body changes still requires some good ol' talking myself off the ledge but I get through it. Health anxiety and hypochrondria was/is a really terrible symptom of mine. I could write a really funny passage someday about all of the disease and problems I diagnosed myself with...I covered the gamut. 9/2006 Began Lexapro 1/2014 Began taper from 15mg Cut dose by 2.5 mg every two weeks or until stabilized 5/25/2014 Last dose Experienced: Anxiety/depression, intrusive thoughts, dizziness, de-personalization, mood swings, stomach pains, nausea, headaches, gastro upset, anger, many spells of brain fog, chills, water retention, hypoglycemia, heart palpitations, weight gain, light headedness, muscle constriction - jaw, chest, neck, cortisol surges waking me several times at night with heart racing, blurry eyesight / visual snow, neuropathic pain, burning/numbness in hands and feet, muscle twitching, light sensitivity, sinuses, temperature disregulation, ear zaps, FEAR, hopelessness, doom and gloom, muscle spasms and tension across whole body, low energy, apathy, depression, constant post nasal drip, ear pain, jaw pain and cracking, tooth pain, burning/tingling/numbing, right rib cage pain FOREVER, lymph congestion, hypersensitivity to many foods and many supplements, bladder/ urination issues, creaky bones, sallow, yellow skin on hands/feet, emotional dysregulation, back pain, vivid dreams, mucus, peeling lips. What's left: Low energy some days, muscle pain, hormone imbalance, GI stuff here and there, eye floaters, peeling, red lips. Link to comment
ChanceLucky Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Sorry to hear about all this. I was on 40 mg Celexa for about 15 years and tapered over 8 months. In retrospect, I think I did it too fast, and I ended up suffering and then doing a low dose reinstatement. In her case, I would suggest using liquid and plan on taking 1 to 2 years for this. -I was on an SSRI (most recently Celexa at 40mg/day) for about 15 years for anxiety. I tapered off over about 8 months and in 2015 and had worsened anxiety and well-being once off it. In the fall of 2015 (I believe) I did a low dose reinstatement and was doing better. I stayed on roughly 1 ml (2 mg) for a while but eventually lowered it to .5 ml and was on this for a long time. -Around late mid May (2017) my anxiety was worse and I increased the Celexa to 1.5 ml. At first, I felt significantly better but I developed a hand tremor. I also was having some attention and concentration difficulties. In mid July (over about 2 weeks) I tapered off of the Celexa and was off it for about 2 1/2 weeks before I started to feel an intense increase in anxiety and my hand tremor returned. -Aug 13, 2017 I did a low dose reinstatement of 0.5 ml a day and am currently still taking that. Initial response is good. -Early September 2017 to present - hand tremor returns and attention and concentration are impaired. Feeling of unbalance/unsteadiness from using treadmill. Mild changes to sexual performance too. -Sept 18, 2017: 0.4 ml Celexa. Everything is generally improving although hand tremor is worse. Attention, concentration, and anxiety are good. -I am also on Wellbutrin (200 mg/day) for anxiety and take a Benadryl at night for sleep and allergies. Eventually I'd like to be off everything. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/9730-chancelucky-antidepressant-withdrawal-social-anxiety-pessimism/ Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus apace41 Posted December 15, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 15, 2015 Greentrain, Just read through this and I'm sorry you and your mother are in this position. It does sound like a good plan and both NZ11 and BrassMonkey have given you good advice. I would only caution one thing which is to distinguish between yourself and your mother. Everyone feels these things differently and it's easy to say "I'm suffering so she must be suffering as well." It might be that she is not as sensitive to the meds and can remain more functional during her taper. She may struggle in which case more support is needed. My only point is that you not automatically assume her situation will mirror yours and further assume she is not complaining because she doesn't want to trouble you, rather than the fact that her case may be very different. Best of luck on this journey, Andy 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, Link to comment
Pretzle Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Citalopram also left me very, very fatigued at 40 mg (and caused me to have hairloss, too). Good to hear you're helping your mother out. Be sure to double check things if you (partially) will use the liquid - it's not the same dose at seemingly the same numbers. But yes, definitely find a way to get her to take a stable dose every day instead of every other day. Best of luck On Citalopram (Celexa) since January 2014. Up to 40 mg (highest dose) then down to 10 mg (few months at both 30 mg and 20 mg). In the process of tapering off completely using liquid form of the drug. 4 drops (8mg) is supposedly equal to 10 mg tablet. (early Dec:) 3 drops (6 mg), two weeks of pretty bad symptoms (all physical) and then fine, held for 2 weeks after that. (27 Dec) 2 drops (4 mg), (23 Jan) 2 mg -> steady lowering by 0.25 every few days to (14 Feb) 0 mg. Link to comment
greentrain Posted December 15, 2015 Author Share Posted December 15, 2015 You guys are an incredible bunch! Thank you. Andy - you are spot-on. I have major PTSD with the medical profession and things healthwise have not gone very well for my little girl, my father and me over the past few years so I automatically go into catastrophe planning. The stories are really gruesome and I haven't fully moved past them because we are all still struggling (but to a lesser degree for myself and daughter). THANK YOU all! 9/2006 Began Lexapro 1/2014 Began taper from 15mg Cut dose by 2.5 mg every two weeks or until stabilized 5/25/2014 Last dose Experienced: Anxiety/depression, intrusive thoughts, dizziness, de-personalization, mood swings, stomach pains, nausea, headaches, gastro upset, anger, many spells of brain fog, chills, water retention, hypoglycemia, heart palpitations, weight gain, light headedness, muscle constriction - jaw, chest, neck, cortisol surges waking me several times at night with heart racing, blurry eyesight / visual snow, neuropathic pain, burning/numbness in hands and feet, muscle twitching, light sensitivity, sinuses, temperature disregulation, ear zaps, FEAR, hopelessness, doom and gloom, muscle spasms and tension across whole body, low energy, apathy, depression, constant post nasal drip, ear pain, jaw pain and cracking, tooth pain, burning/tingling/numbing, right rib cage pain FOREVER, lymph congestion, hypersensitivity to many foods and many supplements, bladder/ urination issues, creaky bones, sallow, yellow skin on hands/feet, emotional dysregulation, back pain, vivid dreams, mucus, peeling lips. What's left: Low energy some days, muscle pain, hormone imbalance, GI stuff here and there, eye floaters, peeling, red lips. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus apace41 Posted December 15, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 15, 2015 Andy - you are spot-on. I have major PTSD with the medical profession and things healthwise have not gone very well for my little girl, my father and me over the past few years so I automatically go into catastrophe planning. Not a surprise given what you've been through and the fact that you are still dealing with the impact of these drugs which cause catastrophic thinking in many of us. One of the most tempting traps that exists is for us to blame everything from a hangnail to the weather on withdrawal. It is the cause of many, many random and hard-to-explain symptoms. However, it is critical that we not be blinded by our anger at these drugs such that we ignore other things that we might be able to address in other ways and ascribe them all to withdrawal. Put differently, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar! If your Mom is really having trouble as you move her to 20mg a day and then taper her down, she will let you know. For those who have had bad waves in withdrawal, it would be hard for someone close not to know there was a problem. Best, Andy 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, Link to comment
nz11 Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Thanks for the book recommendations: I've seen them mentioned here a lot but the fear of what's happened to my body and what's the fallout from the use of Lexapro has been so bad during the withdrawal that I really couldn't have tolerated that kind of info. I totally understand . I am the same. It is only in the last year or two that i can actually read this stuff ...one eye open as it would leave me absolutely horrified humiliated and outraged still does but i can absorb it. Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing. http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651 Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos. Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you Recovering paxil addict None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped." Dr Mosher. Me too! Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015 I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015 Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017 Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus apace41 Posted December 15, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 15, 2015 I totally understand . I am the same. It is only in the last year or two that i can actually read this stuff ...one eye open as it would leave me absolutely horrified humiliated and outraged still does but i can absorb it. It's a form of, among other things, masochism, that I think is painfully cathartic for me. I just spent some time watching Whittaker from the CEPUK conference in September (available on Youtube) and I find myself afterwards, head in hands, thinking "WTF? How in the world? How did I and we all GET HERE?" Not for all at various stages of the process, but I am somehow compelled to watch. I feel a little like Alex in A Clockwork Orange without the toothpicks (those of you who have read the book and seen the movie will get the reference). Andy 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, Link to comment
Moderator brassmonkey Posted December 15, 2015 Moderator Share Posted December 15, 2015 Hi Greentrain-- that plan sounds like a good one. In our experience doctors haven't been too helpful or experienced about tapering plans so I wouldn't expect too much help there. The eye ticks and such that you mentioned are all classic WD symptoms. In fact my left eye had been driving me nuts for a couple for weeks now. Those should calm down a lot once she is on everyday dosing. 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 Link to comment
nz11 Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 Ahh those pesky eyelid twitches.... Its taken 5 years for the nerve twitchings in my eyelids to recede. Having said that it will probably start up again tomorrow. Still have it elsewhere but not so pronounced. Dont seem to recall having this when i was on the drug though. Although i did get the occasional head and body ' jolt ' only since joining pp and sa did i learn that was a drug side effect. Im still joining the dots. Be interesting to hear what the doc has to say ...totally agree with Brass on their unhelpfulness ...i just cant articulate it so politely! Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing. http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651 Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos. Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you Recovering paxil addict None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped." Dr Mosher. Me too! Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015 I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015 Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017 Link to comment
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