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Ch3ddar: tapering fluvoxamine after taking it for 2 months


Ch3ddar

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For someone on 50mg of fluvoxamine for only 2 months, would the 10% rule still be sufficient? Or is that for people who've been on an SSRI much longer?

Edited by scallywag
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  • Moderator Emeritus

Ch3ddar -- Welcome to Surviving Antidepressants (SA)

 

I've moved your post from the "Why taper by 10%" topic to the Introductions Forum so that more people will see your question.

 

Your CNS (central nervous system) adapts quickly to the presence of neuro-psycho-active medications, such as fluvoxamine. Rapid decreases or sudden complete stops are likely to trigger withdrawal symptoms. This post by Rhiannon has a description and analogy of that process that I've found enlightening:

How your brain responds to psychiatric drugs - aka "Brain remodeling"

 

It's nearly impossible to say how quickly and completely your CNS adapted to fluvoxamine. If the adaptation was significant, going faster than 10% would be problematic.

 

I don't know if you read the first post in the "Why taper by 10% topic". Even if you have already, please give it another look: First post in Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

Here's an important part of that post:

 

Why decrease by such a small amount?

This is why:

 

The risk of severe withdrawal is so great for some people, a very conservative approach to tapering to protect everyone is called for.

 

Many people seem to be able to taper off psychiatric medications in a couple of weeks or even cold-turkey with minor withdrawal symptoms perhaps for a month or so. Doctors therefore expect everyone can do this. However, it seems a minority suffer severe symptoms for much longer.

 

It is unknown how large or small this minority is. You may very well be in it. You can't know how your nervous system will respond to a decrease in medication until you try it.

 

You won't know if you're in the unlucky minority until it's too late. It's a lot easier to taper slowly than to put your nervous system back together again after it's injured.

 

From reports of withdrawal syndrome all over the Web, those concerned about withdrawal syndrome have come to a consensus: Decreases of 25%, which are recommended by many doctors, are too large, with many people develop withdrawal syndrome. Thus, the recommendation of the more gradual 10% reduction.

 

 

Other information that is relevant to your situation:

Before you begin tapering -- what you need to know.

Tips for tapering off Luvox (fluvoxamine)

Glenmullen’s withdrawal symptom list.

 

 

A request: Would you summarize your history in a signature -- drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements, in the last 12-24 months particularly?

  • Any drugs prior to 24 months ago can just be listed with start and stop years.
  • Please use actual dates or approximate dates (mid-June, Late October) rather than relative time frames (last week, 3 months ago)
  • Spell out months, e.g. "October" or "Oct."; 9/1/2016 can be interpreted as Jan. 9, 2016 or Sept. 1, 2016.
  • Please leave out symptoms and diagnoses.
  • A list is easier to understand than one or multiple paragraphs.
  • You can find instructions in this topic: Please put your withdrawal history in signature
  • If you are using a phone or mobile device, you need to switch to the "full" or desktop version of the site. Instructions are in Post 9 and Post 10
I hope you'll find the information in the SA forums helpful for your situation. I'm sorry that you are in the position that you need the information, but am glad that you found us before you started tapering. That's a HUGE head start compared to those of us who attempted a doctor's ill-informed taper.

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

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


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

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  • 10 months later...

Ch3 hows the taper going.

I'm working late at the (sa) office and i thought i really must check up on Ch3ddar so be great to hear from you. No pressure.

regards

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

 

 

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