StarJ: 17 years of Citalopram and time to quit

[Happy2Heal]

On 4/9/2017 at 10:23 AM, StarJ said:

That would explain how they became available en mass...

 

But surely over the years people have tried to stop and encountered the problems we face here. Why is there so little talk about this in the medical community???

 

 

I suspect that those in the "medical community"  are in denial. Some of them actually do go into the business to help ppl.

Imagine you've written thousands of prescriptions for these drugs, believing that they were helping ppl, and then you start to hear that ppl are having trouble, massive trouble, getting off of them. You suddenly realize that maybe these drugs are not as safe as the drug reps told you, you realize that you may have, instead of helping ppl, caused a lot of damage to ppl.
You don't want to believe this, it feels bad. You feel bad, guilty.

You push these thoughts away and try to come up with other explanations.
A few very ethical psychiatrists and others are essentially blowing the whistle about the harm these drugs do, but I imagine the industry, having a  huge stake in this business, is doing their best to discredit and/or silence those ethical doctors (and the ones who are just coming around to realizing the drugs are dangerous, or still asking the questions)

 

also because we have been giving a label of mentally ill, it's very easy for society/drs/friends/family etc to discount and dis believe what we are telling them about our experience with WD

 

so, as horrible and frustrating as it is, it's kind of understandable that it's taking so long to get the word out.

 

if you look around on the internet, you'll see that there have been forums set up by recovering patients that are over a decade old- so the ppl suffering WD have been banding together, but we dont' have the money or political power or even credibility, due to the labels we've been given, to have much of an impact.

I know we need to get the word out, but I don't know how we can go about it. Forums like this one are helping, but on some bad days when I'm feeling esp angry about what has happened to us, I want to take out a full page ad to tell ppl, stay away from these poisons!!

 

 

 

[StarJ]

Just in case anyone is following my thread, as of today I'm on 10mg.

 

I have been feeling MUCH better since lowering (except for a couple of days after each cut) and it will be nice to be half of what i was 3 months ago. Also now I dont need to weigh as its exactly half a pill.

 

I hope Im not going too fast. I will do the second half a lot slower, since that's the tricky part...

[TikkiTikki]

Hi StarJ,

Great news. I'm on 10mg now too, and feeling great. But as you said, the next stretch is the tricky part. I was on 40mg, and have come down to 10mg over 5 months, which is pretty quick by SA standards, but apart from a few dips I've just felt better and better.

You said you feel a bit average for a few days after lowering? I think it takes me at least a few weeks for a drop to be felt, but as I said, my symptoms are pretty mild and I can always track them to life events as well, so I'm not as sure as some people.

 

Keep posting, I'd like to hear how you progress. Good luck.

[StarJ]

Thanks. Good luck.

 

I'm a bit more nervous and agitated since lowering to 10. Im coping and working, but shorter fuse and difficult to be around sometimes.

 

Not sure if this is WD or just me? 

 

At least I don't have the depression i had on the higher side. Thankfully that went away pretty soon after starting to lower.

 

I guess time will tell...

 

 

 

 

 

[powerback]

17 minutes ago, StarJ said:

Thanks. Good luck.

 

I'm a bit more nervous and agitated since lowering to 10. Im coping and working, but shorter fuse and difficult to be around sometimes.

 

Not sure if this is WD or just me? 

 

At least I don't have the depression i had on the higher side. Thankfully that went away pretty soon after starting to lower.

 

I guess time will tell...

 

 

 

 

 

Hi I so relate to short fuse and difficult to be around ,on this front I keep checking in with loved ones and they know its a symptom and not my personality and the main thing is I tell myself this ,I used to get annoyed with myself for being like this but not anymore because it was done to me by  doctors and there total lies and ignorance .

good for you your depression eased ,what a pain ,my own has eased ,nothing worse .

take care

PB

[powerback]

On ‎09‎/‎04‎/‎2017 at 3:23 PM, StarJ said:

That would explain how they became available en mass...

 

But surely over the years people have tried to stop and encountered the problems we face here. Why is there so little talk about this in the medical community???

hi Star J ,there wont be talk of it in the medical community because its there money making lively hood ,consumerism at its best .just look at the disgusting advertisements on TV in America and new Zealand ,take this pill and you'll be happy .the irony is that the only people that could ever be happy is the ones that don't take them and they'll never realise how lucky they are ..when people stop they go to the GP they trust and be told its there condition getting worse ,utter nonsense ,its a reaction to the drug .

I highly suggest a site called madinamerica.com =Robert Whitaker   and reading up on the great peter breggin if you want to learn about  the madness of psychiatry and drugs .these people will and are changing the opinion on a disgusting industry that your children can be saved from .

In our lifetime the bottom will fall out of this industry and its going to be epic but scary [must check my anxiety ] .its up there with the arms race and wars for profit .

Good luck with your taper and follow the mods .

PB

[StarJ]

Any advice? 

I'm feeling and acting spaced out. Cognitively not going well.

 

I don't think I've adjusted well to the latest cut.

 

I'm on 10mgs.

 

Have I gone doen to fast? I've gone from 20 to 10 in about 3 months.

 

I was planning on going much slower from here.

[ChessieCat]

Could you please help us out and put your current drug and doses with dates CLEARLY in your signature so we can see your reductions at a glance.  Being able to see you history at a glance means that we are better able to offer suggestions.  Please also remember to update it whenever you make a change.  Thanks.

 

If you have reduced from 20 to 10 in 3 months and you are now experiencing withdrawal symptoms, then yes, you have gone too quickly.  Dropping by 10% per month from 20 would have you at about 15 after 3 months.

 

If you can tolerate the symptoms, stick it out and do a long hold, possibly 3 to 4 months.  If you can't live with the symptoms then you could do a small updose.  1 or 2 (mg?) may be enough to take the edge off the symptoms.  Take daily notes of your symptoms so you can see any improvement/worsening.  It takes about 4 days for the dose to get to full state in the blood and a bit longer for it to register in the brain.  It is suggested that you see how things go for 2 weeks before considering increasing.  If things are still unbearable after 2 weeks you could then updose by another very small amount.

 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

When I tried to drop my Pristiq from 100mg to 50mg after 3 weeks of extreme cog fog I got to the point where I couldn't type (I am a professional typist).  I followed the suggestion to updose and within 4 hours my foggy head was beginning to clear and I was able to type.

[TikkiTikki]

Hi StarJ – you seem to be offline. Hope you are doing well. Did you need to updose? Would love to hear from you.