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Best wishes of the season and healing to all in the new year


Altostrata

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@Altostrata  and mods.  Thank you so much, Alto....so wishing you the same.  Heartfelt thanks and gratitude for starting this incredible sight, for all you have done and continue to do for so so many in so many ways.  You give hope where it has evaporated, light to brains that cannot understand, and you construct a path forward brick by brick through a thick,  dark, tangled, seemingly endless web woven by doctors and others who you are also reaching out to in hopes of educating.  It is truly incredible.  I dont think there is a charity or service of any kind that has touched and continues to touch so many.  I am in constant awe of your dedication and the dedication of the moderators who assist you.   

May you and they continue to find strength for the journey you have undertaken.  Blessings and peace to you all!!💜

-Nardil 1976 < year, stopped. React to AD's. Klonopin .5BID 1990, 2.5mg til 2016

-Klonopin doubled Jan '16. Taper to 2.25mg May to Nov '16. Bad react to Lexapro, stop. React to Prevacid too, taper off. 

-November '16 Tapered .25mg Klonopin in hospital. Jan '17 started Viibryd, 20mg from Feb to June '17,     

-20mg to 10mg Viibryd from 3/25 to 6/10 2017, 12/15 10% Viibryd taper...back up next day

-Clonazepam 2mg to 1.85mg 4/14 '17 to end November; taper to 1mg Clonazepam in hospital 9/1 tp 9/14 '17

-Feb '18 Amiloride .25mg  5/18 off Amiloride d/t react. Clonaz compounded  

-4/27 '18 Viibryd 9.5mg, 6/11 9.0 mg, 1/27 '19 Viibryd 8.75mg, ; Clonazepam .2mg 530pm and .7mg 1130pm, Premarin .3mg 830PM CARAFATE QID 2/27/19 to 3/5/19

-July 6'19 1/2 10mg Claritin 230pm, stopped it about July 18, started Oct 11 '19, 

-7/27 Viibryd 8.5, 8/29 8.25, 10/24 8.0, 12/19 7.75, Feb '20 7.50, 3/20 7.25, 5/20 7.0, 6/20 6.75, 7/20 6.5, 8/20 6.25, 10/2 20 6.0, 11/25'20 5.75, 1/9/21 5.5, 2/23 5.25

-1015 AM Viibryd, vit D 4,000IU 130, 415 Clonazepam .2mg, 815 Premarin .3mg, 1015 Clonaz .7mg,

  1115 3t fish oil+D 1145 Castor Oil 650mg(4) 1230 Carafate 1/2GM,Methylated B Vit  1/week,Reacted Mag prn

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  • Administrator

That was lovely, thank you, Rabe.

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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  • 1 year later...
  • Administrator

SurvivingAntidepressants.org wishes to all strength and patience for healing in the new year.

 

Many thanks to our fine moderators and members, who so kindly offer comfort to others, creating this little virtual haven.

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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  • Mentor

the incredible amount of time and effort and care that you, Alto and all the mods put into this site, helping strangers on the internet is just amazing

 

words aren't adequate to thank you all for what you've done and what you are doing for so many people in need

 

I never could have made it thru withdrawal without the help of this forum, the wealth of information here and the kindness and patience and caring of the moderators and fellow travellers

 

I'm eternally grateful.

 

 

  • pysch med history: 1974 @ age 18 to Oct 2017 (approx 43 yrs total) 
  •  Drug list: stelazine, haldol, elavil, lithium, zoloft, celexa, lexapro(doses as high as 40mgs), klonopin, ambien, seroquel(high doses), depakote, zyprexa, lamictal- plus brief trials of dozens of other psych meds over the years
  • started lexapro 2002, dose varied from 20mgs to 40mgs. First attempt to get off it was 2007- WD symptoms were mistaken for "relapse". 
  •  2013 too fast taper down to 5mg but WD forced me back to 20mgs
  •  June of 2105, tapered again too rapidly to 2.5mgs by Dec 2015. Found SA, held at 2.5 mgs til May 2016 when I foolishly "jumped off". felt ok until  Sept, then acute WD hit!!  reinstated at 0.3mgs in Oct. 2106
  • Tapered off to zero by  Oct. 2017 Doing very well. 
  • Nov. 2018 feel 95% healed, age 63 
  • Jan. 2020 feel 100% healed, peaceful and content
  • Dec 2023 Loving life! ❤️ with all it's ups and downs ;) 
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  • Moderator Emeritus
12 hours ago, Altostrata said:

Many thanks to our fine moderators and members, who so kindly offer comfort to others,.

And to the person who started it all.

12 hours ago, Altostrata said:

creating this little virtual haven.

Dyslexthingy todat thought it said heaven, seems I made it 2020 after all.

Happy new year everyone.

Edited by Sassenach

Escitalopram 10mgs from mid 2007 ( can't remember exact date) to 11th Dec 2018

Fentanyl patches ( don't remember dose ) from Nov 2014 to 11 Dec 2018

Quit both cold turkey Dec 2018

Reinstated 3rd March 2019 2.5 mgs.

Updosed  8March to 5mgs and holding

25/11/19 Started taper 4.5mgs and holding

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner

If you are going through Hell, keep going. NCIS series 15, David MaCallum:rolleyes:

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Yes, an amazingly grateful thank you To you Altostrata for creating this place,and to all the patient team who help us.

 

Happy new year To you ❤

2006 : 20mg Paxil+Bromazepam. 2008 : cold turkey of both. 2010 : Reinstatement 20mg Paxil + Bromazepam.

2014-June2017 : Switch from Bromazepam to Prazepam, slow taper to 0mg.

2018 to August 2019 : Paxil 20mg taper (3% every 15 days). 22 Aug 2019 updose to 10mg (was at 8.4mg).

25th Sept 2019 To April 2020 : found SA, holding at 10mg Paxil. 

April 2020 : Paxil 10mg to Prozac 7mg bridge. Details topic/21457

 

Current Supplements : magnesium citrate + fish oil

Current medication :

* 7pm Diazepam  : 0.85mg (15 Aug 2022) / 0.95 mg (24 April 2022) / 1mg Diazepam (since 29 Aug 2020)

* 8am Prozac : 6.16mg (25 oct 2022, feel awful, slight updose) / 6.08 mg (9 oct 2022) / 6.24mg (11 July 22) / 6.44mg (22 May 22) / 6.64mg (4 Nov 21) / 6.72mg (8 oct 21) / 6.8 mg (15 Sept 21)6.88mg (14 Aug 21)/ 6.92mg (23 Jun 21)

 

I am not a professional, I don't give medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

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14 hours ago, Altostrata said:

SurvivingAntidepressants.org wishes to all strength and patience for healing in the new year.

 

Many thanks to our fine moderators and members, who so kindly offer comfort to others, creating this little virtual haven.

Words don't express adequately how grateful I am for this site. Thank you all. And all who come for advice, too. This place is incredible ❤️

January 2008 to April 2015 Citalopram 20mg to 5mg, reducing in 50 per cent leaps. Jumped off at 5mg

March 2016 used MDMA triggered setback

April 2016 Citalopram 10mg October 2016 cut to 5mg, May 2017 cut to 2.5mg

May 2018 used MDMA triggered setback

June 2018 Citalopram 2.5mg up to 10mg, then back to 5mg

July/ August 2018 7.5mg, then 10mg

June 2019 updosed to 20mg Citalopram

August 2019 cold switch to Venlafaxine 75mg XR

Supplements; 1100mg fish oil daily; also 100mg Magnesium Glycinate. Tried Vagifem 10mcg from mid May 2021 to mid June 2021; caused depression, so stopped.

 

 

 

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  • 11 months later...
  • Administrator

You may receive this in e-mail as well.

 

SurvivingAntidepressants.org wishes you the very best for the new year.

 

I hope your healing is progressing. This last year has been a tumultuous year for us all. Good news: Progress has been made in educating doctors about antidepressant withdrawal.

 

Following peer activist campaigns and journal articles by Drs. Jame Davies, John Read, and Mark Horowitz, among others, throughout 2019, in September 2020, the UK's Royal College of Psychiatrist's published a leaflet Stopping Antidepressants in September that for the first time described tapering processes in any detail for prescribers. (I was invited to consult on this leaflet.)

 

Anyone may download this leaflet to show it to a prescriber.

 

Dr. David Taylor's journal Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology added a special section Discontinuing Psychotropic Medication, edited by Mark Horowitz, who with Dr. Taylor had co-authored the highly influential Horowitz, M. A., & Taylor, D. (2019). Tapering of SSRI treatment to mitigate withdrawal symptoms. The Lancet Psychiatry, 6(6), 538–546. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30032-X

 

The concept for this paper came from a 2014 discussion on SurvivingAntidepressants.org.

 

This was followed in 2020 by Horowitz, M. A., Murray, R. M., & Taylor, D. Tapering Antipsychotic Treatment JAMA Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.2166

 

On December 24, 2020, Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology published Protracted withdrawal syndrome after stopping antidepressants: a descriptive quantitative analysis of consumer narratives from a large internet forum (full free text). Dr. Michael Hengartner was the lead author; I was a co-author. Data from 69 cases of protracted withdrawal syndrome was taken from SurvivingAntidepressants.org, a substantial study that should affect the discussion of protracted withdrawal from all psychiatric drugs.

 

Additional papers about psychiatric drug withdrawal syndromes and tapering are in press for 2021.

 

In August 2020, SurvivingAntidepressants.org presented an excellent film about drug overprescription and withdrawal, Medicating Normal, followed by a group discussion you can see on YouTube here. MadinAmerica.com interviewed me in November; transcript and podcast can be found here. There have been many articles on blogs about these papers and events.

 

So the public health issue of psychiatric drug withdrawal syndromes is gaining prominence. The approximately 6,000 member-authored narratives on SurvivingAntidepressants.org have been invaluable as a basis for research. If you haven't stopped by for a while, the community would very much like to hear from you. Please update your Introductions and Updates topic (or start one!) and let us know how you're doing.

 

If you have fully recovered from withdrawal syndrome -- as we most sincerely hope -- please give back to the community by adding yours to our Success Stories. Although retrospective of that difficult time may be painful, you know how much it means to people wondering if they will ever recover. Every success story lifts spirits.

 

If you care to donate to SurvivingAntidepressants.org, click here. The staff is entirely volunteer, all donations go to paying site expenses and funding research. Volunteers are also working hard to distribute the film Medicating Normal, please consider donating here to cover their expenses as well (donations go to a certified non-profit).

 

Stay safe and take care of yourself in the new year,

Altostrata

SurvivingAntidepressants.org

Edited by Altostrata
added link

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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Thanks Alto,

 

Happy new year.

 

This site has been invaluable to me and its still early days. Hopefully this year is a better one.

 

 

 

Started Lexapro 5mg Mid March 2020

Came off Completely September 2020

Hospitalised september 2021

Slowly worked up to 50mg lamictal and 60mg Prozac

reduced to 20mg Prozac September 2021

Holding 20mg Prozac and 50mg Lamictal for a good while to stabilise. November 2021

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  • Mentor

Alto,

 

This is great.  I did download it. I will give it to my doctor.  Can't guarantee he will read it but I know he will be polite enough to take it and I will of course try to be my persuasive self when asking him to at least look it over.

 

While I think their tapering schedule might be a little fast (my very humble opinion) I do appreciate the fact that they say a person might have to slow it down beyond what they give as an example of a tapering schedule.  I am so glad that the idea to go even slower if needed is in there. Actually it is beyond excellent that it is in there.

 

Thank you for posting it.

 

I am not a health professional in any way.  I do not give medical advice.   Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a professional medical practitioner.

 

NEW INFORMATION FOR GABAPENTIN TAPER

April 29, 2022 900 mg to 800 mg (11%), May 29, 2022 800 to 700 mg (12.5%), June 20, 2022 700 to 650mg (8%), July 20, 2022 650 to 575 (12%), August 20,  575 to 500 (13%),  Sept 20, 2020 500 to 475mg (5%) Nov 7, 2022 475 to 425 (11%), Nov 21, 2022 500mg

Medications: Gabapentin, Prednisone 1.5mg a day, Cortisol Inhaler daily. 

HISTORY FOR ZOLOFT TAPER

Feb. 2016 to June 2016  - Was on 150mg Zoloft.  Put on Gabapentin at 900mg a day in 2016 due to antidepressant withdrawal. 

Quit Zoloft (Sertraline) June  2016,  reinstated 50mg of Zoloft July 2016.  From July 2016  to October 2016 went from 50 mg down 2.3 mg. I up-dosed in November 2016 to 12.5 mg. Held there until January 2017 when I started a much slower taper.

STARTING SENSIBLE  ZOLOFT TAPERING USING GUIDELINES FROM THIS SITE

Dec. 10 2016  - switched to Liquid Zoloft (Sertraline) @ 12.5 mg.   Jan. 4, 2020 1.875 mg (6.3%). Jan. 25, 2020 1.75 mgFeb. 29, 2020 1.625mg (7.10%).  Apr. 4, 2020 1.5 mg.  May 9, 2020 1.375 mg.  June 6, 2020 1.25 mg. (9.10%).  July 4, 2020 1.125 mg. (10%).  August 15, 2020 1.0 mg.  Oct 24, 2020 .875 mg.  Nov. 28, 2020 .75mgJan 16, 2021 .685mg (8.7%).  Feb 13, 2021 .62mg. March 12, 2021 .56mg.  May 1, 2021 .375mg.  May 29, 2021 .25mg. June 26, 2021 .0125mg. July 25, 2021 .065mg. August 22, 2021 .048mg.  October 2, 2021 .043mg.  October 10, 2021 .038mg.  October 23, 2021 .035mg.  October 30, 2021 .032mg.  Nov. 13, 2021 .030 mg.  Dec 4, 2021 .0285 mg.  Dec 11, 2021 .0265 mg. Dec 18, 2021 .0246 mg. Dec 25, 2021 .023mg. Jan 1, 2022. 0 mg. OFF COMPLETELY

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  • 1 year later...
  • Administrator
3 hours ago, Chlo said:

What she ☝️said, so grateful for all the mods, mentors, and Altostrata. 

We are all family and I wished somehow we could have a lay people gathering once a year with guest speakers giving their success testimonials❤️ 

 

@Chlo suggested this. Shall we do this at year end, to bring in the new year? @Shep

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 Emeritus
3 hours ago, Altostrata said:

 

@Chlo suggested this. Shall we do this at year end, to bring in the new year? @Shep

 

Yes, it sounds good to me. We could do a Zoom chat if folks are interested. 

 

 

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  • Moderator

I would be up to meeting on a zoom call. That would be fun!

PREVIOUS medications and discontinuations: Have been on medications since 1996. 

 Valium, Gabapentin, Lamictal, Prilosec and Zantac from 2000 to 2015 with a fast taper by a psychiatrist.

 Liquid Lexapro Nov, 2016 to 31-March, 2019 Lexapro free!!! (total Lexapro taper was 4 years-started with pill form)

---CURRENT MEDICATIONS:Supplements:Milk Thistle, Metamucil, Magnesium Citrate, Vitamin D3, Levothyroxine 25mcg, Vitamin C, Krill oil.

Xanax 1mg 3x day June, 2000 to 19-September, 2020 Went from .150 grams (average weight of 1 Xanax) 3x day to .003 grams 3x day. April 1, 2021 went back on 1mg a day. Started tapering May 19, 2023. July 28, 2023-approximately .87mg. Dr. fast tapered me at the end and realized he messed up. Prescribe it again and I am doing "slower than a turtle" taper.

19-September, 2020 Xanax free!!! (total Xanax taper was 15-1/2 months-1-June, 2019-19-September, 2020)

I am not a medical professional.

The suggestions I make are based on personal experience.

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On 10/25/2022 at 6:50 PM, Shep said:

 

Yes, it sounds good to me. We could do a Zoom chat if folks are interested. 

That would be great!

Chlo❤

•Celexa 40mg 1999-2021•COVID August 2021•Celexa stopped working•Zoloft 100mg Sept21'-Oct21'•Zoloft did not work •Lexapro 10mg Oct21'-Nov21'

•Lexapro did not work

•Lexapro 5mg Nov21'-1/17/22 switched to Lexapro liquid form 5mg 1/18/22•4.75mg 1/19•4.5mg 1/25•4.25mg 2/1•4.0mg 2/8

•3.75mg 3/28•3.5mg 5/23

•3.25mg 5/30•3.0mg 6/19

•2.75mg 6/26•2.50mg 7/10•2.45mg 7/18•2.40mg 7/25•2.35mg 8/1•2.33mg 8/26•2.27mg 9/15•2.21mg 9/23•2.16mg 9/30•2.10mg 10/14•2.04mg 10/24•1.99mg 11/18•1.95mg 1/02/23•1.90mg 1/09•1.80mg 1/27•1.75mg 2/21•1.70mg 3/6•1.65mg3/14•1.60mg 4/07•1.52mg 4/30•1.48mg 5/07•1.40mg 6/08•1.36mg 6/17•1.32mg 6/27•1.28mg 7/17•1.20mg 8/18•1.15mg 9/13•1.12mg 10/15•1.06mg 1/20/24•1.02mg2/16•1mg 2/27•D3K2•MagnesiumGlycinate•C•zinc•Omega3•Probiotic

I don't know much, but 3 things I do. There is a God. His word is true. Stay close to Him and He will bring you through. Amen🙏

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