Madison Posted December 16, 2017 Share Posted December 16, 2017 I wanted to introduce myself. I have been taking respiradol since 2011 for psychotic symptoms of bipolar disorder. I have a Doctor Who is more moderate does not over medicate and has agreed to have me decrease what I am taking which is 1.5 mg. We discussed trying going off it completely for now I’m going to start by decreasing it by 1/6 . From there if all goes well I will continue by decreasing 1/10 per month I welcome any comments thank you so much I am 52 years old. I was diagnosed with bipolar when I was 28 after becoming depressed after my fathers death and given Prozac and becoming very agitated. I did not go on medication for another 4 years. Although I would not do it now nor recommend It, i may have had some success alleviating symptoms of depression and psychosis with marijuana. Yet other times smoking weed brought on psychosis and hospitalization. In my state we have something called AOT. This is where the court determines what treatment or medication a mental patient must comply with or else risk hospitalization. I was in a hospital and disagreed with the head doctor there on weather I should go on respiradol which he was for. He started the process of the AOT, the court mandate that I must take respiradol. That was 6 years ago. I am no longer under an AOT, thank God. My doctor now tries to give the lowest therapeutic dose of medications. I have been taking 1.5 mg of respiradol and 900 of lithium. Since I have been taking the lithium I have gained about 20 pounds. Since taking the respiradol I have gained 100. I found a great book called The Leptin Diet that seems to help with weight gain and the leptin imbalance associated with antipsychotics. I have lost 10 pounds so far. Aside from weight gain I just feel less alive and have no libido. My current doctor is open to my going off respiradol. I have tried going off meds in the past and had mood swings and overwhelming negative thoughts. This time I am planning to do it slow using the model of a 10% decrease but first starting with a 20% decrease. I know that small increases at times may also be necessary and are part of the process. I intend to see how it goes I would like to try to go off respiradol completely and decrease the lithium and see from there, Thank you Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Gridley Posted December 16, 2017 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted December 16, 2017 Hello, Madison and welcome to SurvivingAntidepressants. We ask all of our members to fill out a signature so that all of your information can be read at a glance. This helps moderators determine you current situation and we would ask that you follow the instructions at the link below. Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature • Please leave out symptoms and diagnoses. • A list is easier to understand than one or multiple paragraphs. • 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. At Surviving Antidepressants, it is recommended that a person taper by no more than 10% of their current dose with at least a four week hold in-between decreases. The 10% taper recommendation is a harm reduction approach to going off psychiatric drugs. Some people may have to taper at a more conservative rate as they are sensitive to even the smallest drops. The 1/6 decrease you are proposing is a drop of over 16%, in excess of the recommended 10%. A 10% reduction would result in a dosage of 1.35mg. Why taper by 10% of my dosage? To get you started, and familiarized with the protocols followed by SA, I am linking a few topics so that you have a better understanding of what is recommended here. Before you begin tapering what you need to know What is Withdrawal Syndrome? Tips for tapering off Risperdal (risperidone) Gridley Introduction Lexapro 20 mg since 2004. Begin Brassmonkey Slide Taper Jan. 2017. End 2017 year 1 of taper at 9.25mg End 2018 year 2 of taper at 4.1mg End 2019 year 3 of taper at 1.0mg Oct. 30, 2020 Jump to zero from 0.025mg. Current dose: 0.000mg 3 year, 10 month taper is 100% complete. Ativan 1 mg to 1.875mg 1986-2020, two CT's and reinstatements Nov. 2020, 7-week Ativan-Valium crossover to 18.75mg Valium Feb. 2021, begin 10%/4 week taper of 18.75mg Valium End 2021 year 1 of Valium taper at 6mg End 2022 year 2 of Valium taper at 2.75mg End 2023 year 3 of Valium taper at 1mg Jan. 24, 2024: Hold at 1mg and shift to Imipramine taper. Taper is 95% complete. Imipramine 75 mg daily since 1986. Jan.-Sept. 2016 tapered to 14.4mg March 22, 2022: Begin 10%/4 week taper Aug. 5, 2022: hold at 9.5mg and shift to Valium taper Jan. 24, 2024: Resume Imipramine taper. Current dose as of April 1: 6.8mg Taper is 91% complete. Supplements: multiple, quercetin, omega-3, vitamins C, E and D3, magnesium glycinate, probiotics, zinc, melatonin .3mg, iron, serrapeptase, nattokinase I am not a medical professional and this is not medical advice but simply information based on my own experience, as well as other members who have survived these drugs. Link to comment
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