NobodySpecial: introduction & withdrawal log

[NobodySpecial]

06/04 - Update

 

Can't believe we're already in April, the year is going so fast. I tracked back to see when I first started practising DNRS and realised it was 16/02, that feels like a long time ago. I've had a rough night, and when I do, I wake up feeling a little bit triggered still. I think I've been so relaxed recently that it's nice to have a reminder that I always need to be practising. 

 

I'm currently studying and writing some academic papers, my productivity regime has been pretty destructive on my body, I've been using Nicotine and Theobromine as stimulants, and just pump out work until I'm almost having a panic attack. Today I almost made myself vomit. It's really weird, I work the rest of the week and I'm always so relaxed, mindful and deliberate with everything I do - but there's something odd about weekends and my study day, I just kind of write myself off. I get what I need to do done, but it's totally shredding my nerves.

 

I'm listening to a lecture at the moment about somebody who would do a similar thing. I can see how easy it is to burn yourself up when you're working on something, especially when you're still getting it done and you don't HAVE to slow down, like you can do damaging things and still produce good work. It's something I need to watch though, I'm really feeling it today.

 

I've dropped down to one ashwagandha capsule per night, slowly letting all of my sleeping aids fall away until I'm basically back to square one, and can rebuild with a closer eye on what everything is doing and a reassurance that it's not a necessity. You know, I notice that even though I have no trouble sleeping, if I have a "rough" night, I'll immediately go to back to a loop of "what if this is happening again", I guess it's the result of a traumatised nervous system that's still ever so slightly wearing the imprint of that experience.

 

Now that everything is so relaxed, it's easy to forget the practice ever existed that got me to this point, and go back into the loop. Does that make sense? When you practice for so long, and then it brings relief, you start letting it naturally fall away because it isn't super important that you keep doing it because the natural rhythm i.e. sleep is restored anyway. So then, if something goes wrong, it's almost like you're totally green to the experience again and forget everything that you've been practising.

 

Mental health and the maintenance of such is a perpetual practice, an ongoing work that's calling your attention, moment-to-moment without pause. There's no real room to slack off, because you're just going to end up acting in a way that's either damaging to yourself or others. It's not a bad thing that it's a full time "job", but it's something to consider. 

[ChessieCat]

14 hours ago, NobodySpecial said:

"what if this is happening again",

 

It's called anticipatory anxiety.

 

14 hours ago, NobodySpecial said:

you start letting it naturally fall away because it isn't super important that you keep doing it

 

If it's something that you have found helpful and you find yourself forgetting you could set a reminder on your phone.

[NobodySpecial]

SAD Update - 12/04

 

There's nothing new to discuss really. I'm still engaging in my practice around sleep and experiencing massive gains and shifts in my relationship to sleep.

 

I haven't seen my Psych in like three months, we had a super successful bout of EMDR last session and I've been able to continue the work and processing at home since.

 

I still feel so surprised at how radical (and simple) the change was and how easy it was to implement. It didn't take many days to take hold and I haven't seen a break in progress since.

 

I've basically reduced all of my sleeping supplements to a bare minimum. Once I've also reduced my melatonin dose successfully, I'll begin my taper. 

 

Each time I remove a supplement from my regieme and the layer of necessity peels away, I'm left with a valuable tool that I can use intermittently, but am not reliant on. This has been incredibly helpful and I have so many tools like this now.

 

I'd like to begin tapering my Amitriptyline sooner, but I think it's best that I first remove as many variables as possible outside of that, and then move into that work.

 

It's incredibly rewarding to see an iron-grip of anxiety reduce, day by day, until it's almost unnoticeable.

[NobodySpecial]

20/04 - Update

 

Everything is still going well, nothing really to report. I stopped taking Ashwagandha after 1.5  - 2 years of consistent use and had no adverse symptoms - this is both reassuring and interesting that it doesn't seem like ashwagandha builds tolerance.

 

All I have to reduce now is Reishi and Melatonin, once they are down, I'll start my taper and have no other variables. Part of me wants to rush it, but I know that it'll probably just end in another injury to my nervous system and will totally fail.

 

I'm drawing a blank as to what I should share today - so maybe I'll just leave it at this

[manymoretodays]

Hi Somebody,

I just added the tag at the top of your introduction of Amitriptyline.  If you could mention what you are tapering in your signature as well.........well, that would be great too.  It just gives us all a quick and easy reference when and if you have questions/concerns.

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/1099-tips-for-tapering-off-amitriptyline/

 

On 4/19/2018 at 8:37 PM, NobodySpecial said:

20/04 - Update

 

Everything is still going well, nothing really to report. I stopped taking Ashwagandha after 1.5  - 2 years of consistent use and had no adverse symptoms - this is both reassuring and interesting that it doesn't seem like ashwagandha builds tolerance.

 

All I have to reduce now is Reishi and Melatonin, once they are down, I'll start my taper and have no other variables. Part of me wants to rush it, but I know that it'll probably just end in another injury to my nervous system and will totally fail.

 

I'm drawing a blank as to what I should share today - so maybe I'll just leave it at this

 

  Me too.........as far as your last statement goes.  Some of my stuff lately just seems personal, acutely personal..........which is strange for me not to just blurt.  Is what it is and happy to be just where I am supposed to be.  Coping well in any case.  Thankful for this Universe and Springtime.

 

Love, peace, healing/inrecovery, and growth,

manymoretodays

[NobodySpecial]

Thanks MMT

 

 

27/04 - Update

 

I write daily, and on a Friday, I'll try and do my writing alongside my SAD update. I wanted to talk about a specific practice that I've been doing that's been incredibly beneficial for periods of extreme stress and anxiety. When I practice it, it's like my whole body resets, my heart rate drops immensely and I'm properly relaxed - and I know that I'm properly relaxed because things like libido, which vanish when I'm stressed, will return. 

 

It's a practice of progressive muscular relaxation - going from my muscles to joints and then eventually my organs. When I relax enough, I start to tremor and I feel like these are the same tremors that David Berceli talks about in TRE. The more I relax my muscles, the more I tremor around my abdomen and thighs, I think it might have something to do with my PSOAS and how tight it is. The tremors will keep going and I'll continue practising until a sensation of 'about to pop' or be overwhelmed with tremors starts building. The key is to keep practising without being attached to a particular outcome, this actually coaxes larger tremors. Eventually, I will be overwhelmed with tremors and after the shaking, my heart rate slows right down and initially feels like a huge thud, thud, thud ... I get an overwhelming sense of relaxation and I can notice pleasure in my body, something that also vanishes when I'm stressed. The effects can last for a good few hours as well. 

 

Building on that, I also find slow, mindful movement really useful. A teacher that I follow, Michaela Boehm, has a practice called 'Non-linear Movement' - http://www.thenonlinearmovementmethod.com. I have no affiliation and haven't practised this particular method yet, but I think what I'm practising right now is probably similar, or at least I'm following a thread that's going to lead me to more powerful practices like NLM. 

 

Just something to think about as a powerful addition to the healing toolkit - I'm so surprised at how beneficial it is. What I think is happening is that the body is sending 'safe' signals to the nervous system as the tremors move through me. There may also be an actual elimination of stored stress hormones as well, as I do sweat a lot for such a passive practice. It almost feels like a limbic reset, totally blasting away any anxiety and tension for a little while!

 

When I re-start my taper, I'll definitely share how it works for me during that time and see whether withdrawal induced anxiety is resolved as quickly as day-to-day stressors.

 

 

 

 

[NobodySpecial]

04/05 - Update

 

Feels like it's been 2 + months since I've had any real issue sleeping. Now I'm starting to see that I never really struggled to sleep, I just made a huge problem out of something and that in itself impacted my sleep. It's weird to think that it was a totally self-created, psychosomatic condition. 

 

I'm probably going to recommence my taper in June. I've cut down my sleeping supplements dramatically and reduced a tonne of anxiety and uncertainty. I'll occasionally try to take 'more', but it'll only ever lead to a bad sleep because I'm so focused on it. I've lost my train of thought now ... There it is, I have an addictive personality and I find certain behaviours form habits really quickly. For example, introducing a new sleeping supplement would lead to it become an 'essential' supplement within a two week period, where I'd feel anxious if I wasn't taking it. This realisation is probably what prompted me to start cutting things down and question the real essentials. So far, I haven't found anything that is a true essential. Maybe Magnesium, Glycine and Melatonin, but I have my doubts about Melatonin.

 

I'm really proud of how far I've come. I started this year with the intention of seeing my Psych again to clear out the remaining sleeping anxiety because I realised it was driving my whole life. Now I can go out again in evenings, catch up with people on a weeknight - I feel so free. I'm so grateful. I was totally gripped by this sleeping obsession and built a whole life around avoiding discomfort, it choked out the good and did a terrible job of keeping out the bad. I'm definitely a new person :)

[manymoretodays]

On 4/6/2018 at 5:29 AM, NobodySpecial said:

Mental health and the maintenance of such is a perpetual practice, an ongoing work that's calling your attention, moment-to-moment without pause. There's no real room to slack off, because you're just going to end up acting in a way that's either damaging to yourself or others. It's not a bad thing that it's a full time "job", but it's something to consider. 

 

Like. 

 

.......hmmmm.........and I am not following your tapering rationale..........how did you come up with that.......2.5mg./month versus 2.5%-10% drops from each previous dose?  I mean it could cause some grief and untoward W/D symptoms.

Here's the link again on why taper by 10%:

http://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/1024-why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage/

 

And then the 2.5% method(the brassmonkey slide):

http://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/17671-the-brassmonkey-slide-method-of-micro-tapering/

 

I'm just concerned Nobody/SomebodySpecial.

 

Love, peace, healing/inrecovery, and growth,

mmt

 

And good, good on the social and concert!  Super.

Edited May 4, 2018 by manymoretodays
p.s.

[NobodySpecial]

Hey @manymoretodays,

 

No real rationale other than accessibility with the increments, it'll work as 10% until I get down to about 20mg and then I need to figure something else out. I'm still looking into and reading anecdotes of people using a water solution because that's the only way I can see myself getting the 10% increments at lower doses without buying a bulk power on the black market (if that was possible, not sure if it is).

 

I've had mixed reviews about the water solution though and it not being recognised by our nervous system as a solid pill would be - any suggestions?

[manymoretodays]

Hi Somebody ,

 

32.5(your mg of active ingrediant) x .9 = 29.25(10% of the 32.5)  Rounding up is always a good rule of thumb too.......so your first reduction would be to 30mg(if you decide to base on 10% reductions). 

I'm just trying to follow your logic and am doing the math.

 

32.5 x .9= 29.25

30 x .9 = 27

27 x .9 = 24.3

25 x .9 = 22.5

22.5 X .9 = 20.25

..........and that gets us to 20 mg.

 

And then your way would be:

30(mg of active ingrediant)

27.5

25

22.5

20

 

And okay, I do follow your logic then here.  It's basically the same!!!  You are a wizard. 

 

 

Hmmm, I think  it should be absorbed pretty well  according to this extract from http://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/1099-tips-for-tapering-off-amitriptyline/

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dissolving amitriptyline in water to make a liquid

About basic amitriptyline in tablets: Manzo 2006 Biowaiver Monographs for Immediate Release Solid Oral Dosage Forms: Amitriptyline Hydrochloride http://www.fip.org/files/fip/BPS/BCS/Monographs/Manzo%202006.pdf

Quote

Amitriptyline hydrochloride is soluble 1:1 in water.11 The USP and the Ph. Eur. report this API to be ‘‘freely soluble in water’’.

 

How stable is this solution of amitriptyline in water? See Buckles 2008 The stability of amitriptyline hydrochloride in aqueous solution http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2710.1976.tb00052.x/abstract

Quote

The present work, using thin layer chromatography and polarography, reports that solutions of amitriptyline hydrochloride in purified water at room temperature are stable for at least 8 weeks if protected from light.

 

Theoretically, you should be able to make a solution of amitriptyline in water, and use an oral syringe for precise dosing. See How to make a liquid from tablets or capsules

 

I haven't personally done this and I don't know of anyone who has, so if you do it, please post your experience in this topic.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Theoretically.  🤓

Are you on the immediate release form.  And is it once a day dosing or more?  I would think the same pill/tablet in water would be recognized and absorbed really close to just the pill not dissolved.   Maybe just a bit faster on absorption?  When you go to the home made solution just don't do any decreases for  at least a couple of weeks.  Stay on the same dose in other words.  That way if there IS any difference you would probably only sense it minimally.  BEFORE you do further tapering........   I honestly think it would go okay that way.  I did it with Trileptal/oxcarbazepine without problem.

 

And then there is the weighing method that you might consider as well.

 

Anyway.......kudos for looking at all this BEFORE making too many changes and working so hard on some on your non-medication coping skills. That will  really help if you do run into W/D stuff.  It would be so cool if you did not though........run into any difficulties.

 

S'okay, best and

Love, peace, healing/inrecovery, and growth,

mmt

 

 

Edited May 4, 2018 by manymoretodays
grammar, clarity

[NobodySpecial]

Thanks for those links @manymoretodays.

 

Maybe this is the way I'll go then. Last time I wd I was totally fine until I hit those lower doses and maybe a more conscious taper with liquid will at least calm that slightly.

 

If not, I'm armed to the teeth with coping strategies :)!

[NobodySpecial]

13/05/18 - Update

 

Now that I'm sleeping fine, there's a whole new suite of challenges arising. Areas of my life that I didn't realise I had been 'neglecting' - not neglecting but wounds and challenges that are finally ready to be worked with.

 

It's like the dust settles, you get some clarity and everything's great - and then everything is stirred up again, new things in my internal world to make friends with.

 

I'll keep everybody updated!

[NobodySpecial]

18/05 - Update

I'm picking up my first puppy on Sunday, absolutely terrified. Noticing that when my routine is challenged, I start to move back into a defensive, rigid and stressed mode where I start trying to 'hoard' sleep again. Please send good vibes and prayers of resilience as I move into another phase of life - I'm so excited but also terrified.

 

I realised that there isn't much more to note than this, but I'm looking forward to having a dog and the way in which I'll be forced to spend more time outside and 'down', which is getting quite hard while I'm studying because it's easy to spend an entire day in my office and neglect self-care because I enjoy being productive.

 

I'm hoping to start my taper next month also!

 

 

[Happy2Heal]

congratulations on your puppy!! 
sending good vibes your way!

 

[NobodySpecial]

26/05 - Update

 

Trying to find a moment in this puppy whirlwind to write an update. Once again, I've had a total shift in lifestyle and a huge call for resilience and flexibility - something that I have only just really been working on for the last two years.

 

Now that everything is up in the air again and I'm getting up every 2x hour for dog, I'm questioning when it would be a good time to start my taper again. Keeping in mind that previous withdrawal attempts totally neglected the current setting and what has happening in my life. It feels like it's best to wait for an opening, when there's time for that to be the main thing that you're working on. 

 

At least to start. But then again, it goes for so long, I could be tapering for 1.5 years. I guess I just have to start. When this dog starts sleeping through the night, I'll get straight back to it!

[manymoretodays]

Hey, congratulations on the new pup!  Fom Betsey Ross fat cat and I.  I need an enclosed yard before I go Dog for sure.  And oh.......to be sure I have what it takes to be a puppy Mom and then Dog parent.  I kind of see it.........maybe........possibly........in the future.  What's it's name and breed?  They can get kind of costly too.......and I'm just not certain yet.........

 

And well, yah........plan for it though, the next taper.........supplies needed?  Practice measurements?  Etc.  And don't plan on having to put "life on hold".........I mean expect and believe it's going to go smooth.........slow and steady.  I still have to forget about smoking cigarettes a bit more and then keep on getting down and off those..........soon.......  Do my best to fight Cancer that way.  It's a beast and takes far too many far too soon.  Ouch.

 

Love, peace, healing/inrecovery and grief, and growth baby growth,

mmt

 

[NobodySpecial]

He's a Rottweiler called Buddha I've attached a file.

 

I'll heed your advice also and maybe just get involved right now. May actually be worth taking my meds from a liquid solution from the start so I can gauge if it's unstable before my nervous system is already under fire!

[manymoretodays]

Oh wow!  Thank you for sharing the most beautiful Buddha puppy, Somebody.  Love.

 

Keep in mind also when going to liquid amitryptyline(homemade or other) to do a gradual crossover as the absorption will differ, before any further tapering takes place.

That would look like this:

• When changing from tablet to liquid we suggest you keep taking your current dose (in other words do not reduce your dose)
• cross over by taking 3/4 tablet dose + 1/4 liquid dose for about 3 days,
• 1/2 tablet dose + 1/2 liquid dose for 3 days,
• 1/4 tablet dose + 3/4 liquid dose for 3 days, then all liquid.                 

 

Love the puppy!!!  Thank you again.

mmt

Edited May 28, 2018 by manymoretodays

[Altostrata]

That is one cute puppy! Please add him to our gallery of lovebugs Awww, pets and love - post your photos here!

[NobodySpecial]

04/06/18 - Update

 

Not much to add - dog is getting bigger and life is quite hectic. I had my second piece of feedback around my insomnia protocol and so far, it seems quite positive. I'm hoping to have a website up and running when the semester ends and I can start writing there properly. I'd like to have a catalogue of online resources to support people with insomnia because it's the worst.

 

I've kind of relaxed into not tapering at this point, I know I will, but right now, feels like I'm just living to survive and normalise given the change in lifestyle recently.

 

Hope everybody is doing well xx

[NobodySpecial]

08/06/18 - Update

 

14/06 has been set as the first day of my taper, as I finish my exams and once again return to a relatively pressure-free life

 

I'm starting to realise, more and more, that life is underpinned by uncertainty and there's truly no ground for us to rest on. Since my sleeping issues dissipated, I've found my mind clinging for certainty and fearing the unknown in all areas of my life, a real reminder that nothing is certain. Realising this, I see that it's impossible to move through life skillfully without some form of practice, and I feel so grateful for my Buddhist roots and day-to-day practice for providing the worldview and tools for navigating the human struggles of uncertainty and unavoidable suffering.

 

In other news, I've been working a little more on offering support to those struggling with insomnia that has no physiological basis, and I've had somebody else benefit from the practice I've shared, which is great because I'm getting feedback that'll hopefully enable me to refine my approach and eventually offer something to a wider audience. I'm hoping to have my website up after exams.

 

Not much else to report - back next week

[NobodySpecial]

14/06/18 - Update & Taper starting ...

 

Exams are finished and I'm in a good place. Everything is relatively stable and I feel like it'd be a good time to start my taper. Don't have it all mapped out yet, but starting to drop in 2.5mg increments from 35mg, taking a month per increment (or longer if needed) and moving to a water solution when 2.5mg drops become larger than the recommended 10%.

 

I see myself getting to about 20mg and then holding until after Christmas, before resuming a taper and holding for the uni semester. It may take a couple of years, but I'm happy to do it that way!

 

I'll keep you all updated!

[NobodySpecial]

22/06/18 - Update

 

So far, everything is going smoothly. I didn't expect much, and that's exactly what is going on. I think that I'll notice more as I drop into the lower regions like 15mg onwards - last time, this is when I noticed that my sleep started to become more disrupted and I had a baseline of anxiety.

 

I saw my Psychologist yesterday and basically sealed the chapter that was sleep anxiety. It still comes, but it has almost no grip on me anymore and I feel like I'm starting to rebuild a healthy story about sleep again. I actually feel like I sleep better than most people, but I also know better than to attach to that story.

 

I've got two more weeks on this dose, then I'll drop to 30mg and hold for another month. I feel like I could drop now, but when I've done this in the past, it seemed to make the lower doses worse, so I'll just stick it out and go as slowly as possible!

[NobodySpecial]

30/06/2018 - Update

 

Another update - I'll be dropping to 30mg by 06/07, probably a little earlier, maybe on Wednesday. 

 

I'm in the process of building my website now, I'm excited to have it up and running and be able to have my own place on the internet. I'm seeing a lot of potential with the sleep work that I've been doing and I can't wait to share it with a larger audience.

 

Everything is relatively stable now. I've been napping for 30 minutes daily, at work, which has been another game changer. It's taken a little pressure off the fact that I'm quite busy in the evening and get up early for work, so it gives me an extra opportunity for sleep. I'm also finding that sleep is the best 'adaptogen', better than any herbal remedy that I can find.

 

Will update again next week

[NobodySpecial]

08/07/18 - Update

 

I dropped to 30mg at the start of this week, and I've noticed that I have been feeling more anxious and vigilant. Initially, I wasn't sure what was going on and was a little bit confused, but then I realized that I had dropped 2.5mg and that this may have been contributing to how I was feeling. When I saw that, it wasn't so bad, because I could attribute it to something that is transient and will eventually settle down.

 

In response, I have engaged in a full-blown self-care effort, taking my daily tonic again, taking a few extra herbs to assist with sleep and using David Berceli's 'neurogenic tremors' to help stimulate a parasympathetic response and shake out any excess tension in my nervous system. I am already feeling a lot better, I'm glad that I realized why I was feeling bad and had a full toolkit available to resolve it.

 

I've also spoken to my local 'compounding' pharmacy, and they have said that they'll either make me an Amitriptyline suspension, or capsules as small as 1mg if I can get a prescription. This means that I don't have to engage backyard chemist mode and try to make my own, I can just get a script and the pharmacist will use the actual Amitriptyline powder for the doses.

 

Hope everybody else is going well, I'll update again next week!

 

[Martina23]

On 5/28/2018 at 5:42 AM, NobodySpecial said:

He's a Rottweiler called Buddha I've attached a file.

 

I'll heed your advice also and maybe just get involved right now. May actually be worth taking my meds from a liquid solution from the start so I can gauge if it's unstable before my nervous system is already under fire!

Hello NobodySpecial, you have a beautiful dog. Now he looks so cute. But I would be afraid when he is adult, I hear everywhere that Rotweilers are dangerous when they are adult. Is it true or is it  just something that people say?

[NobodySpecial]

Hey @Martina23,

 

I understand why you'd feel that way, but I think it's a myth that all Rottweilers are dangerous. Every Rott that I've met is calm, friendly and usually well socialised. I got Buddha from a family with very young kids, cats and several Rotts who live together with no issue :)

 

Any dog that's raised poorly is at risk of being dangerous and aggressive, it's just that a 50kg dog with one of the strongest bite forces (Rottweiler) is going to do a lot more damage than an aggressive chihuahua. I think it's just much more noticeable and devastating if there's an incident with a bigger dog rather than a bite from a smaller dog.

 

 

[Martina23]

6 hours ago, NobodySpecial said:

Hey @Martina23,

 

I understand why you'd feel that way, but I think it's a myth that all Rottweilers are dangerous. Every Rott that I've met is calm, friendly and usually well socialised. I got Buddha from a family with very young kids, cats and several Rotts who live together with no issue

 

Any dog that's raised poorly is at risk of being dangerous and aggressive, it's just that a 50kg dog with one of the strongest bite forces (Rottweiler) is going to do a lot more damage than an aggressive chihuahua. I think it's just much more noticeable and devastating if there's an incident with a bigger dog rather than a bite from a smaller dog.

 

 

Ok. Ha, ha.

[NobodySpecial]

13/07/18 - Update

 

Everything is settling nicely, which is great. I'm starting to think that it'd be better to taper every 5 weeks.

 

I have quite a solid routine of supplements that ease withdrawals, so I was thinking of doing something like this: 

 

Week one - full dose

Week two - 3/4 dose

Week three - 1/4 dose

Weeks four and five - nothing

 

So I use them to work with the initial system shock, and then relax them again. The initial weeks would serve as the perfect opportunity to use TRE exercises also and really care for my nervous system.

 

Going to drop again in next three weeks

 

 

[Martina23]

 

2 hours ago, NobodySpecial said:

13/07/18 - Update

 

Everything is settling nicely, which is great. I'm starting to think that it'd be better to taper every 5 weeks.

 

I have quite a solid routine of supplements that ease withdrawals, so I was thinking of doing something like this: 

 

Week one - full dose

Week two - 3/4 dose

Week three - 1/4 dose

Weeks four and five - nothing

 

So I use them to work with the initial system shock, and then relax them again. The initial weeks would serve as the perfect opportunity to use TRE exercises also and really care for my nervous system.

 

Going to drop again in next three weeks

 

 

Great. I am holding my thumbs for you.

[NobodySpecial]

22/07/2018 - Update

 

I don't really have much to update, I'm looking to make my next drop down in the next 4 - 5 weeks or so, maybe 6. I'm taking it really slowly, acknowledging other commitments and moving in a way that isn't putting myself under too much pressure.

 

Everything is smooth now, I'm just cutting back on sleep supplements that I'm taking now and when I've had 4 weeks of nothing other than my medication, I'll drop again

[bubbles]

Hi NobodySpecial

 

Glad to hear all is going well. I’m curious about the supplements you think are helping so much.

 

Are you back at uni yet?

[NobodySpecial]

Hey @bubbles,

 

I'm taking Baicalin and Levo-THP from Liftmode, Skullcap extract and liposomal melatonin - it's actually an incredible combo for me personally and knocks me out, without any grogginess the following day.

 

I'm currently on uni break, due back in a month or so I think.

 

How are you going?

 

Hope you're well!

[bubbles]

Thanks @NobodySpecial

 

Wow, you're having a good long break! The uni students I know have either already gone back or are going back next week. A long break sounds just wonderful!

 

I'm doing well, thank you. My taper has had its ups and downs (well, downs and restabilisations, I guess) but it's been pretty uneventful so far. I've used a compounding pharmacy after I got past the point where breaking tablets gave a reasonably reliable dose (after quarter pills, I guess, though even they were probably a bit iffy). A bit pricey, but a few phone calls gave me a better price.

[NobodySpecial]

27/07/2018 - Update

 

Nothing to update, but I feel like I should still write something?

 

I hope everybody else is well. Feel like I'm in a really good spot, and have a good understanding of how to manage the ebbs and flows of this whole situation. I feel like I can manage challenging life situations, I know when to up sleeping supplements, I know when to drop down, I know how to hedge against stress really well.

 

I'll update again in a week! Dog is quite crazy, but other than that, everything is uneventful.

[NobodySpecial]

05/08/18 - Update

 

Had a bit of a scare this week, reminded me of Phenibut's scheduling that threw my entire withdrawal plan out the window. I'm currently using a blend of Baicalin (Scullcap extract) and L-THP as a rescue remedy when I'm stressed, or as a way to ensure sleep in the first few weeks of a new dose drop. The website that I would buy these products from no longer accepted card, and I panicked. Luckily, I've figured it out now and use Bitcoin, and it's great to have a better understanding of crypto and how it works now.

 

I'm still probably 3 - 4 weeks out from my next drop. I'm taking things REALLY slowly, and slowing down even more if there's a family crisis or a life situation that requires attention. I'm not going to bite off more than I can chew, and I'm trying to rest at about 70% of my capacity, and noticing when I go over so I can implement something to help navigate.

 

Hope everybody else is well!