Necrosis Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 Hi! My name is Erik, i live in Norway and i have been using Escitalopram Activis since December, 19. 2017. I was at 20mgs when i started tapering. I started tapering off the drug a few weeks ago, i went 5 mgs down each time, using about 3-4 days per taper. 2 days ago i quit the medicine alltogether. (Stupid i know). My doctor told me i should use 4-5 weeks per 5 mgs. Today i felt jittery, had some minor brain zaps? (I think, i never understood what the zaps were). Reading online i had found people saying they had quit cold turkey no problem, no stress so i thought it would be ok. Then today i read that you might die from quitting the medicine and that it might induce braindamage. Panicing i found this site and read about reinstating (https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/7562-about-reinstating-and-stabilizing-to-reduce-withdrawal-symptoms/) I decided to start at 5 mgs again and i took a 5 mg pill. I hope i did not make a mistake. I am abit nervous now and feel pretty stupid. I hope i haven't ruined myself. -Erik Escitalopram Actavis: Jun. 2015-2016. About 9 Months. Escitalopram Actavis: Dec. 2017-2018. About 6 months. Tapering off the last 2 weeks, started taking 5 mg again 23.06.18 Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Songbird Posted June 24, 2018 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted June 24, 2018 (edited) Hi Erik, welcome to SA. I don't think you would die or have brain damage from quitting, but it can certainly cause some severe long-lasting problems, which you would definitely want to avoid. You did taper off far too quickly, but your doctor's taper plan was also far too quick. You found the right topic (about reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms), and I think you have made a good choice to reinstate. It may take some time to restabilize, so you'll need to be patient. It's important to be consistent with your dose and let your system take the time to readjust. Every change in dose causes instability in your system, as it has to rebalance everything to cope with the change. When you stick with one dose consistently, the body is able to adapt and make the changes it needs to stabilize. Please create a signature containing a summary of your med history, including all drugs, doses and dates (starting and stopping). Your signature appears below every post you make, and helps us to help you as best we can. Instructions for creating your signature are here: Please put your withdrawal history in your signature . You can edit your signature here: edit your signature in Account Settings. Here are some topics you may find helpful: The rule of 3KIS keep it simple keep it slow keep it stable stabilizing - what does that mean? before you begin tapering - what you need to know why taper by 10% of my dosage? Edited June 24, 2018 by Songbird add info 2001–2002 paroxetine 2003 citalopram 2004-2008 paroxetine (various failed tapers) 2008 paroxetine slow taper down to 2016 Aug off paroxetine2016 citalopram May 20mg Oct 15mg … slow taper down2018 citalopram 13 Feb 4.6mg 15 Mar 4.4mg 29 Apr 4.2mg 6 Jul 4.1mg 17 Aug 4.0mg 18 Nov 3.8mg 2019 15 Mar 3.6mg 21 May 3.4mg 26 Dec 3.2mg 2020 19 Feb 3.0mg 19 Jul 2.9mg 16 Sep 2.8mg 25 Oct 2.7mg 23 Oct 2.6mg 24 Dec 2.5mg 2021 29 Aug 2.4mg 15 Nov 2.3mg Link to comment
Necrosis Posted June 25, 2018 Author Share Posted June 25, 2018 Thank you Songbird! I have been reading abit. Now that i havce been on the 5 mgs for 3 days, i feel abit better, but i have become sick aswell. (Cold, sore throat, headache). Should i go higher in my dose? The anxiety/jitteryness is abit better, but i still feel strange... Almost as when i turn my head quickly etc i feel dizzy. I can't describe it properly. -Erik Escitalopram Actavis: Jun. 2015-2016. About 9 Months. Escitalopram Actavis: Dec. 2017-2018. About 6 months. Tapering off the last 2 weeks, started taking 5 mg again 23.06.18 Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Songbird Posted June 25, 2018 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted June 25, 2018 8 hours ago, Necrosis said: Should i go higher in my dose? It's hard to say, but it's possible that a higher dose might work better to alleviate withdrawal symptoms, since you haven't been off for long. Generally, the longer you wait to reinstate, the higher the risk that it won't work or may cause adverse reaction. I would not go all the way back up to the original dose of 20mg - you might find 10mg is enough to settle your symptoms and restabilise. 2001–2002 paroxetine 2003 citalopram 2004-2008 paroxetine (various failed tapers) 2008 paroxetine slow taper down to 2016 Aug off paroxetine2016 citalopram May 20mg Oct 15mg … slow taper down2018 citalopram 13 Feb 4.6mg 15 Mar 4.4mg 29 Apr 4.2mg 6 Jul 4.1mg 17 Aug 4.0mg 18 Nov 3.8mg 2019 15 Mar 3.6mg 21 May 3.4mg 26 Dec 3.2mg 2020 19 Feb 3.0mg 19 Jul 2.9mg 16 Sep 2.8mg 25 Oct 2.7mg 23 Oct 2.6mg 24 Dec 2.5mg 2021 29 Aug 2.4mg 15 Nov 2.3mg Link to comment
Necrosis Posted June 26, 2018 Author Share Posted June 26, 2018 I will try. Thank you! Escitalopram Actavis: Jun. 2015-2016. About 9 Months. Escitalopram Actavis: Dec. 2017-2018. About 6 months. Tapering off the last 2 weeks, started taking 5 mg again 23.06.18 Link to comment
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