ComplicatedChart: Withdrawal from Anafranil

[ComplicatedChart]

Hello everyone, I'm ComplicatedChart (CC for short).  Thank you for letting me join and hopefully get some advice on my own journey.

 

A bit about me: 33f who has been on Anafranil for 3 years.  It was prescribed for panic disorder/OCD (turned out to be PTSD, long story...)  I have a genetic mutation that causes medications to effect me stronger than an adult of my height and weight.  So 50 mg of Anafranil had the same effect as 150 mg on a regular person.  

 

I have had very bad weight gain on this drug, to the point that doctors have deemed it dangerous and I need to taper off.  I have now been on 25 mg for a year, and need to make that last step, but am prone to severe withdrawal symptoms, mostly physical in nature.  Headaches, extremely stiff neck, extreme hunger (I think it is blood-sugar related), heart rate and blood pressure issues all result, as well as the development of allergies.  (Who knew Anafranil was an antihistamine, urgh.)

 

(It's worth mentioning that I have several medical conditions, including encephalitis which causes seizures, and need to be very careful about these symptoms being exacerbated by the withdrawal.)

 

My question is: does anyone have any advice for proceeding?  I have tried doses less than 25 mg, and the withdrawal symptoms still persist unless I go back to 25 mg.  I am very concerned about the headaches in particular, because I do not want another brain injury from intercranial pressure.  Any advice is appreciated!!

 

-CC

[Gridley]

Hello, CC, and welcome to SA.  I'm glad you found your way to us.  

 

To start, in order to give members the best information, we ask them to summarize their medication history in a signature -- drugs, doses, dates, and discontinuations & reinstatements, in the last 12-24 months particularly.

 

Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature.

 

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.  I suspect, based on what you wrote about your sensitivity, that you may need to go more slowly than 10%.  Some people taper by 5% per month.  Your bad reactions when you tried to go below 25mg likely stemmed from tapering too fast.  Slow tapering takes longer but is much gentler on your system.

  

Before you begin tapering what you need to know

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

Brain Remodelling

 

In your case, 10% of your 25mg dosage would be 2.5mg, which subtracted from 25mg would make your first drop 22.5.  There are some links below that explain how to make these nonstandard doses.

 

Some members use a 2 1/2% per week taper for four weeks with a two week hold.  This can be gentler than the 10% method.  Some members taper by 1% per week.

 

The Brassmonkey Slide Method of Micro-tapering

 

If your doctors is cooperative, you can have your doses made by a compounding pharmacy.  Or you can make the doses yourself, either by making a liquid solution or using a scale, such as the Gemini-20 scale available on Amazon. 

 

Using an oral syringe and other tapering techniques
How to use oral syringes, gelatin capsules, powdered tablets, and do-it-yourself liquid solutions
 
Using a digital scale to measure doses
Digital scales can measure less than 1mg by weight

 

This is your introduction topic -- the place for you to ask questions, record symptoms, share your progress, and connect with other members of the SA community.  I hope you’ll find the information in the SA forums helpful for your situation.