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"Medicating Normal" documentary film about going off psychiatric drugs


FarmGirlWorks

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  • Mentor
 
Just received an email from an activist about this new documentary, "Medicating Normal." The trailer brought me to tears. I encourage everyone here who has the ability (and I know that some of us are sicker than others and absolutely cannot) to support this by "liking" and passing on to others and, if really strong, to get a screening in your area. I did not have a new year resolution but think that one just appeared 🙂
____________________________________________________________________
Millions of Americans are physiologically dependent on, not heroin or cocaine, but commonly prescribed psychiatric drugs. While these medications often do provide effective short-term relief for emotional distress and other problems, pharmaceutical companies have hidden common side effects and long-term risks from both patients and doctors.
 
Multi-national drug companies spend billions of dollars annually promoting anti-depressants, anti-anxiety meds, ADHD drugs and mood stabilizers. Their arguments extolling the benefits of their products are often the only ones presented in the mainstream media. The other side of the story is rarely reported, and it is a story of harm done.
 
Combining cinema verité and investigative journalism, Medicating Normal follows the journeys of a newly married couple, a female combat veteran, a waitress, and a teenager – whose doctors prescribed psychiatric drugs to help with stress, mild depression, sleeplessness, focus, and trauma. Our subjects struggle with serious physical and mental side-effects as well as neurological damage which resulted from taking the drugs as prescribed. During the course of the film, prominent psychiatrists and scientific experts explain how it came to pass that – shockingly - one in five Americans are now taking these drugs daily. And they support and reinforce the fact that debilitating side-effects including addiction are common, and yet are not commonly acknowledged. It is the untold story of the disastrous consequences that can occur when profit-driven medicine intersects with human beings in distress.
 
Co-Producer/Directors, Lynn Cunningham & Wendy Ractliffe and Producer, Muffie Meyer are hosting private, pre-screening events for selected audiences across the country. According to one of the film’s subjects, Angela Peacock, “The film provokes important, meaningful dialogue between patients, prescribers, clinicians, veterans and families.” Agrees psychiatrist, Anna Lembke M.D., of Stanford University, “The film
promises to spark a long-overdue national conversation on the growing problem of over prescriptions.:
 
The “Medicating Normal” website has officially launched and they are slowly releasing over 100 video clips (out-takes from expert interviews) on their Youtube Channel. Experts such as Dr. David Cohen, Dr. Anna Lembke, Dr. Peter Gøtzsche, Dr. Mary Vieten, Dr. Stuart Shipko, Robert Whitaker and Dr. Kelly Brogan, share important information about psychiatric medications, withdrawal, diagnoses, and corrupted science.
 
Please share this email with your friends, “like” their pages and follow them at the below social media platforms so you can be the first to know about upcoming screenings in your area. If you subscribe to "Medicating Normal" website newsletter, see below, you can find out when a private screening or festival showing will be happening in your area. This movie has important information for everyone.
 
 
Watch 3 minute Movie Trailer on there website here:

Website: www.medicatingnormal.com 

 
 
You can subscribe on their YouTube Channel
Edited by ChessieCat
removed link after topic merge
  • Prozac | late 2004-mid-2005 | CT WD in a couple months, mostly emotional
  • Sertraline 50-100mg | 11/2011-3/2014, 10/2014-3/2017
  • Sertraline fast taper March 2017, 4 weeks, OFF sertraline April 1, 2017
  • Quit alcohol May 20, 2017
  • Lifestyle changes: AA, kundalini yoga

 

"If you've seen a monster, even if it's horrible, that's evidence of divinity." – Damien Echols

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Is it on Netflix?

1999:  Paroxetine (20mg). Age 16. 2007-2008: Fluoxetine (Prozac) for 1.5 years (age 25) Citalopram 20mg 2002-2005, 2009: Escitalopram (20mg), 2 weeks, (age 26) (adverse  reaction)/*Valium 5mg/Temazepam 10mg 2010: Mirtazipine (Remeron)( do not remember dosage) 2010, 5 months.                     2010-2017: Citalopram (20mg) (age 27 to 34) 2016: i.1st Sept- 31st Oct Citalopram 10mg , ii.1st November 2017-30th November 2017, Citalopram 5mg iii.1st December 2017- 4th February 2018, Citalopram 0mg, iv.5th February 2018- March 2018 Citalopram 5mg (10mg every other day) 28th February- tried titration of 5mg ( some adverse effects)

2018: 1st March 2018- 1st June Citalopram 10 mg (tablet form) /started titration 8mg , then 7 mg.2018: June 15th- 10th July Citalopram 10 mg pill every other day 2018: 10th July - 13th Sept Citalopram- 0mg  (CBD oil first month of 0mg, passiflora on and off) 2018 13th Sept Citalopram  2mg ,  approx 16th Sept 4mg , approx 25th Sept 6mg held.  2019: 11 Feb 19: 7mg (instant bad rxn) 12 Feb 19 6mg held 1 May 19 5.4mg held 5 Oct 19 5.36mg 22 Oct 19 5.29mg 30 Oct 19 5.23mg 4/NOV/19 5.18mg 12 Nov 19 5.08mg 20 Nov 19 4.77mg 7 May 22 2.31mg 17/09/2023 0.8mg

(Herbal/Supplements since 1st September: Omega Fish Oil 1200mg, 663mg of EPA- 2 tablets a day, magnesium and magnesium bath salts)

I did not die, and yet I lost life’s breath
- Dante
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • Moderator Emeritus

I'm very excited about this. Apparently they are going to be screening it at film festivals around the country to start with. They have a place on your website where you can donate, I made a small donation. They have a lot of good information on the website too. SO happy someone is doing this!

Started on Prozac and Xanax in 1992 for PTSD after an assault. One drug led to more, the usual story. Got sicker and sicker, but believed I needed the drugs for my "underlying disease". Long story...lost everything. Life savings, home, physical and mental health, relationships, friendships, ability to work, everything. Amitryptiline, Prozac, bupropion, buspirone, flurazepam, diazepam, alprazolam, Paxil, citalopram, lamotrigine, gabapentin...probably more I've forgotten. 

Started multidrug taper in Feb 2010.  Doing a very slow microtaper, down to low doses now and feeling SO much better, getting my old personality and my brain back! Able to work full time, have a full social life, and cope with stress better than ever. Not perfect, but much better. After 23 lost years. Big Pharma has a lot to answer for. And "medicine for profit" is just not a great idea.

 

Feb 15 2010:  300 mg Neurontin  200 Lamictal   10 Celexa      0.65 Xanax   and 5 mg Ambien 

Feb 10 2014:   62 Lamictal    1.1 Celexa         0.135 Xanax    1.8 Valium

Feb 10 2015:   50 Lamictal      0.875 Celexa    0.11 Xanax      1.5 Valium

Feb 15 2016:   47.5 Lamictal   0.75 Celexa      0.0875 Xanax    1.42 Valium    

2/12/20             12                       0.045               0.007                   1 

May 2021            7                       0.01                  0.0037                1

Feb 2022            6                      0!!!                     0.00167               0.98                2.5 mg Ambien

Oct 2022       4.5 mg Lamictal    (off Celexa, off Xanax)   0.95 Valium    Ambien, 1/4 to 1/2 of a 5 mg tablet 

 

I'm not a doctor. Any advice I give is just my civilian opinion.

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I attended the Philadelphia premier.  The film is excellent.   

 

The director as well as one of the people whose story is in the film were there, and they stayed after the screening for a question-and-answer session with the audience. 

 

After that there was an opportunity to mingle with the like-minded folks, psychiatric survivors as well as progressive-thinking professionals, who came out to see the film.  I met a psychiatrist turned naturopath as well as an ex-patient with a background similar to mine who has been off psych drugs for 5 years and found other ways to cope.  

 

Hope this film gets to theatres everywhere!  (I would like to see a follow-up film--Medicating Abnormal!)

 

Best, CarefulP

My psychiatric drug history goes back, on and off, to 1999.  This is my taper chronology:

Jan. 2018:                        900 mg  Lithium                      1 mg Risperidone               250 mg Lamotrigine 

Jan. 2018:                        0 mg  Lithium*                        1 mg Risperidone               250 mg Lamotrigine 

Jan. 2019:                        0 mg Lithium                           0.625 mg Risperidone       175 mg Lamotrigine

Jan. 2020:                       0 mg Lithium                           0.260 mg Risperidone       175 mg Lamotrigine

Feb. 2021:                        0 mg Lithium                           0 mg Risperidone              175 mg Lamotrigine

August 2021                    0 mg Lithium                           0 mg Risperidone              0 mg Lamotrigine

*I had to cold turkey lithium because of life-threatening side effects.

Measuring doses: The Withdrawal Project at the Inner Compass Initiative website, which explains how to do the microtaper to make it as smooth as possible   Nutrition: The Clean Gut Diet by Alejandro Junger, MD, and Viva Naturals Omega 3 Fish Oil Supplements.  Psychological: "Dr. Bruce H. Lipton Explains How To Reprogram The Subconscious Mind" (on YouTube) and PSYCH-K (an alternative healing modality).  

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  • Moderator Emeritus
On 2/14/2020 at 6:05 AM, carefulprayerful said:

I attended the Philadelphia premier.  The film is excellent.   

 

The director as well as one of the people whose story is in the film were there, and they stayed after the screening for a question-and-answer session with the audience. 

 

After that there was an opportunity to mingle with the like-minded folks, psychiatric survivors as well as progressive-thinking professionals, who came out to see the film.  I met a psychiatrist turned naturopath as well as an ex-patient with a background similar to mine who has been off psych drugs for 5 years and found other ways to cope.  

 

Hope this film gets to theatres everywhere!  (I would like to see a follow-up film--Medicating Abnormal!)

 

Best, CarefulP

 

Thanks for the review! I'll have to watch for when it hits out here, I'd like to go.

Started on Prozac and Xanax in 1992 for PTSD after an assault. One drug led to more, the usual story. Got sicker and sicker, but believed I needed the drugs for my "underlying disease". Long story...lost everything. Life savings, home, physical and mental health, relationships, friendships, ability to work, everything. Amitryptiline, Prozac, bupropion, buspirone, flurazepam, diazepam, alprazolam, Paxil, citalopram, lamotrigine, gabapentin...probably more I've forgotten. 

Started multidrug taper in Feb 2010.  Doing a very slow microtaper, down to low doses now and feeling SO much better, getting my old personality and my brain back! Able to work full time, have a full social life, and cope with stress better than ever. Not perfect, but much better. After 23 lost years. Big Pharma has a lot to answer for. And "medicine for profit" is just not a great idea.

 

Feb 15 2010:  300 mg Neurontin  200 Lamictal   10 Celexa      0.65 Xanax   and 5 mg Ambien 

Feb 10 2014:   62 Lamictal    1.1 Celexa         0.135 Xanax    1.8 Valium

Feb 10 2015:   50 Lamictal      0.875 Celexa    0.11 Xanax      1.5 Valium

Feb 15 2016:   47.5 Lamictal   0.75 Celexa      0.0875 Xanax    1.42 Valium    

2/12/20             12                       0.045               0.007                   1 

May 2021            7                       0.01                  0.0037                1

Feb 2022            6                      0!!!                     0.00167               0.98                2.5 mg Ambien

Oct 2022       4.5 mg Lamictal    (off Celexa, off Xanax)   0.95 Valium    Ambien, 1/4 to 1/2 of a 5 mg tablet 

 

I'm not a doctor. Any advice I give is just my civilian opinion.

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thank you for sharing this, FarmGirlWorks!

Currently taking Ramapril (blood pressure) 5 mg twice a day

Omeprazole 10 mg AM and 20 mg PM  (the taper has gone nowhere after the first cut)

Famotidine   once a day (and I still needs tums sometimes)

magnesium 200 mg at night

as of yesterday 2 fish oil capsules "EPA-DHA 1000"

 

off Lexapro as of 5/2018  - last dose had been 5 mg every other day for a couple years

 

highest dose had been 20 mg at which point I was diagnosed with Bipolar II, which went away when I cut the lexapro down to 15 mg. 

 

I spent years on Paxil before Lexapro (can't remember dose), briefly on Effexor and Abilify and others I have forgotten. in fact, when I was diagnoses with BPII I was put on all kinds of things which made me feel so bad I stopped them cold turkey within maybe 3 or 4 weeks, thank goodness. since then I've known these pills were terrible and I weaned down the Lexapro with zero help or support over I'm not sure how many years. 

 

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Also it is a great film to bring a friend or family member along to see.  It helped my fiancé understand, and he says he would recommend it.

My psychiatric drug history goes back, on and off, to 1999.  This is my taper chronology:

Jan. 2018:                        900 mg  Lithium                      1 mg Risperidone               250 mg Lamotrigine 

Jan. 2018:                        0 mg  Lithium*                        1 mg Risperidone               250 mg Lamotrigine 

Jan. 2019:                        0 mg Lithium                           0.625 mg Risperidone       175 mg Lamotrigine

Jan. 2020:                       0 mg Lithium                           0.260 mg Risperidone       175 mg Lamotrigine

Feb. 2021:                        0 mg Lithium                           0 mg Risperidone              175 mg Lamotrigine

August 2021                    0 mg Lithium                           0 mg Risperidone              0 mg Lamotrigine

*I had to cold turkey lithium because of life-threatening side effects.

Measuring doses: The Withdrawal Project at the Inner Compass Initiative website, which explains how to do the microtaper to make it as smooth as possible   Nutrition: The Clean Gut Diet by Alejandro Junger, MD, and Viva Naturals Omega 3 Fish Oil Supplements.  Psychological: "Dr. Bruce H. Lipton Explains How To Reprogram The Subconscious Mind" (on YouTube) and PSYCH-K (an alternative healing modality).  

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  • 3 months later...
  • Administrator

The Benzodiazepine Information Coalition are excited to announce that Dr. Mark Horowitz, psychiatry trainee, academic and patient with an interest in de-prescribing, will join as a community discussion panelist for the July 11th Medicating Normal screening event being held on World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day.

 

Buy tickets to the event if you haven't already: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/benzodiazepine-information-coa…

 

If you're unfamiliar with Dr. Horowitz and his work, the following interview features him: https://www.madinamerica.com/…/peer-support-groups-right-o…/

 

Stay tuned as we will announce one more panelist soon!

 

Medicating Normal: The Film Web site

 

On Facebook: Medicating Normal- The Film

World Benzo Awareness Day: W-BAD

World Benzodiazepine Awareness Day Virtual Screening

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

Yay -- Medicating Normal will be screening via Zoom next Wednesday June 17th.  I was privileged to watch it in advance (lots of it is excerpted on YouTube) and -- damn -- it is good, cried a few times at the trauma of it all. We know the stories so well. Medicating Normal is making the rounds at film festivals and has notable experts including Peter Gotzsche, Robert Whitaker, Kelly Brogan as well as a military psychiatrist who is brilliant with her compassion and common sense. The documentary follows four high-functioning people who were brought to their knees by withdrawal and the loved ones around them who were impacted too. It concisely shows the effect of pathologizing normal situations in response to trauma -- or sleep! -- and how psychiatry and big pharma made big bucks from these common problems. And! It talks with those who are still medicated and the issue of informed consent.

 

If you can, watch it, support the conversation. I firmly believe that big pharma/over-medication is part of the web of structures we are seeing exposed and now, when people are questioning long-held "realities," is the time to keep this issue exposed for the crime that it is. If nothing else, spread the word. Like someone said to me recently about PAWS, "everyone knows someone."

 

______________________________________________________

 

MindFreedom International invites you to join us for an online Zoom community screening of Medicating Normal, a must-see film for psychiatric survivors and everyone who longs for universally accessible, non-drug/non-force alternatives in their communities.
 

Medicating Normal is a 76-minute documentary film exploring our current mental health care system's reliance on a profit-driven model that relies almost exclusively on psychiatric drugs to deal with trauma, grief, and distress. The film also addresses how such 'treatment' particularly impacts military veterans and caregivers. An hour-long moderated panel discussion featuring psychiatric survivors and the film's producers/subjects will follow. The discussion will be signed (ASL interpreter provided)


Watch the (profound) trailer: 

 

When: Wednesday, June 17 at 10 am PST/ 1 pm EST


Where: online via Zoom


Accessibility: Movie will be closed captioned. ASL signing/interpretation of the panel discussion will be provided. If you have other accessibility related needs, please email sarah@mindfreedom.org


Cost:  3 OPTIONS
1) Suggested Fee- $8 per ticket


2) Free for anyone who is willing to contribute in other ways such as sharing this event with friends, family and contacts prior to June 17. To share this event on Facebook, cut and paste the following link as a post with a personal introduction! https://mindfreedom.org/front-page/medicating-normal-screening/

 

3) DONATION- If after seeing the film you feel compelled to make a secure, tax-deductible donation to either Periscope, (the outreach platform for this film, or MindFreedom International, thank you!

 

To register (required no matter what the payment option)https://www.eventbrite.com/e/107273176960

 

We hope you that by watching Medicating Normal you will be inspired to help us launch important conversations in your community about the dangers of psychiatric drug use and the need for more alternatives. We hope you help us in our campaign to oppose all forced psychiatric interventions, including those involving harmful drugs.

 

Edited by FarmGirlWorks
  • Prozac | late 2004-mid-2005 | CT WD in a couple months, mostly emotional
  • Sertraline 50-100mg | 11/2011-3/2014, 10/2014-3/2017
  • Sertraline fast taper March 2017, 4 weeks, OFF sertraline April 1, 2017
  • Quit alcohol May 20, 2017
  • Lifestyle changes: AA, kundalini yoga

 

"If you've seen a monster, even if it's horrible, that's evidence of divinity." – Damien Echols

 

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  • Mentor

🏹 {bump} 🏹

  • Prozac | late 2004-mid-2005 | CT WD in a couple months, mostly emotional
  • Sertraline 50-100mg | 11/2011-3/2014, 10/2014-3/2017
  • Sertraline fast taper March 2017, 4 weeks, OFF sertraline April 1, 2017
  • Quit alcohol May 20, 2017
  • Lifestyle changes: AA, kundalini yoga

 

"If you've seen a monster, even if it's horrible, that's evidence of divinity." – Damien Echols

 

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Just finished the documentary - mind-opening for those that never went through this, but very relatable for those us healing from or who have already healed from iatrogenic nervous system injuries caused by benzodiazepines, stimulants, antispsychotics, mood stabilizers, and antidepressants. I highly recommend Medicating Normal to anyone who hasn't seen it :). 

Clomipramine: 50mg October-December 2016 

Vyvanse: 20mg on most days from December 2016-February 2017, 10mg on most days from February-December 2017, 5-10mg as needed afterward. Stopped Vyvanse April 2018.

Clonazepam: 0.25mg x3 February 2018-April 2018, 0.25mg x2 April-June 2018, 0.25mg x1 June-August 2018, tapered off 0.25mg over the course of 2 weeks.

Escitalopram: 10mg December 2016, 15mg January 2017, 20mg February-December 2017, 30mg January 2018, 40mg February-April; began taper end of April, 15mg mid-June 2018, rushed from 15-0mg from mid-June to late June 2018. Reinstated to 1mg August 2018, then 2mg then 5mg then 10mg over the course of 5 weeks. Decreased from 10mg to 8mg for 2 weeks, then from 8mg to 0mg when Vortioxetine was added. Reinstated within a few days to 2mg (in early November) and then dropped to 1mg in early December.

Vortioxetine: 5mg October-December 2018, tapered off over the course of 10 days after on it. 

December 7, December 2018 - June 22: Escitalopram 1mg.

Current: No psychoactive meds ever again.

 

Supplements: Mg2+ 600-800mg/day (most comes from HardyNutritionals DENs of which I take 12 capsules a day), 3000mg omega-3 oil, 1000mg vitamin C, tried 20+ other supplements before realizing that they are not effective for a destabilized central nervous system.

 

 

 

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How can we watch if we missed today's showing?  

2016 - Oct -Daughter started Risperdal (for steroid induced psychosis that never went away after stopping prednisone)

Nov - dose increases stopped at 1.5mg in Dec

2017 - Jan- weaned from 1.5 to 1.0 in 2 weeks then 1.0 to .5 in two weeks and then off. Feb. 3 weeks of increased psychosis, pacing, insomnia, other awful symptoms so late Feb  - Back on 1.5 mg Risperdal. May  - decrease to 1.25mg, two weeks later 1.0mg - symptoms started again. June - held steady at 1.25mg for 6 weeks and switched to liquid (3 ml syringe). July - started 10% taper every 3 weeks, October -  .8 mg, December - .7 mg .

2018 -Jan- 0.65 mg,  Feb- 0.59,  Mar-0.50, late April - .40mg, July- .36 mg, Aug - switched from 3 mL syringe to 1 mL syringe for more accuracy (her dad and i were not sure we were giving her the same dose when in between the 'dashes' on the 3 mL syringe.) Aug -.30 mg (3mL syr)/.44 mg (1 mL syr) difference due to med in the tip of both syringes). Sept- .28 mg (3mL syr)/.42 mg (1 mL syr). Oct - .16 mg (3 mL syr)/.30 mg (1 mL syr). Nov.- .06mg (3mL syr)/.20 mg (1mLsyr). Dec. - tip only/unmeasurable (3mL syr)/.10 mg (1mLsyr)

2019- Jan -.06 mg (1 mL syr), Feb- .025 mg (1 mL syr), Feb 27, 2019 - jumped to zero!!

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18 minutes ago, Glosmom said:

How can we watch if we missed today's showing?  

It will be screened again via Zoom on July 11, 2020: https://medicatingnormal.com/watch/

Clomipramine: 50mg October-December 2016 

Vyvanse: 20mg on most days from December 2016-February 2017, 10mg on most days from February-December 2017, 5-10mg as needed afterward. Stopped Vyvanse April 2018.

Clonazepam: 0.25mg x3 February 2018-April 2018, 0.25mg x2 April-June 2018, 0.25mg x1 June-August 2018, tapered off 0.25mg over the course of 2 weeks.

Escitalopram: 10mg December 2016, 15mg January 2017, 20mg February-December 2017, 30mg January 2018, 40mg February-April; began taper end of April, 15mg mid-June 2018, rushed from 15-0mg from mid-June to late June 2018. Reinstated to 1mg August 2018, then 2mg then 5mg then 10mg over the course of 5 weeks. Decreased from 10mg to 8mg for 2 weeks, then from 8mg to 0mg when Vortioxetine was added. Reinstated within a few days to 2mg (in early November) and then dropped to 1mg in early December.

Vortioxetine: 5mg October-December 2018, tapered off over the course of 10 days after on it. 

December 7, December 2018 - June 22: Escitalopram 1mg.

Current: No psychoactive meds ever again.

 

Supplements: Mg2+ 600-800mg/day (most comes from HardyNutritionals DENs of which I take 12 capsules a day), 3000mg omega-3 oil, 1000mg vitamin C, tried 20+ other supplements before realizing that they are not effective for a destabilized central nervous system.

 

 

 

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8 hours ago, BigPharmaStinks said:

It will be screened again via Zoom on July 11, 2020: https://medicatingnormal.com/watch/

 

Fantastic news! I can't wait to watch it!

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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  • Moderator Emeritus

Thank you!

2016 - Oct -Daughter started Risperdal (for steroid induced psychosis that never went away after stopping prednisone)

Nov - dose increases stopped at 1.5mg in Dec

2017 - Jan- weaned from 1.5 to 1.0 in 2 weeks then 1.0 to .5 in two weeks and then off. Feb. 3 weeks of increased psychosis, pacing, insomnia, other awful symptoms so late Feb  - Back on 1.5 mg Risperdal. May  - decrease to 1.25mg, two weeks later 1.0mg - symptoms started again. June - held steady at 1.25mg for 6 weeks and switched to liquid (3 ml syringe). July - started 10% taper every 3 weeks, October -  .8 mg, December - .7 mg .

2018 -Jan- 0.65 mg,  Feb- 0.59,  Mar-0.50, late April - .40mg, July- .36 mg, Aug - switched from 3 mL syringe to 1 mL syringe for more accuracy (her dad and i were not sure we were giving her the same dose when in between the 'dashes' on the 3 mL syringe.) Aug -.30 mg (3mL syr)/.44 mg (1 mL syr) difference due to med in the tip of both syringes). Sept- .28 mg (3mL syr)/.42 mg (1 mL syr). Oct - .16 mg (3 mL syr)/.30 mg (1 mL syr). Nov.- .06mg (3mL syr)/.20 mg (1mLsyr). Dec. - tip only/unmeasurable (3mL syr)/.10 mg (1mLsyr)

2019- Jan -.06 mg (1 mL syr), Feb- .025 mg (1 mL syr), Feb 27, 2019 - jumped to zero!!

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  • Mentor

Thanks, just got a ticket! 😀

Now: 100 mg Zoloft am, 50 mg Trazodone.  Daily drug burden decreased from 2050 in 2018 mg to 150 mg 🐢🐢

Zoloft: 1/24/23 increased to 100 mg after suicide attempt 9/17/22 cut 6 mg, 8/14/22 cut 6.5 mg, 5/7/22 cut 12.5 mg 3/20/22 cut 12.5 mg 10/26/21 cut 6 mg 10/17/21 cut 5 mg, 9/17/21 Cut 3 mg,  9/13/21 cut 4 mg, 8/29/21 Cut 2 mg 8/8/21 Cut 3 mg  7/30/21 Zoloft: Converted 25 mg to liquid. Also take 100 mg pill & 25 mg pill=150 mg total
🌞 Feb 28, 2021 0 mg Gapapentin 2021 Gaba each dose 4x/day: Feb 27 7 mg (one dose only), Feb 10, 7 mg, Jan 14 10 mg 2020 Current taper schedule from Aug 30-present: drop 8 mg every 2-3 weeks. Aug 20 31 mg, Aug 18, 33 mg, July 29, 35 mg, July 23 38 mg, July 22 40 mg Jun 24 42 mg, Jun 15 44 mg, Jun 9 48 mg, May 22 50 mg, May 14 54 mg, May 7 56 mg, Apr 16 58 mg, Mar 28 60 mg, Mar 18 62 mg. Feb 26 64 mg. Feb 19, 66 mg. Jan 23, 70 mg. 2019 Dec 19, 72 mg. Nov 14 ,76 mg. Aug 8, 80 mg. Aug 6, 85 mg. Jul 26, 90 mg. Jul 11, 95 mg.

Jul 16 trazodone from 100 to 50 mg.

Jun 17-July 10 Slowly changed gab fr pill to liquid at same dose 100 mg 4x/d.

Apr 24 Stopped klon!!! 🌞 Apr 4  Decreased gaba to 400 mg (100 mg 4x/day)-Apr 4, 2019   0.25 klon March 11  Klonopin .5 mg twice daily, varied dose til Apr 15. Started Klon fast taper 25%, short use

Mar 16, 450 mg gaba 3x/day cut 600 mg--not exact!--updose after learning w/d

Feb 20, 2019 1800 mg gabapentin; MD taper; off 3 days=mvt disorder & autonomic instability. July 2018 temazepam 15 mg 1-2; prn several x/wk til Jan/Feb 2019 when cold turkey, flu illness for months

July 2018 started gabapentin 100 3x/day; titrated up to 1800 mg (600 3x/day)

Buspar, I forget how much, 2 pills a day Jan 2017-July 2018 cold turkey. On Zoloft since maybe 2004? After trying many.

*I speak from my experience. Nothing I say is medical advice. I'm not a doctor.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • Administrator

 

Link to other discussion of this documentary:  medicating-normal-documentary

 

 

SurvivingAntidepressants.org has the honor of sponsoring this presentation of an excellent film, Medicating Normal.

 

 

 

Tickets here https://www.eventbrite.com/e/survivingantidepressantsorg-presents-medicating-normal-tickets-113380586386

 

All proceeds go to funding outreach and advocacy activities.

 

Panel discussion to follow the film showing. Representing the peer support community, panelists will be

 

- Altostrata, survivor of protracted Paxil withdrawal syndrome and founder of SurvivingAntidepressants.org in 2011, with 14,000 members

 

- Ed White, PhDsurvivor of severe venlafaxine withdrawal, co-administrator of the Facebook peer support group Effexor (Venlafaxine) Tapering, Discontinuation Syndrome and Protracted W/D, "founded just over 7 years ago by a very dedicated lady named Sherry Julo. We have 6277 members at present”.

 

- Ashli Hein, US military veteran, co-administrator of the Facebook peer support group Cymbalta Hurts Worse, founded in 2013, now with 25,000 members. "After 29 years of psych meds (cold turkeyed/bridged/polypharmacied) I found CHW 3 years ago after and have completed my Cymbalta taper. I owe the founder, Toni Samanie, a huge debt for the life-changing education and support she and her group gave me”.

 

- Christy Huff, MD, benzodiazepine survivor and director of Benzodiazepine Information Coalition, an organization of patients and professionals to educate about benzodiazepine dependence, tapering, and withdrawal.

 

- Angela Peacock, MSW, US military veteran and benzodiazepine survivor organizing outreach about health and medicine literacy to veterans. Angela appears in the film.

 

 

Please e-mail medicatingnormal@gmail.com with questions about other showings, downloads, DVDs, etc.

 

Edited by ChessieCat
updated/added link to other discussion

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

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  • Altostrata changed the title to SurvivingAntidepressants.org presents Medicating Normal Aug. 22, 2020, 1 p.m. EST
  • Administrator

Review of Medicating Normal on influential psychiatrist Awais Aftab's blog:

 

Quote

 

Primum non Nocere: A Psychiatrist’s Review of “Medicating Normal”

 
I was lucky to see a screening copy of the documentary Medicating Normal (2020, directors: Lynn Cunningham & Wendy Ractliffe) earlier this weekend, and this post is intended partly as a review and partly as a way of organizing my preliminary thoughts and reactions to it.
 
As described by the filmmakers: “Medicating Normal is the untold story of what can happen when profit-driven medicine intersects with human beings in distress.” The film is well-made and remarkable. It is engaging and rewards emotional investment.
 
The focus of the documentary is on the harms of psychiatric medications, the harms these medications can do while one is taking them, and the harms these medications can do when one tries to stop taking them or has stopped taking them.

....

The personal narratives of the ex-patients/survivors are certainly the most powerful component of the film. They are also the most persuasive: the tremendous suffering of these individuals is indisputable and heart-wrenching. Common threads among these various stories are: high “premorbid” psychosocial and occupational functioning; experiences of anxiety/trauma/grief/stress/insomnia which were diagnosed by various clinicians as specific mental disorders (PTSD/GAD/MDD, etc.) with little to no exploration of the psychosocial context; these diagnoses were offered with a generally implicit disease-based understanding; psychotropic medications were prescribed, with little to no informed consent, and the potential harms of these medications were either not discussed or discussed in a manner that severely minimized them; there was typically quick short-term relief, followed by onset of side-effects and problematic experiences (emotional blunting, cognitive impairment, suicidality, psychosis, worsening anxiety, etc.); these new experiences were attributed to the progression of their disease with little to no consideration that these might be due to the medications; this led to a cascade of multiple additional diagnoses (ADHD, MDD, psychotic illness) with compounding polypharmacy such that many of these individuals were on psychotropic cocktails which included benzodiazepines, stimulants, antidepressants, and antipsychotics; this was followed by a rapid decline in psychosocial and occupational functioning leading to a disabled status; years of misery and disability in which their disability continued to be attributed to their illness and not to their medications; slow loss of trust in the system; decision to go off medications; experiences of withdrawal; finally coming off medications and slow restoration of psychosocial and occupational functioning.
 
Supplementary to these terrible experiences with psychotropic medications is another background narrative that pops us repeatedly. That narrative challenges the validity of psychiatric diagnoses – and the attribution of disorder/disease status to the experiences of these individuals – which provided the justification for the use of medications, with the subsequent iatrogenic cascade. The sentiment is that: “We were experiencing stress, trauma, grief, life issues. What we needed was reassurance, normalization, empathy, time, and psychological support for healing. Instead we were offered quick diagnostic labels, told we had a disease, and prescribed medications with no informed consent, which made everything exponentially worse, and destroyed our lives.”
....
The way this documentary is received by psychiatrists will depend heavily on the subtext as well as some aspects of the text. The body of works and opinions of individuals such as Robert Whitaker and Peter Gøtzsche with their long history of controversy shapes that context; the active adoption and endorsement of this documentary by various groups and platforms long felt to be unfairly critical of psychiatry also shapes that context. Aspects of the narrative – which rather simplistically see psychiatric diagnoses as unscientific – will also provoke certain typical reactions. There are many legitimate criticisms to be made along those lines. There is also the case that the clinical practice and prescribing patterns that we get to see in the documentary fall well below the standards of good psychiatric practice that I was taught as a resident as well as standards that are enshrined in current practice guidelines. So many psychiatrists can reasonably protest that what happened to the individuals in the documentary was not supposed to happen. Yet it is also the case that it did happen and that it has happened and continues to happen to a woefully large number of individuals across the world. The question of good psychiatric practice aside, it is the case – and I speak from my experience of psychiatric training and from what I’ve observed in my psychiatric colleagues and teachers across many institutions – that many psychiatrists severely underestimate considerations of certain sorts of iatrogenic harm and withdrawal reactions.
 
What we are witnessing is a failure of pharma, a failure of regulatory agencies, a failure of legislation, a failure of academic medicine, a failure of funding agencies, a failure of psychiatric institutions, on such a massive scale such that the only thing left for ex-patients/survivors and other concerned citizens to do is to take up the mantle themselves, armed with their personal experiences and the tools and information at their disposal. They were sold a hollow understanding of their distress, and they were offered cures which turned out to be poisons for them, and now they are reclaiming their stories, and understanding and interpreting them on their own terms.
 
Just as the disease-based understanding of psychiatric diagnoses is simplistic, misguided, not-the-whole-truth, the notion that psychiatric diagnoses are “all made up” and unscientific is also simplistic, misguided, not-the-whole-truth. Yet I say this from a position of power and privilege; I say this with years of philosophical and scientific reflection, which allows me to think of psychiatric diagnoses in a conceptual manner that is different from that of the average clinician as well as the lay individual. My ivory tower philosophical search for truth is far removed from the experience of the harmed patient in the documentary, who cries out at one point, “What have all these diagnoses ever done for me?” (I am somewhat paraphrasing here based on my recall).
 
I can anticipate that many psychiatrists will react to this documentary in a very defensive manner. They will bring up legitimate criticisms and will focus on the subtext of the movie, some of which I’ve briefly touched on above. They will focus on how this is not representative of all psychiatrists, how this is not representative of good practice. They will also focus on how normalization fails to do justice to the experiences of individuals with serious mental illness who are genuinely impaired and suffering, and psychiatric medications, for most of them, offer a realistic hope at some semblance of normalcy and alleviation of suffering. I agree with all that.
 
Yet to do so exclusively will also miss the larger point of the documentary. Psychiatry can continue to be aggrieved and defensive for good reasons, but in my view that is a precarious strategy and may simply be a recipe for future irrelevance. The conversation is no longer in the hands of the psychiatrists. The conversation has moved into the community. The pandora’s box is open. Many individuals have lost trust in the medical system, they have lost trust in organized psychiatry, they have lost faith in the ability of psychiatric diagnoses and medications to help them. These individuals are taking ownership of their distress and making sense of it in ways that speak to them in more authentic ways. Organized psychiatry has a choice to make here. It can continue to pretend that everything is hunky-dory, and it can continue to dismiss the experiences of harmed patients as anecdotal evidence. Or it can begin to acknowledge the reality of harmed patients, the myriad ways in which we have ignored them and let them down, the ways in which we have allowed the profit and greed of pharmaceutical companies to corrupt our science, and the ways in which we as a profession are failing to offer narratives to our patients that do not reduce their existence to disease and disability.
 
 
Awais Aftab is a psychiatrist in Cleveland, Ohio.

 

 

SurvivingAntidepressants.org will present a showing of Medicating Normal on Saturday, August 22, 2020, 10 a.m. EST
 

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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Very powerful reply.  I was fortunate enough to watch the last screening and was moved beyond words. I live this every day with Glo, yet seeing the lives of others who have lost so much, continues to require me to be silent no more.   I work in the supposed 'healthcare" industry and it gets harder each day to fight the hypocrisy.  Mr. Aftab's words below are very wise....

 

Quote

What we are witnessing is a failure of pharma, a failure of regulatory agencies, a failure of legislation, a failure of academic medicine, a failure of funding agencies, a failure of psychiatric institutions, on such a massive scale such that the only thing left for ex-patients/survivors and other concerned citizens to do is to take up the mantle themselves, armed with their personal experiences and the tools and information at their disposal.

 

 

We must be warriors.   Watch the film.  It is worth it.  Glosmom

2016 - Oct -Daughter started Risperdal (for steroid induced psychosis that never went away after stopping prednisone)

Nov - dose increases stopped at 1.5mg in Dec

2017 - Jan- weaned from 1.5 to 1.0 in 2 weeks then 1.0 to .5 in two weeks and then off. Feb. 3 weeks of increased psychosis, pacing, insomnia, other awful symptoms so late Feb  - Back on 1.5 mg Risperdal. May  - decrease to 1.25mg, two weeks later 1.0mg - symptoms started again. June - held steady at 1.25mg for 6 weeks and switched to liquid (3 ml syringe). July - started 10% taper every 3 weeks, October -  .8 mg, December - .7 mg .

2018 -Jan- 0.65 mg,  Feb- 0.59,  Mar-0.50, late April - .40mg, July- .36 mg, Aug - switched from 3 mL syringe to 1 mL syringe for more accuracy (her dad and i were not sure we were giving her the same dose when in between the 'dashes' on the 3 mL syringe.) Aug -.30 mg (3mL syr)/.44 mg (1 mL syr) difference due to med in the tip of both syringes). Sept- .28 mg (3mL syr)/.42 mg (1 mL syr). Oct - .16 mg (3 mL syr)/.30 mg (1 mL syr). Nov.- .06mg (3mL syr)/.20 mg (1mLsyr). Dec. - tip only/unmeasurable (3mL syr)/.10 mg (1mLsyr)

2019- Jan -.06 mg (1 mL syr), Feb- .025 mg (1 mL syr), Feb 27, 2019 - jumped to zero!!

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Wow !

Hope lot of people will see this !

 

I've sent a message via Facebook : there is a French subtitled version !

You can buy a ticket for the 22 August and ask them the subtitled version.

 

French translation :

 

J'ai contacté l'équipe du film sur Facebook et ils ont réalisé une version sous-titrée en Français.

Il est possible d'acheter un ticket pour la diffusion du 22 Août et de leur demander la version sous-titrée.

 

Edited by Erell

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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This is overall nice to see!

 

On 7/16/2020 at 1:52 PM, Altostrata said:
What we are witnessing is a failure of pharma, a failure of regulatory agencies, a failure of legislation, a failure of academic medicine, a failure of funding agencies, a failure of psychiatric institutions, on such a massive scale such that the only thing left for ex-patients/survivors and other concerned citizens to do is to take up the mantle themselves, armed with their personal experiences and the tools and information at their disposal. They were sold a hollow understanding of their distress, and they were offered cures which turned out to be poisons for them, and now they are reclaiming their stories, and understanding and interpreting them on their own terms.

These drugs are poisons for everyone, of course. 

 

Dr. Healy explains in his book Pharmageddon that the practice of medicine is the selective use of poisons.  The right amount (of an antibiotic for example) at the right time can save a life, but today patients are being over-medicated in pretty much all branches of medicine.

 

On 7/16/2020 at 1:52 PM, Altostrata said:

I can anticipate that many psychiatrists will react to this documentary in a very defensive manner. They will bring up legitimate criticisms and will focus on the subtext of the movie, some of which I’ve briefly touched on above. They will focus on how this is not representative of all psychiatrists, how this is not representative of good practice. They will also focus on how normalization fails to do justice to the experiences of individuals with serious mental illness who are genuinely impaired and suffering, and psychiatric medications, for most of them, offer a realistic hope at some semblance of normalcy and alleviation of suffering. I agree with all that.

 The problem with this statement is that there is plenty of evidence that people who do not take psychiatric medication have better outcomes, even people with bipolar or schizophrenia (Robert Whitaker, one of the experts in Medicating Normal, writes about this in his book, Anatomy of an Epidemic).  In the film, Dr. Allen Frances says that in his opinion the vast majority of people on medications do not need to take them on an ongoing basis. 

 

I don't think 'normalization fails to do justice to the experiences of individuals with serious mental illness who are genuinely impaired and suffering.'  People who respond to trauma with mental distress are responding to those experiences normally.  A psychiatrist's sympathy is not worth much when it does not empower people or inspire hope.  Continually diagnosing and drugging people takes away their power to begin their journey to find ways of healing for real.   

 

This film is a battle cry 😃

Glad to read everyone's posts here! 

Wishing everyone love, light, and healing

CarefulP

My psychiatric drug history goes back, on and off, to 1999.  This is my taper chronology:

Jan. 2018:                        900 mg  Lithium                      1 mg Risperidone               250 mg Lamotrigine 

Jan. 2018:                        0 mg  Lithium*                        1 mg Risperidone               250 mg Lamotrigine 

Jan. 2019:                        0 mg Lithium                           0.625 mg Risperidone       175 mg Lamotrigine

Jan. 2020:                       0 mg Lithium                           0.260 mg Risperidone       175 mg Lamotrigine

Feb. 2021:                        0 mg Lithium                           0 mg Risperidone              175 mg Lamotrigine

August 2021                    0 mg Lithium                           0 mg Risperidone              0 mg Lamotrigine

*I had to cold turkey lithium because of life-threatening side effects.

Measuring doses: The Withdrawal Project at the Inner Compass Initiative website, which explains how to do the microtaper to make it as smooth as possible   Nutrition: The Clean Gut Diet by Alejandro Junger, MD, and Viva Naturals Omega 3 Fish Oil Supplements.  Psychological: "Dr. Bruce H. Lipton Explains How To Reprogram The Subconscious Mind" (on YouTube) and PSYCH-K (an alternative healing modality).  

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Very keen to watch this. Might be a late night in Australia but worth it i think.

Gussy

On effexor for at least 11 years. Last few years going through ivf treatment dose has ranged from 150-200mg. Mainly 150 though. Tapered from about 175mg mid jan 2017 to zero mid april 2017. 2&1/2 months of straight hell. Getting there now though.

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6 hours ago, Gussy said:

Very keen to watch this. Might be a late night in Australia but worth it i think.

Definitely worth it, I've seen it, it's brilliant.

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 hours ago, sunnysideup69 said:

Definitely worth it, I've seen it, it's brilliant.

Hi, thanks for your reply. I'm sure it is a great film after seeing the preview. I see you switched to effexor? Are you tapering it? I'm 39 and 1/2 months off that bad boy and much improved from those awful days. Did the film bring out any tears for you? Might you know if there's any kind of way I could pay to watch the film but watch it at a better hour? Probably not but had to ask. Gus.

Gussy

On effexor for at least 11 years. Last few years going through ivf treatment dose has ranged from 150-200mg. Mainly 150 though. Tapered from about 175mg mid jan 2017 to zero mid april 2017. 2&1/2 months of straight hell. Getting there now though.

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Will the post screening talk be uploaded to YouTube like the w bad one was?

Gussy

On effexor for at least 11 years. Last few years going through ivf treatment dose has ranged from 150-200mg. Mainly 150 though. Tapered from about 175mg mid jan 2017 to zero mid april 2017. 2&1/2 months of straight hell. Getting there now though.

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6 hours ago, Gussy said:

Hi, thanks for your reply. I'm sure it is a great film after seeing the preview. I see you switched to effexor? Are you tapering it? I'm 39 and 1/2 months off that bad boy and much improved from those awful days. Did the film bring out any tears for you? Might you know if there's any kind of way I could pay to watch the film but watch it at a better hour? Probably not but had to ask. Gus.

Hi Gussy, not tapering yet, no. Finally stabilising after switching last summer. It's been eleven months of wobbling around, but am finally getting there. Jopefully tapering is not too far off.I

 didn't cry at the film,.I would have done but I'm finding crying really difficult on Effexor....

Not sure if you can pay to view the film,.sorry. 

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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  • Administrator

Updated post #1 with panelists.

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
On 7/14/2020 at 1:54 PM, Altostrata said:

Altostrata, survivor of protracted Paxil withdrawal syndrome and founder of SurvivingAntidepressants.org in 2011, with 14,000 members

 

Woohoo!!!  You go girl.  I'm not sure if that is the current expression but I'm sure you know what I mean. 😉

* NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA *

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED:  (6 year taper)      0mg Pristiq  on 13th November 2021

ADs since ~1992:  25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq:  50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity)  Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021   LAST DOSE 0.0025mg

Post 0 updates start here    My tapering program     My Intro (goes to tapering graph)

 VIDEO:   Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management

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On 7/26/2020 at 7:46 PM, Gussy said:

Very keen to watch this. Might be a late night in Australia but worth it i think.

Yes 3 am east coast Australia! Hoping that it will be available to stream online later?

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@TallTreeGirl

 

Welcome to SA.  Please create an Introduction topic so we can get to know you and you can be supported by other members of SA.

* NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA *

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED:  (6 year taper)      0mg Pristiq  on 13th November 2021

ADs since ~1992:  25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq:  50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity)  Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021   LAST DOSE 0.0025mg

Post 0 updates start here    My tapering program     My Intro (goes to tapering graph)

 VIDEO:   Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management

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E-mail medicatingnormal@gmail.com with questions about other showings, downloads, etc.

 

The post-showing discussion will be available later on YouTube.

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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Does anyone know whether we can view this film after it is aired on the 22nd of August? I am in Australia and the time is like 2am in the morning when it goes to air.

Was wondering if it would be possible to download after or will it be on their youtube channel?

Started Sertraline (Zoloft) September 2009. 50mg then to 100mg within a week. Floated between 150mg and 100mg for the next 6 years. 

February 2016 began tapering from 150mg

2017; 55mg-22mg; 2018; 22mg-19mg. Jan 2018 surgery on my knee and collarbone which seemed to cause a crash 3 weeks later. 12/02/18. Held for 6 months at 19mg. 12/08/18 19mg-18mg; 10/09/18 18mg-17mg; Held for another 7 months

17/04/19 began tapering at 0.5mg per 2 weeks and reached 4.5mg on 19/03/20; CRASHED after a heavy alcohol session in late Feb. Attempted to restart taper August 2020 by dropping to 4.25mg. Updosed back to 4.5mg after 3 days. 2nd attempt to restart 4 weeks later in September 2020 dropping to 4.25mg again this time updosing back to 4.5mg 4 days later. 

Last attempt to taper November 2021. 4.5mg to 4.4mg lasted 15 days then updosed back to 4.5mg due to severe apathy and cognitive issues

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7 hours ago, Altostrata said:

E-mail medicatingnormal@gmail.com with questions about other showings, downloads, etc.

 

The post-showing discussion will be available later on YouTube.

 

@Cruizer ^

 

There's another topic/ announcement, on the 22nd August showing, in the Events, Actions, Controversies forum:

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/23099-survivingantidepressantsorg-presents-medicating-normal-aug-22-2020-1-pm

This showing is on a Zoom platform.

 

I'm excited to see this, and the panel discussion that follows, with our own Chief!

B)❤️

Edited by manymoretodays

Late 2023- gone to emeritus status, inactive, don't @ me, I can check who I've posted on, and I'm not really here like I used to be......thanks.

Started with psycho meds/psychiatric care circa 1988.  In retrospect, and on contemplation, situational overwhelm.

Rounding up to 30 years of medications(30 medication trials, poly-pharmacy maximum was 3 at one time).

5/28/2015-off Adderal salts 2.5mg. (I had been on that since hospital 10/2014)

12/2015---just holding, holding, holding, with trileptal/oxcarb at 75 mg. 1/2 tab at hs.  My last psycho med ever!  Tapered @ 10% every 4 weeks, sometimes 2 weeks to

2016 Dec 16 medication free!!

Longer signature post here, with current supplements.

Herb and alcohol free since 5/15/2016.  And.....I quit smoking 11/2021. Lapsed.  Redo of quit smoking 9/28/2022.  Can you say Hallelujah?(took me long enough)💜

None of my posts are intended as medical advice.  Please discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical provider.  My success story:  Blue skies ahead, clear sailing

 

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I cannot wait to see this,I have just purchased a ticket.

Does anybody know the time that it’s showing for the uk 🇬🇧 

 

Such powerful pieces.

God bless everybody on this journey.

 

sending love and light to all 

xxx

First AD when i was 19.Binge drinker/drugs 15 years weekend use.I was always pulled on and off.2005-2007-Mirtapine 45mg CT. 2010-2016 Paxil 40mg + Zopiclone.Jan-2016 i was CT off Paxil.Stopped alcohol Jan 2016.Given 2-4mg of Diazepam April 2016 CT them after 3 month.They reinstated 8mg of Diazepam July 2016 and the Doctor CT me off Zopiclone the same day.They then tried adding all different drugs Mirt one of them at 15mg (i took 7.5mg).I was tapered August 2016 7.5mg.Sep 2016 7mg.Oct 2016 6mg.Tried 1mg of Paxil-stopped after 2 days.Nov 2016 5.5mg.Tried olanzapine @2.5mg (stopped after a week)Dec 2016-5mg.Tried switching to liquid Jan-March 2017 (no good)back to pills.April 2017-4.75mg of Diazepam June 2017 -4.5mg.July 2018 went inpatient for 10 days.Awakening 4 days later.HELD.Sep 2017 4.3mg Dec 2017-4mg (Held)April 2019- started tapering the Mirtazapine.Sep 2019 at 6mg of Mirtazapine (HELD)Stopped smoking CT after 26 years.10.16.19..Restarted the Diazepam taper Jan 2020 micro tapering (game changer) now 18/7/23 @0.052mg Diazepam + Mirtazapine @6mg.

 

 

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Looks like it might be:

 

Midnight Australia EST

 

3 pm London

 

 

* NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA *

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED:  (6 year taper)      0mg Pristiq  on 13th November 2021

ADs since ~1992:  25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq:  50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity)  Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021   LAST DOSE 0.0025mg

Post 0 updates start here    My tapering program     My Intro (goes to tapering graph)

 VIDEO:   Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management

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10 hours ago, ChessieCat said:

Looks like it might be:

 

Midnight Australia EST

 

3 pm London

 

 

Epic thanks CC 

 

Really can’t wait 😊 

First AD when i was 19.Binge drinker/drugs 15 years weekend use.I was always pulled on and off.2005-2007-Mirtapine 45mg CT. 2010-2016 Paxil 40mg + Zopiclone.Jan-2016 i was CT off Paxil.Stopped alcohol Jan 2016.Given 2-4mg of Diazepam April 2016 CT them after 3 month.They reinstated 8mg of Diazepam July 2016 and the Doctor CT me off Zopiclone the same day.They then tried adding all different drugs Mirt one of them at 15mg (i took 7.5mg).I was tapered August 2016 7.5mg.Sep 2016 7mg.Oct 2016 6mg.Tried 1mg of Paxil-stopped after 2 days.Nov 2016 5.5mg.Tried olanzapine @2.5mg (stopped after a week)Dec 2016-5mg.Tried switching to liquid Jan-March 2017 (no good)back to pills.April 2017-4.75mg of Diazepam June 2017 -4.5mg.July 2018 went inpatient for 10 days.Awakening 4 days later.HELD.Sep 2017 4.3mg Dec 2017-4mg (Held)April 2019- started tapering the Mirtazapine.Sep 2019 at 6mg of Mirtazapine (HELD)Stopped smoking CT after 26 years.10.16.19..Restarted the Diazepam taper Jan 2020 micro tapering (game changer) now 18/7/23 @0.052mg Diazepam + Mirtazapine @6mg.

 

 

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