Tate: Reboxetine taper

[Tate]

Hi I’m new to this group, please forgive me for asking but my brain is all over the place and I can’t focus on reading anything, I’m looking to introduce myself and for some advice i tapering Reboxetine, how do I do this please? 

Edited June 3, 2020 by Gridley

[Gridley]

Welcome to SA, Tate.  We're a site for tapering off psychiatric drugs and helping members with withdrawal.

 

I have a couple of questions:

1. What dosage Reboxetine are you taking?

2. How long have you been taking it?

 3. What is the form your Reboxetine comes in?  Is is a capsule with little beads?  Is it a powder?  Is it a tablet?

 

We recommend tapering no more that 10% of your current dose every four weeks.

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

We don't recommend a lot of supplements on SA, as many members report being sensitive to them due to our over-reactive nervous systems, but two supplements that we do recommend are magnesium and omega 3 (fish oil). Many people find these to be calming to the nervous system. 

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker 

 

Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) 

 

Add in one at a time and at a low dose in case you do experience problems.

 

This is your Introduction topic, where you can ask questions and connect with other members.  We're glad you found your way here.

 

 

 

[Tate]

Thank you for your reply. I have been taking Reboxetine about 2 months now, 2mg twice a day (psychiatrist prescribed lowest dose of 4mg twice a day which I took for about a week but reduced as I am very sensitive to meds) I’ve been prescribed numerous antidepressants over the last 5 years which I feel didn’t help at all.  As they kept being changed I never knew if I was withdrawing or side effects of medication. I Tapered from Paxil about 5 months ago and very slowly tapered Pregablin and stopped about 2 months ago as I was sick of medication. I thought I was doing ok until the severe panic attacks happened and reluctantly started Reboxetine. I feel physically and mentally awful so not sure if Pregablin withdrawal or side effects of Reboxetine. Sorry if this makes no sense my mind if all over the place and never felt anxiety like this! Anyway my psychiatrist told me to taper by reducing 1mg every week. Thank you 

[Gridley]

2 minutes ago, Tate said:

feel physically and mentally awful

Did this start when you started the Reboxetine?  Or after you stopped the pregabalin?    Can you be more specific about the symptoms?

 

Please answer my question #3:

 

 3. What is the form your Reboxetine comes in?  Is is a capsule with little beads?  Is it a powder?  Is it a tablet?

 

 

 

 

 

[Tate]

Sorry just getting back to you, I know how stupid this sounds but I really don’t know, felt so ill for so long. My body is agony especially my neck and chest, I’ve now developed a pain in my right hand side. I am complete exhausted, no energy at all. Body temperature all over the place, my head fells like I’m in a dream or something, so foggy, constant panic, just feel terrified, so tired but can’t sleep at night. Feel totally dehydrated even though I’m drinking lots of water. Reboxetine is in tablet form. My psychiatrist told me to taper by 1mg every week. The unfortunate thing is I think they were improving my mood and head fog but seemed to last only a few hours then wear off and I feel like I’m withdrawing. Hope this makes sense! Thank you for listening 

 

[Gridley]

1 hour ago, Tate said:

, felt so ill for so long. My body is agony especially my neck and chest, I’ve now developed a pain in my right hand side. I am complete exhausted, no energy at all. Body temperature all over the place, my head fells like I’m in a dream or something, so foggy, constant panic, just feel terrified, so tired but can’t sleep at night. Feel totally dehydrated even though I’m drinking lots of water.

Since you've been on the Reboxetine only two months and you've felt ill for a long time, it sounds as

as if you're experiencing withdrawal from the Paxil or the Pregabalin or both or some of the other drugs they've put you on..

 

1 hour ago, Tate said:

My psychiatrist told me to taper by 1mg every week.

 

You doctor's suggested taper rate is far too fast and could cause you some serious withdrawal symptoms.  We recommend tapering no faster than 10% of your current dose every four weeks. 

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

There are three methods of tapering: using a jeweler's scale to weigh portions of tablets, making a liquid from your tablet and having your doses compounded at a pharmacy.  I'm not familiar with Reboxetine, so I don't know whether it can be made into a liquid.  Unless you want to have your doses compounded, which can be expensive, it seems to me your best tapering method would be to use a scale.

 

Many members use the AWS Gemini scale, available on Amazon.  You would need to order this along with some size 00 gelatin capsules for your doses.

 

If weighing sounds like a good plan, write back when you've gotten your scale and capsules, and I'll take you through the steps to start reducing your dose.