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NEVER SKIP DOSES TO TAPER


Altostrata

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Many people come here with severe withdrawal symptoms after following their prescribers' or their own misguided plan to skip doses in order to taper.

 

You may hear of people who got away with skipping doses to taper. That is possible, some people cold turkey without a problem. However, after cold turkey, skipping is perhaps the most risky way to come off psychiatric drugs. Both can result in terrible, severe withdrawal symptoms that might not fully be reversed by reinstatement of the drug.

 

Skipping doses causes the level of the drug in your bloodstream to go up and down, even with long-acting drugs such as fluoxetine. This puts stress on your nervous system, potentially causing withdrawal symptoms. It's like playing ping-pong with your brain.

 

NEVER SKIP DOSES TO TAPER.

 

If after seeing this, you decide to skip doses to taper and get withdrawal symptoms, do not come back here asking for help.

 

It is unaccountable why some doctors recommend skipping doses to taper. There is quite a large body of research showing that when people skip doses, they get withdrawal symptoms.

 

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Edited by Altostrata
updated

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

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