Tfalkris: Domperidone withdrawal nightmare

[Tfalkris]

Domperidone:

Sept 28-Dec 14=30mgs a day

Dec 14-Jan 1 = 20mgs a day

Jan 1 - feb 16 = 10mgs a day

stopped 

April 19 - May 8 = 20mgs a day

May 9 - May 30 = 10mgs a day

stopped - severe withdrawal symptoms: anxiety; panic attacks; tremors; twitching; tachycardia; insomnia; blurry vision.  

Sept 17 - Oct 8th = 10mgs a day - no change in symptoms, didn't want to go back up more.

Oct 9 - 17th = 5mg a day 

stopped - continue to have some WD symptoms and feel like going to hospital daily!

[DataGuy]

Hi @Tfalkris

 

Thank you for your post. Sorry this happened to you. You said reinstating didn't help at all? Did it make you feel different or give you any new adverse effects? Being on 5mg per day for a week had no effect? Sometimes the nervous system can take quite awhile to stabilize after reinstatement, but if it wasn't helpful at all, it may not be useful to go back on. 

 

Domperidone is a peripheral dopamine blocker. It isn't supposed to cross the blood brain barrier, but it seems this can happen in some people. Do you know if you had anything happen previously that may have damaged the blood brain barrier? Toxic chemical exposure, previous alcohol or drug consumption, prior severe psychotropic withdrawal problems, bacterial infection like meningococcal disease or anything like these? Although most information on domperidone states it is a specific dopamine blocker, it is chemically related to drugs like haloperidol, so it may have some other effects such as antagonizing histamine receptors and alpha receptors. Can you tell me if your symptoms match this diagnosis at all: 

 

Source

 

Are you taking any other medications? 

Some drugs and supplements can interfere with metabolism and can also have psychotropic effects (antibiotics, steroids, some supplements, coffee, nicotine etc.). Withdrawal can also alter the response you have to medications you are already taking. It would be very helpful if you could create a drug history in your signature like this one. This link will take you directly to the signature. Signatures generally look like this: 

 

Example:

2001–2002 paroxetine 
2003  citalopram 
2004  paroxetine
2008  paroxetine slow taper down to 2016 Aug off paroxetine
2016  citalopram May 20mg  Oct slow taper down
2018  citalopram 13 Feb 4.6mg 15 Mar 4.4mg 29 Apr 4.2mg

 

This will allow any moderator or member to quickly see your history and where you are in your taper, and thus be able to help more easily without too much reading (most people here are volunteers and have other jobs).

 

This is your introduction topic. All posts related to your withdrawal should go here. This is so it will be easier to find when people attempt to try and help you. 

 

This thread may be a useful resource for you, @Tfalkris . Hope you start feeling better soon!

 

Edited November 5, 2021 by DataGuy

[Tfalkris]

hello @DataGuy

I updated my signature so let me know if that is okay.

I have other meds listed that I have used also.  Plus there is the vaccine that I had March / April 2021. 

I see you were on Domperidone also.  What are you symptoms?

I do have many of the symptoms listed.  Mainly it is severe anxiety / panic attacks that is why I have tried all the antidepressants listed in my signature as I feel like I am going crazy since I came off the Domperidone.  I have not been able to work since July and have a really good job.  I don't know what else to do as I have been to so many dr's to try to figure this out.  any suggestions would be great!

Thank you

[DataGuy]

Hi @Tfalkris,

 

What happened when you tried reinstating the domperidone? Did it make you feel worse or better? Normally when someone tapers too fast the only thing we recommend is reinstating the drug they tapered. Treating with other drugs like benzos and antidepressants often isn't helpful. Plus these give you other things to taper even after you stabilize. I would recommend reading this topic which explains why we generally recommend a slow taper. 

 

And here is our topic about reinstatement if you are interested in trying that again. I will try to respond again tomorrow after work. 

 

[DataGuy]

Hi @Tfalkris

 

My only suggestion for now is that the antidepressants are unlikely to work too well. Prozac is fairly similar to lexapro and celexa, so if those two didn't work, then prozac seems unlikely to help much. I guess since you have been taking it more than a month you are finding it somewhat helpful? How often have you used the valium (diazepam)?

 

You probably want to give your system a chance to heal, rather than taking more medications. You may need to taper the prozac if you want to get off that one. It can also produce a withdrawal syndrome. 

 

What have the doctors you have seen suggested? What withdrawal symptoms are making you think you need to go to the hospital? Have your symptoms gotten better over time, or worse? 

 

Severe withdrawal syndrome like this is best thought of as a sort of injury you need to heal from. This can take months or years, hard to tell for any given person. The best thing you can do for your system is to give it some stability, which means it's best to avoid going on and off meds, making large, sudden changes in doses etc. You should expect a waves and windows pattern of healing. Sometimes you will have good periods and sometimes bad, possibly without much rhyme or reason. Over a long period of time the bad periods should improve and the good periods should become more frequent. I think given the fact that you tried to reinstate the domperidone twice now and it didn't work, it's best to avoid doing that again. I would also be very skeptical of any medications or supplements offered. Likely the best solution is to simply live a healthy lifestyle and let your body's natural healing processes do their work. Meanwhile it's recommended you use non-pharmacological coping techniques to deal with the panic/anxiety symptoms. You may find some of these techniques also help with other symptoms, which are likely a product of nervous system hyperactivity. Here is a list: 

 

[Tfalkris]

@DataGuy

hello.  Thank you for your response.

I don't find the prozac that helpful as I am still in constant fight/flight and my tremors are awful.  

I have been using valium off and on for many years but at a dose of like 2.5mg and would use it maybe for years like 1-3 times a year.  Then this year with the symptoms of getting Covid as I am a long hauler and then the Domperidone withdrawal I started to use it more regularly.  I use 2.5mg now to sleep have have it PRN if need during the day.  

 

Since the doctors don't know much about Domperidone they don't have any suggestions except for that I should get off of it completely.  But I am not functioning at all.  I have been out of work since July.  I must get some sense of control back so I can return to my job.  The constant fight / flight, tremors, panic that I am in is not me and has never been me.  I feel like going to the hospital because my body feels like it is not working properly.  I am shaking and the fatigue is crazy.  The symptoms have not gotten better.  They are the same as from May even when trying to do the reinstatement at the low level of 10mg.  I should have tried to go up to the 20 or 30 mg's to get relief first and then doing a long taper.  

 

I definitely think that my body is in a high state of hyperactivity like you noted.  The problem is none of the techniques are working it is that bad.  

 

I wonder if I should go back on Domperidone and just go up to feeling normal and then do a slower taper?

 

[DataGuy]

Hi @Tfalkris,

 

I don't think reinstating the full amount would help. Usually if you reinstate a partial dose as you did, you would expect to see at least a bit of benefit if it was going to work. If you try to reinstate again, I think you are more likely to have an adverse reaction than a benefit, so I'd advise against another reinstatement. If you read the topic on reinstatement, you'll see that the further away from your taper/cold turkey you are, the less likely the reinstatement is to work. Ditto if previous reinstatements didn't work.

 

It is possible your recovery has been impaired by the on/off antidepressant and benzo use. Going on and off these drugs can really shock the nervous system. There isn't going to be any quick fix for your problem and it is best to just accept that, or you will be trying new drugs all the time, all off-label, because there is really no evidence any of these medications work for domperidone withdrawal (nor would you expect them to). 

 

I know the techniques feel inadequate for your situation, but usually people can find at least one or two things that will reduce the severity of their symptoms, at least temporarily. For me, I have found exercise really helps. Especially running, which helps to use up the excess energy of the hyperactive nervous system. Unfortunately, there aren't really any good options for psychotropic drug injuries and you should expect slow improvement over a period of months. I would avoid most drugs and supplements if you can, including caffeine, nicotine, alcohol etc. Since you have been taking the diazepam every night, you should probably just continue with that. You can take care of it later once your symptoms have significantly improved. If you do want to taper the prozac, I would do it slowly. Here is our topic on tapering prozac. It may be best to wait to do that as well, though, until your system has calmed down. 

 

You may wish to read this topic entitled How Long Is Withdrawal Going to Take? It will help give you an idea of what to expect. I know it is tough to accept that there isn't a quick solution to improve, but it's important to understand so that you don't come to further harm from more unnecessary meds. Please let me know if you have any questions and I can try to help. Sorry this happened to you 🙏