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JoeSM: I am looking into tapering bupropion 150 XR…


JoeSM

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I have gotten off of many things in the last 3 years… currently 139 days Benzo free. Antipsychotic free, mood stabilizer free etc. I have an aggressive movement disorder and dystonia… I read where appropriate because some of those things, but it likely occurred from one of the many drugs I was prescribed. ( see signature for details )… i’m wondering if there is a contingency here because of my movement disorder to move faster? I already have 1 million side effects and I’ve never been stable on any of the tapers? I may have access to a compounding pharmacy. My math skills are dubious and so is my dexterity as I am mostly bedridden.

I haven’t figured out how to use the site yet… I’m of that new. Thank you so much. 

2009 Cymbalta 1 day. First ever anti-depressant. Stopped immediately.

2015 Prozac ( bad reaction ) bridged to other antidepressants. Don’t remember names. Severe reaction. More medications, don’t remember all the names or dates.

2016: Deadly akathisia, hospitalized for 2 weeks. ( don’t know the dates ) 72 hour holds: 

shot with Ativan ( don’t know the dates ). Later another 2 week hospitalization. ( Don’t know the dates…

2018 Bupropion, Divalproex, Trazodone, Quetiapine, Ativan
2019 Quit Trazadone 50mg, crossed over from Ativan to Valium at around 30 mg equivalent.

2020 August quit Divalproex, quit Quetiapine 25mg, began tapering Valium 7.5mg

2021 July quit Valium 0.5mg
2021 (when?) Austedo and another drug for 1.5weeks

Current: Bupropion 150 XR

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  • ChessieCat changed the title to JoeSM: I am looking into tapering bupropion 150 XR…

Welcome @JoeSM

I am sorry you are going through this and are suffering, but relieved you have found us. This forum is run by others like you who have been through and survived, or are surviving, the negative effects of psychiatric drugs.

 

Since you have recently come off other drugs, it can be hard to know what is side effects of bupropion and what is withdrawal. When did your movement disorder and dystonia start? Please add to your signature: the dates you quit Divalproex, Valium, Trazodone, and Quetiapine as well as the dose you quit at.

 

What is withdrawal syndrome?

Dr. Joseph Glenmullen's withdrawal symptom checklist

 

Since tapering too fast can cause many problems it is usually best to try a small reduction first and see how you react:

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

Tips for tapering off buproprion (Wellbutrin, SR, XR, XL)

 

Unfortunately medical professionals have a poor understanding of how these drugs affect people. I found this post helpful to understand how these drugs actually work and why healing takes time:

How Psychiatric Drugs Remodel Your Brain  

 

When we recover, there are times of feeling OK mixed in with times of feeling bad.  This is called windows and waves.

The Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization  

 

Aside from a high quality fish oil and magnesium, be careful with supplements. Your central nervous system (CNS) has become sensitized from psychiatric drug use and can react unpredictably. Alcohol, caffeine, nicotine and other mind altering substances can make the condition worse.

Important topics about tests, supplements, treatments, diet

 

Here is our symptoms and self care section, you may find some useful ideas to help manage symptoms as you recover. 

Symptoms and self care topics  

 

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

Edited by Kiasofia

These are my opinions based on my own experience and what I have learned, not medical advice.

 

Drug history

2002-2019 Citalopram/Escitalopram, Lamictal
2019 April Escitalopram, quit at 10mg (withdrawal), Oct Escitalopram 10mg reinstated, quit after a few days (adverse reaction)

2019 Oct Lamictal cut from 200mg to 100mg
2019 Dec Lithium 83x2 mg

2020 Aug-Nov Lamictal tapered to 50 mg

2020 Nov 24 Lithium taper started, 30 Jan off Lithium

2021 15. March-31. May Lamictal tapered to 32.5 mg (holding)

2022 10. Jan started taking 25mg+5mg+2mg+0.5 liquid, 22. Jan went back to taking 25mg+5mg+half 5mg

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  • Moderator Emeritus
On 12/14/2021 at 8:22 AM, JoeSM said:

I have gotten off of many things in the last 3 years… currently 139 days Benzo free. Antipsychotic free, mood stabilizer free etc. I have an aggressive movement disorder and dystonia… I read where appropriate because some of those things, but it likely occurred from one of the many drugs I was prescribed. ( see signature for details )… i’m wondering if there is a contingency here because of my movement disorder to move faster? I already have 1 million side effects and I’ve never been stable on any of the tapers? I may have access to a compounding pharmacy. My math skills are dubious and so is my dexterity as I am mostly bedridden.

I haven’t figured out how to use the site yet… I’m of that new. Thank you so much. 


Hi there,

 

I was hit with an aggressive movement disorder (generalized tardive dystonia, included face contortions and tongue protruding involuntarily) because of meds. Because my old doctors were clueless, they told me to rapid taper/CT (cold turkey) off my meds, so I did. The old doctors didn’t even recognize the movement disorder, actually; that’s not even why they told me to rapid taper/CT.

 

I honestly don’t know if it would have been better or safer for me to slow taper, or if the movement disorder meant that rapidly getting off was best in my case. To be honest, I don’t even know if any doctors know. I was already off meds and in the middle of the movement disorder by the time I found new doctors who weren’t useless. Even so, had I found those doctors earlier, I have no idea what they would have told me about tapering. The new doctors were supportive and believed me, but they were not knowledgeable.
 

However, I can tell you that I am now SO MUCH better.
 

Do you have a doctor you trust? A neurologist or psychiatrist? Even though I think doctors are overwhelmingly useless about this stuff, just maybe there is a sliver of a chance that one of them might acknowledge your movement disorder and have a clue what to do about the meds in the case of a visible movement disorder. But please do be forewarned if you have a hard time finding a helpful doctor.

 

Like Kiasofia asked, can you tell us when the movements started and what was going on with your meds at the time? You mention some of it in your signature, but please feel free to get into more detail here in your thread. Are the movements ALWAYS there? Are the movements always visible to others? 

 

 

 

*I'm not a doctor and don't give medical advice, just personal experience
**Off all meds since Nov. 2014. Mentally & emotionally recovered; physically not
-Dual cold turkeys off TCA & Ativan in Oct 2014. Prescribed from 2011-2014

-All meds were Rxed off-label for an autoimmune illness.  It was a MISDIAGNOSIS, but I did not find out until AFTER meds caused damage.  All med tapers/cold turkeys directed by doctors 

-Nortriptyline May 2012 - Dec 2013. Cold turkey off nortrip & cold switched to desipramine

-Desipramine Jan 2014 - Oct. 29, 2014 (rapid taper/cold turkey)

-Lorazepam 1 mg per night during 2011
-Lorazepam 1 mg per month in 2012 (or less)

-Lorazepam on & off, Dec 2013 through Aug 2014. Didn't exceed 3x a week

-Lorazepam again in Oct. 2014 to help get off of desipramine. Last dose lzpam was 1 mg, Nov. 2, 2014. Immediate paradoxical reactions to benzos after stopping TCAs 

-First muscle/dystonia side effects started on nortriptyline, but docs too stupid to figure it out. On desipramine, muscle tremors & rigidity worsened

-Two weeks after I got off all meds, I developed full-blown TD.  Tardive dystonia, dyskinesia, myoclonic jerks ALL over body, ribcage wiggles, facial tics, twitching tongue & fingers, tremors/twitches of arms, legs, cognitive impairment, throat muscles semi-paralyzed & unable to swallow solid food, brain zaps, ears ring, dizzy, everything looks too far away, insomnia, numbness & electric shocks everywhere when I try to fall asleep, jerk awake from sleep with big, gasping breaths, wake with terrors & tremors, severely depressed.  NO HISTORY OF DEPRESSION, EVER. Meds CREATED it.

-Month 7: hair falling out; no vision improvement; still tardive dystonia; facial & tongue tics returned
-Month 8: back to acute, incl. Grand Mal seizure-like episodes. New mental torment, PGAD, worse insomnia
-Month 9: tardive dystonia worse, dyskinesia returned. Unable to breathe well due to dystonia in stomach, chest, throat
-Month 13: Back to acute, brain zaps back, developed eczema & stomach problems. Left leg no longer works right due to dystonia, meaning both legs now damaged
-7 years off: Huge improvements, incl. improved dystonia

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Thank you for responding. I have had the extreme muscle pulling all through my taper ( which lasted 3 years ). The movement disorder really started up after 0 benzos on July 21, 2021, on about day 48. It started with my right shoulder twitching and then my mouth got stuck to the side ( I also couldn’t speak suddenly w/ long drawn out speech )… I went to the emergency room on the insistence of my Nurse Practitioner. Of course everything checked out and the ER doc said it couldn’t possibly be benzodiazepine withdrawal because I was off of it at that time for 50 days… it was out of my system! Typical. She had the opinion that the bupropion 150 XR was the culprit. She gave me the typical every other day for two weeks and then go off trick. I didn’t do it. But I was given Austedo and some other drug… I took for almost a week and a half… I found myself getting very aggressive… And I also didn’t want to be on any medication and this was a Parkinson’s drug. I stopped it.

 

It also didn’t decrease the movements which started getting much bigger.

 

as time went on, I was thrown off the bed, my fingers spider chaining up a wall, head jerking. 


This is day 143 Benzo free and I am worse. From the moment I wake up my head is banging back and forth, then my mouth going crazy. My hands open and close with such force. Once I start a movement it continues until it wants to stop.

 

my neurologist first visit was actually good, in a sense that he corroborated my story. I told him of my poly-drugging and benzos… and he said my stiffness and rigidity was due to low gabba. He wanted to put me on gabapentin or at least he mentioned it. But the main thrust of our conversation is that he felt TIME would be the big healer. I wasn’t presenting with facial pulling at that visit.

 

I took him my Brain MRI and did a spine MRI. He wanted the spine MRI I think because of my blood pooling feet ( kind of POTS like, my words ).

I see him Dec. 17th.

 

I am bed bound and have to hold onto a wall to stand still. My nervous system and muscles are firing all the time. I look very fit ( I was an athlete and weight trained etc. ) my muscles being hyper contracted always look over toned. I am 62 years old and am 6 feet tall weighing 138 pounds. 

 

I want to get off of bupropion 150 XR because I can’t take another toxin… It would kill me. My whole taper not a moment was easy no matter how slow I went ( of course I wish I would have done liquid in retrospect )… but it was slow but I got worse the whole way. 

 

My whole life I never took a medication… With the exception of Cymbalta once ( given by my Cardiologist )… as soon as I took it I felt a surge in my brain. That weekend I went to get a massage that I always enjoyed. This time my whole body was numb and it felt horrible. Normally I would have warm feelings of love… and I felt NOTHING…. I immediately got off that in the next week and went and got a massage and I was in love again:)… I digressed, sorry… that just shows you how sensitive I am to this stuff.

 

I hope this helps… I also have a holistic psychiatrist that I haven’t seen yet… And hopefully she has some input. I may have access to a compounding pharmacy for the Bupropion… but find it complicated with the extended release, switching to regular and so on…

 

if I keep still for a while, like right now I can speak without the mouth histrionics and movements, so it does come and go to a degree when I am focused.

 

October 20, 2020 I removed 1 Divalproex of 3 and started a circuitous route two removal. 50 mg of trazadone were removed before my taper. 25 mg of Quetiapine was my only dosage and removed along The way, I wish I had the date. Just jumped off of that at 25 mg. That one scared me the whole way because of movement disorders. I had some body swaying along the way off. Very subtle no one would notice.

 

Now: everyone notices the body movements and facial stuff now. Extremely visible.

 

Thanks so much ❤️🩹

 

Edited by ChessieCat
added spacing, removed extra space at bottom of post

2009 Cymbalta 1 day. First ever anti-depressant. Stopped immediately.

2015 Prozac ( bad reaction ) bridged to other antidepressants. Don’t remember names. Severe reaction. More medications, don’t remember all the names or dates.

2016: Deadly akathisia, hospitalized for 2 weeks. ( don’t know the dates ) 72 hour holds: 

shot with Ativan ( don’t know the dates ). Later another 2 week hospitalization. ( Don’t know the dates…

2018 Bupropion, Divalproex, Trazodone, Quetiapine, Ativan
2019 Quit Trazadone 50mg, crossed over from Ativan to Valium at around 30 mg equivalent.

2020 August quit Divalproex, quit Quetiapine 25mg, began tapering Valium 7.5mg

2021 July quit Valium 0.5mg
2021 (when?) Austedo and another drug for 1.5weeks

Current: Bupropion 150 XR

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I'm so sorry @JoeSM. This sounds brutal. I'm trying to get a clear overview of your drug history. If I understand correctly, you have quit Divalproex, Trazodone, and Quetiapine during the time period August 2020 - July 2021. At the same time you were tapering Valium, while remaining on the same dose of Bupropion. Is this correct?

 

Can you remember what month or time of year of 2020/2021 you had your last dose of Divalproex, Trazodone, and Quetiapine?

 

On 12/16/2021 at 9:55 PM, JoeSM said:

I have had the extreme muscle pulling all through my taper

Did it start before you started tapering the drugs or only after?

 

It then got much worse after you stopped Valium? What dose Valium was that?

 

And then it got even worse after Austedo and the other drug? When was this?

 

Edited by Kiasofia
Added question

These are my opinions based on my own experience and what I have learned, not medical advice.

 

Drug history

2002-2019 Citalopram/Escitalopram, Lamictal
2019 April Escitalopram, quit at 10mg (withdrawal), Oct Escitalopram 10mg reinstated, quit after a few days (adverse reaction)

2019 Oct Lamictal cut from 200mg to 100mg
2019 Dec Lithium 83x2 mg

2020 Aug-Nov Lamictal tapered to 50 mg

2020 Nov 24 Lithium taper started, 30 Jan off Lithium

2021 15. March-31. May Lamictal tapered to 32.5 mg (holding)

2022 10. Jan started taking 25mg+5mg+2mg+0.5 liquid, 22. Jan went back to taking 25mg+5mg+half 5mg

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I think some of this was manifesting when I was originally poly drugged. I was getting a lot of tightness and severe back trouble and rigidity.

As I started tapering it began to get worse. I was weight training in 2019 at the early parts of my Valium taper I couldn’t believe how rigid everything was. Today I was diagnosed with Tardive dyskinesia for Tardive Akathisia with Dystonia from my neurologist. He said he was sorry there was nothing he could do. That is most likely because of the Quetiapine given to me off label a sleep drug off label ( no informed consent ).

my movements weren’t really prevalent until around day 50 of my Benzo secession. ( jumped of at .5 mg ).

The neurologist and I were talking about bupropion 150 XR… I do want to remove it. I am considering going with 150 mg of the regular bupropion and begin to taper. I’ve had a rough ride the whole way for six years… Never break. 
 

I hope there’s a possibility of healing from this on the other side of neurotoxins.


 

 

2009 Cymbalta 1 day. First ever anti-depressant. Stopped immediately.

2015 Prozac ( bad reaction ) bridged to other antidepressants. Don’t remember names. Severe reaction. More medications, don’t remember all the names or dates.

2016: Deadly akathisia, hospitalized for 2 weeks. ( don’t know the dates ) 72 hour holds: 

shot with Ativan ( don’t know the dates ). Later another 2 week hospitalization. ( Don’t know the dates…

2018 Bupropion, Divalproex, Trazodone, Quetiapine, Ativan
2019 Quit Trazadone 50mg, crossed over from Ativan to Valium at around 30 mg equivalent.

2020 August quit Divalproex, quit Quetiapine 25mg, began tapering Valium 7.5mg

2021 July quit Valium 0.5mg
2021 (when?) Austedo and another drug for 1.5weeks

Current: Bupropion 150 XR

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14 hours ago, JoeSM said:

As I started tapering it began to get worse.

It sounds like your current symptoms may be caused by too fast tapering. We advise tapering by no more than 10% of current dose every 4 weeks and only one drug at a time.

 

We need to get a clear picture of your drug history. Can you remember what month or time of year of 2020/2021 you had your last dose of Divalproex, Trazodone, and Quetiapine?

 

Can you check if this is correct, make any needed changes and then replace your signature with it?

 

2015 Cymbalta for a week (bad reaction), Multiple Ativan shots.

2018 Bupropion, Divalproex, Trazodone, Quetiapine 25mg, Ativan

2020 Bupropion, Divalproex, Trazodone, Quetiapine 25mg, Valium

2020 August began tapering Valium 7.5mg, and the rest the medications
????  Month? Off Divalproex

????  Month? Off Trazodone 50mg

????  Month? Off Quetiapine 25mg

2021 July quit Valium 0.5mg
2021 (when?) Austedo and another drug for 1.5weeks

Current: Bupropion 150 XR

These are my opinions based on my own experience and what I have learned, not medical advice.

 

Drug history

2002-2019 Citalopram/Escitalopram, Lamictal
2019 April Escitalopram, quit at 10mg (withdrawal), Oct Escitalopram 10mg reinstated, quit after a few days (adverse reaction)

2019 Oct Lamictal cut from 200mg to 100mg
2019 Dec Lithium 83x2 mg

2020 Aug-Nov Lamictal tapered to 50 mg

2020 Nov 24 Lithium taper started, 30 Jan off Lithium

2021 15. March-31. May Lamictal tapered to 32.5 mg (holding)

2022 10. Jan started taking 25mg+5mg+2mg+0.5 liquid, 22. Jan went back to taking 25mg+5mg+half 5mg

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It looks like Aug. 2020 that I dumped Quetiapine 25 mg. and Divalproex about the same time. there was no tape or there and it was fast. Trazodone 50 mg was dropped the same way a long time before that, may be a year. I don’t think there’s really anything I can do about that now since it’s been 17 months? … I wouldn’t want to get near an antipsychotic again or the mood stabilizer… it was a beast to get off of.

 

I wasn’t too educated back then about those medications… everything was benzo related as the focus of all my perceived problems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2009 Cymbalta 1 day. First ever anti-depressant. Stopped immediately.

2015 Prozac ( bad reaction ) bridged to other antidepressants. Don’t remember names. Severe reaction. More medications, don’t remember all the names or dates.

2016: Deadly akathisia, hospitalized for 2 weeks. ( don’t know the dates ) 72 hour holds: 

shot with Ativan ( don’t know the dates ). Later another 2 week hospitalization. ( Don’t know the dates…

2018 Bupropion, Divalproex, Trazodone, Quetiapine, Ativan
2019 Quit Trazadone 50mg, crossed over from Ativan to Valium at around 30 mg equivalent.

2020 August quit Divalproex, quit Quetiapine 25mg, began tapering Valium 7.5mg

2021 July quit Valium 0.5mg
2021 (when?) Austedo and another drug for 1.5weeks

Current: Bupropion 150 XR

Link to comment

I understand. They are truly awful drugs. When did you take Austedo and the other drug?

 

Can you replace your signature with this one (if I have understood you correctly):

 

2015 Cymbalta one week (bad reaction), multiple Ativan shots

2018 Bupropion, Divalproex, Trazodone, Quetiapine, Ativan
2019 Quit Trazadone 50mg, crossed over from Ativan to Valium

2020 August quit Divalproex, quit Quetiapine 25mg, began tapering Valium 7.5mg

2021 July quit Valium 0.5mg
2021 (when?) Austedo and another drug for 1.5weeks

Current: Bupropion 150 XR

 

These are my opinions based on my own experience and what I have learned, not medical advice.

 

Drug history

2002-2019 Citalopram/Escitalopram, Lamictal
2019 April Escitalopram, quit at 10mg (withdrawal), Oct Escitalopram 10mg reinstated, quit after a few days (adverse reaction)

2019 Oct Lamictal cut from 200mg to 100mg
2019 Dec Lithium 83x2 mg

2020 Aug-Nov Lamictal tapered to 50 mg

2020 Nov 24 Lithium taper started, 30 Jan off Lithium

2021 15. March-31. May Lamictal tapered to 32.5 mg (holding)

2022 10. Jan started taking 25mg+5mg+2mg+0.5 liquid, 22. Jan went back to taking 25mg+5mg+half 5mg

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26 minutes ago, Kiasofia said:

I understand. They are truly awful drugs. When did you take Austedo and the other drug?

 

Can you replace your signature with this one (if I have understood you correctly):

 

2009 Cymbalta 1 day. First ever anti-depressant. Stopped immediately.

2015 Prozac ( bad reaction ) bridged to other antidepressants. Don’t remember names. Severe reaction. More medications, don’t remember all the names or dates.

2016: Deadly akathisia, hospitalized for 2 weeks. ( don’t know the dates ) 72 hour holds: 

shot with Ativan ( don’t know the dates ). Later another 2 week hospitalization. ( Don’t know the dates…

2018 Bupropion, Divalproex, Trazodone, Quetiapine, Ativan
2019 Quit Trazadone 50mg, crossed over from Ativan to Valium at around 30 mg equivalent.

2020 August quit Divalproex, quit Quetiapine 25mg, began tapering Valium 7.5mg

2021 July quit Valium 0.5mg
2021 (when?) Austedo and another drug for 1.5weeks

Current: Bupropion 150 XR

 

 

2009 Cymbalta 1 day. First ever anti-depressant. Stopped immediately.

2015 Prozac ( bad reaction ) bridged to other antidepressants. Don’t remember names. Severe reaction. More medications, don’t remember all the names or dates.

2016: Deadly akathisia, hospitalized for 2 weeks. ( don’t know the dates ) 72 hour holds: 

shot with Ativan ( don’t know the dates ). Later another 2 week hospitalization. ( Don’t know the dates…

2018 Bupropion, Divalproex, Trazodone, Quetiapine, Ativan
2019 Quit Trazadone 50mg, crossed over from Ativan to Valium at around 30 mg equivalent.

2020 August quit Divalproex, quit Quetiapine 25mg, began tapering Valium 7.5mg

2021 July quit Valium 0.5mg
2021 (when?) Austedo and another drug for 1.5weeks

Current: Bupropion 150 XR

Link to comment
On 12/18/2021 at 1:03 PM, Kiasofia said:

I understand. They are truly awful drugs. When did you take Austedo and the other drug?

 

Can you replace your signature with this one (if I have understood you correctly):

 

2015 Cymbalta one week (bad reaction), multiple Ativan shots

2018 Bupropion, Divalproex, Trazodone, Quetiapine, Ativan
2019 Quit Trazadone 50mg, crossed over from Ativan to Valium

2020 August quit Divalproex, quit Quetiapine 25mg, began tapering Valium 7.5mg

2021 July quit Valium 0.5mg
2021 (when?) Austedo and another drug for 1.5weeks

Current: Bupropion 150 XR

 

2009 Cymbalta 1 day. First ever anti-depressant. Stopped immediately.

2015 Prozac ( bad reaction ) bridged to other antidepressants. Don’t remember names. Severe reaction. More medications, don’t remember all the names or dates.

2016: Deadly akathisia, hospitalized for 2 weeks. ( don’t know the dates ) 72 hour holds: 

shot with Ativan ( don’t know the dates ). Later another 2 week hospitalization. ( Don’t know the dates…

2018 Bupropion, Divalproex, Trazodone, Quetiapine, Ativan
2019 Quit Trazadone 50mg, crossed over from Ativan to Valium at around 30 mg equivalent.

2020 August quit Divalproex, quit Quetiapine 25mg, began tapering Valium 7.5mg

2021 July quit Valium 0.5mg
2021 (when?) Austedo and another drug for 1.5weeks

Current: Bupropion 150 XR

2009 Cymbalta 1 day. First ever anti-depressant. Stopped immediately.

2015 Prozac ( bad reaction ) bridged to other antidepressants. Don’t remember names. Severe reaction. More medications, don’t remember all the names or dates.

2016: Deadly akathisia, hospitalized for 2 weeks. ( don’t know the dates ) 72 hour holds: 

shot with Ativan ( don’t know the dates ). Later another 2 week hospitalization. ( Don’t know the dates…

2018 Bupropion, Divalproex, Trazodone, Quetiapine, Ativan
2019 Quit Trazadone 50mg, crossed over from Ativan to Valium at around 30 mg equivalent.

2020 August quit Divalproex, quit Quetiapine 25mg, began tapering Valium 7.5mg

2021 July quit Valium 0.5mg
2021 (when?) Austedo and another drug for 1.5weeks

Current: Bupropion 150 XR

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Is there a reason Valium was tapered before Bupropion?

 

I know you are feeling terrible and this might be too much for you, but if you are able to post daily notes of how you are feeling before and after taking Bupropion and your symptoms throughout the day, we might be able to see if Bupropion is adding to your symptoms or not. If it isn't then it might be best to not taper until your symptoms settle down.

 

Example template:

6 a.m. Woke with anxiety
8 a.m. Took 2.5mg Lexapro
10 a.m. Stomach is upset
10:30 a.m. Ate breakfast
11:35 a.m. Got a headache, lasted one hour
12:35 p.m. Ate lunch
4 p.m. Feel a bit better
5 p.m. Took 2.5mg Lexapro
6 p.m. Ate dinner
9:20 p.m. Headache
10:00 p.m. Took 50mg Seroquel
10:20 p.m. Feeling dizzy
10:30 p.m. Fell asleep
2:30 a.m. Woke, took 3mg Ambien (NOT "took 1/2 tablet Ambien")
2:45 a.m. Fell asleep
4:30 a.m. Woke but got back to sleep

 

6 a.m. Woke with anxiety (but less than yesterday)

Edited by Kiasofia

These are my opinions based on my own experience and what I have learned, not medical advice.

 

Drug history

2002-2019 Citalopram/Escitalopram, Lamictal
2019 April Escitalopram, quit at 10mg (withdrawal), Oct Escitalopram 10mg reinstated, quit after a few days (adverse reaction)

2019 Oct Lamictal cut from 200mg to 100mg
2019 Dec Lithium 83x2 mg

2020 Aug-Nov Lamictal tapered to 50 mg

2020 Nov 24 Lithium taper started, 30 Jan off Lithium

2021 15. March-31. May Lamictal tapered to 32.5 mg (holding)

2022 10. Jan started taking 25mg+5mg+2mg+0.5 liquid, 22. Jan went back to taking 25mg+5mg+half 5mg

Link to comment

I think I originally thought go with the toughest first ( Valium ) … I was down to 75 mg. of bupropion reg… struggling with everything. A new Doc put me on 150 XR of bupropion and there I stayed. 

My symptoms may not die down if this is permanent TD and dystonia. It is 24/7… soon as I wake up my head is banging on the pillow and the flailing movements start with squawking.

I have tracked the bupropion … sometimes worse, sometimes not…hard to tell. I am in agony from TD and dystonia.

I went to the emergency room a while back when my mouth was sticking to the side in the beginning of the movements… The doctor wanted me to get off the bupropion fast… she thought it was causing the movements. My NP disagreed. My NP put me on an every other day for two weeks and then jump off of bupropion . Knew that wasn’t right and told her so. 
I want off because of the neurotoxin load. My neurologist told me I could go off bupropion… but wanted to know if I was depressed… I’m not depressed I told him. I have been diagnosed by you with tardive dyskinesia and dystonia and it’s agony.

I don’t think these symptoms are going to die down ( Day 149 of complete benzo withdrawal ).  I don’t think all this is Acute withdrawal. A women who wrote The book Psychiatrized was diagnosed with TD … it went away after 2 years drug free. 
she was suggesting that the clock wouldn’t start to healing until I was off everything. she said go slow as well.

 

Thanks for your input. Hope I’m painting the picture.

 

 

 


 


 

2009 Cymbalta 1 day. First ever anti-depressant. Stopped immediately.

2015 Prozac ( bad reaction ) bridged to other antidepressants. Don’t remember names. Severe reaction. More medications, don’t remember all the names or dates.

2016: Deadly akathisia, hospitalized for 2 weeks. ( don’t know the dates ) 72 hour holds: 

shot with Ativan ( don’t know the dates ). Later another 2 week hospitalization. ( Don’t know the dates…

2018 Bupropion, Divalproex, Trazodone, Quetiapine, Ativan
2019 Quit Trazadone 50mg, crossed over from Ativan to Valium at around 30 mg equivalent.

2020 August quit Divalproex, quit Quetiapine 25mg, began tapering Valium 7.5mg

2021 July quit Valium 0.5mg
2021 (when?) Austedo and another drug for 1.5weeks

Current: Bupropion 150 XR

Link to comment
15 minutes ago, JoeSM said:

My NP put me on an every other day for two weeks and then jump off of bupropion . Knew that wasn’t right and told her so. 

Very good that you didn't do this. And I think trying to get a hold of the liquid is a good idea.

 

16 minutes ago, JoeSM said:

she was suggesting that the clock wouldn’t start to healing until I was off everything.

There are many who are able to heal without being off everything. But yes, it can take a long time.

These are my opinions based on my own experience and what I have learned, not medical advice.

 

Drug history

2002-2019 Citalopram/Escitalopram, Lamictal
2019 April Escitalopram, quit at 10mg (withdrawal), Oct Escitalopram 10mg reinstated, quit after a few days (adverse reaction)

2019 Oct Lamictal cut from 200mg to 100mg
2019 Dec Lithium 83x2 mg

2020 Aug-Nov Lamictal tapered to 50 mg

2020 Nov 24 Lithium taper started, 30 Jan off Lithium

2021 15. March-31. May Lamictal tapered to 32.5 mg (holding)

2022 10. Jan started taking 25mg+5mg+2mg+0.5 liquid, 22. Jan went back to taking 25mg+5mg+half 5mg

Link to comment
1 hour ago, Kiasofia said:

Is there a reason Valium was tapered before Bupropion?

 

I know you are feeling terrible and this might be too much for you, but if you are able to post daily notes of how you are feeling before and after taking Bupropion and your symptoms throughout the day, we might be able to see if Bupropion is adding to your symptoms or not. If it isn't then it might be best to not taper until your symptoms settle down.

 

Example template:

6 a.m. Woke with anxiety
8 a.m. Took 2.5mg Lexapro
10 a.m. Stomach is upset
10:30 a.m. Ate breakfast
11:35 a.m. Got a headache, lasted one hour
12:35 p.m. Ate lunch
4 p.m. Feel a bit better
5 p.m. Took 2.5mg Lexapro
6 p.m. Ate dinner
9:20 p.m. Headache
10:00 p.m. Took 50mg Seroquel
10:20 p.m. Feeling dizzy
10:30 p.m. Fell asleep
2:30 a.m. Woke, took 3mg Ambien (NOT "took 1/2 tablet Ambien")
2:45 a.m. Fell asleep
4:30 a.m. Woke but got back to sleep

 

6 a.m. Woke with anxiety (but less than yesterday)

Thank you I will try to get liquid and devise a taper. I am terrified about the TD and Dystonia. Feels permanent… pure agony. I used to be an Actor and had a great life for 55 years of my 62… anti-depressants started the downfall and the poly drugging during a time of Bereavement…. Went from sad to … terror.

 

 

2009 Cymbalta 1 day. First ever anti-depressant. Stopped immediately.

2015 Prozac ( bad reaction ) bridged to other antidepressants. Don’t remember names. Severe reaction. More medications, don’t remember all the names or dates.

2016: Deadly akathisia, hospitalized for 2 weeks. ( don’t know the dates ) 72 hour holds: 

shot with Ativan ( don’t know the dates ). Later another 2 week hospitalization. ( Don’t know the dates…

2018 Bupropion, Divalproex, Trazodone, Quetiapine, Ativan
2019 Quit Trazadone 50mg, crossed over from Ativan to Valium at around 30 mg equivalent.

2020 August quit Divalproex, quit Quetiapine 25mg, began tapering Valium 7.5mg

2021 July quit Valium 0.5mg
2021 (when?) Austedo and another drug for 1.5weeks

Current: Bupropion 150 XR

Link to comment

We have a thread here:

Tardive dyskinesia or involuntary movements

 

And remember WiggleIt (who commented earlier in your thread) recovered. So you can too! But it will take time. It is unbelievable that these drugs are legal and so widely prescribed. So many lives derailed. But it is possible to heal and very good that you understand what is going on and know when you are being given bad advice, like tapering by skipping doses.

 

The search function on this site doesn't work very well. To find things on the forum I find the easiest is to type "survivingantidepressants.org + what you're searching for" into a search engine.

 

You have figured out how to use the quote function and that is one way to alert people to your comment. You can also, tag people by writing @ and then start typing their username. A drop down menu will appear. Click on their username and it will turn blue. @Kiasofia

These are my opinions based on my own experience and what I have learned, not medical advice.

 

Drug history

2002-2019 Citalopram/Escitalopram, Lamictal
2019 April Escitalopram, quit at 10mg (withdrawal), Oct Escitalopram 10mg reinstated, quit after a few days (adverse reaction)

2019 Oct Lamictal cut from 200mg to 100mg
2019 Dec Lithium 83x2 mg

2020 Aug-Nov Lamictal tapered to 50 mg

2020 Nov 24 Lithium taper started, 30 Jan off Lithium

2021 15. March-31. May Lamictal tapered to 32.5 mg (holding)

2022 10. Jan started taking 25mg+5mg+2mg+0.5 liquid, 22. Jan went back to taking 25mg+5mg+half 5mg

Link to comment
  • Administrator

Hello, @JoeSM

 

Why did you originally take Cymbalta and Prozac? Did you have immediate adverse reactions to both? Why did you persist with the other antidepressants and drugs for the next 6 years?

 

Why was Wellbutrin added in 2018? What times o'clock do you take it, with dosages? Do you feel any effects from it? Are you taking any other drugs?

 

On 12/16/2021 at 12:55 PM, JoeSM said:

This is day 143 Benzo free and I am worse. From the moment I wake up my head is banging back and forth, then my mouth going crazy. My hands open and close with such force. Once I start a movement it continues until it wants to stop.

 

On 12/16/2021 at 12:55 PM, JoeSM said:

 

my neurologist first visit was actually good, in a sense that he corroborated my story. I told him of my poly-drugging and benzos… and he said my stiffness and rigidity was due to low gabba. He wanted to put me on gabapentin or at least he mentioned it. But the main thrust of our conversation is that he felt TIME would be the big healer. I wasn’t presenting with facial pulling at that visit.

 

Anti-seizure drugs such as benzodiazepines and gabapentin are used to treat dyskinesias. There is no such thing as low GABA. Did you decline benzos?

 

Quote

 

2019 Quit Trazadone 50mg, crossed over from Ativan to Valium at around 30 mg equivalent.

2020 August quit Divalproex, quit Quetiapine 25mg, began tapering Valium 7.5mg

 

 

How did you get from 30mg Valium/day to 7.5mg? At what approximate date did the movement issues start?

 

 

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.

Link to comment

I checked it out the threads … luckily most seem to have more benign versions… experiencing full blown TD and dystonia with full body freezes, Head twirling around, head bobbing, can’t talk, sounds, screams… wrist bending till they feel like they will break. As soon as I Initiate a movement it either repeats over and over…or there is a counter.

 

The only thing I can think to do is get off of the bupropion… culprit is probably the antipsychotic. Criminal.

 

 

 

 

2009 Cymbalta 1 day. First ever anti-depressant. Stopped immediately.

2015 Prozac ( bad reaction ) bridged to other antidepressants. Don’t remember names. Severe reaction. More medications, don’t remember all the names or dates.

2016: Deadly akathisia, hospitalized for 2 weeks. ( don’t know the dates ) 72 hour holds: 

shot with Ativan ( don’t know the dates ). Later another 2 week hospitalization. ( Don’t know the dates…

2018 Bupropion, Divalproex, Trazodone, Quetiapine, Ativan
2019 Quit Trazadone 50mg, crossed over from Ativan to Valium at around 30 mg equivalent.

2020 August quit Divalproex, quit Quetiapine 25mg, began tapering Valium 7.5mg

2021 July quit Valium 0.5mg
2021 (when?) Austedo and another drug for 1.5weeks

Current: Bupropion 150 XR

Link to comment
  • Administrator

Would appreciate your response to my questions.

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.

Link to comment
1 hour ago, Altostrata said:

Hello, @JoeSM

 

Why did you originally take Cymbalta and Prozac? Did you have immediate adverse reactions to both? Why did you persist with the other antidepressants and drugs for the next 6 years?

 

Why was Wellbutrin added in 2018? What times o'clock do you take it, with dosages? Do you feel any effects from it? Are you taking any other drugs?

 

 

 

Anti-seizure drugs such as benzodiazepines and gabapentin are used to treat dyskinesias. There is no such thing as low GABA. Did you decline benzos?

 

 

How did you get from 30mg Valium/day to 7.5mg? At what approximate date did the movement issues start?

 

 

Hello, 

I took Cymbalta because a job was ending that I loved ( my cardiologist gave it to me because I was really down and had anxiety and it seemed to be affecting my heart rhythm ) I took it one day, and my head was affected immediately. That weekend I went to get a massage and I felt nothing… I normally had loving wonderful feelings… I went off of it and my good feelings returned.

I took Prozac about 6 years later because I had to move home and return to a bad family dynamic. ( I worked in the entertainment business for 16 years as an Actor and stand in )… I was depressed this time… ( it was situational )… I am immediately sick on the Prozac ( suicidal really )… the GP put me on another, and then another… Meanwhile, I get a call to go back to Los Angeles so I jumped in the car and drove thousands of terrifying miles… I had this chemical terror… and I couldn’t figure out why.

I couldn’t self regulate when I got to Los Angeles… The TV show wasn’t picked up and I had a horrible job, living in a horrible place… And I was a caretaker… Some were mentally ill. I felt worse than them.  I couldn’t sleep and before you know it I was given trazodone and then went from doctor to doctor getting worse and worse.

I couldn’t stop my anxiety and was having panic attacks all day, every day.

I had horrible Akathisia that caused me too attempt self harm…. I was a pin cushion… I remember being on three Trileptal‘s… i’m in the morning one in the afternoon and then bedtime. My skin was on fire… It’s like I had no skin.
I was hospitalized for two weeks and later did 72 hour holds… Getting shot with Ativan and then going into withdrawal and I didn’t realize it.

I moved to my sisters in Alabama… and things continued getting worse. I was diagnosed with Akathisia there… And had to be hospitalized again.

October 2016: I was at on: Ridperidone: 1 mg

trazodone 50 mg

sertraline 100 mg

Klonopin .5 mg ( first Benzodiazepine on A consistent basis besides the 72 hour hold Ativan shots..

Cogentin: 1 mg

I can’t remember the date of the hospitalization there…but bupropion was one of the drugs that got me stabilized… not sure if this is when Ativan was introduced because the Klonopin wasn’t good for me.

SO IT seems bupropion was added in 2016…..

2015-2016: I was in the system as a psych patient. I must’ve been on 20 to 25 drugs on and off… running from doctor to doctor and ER …. I don’t know how I am alive.

I left Alabama and move back home again!

got a new mental health provider… and my sister begged the doctor to keep me on the same medication that had me relatively stable…

bupropion was in the mix and Ativan and Quetiapine 25 mg and Depakote.

 

at a certain point I started researching things because I couldn’t understand what was happening to me… I brought the NP The Ashton Manual… 

we tapered for three years…

c/o Ativan to Valium… I think it was a 30 mg equivalent… And we went down down, etc.… I got stuck at 7.5 mg of Valium and held for nine months. It took another year to jump off at .5 mg.

I wasn’t in good shape… Had to hold onto the wall to stand, I was a mess. ( still am ).

Quetiapine was in the mix 25 mg. And three Depakote…( over that year I started eliminating those ) it was brutal.

*cut to now: I am ONLY on 150 mg of XR of bupropion.

 

The neurologist mentioned gabapentin but didn’t offer it. he knew I was off of benzodiazepines after a long taper and knew I wanted to be drug-free. In the recent visit that’s when he saw the ad aggressive tardive dyskinesia and dystonia. Said there was nothing he could do…

I have had support from Geraldine Burns and Christy Huff MD. ( both Benzo survivors ).

 

Christy is the one who contacted neurologist and also found a holistic psychiatrist… That I haven’t actually seen yet … not sure what’s going to happen. Approx date of movement Disorder: Sept 7, 2021

however the dystonia or extreme rigidness.. was present throughout my taper ( I thought it was a Benzo problem and would resolve with the taper ).

i’ve had blood pooling in my feet and they also feel like lead and my whole body can’t be touched it’s so sensitive and numb. ( this seemed to happen during the Valium crossover ).

When I brought the Ashton Manuel to my NP she thought I was brain-damaged… I guess that’s where I am now, brain and body damaged. I must’ve improved because she said it was a miracle. Have a long way to go and I’m scared about the TD and dystonia.

 

Altostrata, i’m aware of your great work… I recommended a couple of books to you recently.

 

thanks for your help, 

 

JoeSM

Edited by Altostrata
deleted blank lines

2009 Cymbalta 1 day. First ever anti-depressant. Stopped immediately.

2015 Prozac ( bad reaction ) bridged to other antidepressants. Don’t remember names. Severe reaction. More medications, don’t remember all the names or dates.

2016: Deadly akathisia, hospitalized for 2 weeks. ( don’t know the dates ) 72 hour holds: 

shot with Ativan ( don’t know the dates ). Later another 2 week hospitalization. ( Don’t know the dates…

2018 Bupropion, Divalproex, Trazodone, Quetiapine, Ativan
2019 Quit Trazadone 50mg, crossed over from Ativan to Valium at around 30 mg equivalent.

2020 August quit Divalproex, quit Quetiapine 25mg, began tapering Valium 7.5mg

2021 July quit Valium 0.5mg
2021 (when?) Austedo and another drug for 1.5weeks

Current: Bupropion 150 XR

Link to comment
  • Administrator

If these symptoms emerged when you went off a benzodiazepine, it seems to me that taking a benzo at the lowest effective dose with the intention of tapering off later might be have the highest chance of success.

 

Valium might have been controlling a movement disorder from quetiapine or quetiapine in combination with other drugs, or the movement disorder may be a withdrawal symptom from going off the benzo.

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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  • Administrator

Up to you. The bupropion probably is not causing the movement disorder, though it might not be helping.

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.

Link to comment
2 hours ago, Altostrata said:

Up to you. The bupropion probably is not causing the movement disorder, though it might not be helping.

 

from your experience… the success could be resolving all?

This not just benzo withdrawal even though I haven’t been off that long?

I think the bupropion could cause agitation… doesn’t seem like the cause either.

 

Edited by ChessieCat
extracted post from quote

2009 Cymbalta 1 day. First ever anti-depressant. Stopped immediately.

2015 Prozac ( bad reaction ) bridged to other antidepressants. Don’t remember names. Severe reaction. More medications, don’t remember all the names or dates.

2016: Deadly akathisia, hospitalized for 2 weeks. ( don’t know the dates ) 72 hour holds: 

shot with Ativan ( don’t know the dates ). Later another 2 week hospitalization. ( Don’t know the dates…

2018 Bupropion, Divalproex, Trazodone, Quetiapine, Ativan
2019 Quit Trazadone 50mg, crossed over from Ativan to Valium at around 30 mg equivalent.

2020 August quit Divalproex, quit Quetiapine 25mg, began tapering Valium 7.5mg

2021 July quit Valium 0.5mg
2021 (when?) Austedo and another drug for 1.5weeks

Current: Bupropion 150 XR

Link to comment
  • Administrator

My guess is going off bupropion will resolve the movement disorder.

 

How do you feel before and after taking bupropion? What time o'clock do you take it?

 

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.

Link to comment
2 hours ago, Altostrata said:

My guess is going off bupropion will resolve the movement disorder.

 

How do you feel before and after taking bupropion? What time o'clock do you take it?

speeded up, I guess. I mostly feel that way.  I’ve always been thin with some muscle, but I’ve dropped weight Through out ( 6 feet tall, 138 pounds now… at one point 129 during withdrawal.
 A good weight for me was around 150 pounds.

i’m going to look into liquid compounding of the bupropion. They can’t do XR but can make up the regular as I currently understand it.

I’ve listened to you on the Mad in America podcast and respect the hell out of you and your journey.  You seem really calm and have a quick smile…  I hope you you are feeling well and have a great holiday. 

 

Edited by ChessieCat
delete blank quote

2009 Cymbalta 1 day. First ever anti-depressant. Stopped immediately.

2015 Prozac ( bad reaction ) bridged to other antidepressants. Don’t remember names. Severe reaction. More medications, don’t remember all the names or dates.

2016: Deadly akathisia, hospitalized for 2 weeks. ( don’t know the dates ) 72 hour holds: 

shot with Ativan ( don’t know the dates ). Later another 2 week hospitalization. ( Don’t know the dates…

2018 Bupropion, Divalproex, Trazodone, Quetiapine, Ativan
2019 Quit Trazadone 50mg, crossed over from Ativan to Valium at around 30 mg equivalent.

2020 August quit Divalproex, quit Quetiapine 25mg, began tapering Valium 7.5mg

2021 July quit Valium 0.5mg
2021 (when?) Austedo and another drug for 1.5weeks

Current: Bupropion 150 XR

Link to comment
  • Administrator

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.

Link to comment
  • Administrator
On 12/21/2021 at 5:01 PM, Altostrata said:

My guess is going off bupropion will resolve the movement disorder.

 

Correction: My guess is going off bupropion will NOT resolve the movement disorder. Sorry.

 

But feeling speeded up is probably not good for you now.

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.

Link to comment

OMG Altostrata. I am vibrating with Akathisia 24 seven. I hoping there was hope. Could it go away in time?

2009 Cymbalta 1 day. First ever anti-depressant. Stopped immediately.

2015 Prozac ( bad reaction ) bridged to other antidepressants. Don’t remember names. Severe reaction. More medications, don’t remember all the names or dates.

2016: Deadly akathisia, hospitalized for 2 weeks. ( don’t know the dates ) 72 hour holds: 

shot with Ativan ( don’t know the dates ). Later another 2 week hospitalization. ( Don’t know the dates…

2018 Bupropion, Divalproex, Trazodone, Quetiapine, Ativan
2019 Quit Trazadone 50mg, crossed over from Ativan to Valium at around 30 mg equivalent.

2020 August quit Divalproex, quit Quetiapine 25mg, began tapering Valium 7.5mg

2021 July quit Valium 0.5mg
2021 (when?) Austedo and another drug for 1.5weeks

Current: Bupropion 150 XR

Link to comment
On 12/22/2021 at 1:07 AM, Altostrata said:

If these symptoms emerged when you went off a benzodiazepine, it seems to me that taking a benzo at the lowest effective dose with the intention of tapering off later might have the highest chance of success.

Have you considered this?

These are my opinions based on my own experience and what I have learned, not medical advice.

 

Drug history

2002-2019 Citalopram/Escitalopram, Lamictal
2019 April Escitalopram, quit at 10mg (withdrawal), Oct Escitalopram 10mg reinstated, quit after a few days (adverse reaction)

2019 Oct Lamictal cut from 200mg to 100mg
2019 Dec Lithium 83x2 mg

2020 Aug-Nov Lamictal tapered to 50 mg

2020 Nov 24 Lithium taper started, 30 Jan off Lithium

2021 15. March-31. May Lamictal tapered to 32.5 mg (holding)

2022 10. Jan started taking 25mg+5mg+2mg+0.5 liquid, 22. Jan went back to taking 25mg+5mg+half 5mg

Link to comment
1 hour ago, Kiasofia said:

Have you considered this?

I have. I am 151 days off of Valium and don’t know what is withdrawal or not.

I was very sick on Valium and Ativan.

 

from my friend GB:

“In my opinion, if it were me, I would know my body is sick from medication no matter whether it is a Benzo or the antidepressant. Your body has had it with medication. Now the question is how do you get off without feeling worse, and hopefully feeling a little better as you taper.”

 

I was considering seeing where the bupropion taper got me and see if I could get some healing with no medication. I am so sick already. 

 

 

I am so distraught and sick I don’t know what to do right now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2009 Cymbalta 1 day. First ever anti-depressant. Stopped immediately.

2015 Prozac ( bad reaction ) bridged to other antidepressants. Don’t remember names. Severe reaction. More medications, don’t remember all the names or dates.

2016: Deadly akathisia, hospitalized for 2 weeks. ( don’t know the dates ) 72 hour holds: 

shot with Ativan ( don’t know the dates ). Later another 2 week hospitalization. ( Don’t know the dates…

2018 Bupropion, Divalproex, Trazodone, Quetiapine, Ativan
2019 Quit Trazadone 50mg, crossed over from Ativan to Valium at around 30 mg equivalent.

2020 August quit Divalproex, quit Quetiapine 25mg, began tapering Valium 7.5mg

2021 July quit Valium 0.5mg
2021 (when?) Austedo and another drug for 1.5weeks

Current: Bupropion 150 XR

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  • Administrator
6 hours ago, JoeSM said:

I was very sick on Valium and Ativan.

 

How were you sick on Valium and Ativan?

 

11 hours ago, JoeSM said:

OMG Altostrata. I am vibrating with Akathisia 24 seven. I hoping there was hope. Could it go away in time?

 

What does "in time" mean?

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

@JoeSM

 

Sorry I have been unable to check in again until now. And I am also sorry that my situation happened in such a way that I can’t offer insight for how/when to come off meds. Mine was all such a whirlwind, and my muscle tightness and small movements also started ON the meds. The full-blown movements exploded after I came off all the meds. But they DID eventually settle down!!! 
 

IMO, I think it is between you and your neurologist for whether you want to give it time to see if the movements clear up, or whether you want to try more meds to quell the movements. IMO, if the psych meds are causing the movements, then the movements probably won’t go away with time while you are still on the psych meds. Again, this is my opinion, and only you and your neuro can decide what to do. Where my rationale is coming from is that Effect A won’t just “go away” if Cause A is still in your body. I hope that makes sense. And it’s not really clear WHICH of your meds caused the movements, or if it was the perfect storm of all of them. 
 

IMO, the other mods here are good resources for tapering advice, if that’s what you choose to do. 
 

What I think I can be a good resource for is providing hope and candidly telling you that my movement disorder is VASTLY improved. For me, it took time, rest, and and neuro physical therapy after coming off all the meds. Unfortunately, I don’t know if the way that I came off of the meds, cold turkey, is advisable. Probably not. I’ve mentioned that I also don’t know if people should still slow taper or get off of meds ASAP that caused the movement disorders. None of us really seem to have an answer for that.
 

But I can definitely, definitely tell you that once I was off of everything, I have improved SO MUCH with my movements. I am not totally cured of the movement disorder, but it’s settled down so much that I can honestly say I have a nice life, and I can honestly say that most people looking at me have NO IDEA I have a movement disorder. The healing that’s happened for me is miraculous, it truly is.
 

I know you’re in thick of things right now, but I believe you can get better. 

*I'm not a doctor and don't give medical advice, just personal experience
**Off all meds since Nov. 2014. Mentally & emotionally recovered; physically not
-Dual cold turkeys off TCA & Ativan in Oct 2014. Prescribed from 2011-2014

-All meds were Rxed off-label for an autoimmune illness.  It was a MISDIAGNOSIS, but I did not find out until AFTER meds caused damage.  All med tapers/cold turkeys directed by doctors 

-Nortriptyline May 2012 - Dec 2013. Cold turkey off nortrip & cold switched to desipramine

-Desipramine Jan 2014 - Oct. 29, 2014 (rapid taper/cold turkey)

-Lorazepam 1 mg per night during 2011
-Lorazepam 1 mg per month in 2012 (or less)

-Lorazepam on & off, Dec 2013 through Aug 2014. Didn't exceed 3x a week

-Lorazepam again in Oct. 2014 to help get off of desipramine. Last dose lzpam was 1 mg, Nov. 2, 2014. Immediate paradoxical reactions to benzos after stopping TCAs 

-First muscle/dystonia side effects started on nortriptyline, but docs too stupid to figure it out. On desipramine, muscle tremors & rigidity worsened

-Two weeks after I got off all meds, I developed full-blown TD.  Tardive dystonia, dyskinesia, myoclonic jerks ALL over body, ribcage wiggles, facial tics, twitching tongue & fingers, tremors/twitches of arms, legs, cognitive impairment, throat muscles semi-paralyzed & unable to swallow solid food, brain zaps, ears ring, dizzy, everything looks too far away, insomnia, numbness & electric shocks everywhere when I try to fall asleep, jerk awake from sleep with big, gasping breaths, wake with terrors & tremors, severely depressed.  NO HISTORY OF DEPRESSION, EVER. Meds CREATED it.

-Month 7: hair falling out; no vision improvement; still tardive dystonia; facial & tongue tics returned
-Month 8: back to acute, incl. Grand Mal seizure-like episodes. New mental torment, PGAD, worse insomnia
-Month 9: tardive dystonia worse, dyskinesia returned. Unable to breathe well due to dystonia in stomach, chest, throat
-Month 13: Back to acute, brain zaps back, developed eczema & stomach problems. Left leg no longer works right due to dystonia, meaning both legs now damaged
-7 years off: Huge improvements, incl. improved dystonia

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  • Moderator Emeritus

@JoeSM

 

You may also want to consider joining support groups on Facebook for people with dystonia and dyskinesia. Not all the people there have medication-induced disorders; some people it’s genetic or from head injuries. But they are still a good resource. However, they are not people who know about AD withdrawal. 
 

But you still might find the groups good to ask about movements.

 

some FB group names are:

 

Dystonia is a disorder not a Disease

Neuronauts

The Silence of Dystonia

20/30 Dystonia 

 

Think about sending requests to join one or more of those! 

*I'm not a doctor and don't give medical advice, just personal experience
**Off all meds since Nov. 2014. Mentally & emotionally recovered; physically not
-Dual cold turkeys off TCA & Ativan in Oct 2014. Prescribed from 2011-2014

-All meds were Rxed off-label for an autoimmune illness.  It was a MISDIAGNOSIS, but I did not find out until AFTER meds caused damage.  All med tapers/cold turkeys directed by doctors 

-Nortriptyline May 2012 - Dec 2013. Cold turkey off nortrip & cold switched to desipramine

-Desipramine Jan 2014 - Oct. 29, 2014 (rapid taper/cold turkey)

-Lorazepam 1 mg per night during 2011
-Lorazepam 1 mg per month in 2012 (or less)

-Lorazepam on & off, Dec 2013 through Aug 2014. Didn't exceed 3x a week

-Lorazepam again in Oct. 2014 to help get off of desipramine. Last dose lzpam was 1 mg, Nov. 2, 2014. Immediate paradoxical reactions to benzos after stopping TCAs 

-First muscle/dystonia side effects started on nortriptyline, but docs too stupid to figure it out. On desipramine, muscle tremors & rigidity worsened

-Two weeks after I got off all meds, I developed full-blown TD.  Tardive dystonia, dyskinesia, myoclonic jerks ALL over body, ribcage wiggles, facial tics, twitching tongue & fingers, tremors/twitches of arms, legs, cognitive impairment, throat muscles semi-paralyzed & unable to swallow solid food, brain zaps, ears ring, dizzy, everything looks too far away, insomnia, numbness & electric shocks everywhere when I try to fall asleep, jerk awake from sleep with big, gasping breaths, wake with terrors & tremors, severely depressed.  NO HISTORY OF DEPRESSION, EVER. Meds CREATED it.

-Month 7: hair falling out; no vision improvement; still tardive dystonia; facial & tongue tics returned
-Month 8: back to acute, incl. Grand Mal seizure-like episodes. New mental torment, PGAD, worse insomnia
-Month 9: tardive dystonia worse, dyskinesia returned. Unable to breathe well due to dystonia in stomach, chest, throat
-Month 13: Back to acute, brain zaps back, developed eczema & stomach problems. Left leg no longer works right due to dystonia, meaning both legs now damaged
-7 years off: Huge improvements, incl. improved dystonia

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Thank you. I don’t know what to do right now. I am on my back most of the time. I can’t walk much. Everything is stiff…there are no easy answers here. The facial movements and whole body freezes in different contortions is getting more painful. Squeezing harder. My eye lids shut and I cannot open them, then they open and something else will happen. My eyes are sometimes jerked around and I can’t control them. My lungs and throat squeeze sometimes and makes eating and swallowing difficult. The sounds and squeals are getting more painful and they are loud. 
It has been suggested that I go on a low dose Valium to see if I can curb this. I just don’t know.

It feels like a perfect storm of horror.

I scream and groan and can’t stop it.

2009 Cymbalta 1 day. First ever anti-depressant. Stopped immediately.

2015 Prozac ( bad reaction ) bridged to other antidepressants. Don’t remember names. Severe reaction. More medications, don’t remember all the names or dates.

2016: Deadly akathisia, hospitalized for 2 weeks. ( don’t know the dates ) 72 hour holds: 

shot with Ativan ( don’t know the dates ). Later another 2 week hospitalization. ( Don’t know the dates…

2018 Bupropion, Divalproex, Trazodone, Quetiapine, Ativan
2019 Quit Trazadone 50mg, crossed over from Ativan to Valium at around 30 mg equivalent.

2020 August quit Divalproex, quit Quetiapine 25mg, began tapering Valium 7.5mg

2021 July quit Valium 0.5mg
2021 (when?) Austedo and another drug for 1.5weeks

Current: Bupropion 150 XR

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11 hours ago, Altostrata said:

 

How were you sick on Valium and Ativan?

 

 

What does "in time" mean?

When I was on Valium there was a lot of visual distortions. Couldn’t figure out things in the room. Vision difficulties. I’m trying to figure out which part was the most harrowing. 

One of the members said she has gotten so much better “with time” and no medications. ( she was c/t by her Doctor )…

I am going through it and it’s the holidays and I can’t even get in a car right now, I just don’t know what to do.

 

This is my notes this morning:


“there are no easy answers here. The facial movements and whole body freezes in different contortions is getting more painful. Squeezing harder. My eye lids shut and I cannot open them, then they open and something else will happen. My eyes are sometimes jerked around and I can’t control them. My lungs and throat squeeze sometimes and makes eating and swallowing difficult. The sounds and squeals are getting more painful and they are loud. 
It has been suggested that I go on a low dose Valium to see if I can curb this. I just don’t know.”

 

I talk daily to Geraldine Burns and she is encouraging me to stay off medications because of the rough time I have had:

 

“I know it is hard to hear a diagnosis, but we are not our diagnoses.  when I was so ill on the drugs and developing menstrual issues, eye issues, thyroid issues, Raynaud’s Syndrome, uncontrollable body temperature issues, etc.  I decided to walk away from every single diagnosis I was given and let my body heal. There are others that had these issues and they all healed.”

 

Altostrata I am flat on my back not sure what the hell to do. The neurologist said there’s nothing he can do, I’m sorry. And all I have is a Nurse Practitioner prescribing  bupropion and no health insurance.

 

 

Edited by Kiasofia
added info from almost duplicate post (then removed duplicate post)

2009 Cymbalta 1 day. First ever anti-depressant. Stopped immediately.

2015 Prozac ( bad reaction ) bridged to other antidepressants. Don’t remember names. Severe reaction. More medications, don’t remember all the names or dates.

2016: Deadly akathisia, hospitalized for 2 weeks. ( don’t know the dates ) 72 hour holds: 

shot with Ativan ( don’t know the dates ). Later another 2 week hospitalization. ( Don’t know the dates…

2018 Bupropion, Divalproex, Trazodone, Quetiapine, Ativan
2019 Quit Trazadone 50mg, crossed over from Ativan to Valium at around 30 mg equivalent.

2020 August quit Divalproex, quit Quetiapine 25mg, began tapering Valium 7.5mg

2021 July quit Valium 0.5mg
2021 (when?) Austedo and another drug for 1.5weeks

Current: Bupropion 150 XR

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  • Administrator
9 hours ago, JoeSM said:

It has been suggested that I go on a low dose Valium to see if I can curb this. I just don’t know.

 

From your signature, it appears you were taking 30mg Valium to start, decreasing to 7.5mg. Did the adverse effect decrease as your dosage decreased?

 

A low dose of Valium is not a stupid idea. Yes, there is a tendency to recover even without drugs, you need to hang in through the recovery period, which could be many months. Our kind @WiggleIt's story shows how hard this is.

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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