Pattie007: just stopped antidepressants after 25 years

[Pattie007]

Hello.

My experience with antidepressants started in my mid- twenties with Paxil. I was on it at varying doses for a decade or more. I vaguely remember my medical doctor switching me over to sertraline, and I stayed on that medication for another decade or so. Most recently, August 2020, I was switched from sertraline to Lexapro. I have to admit, I felt great emotionally. Unfortunately, it exacerbated my already severe bruxism. Within four months I’d broken two crowns and a filling. I discovered a medical article that SSRIs can increase bruxism and prescribing BuSpar can alleviate jaw pain. For me personally, this was true. Within weeks of tapering down Lexapro, my jaw pain had significantly decreased. 
 

My medical doctor prescribed a taper that was far too fast and the SSRI withdrawal was severe. Switching over to a combination of BuSpar and  Wellbutrin seemed to help. But the Wellbutrin spiked my resting pulse rate to about 124. I would have to lay down frequently throughout the day. It became clear the Wellbutrin wasn’t for me. Working with a psychiatrist, I was able to manage a taper off of Wellbutrin. I was still experiencing side effects from BuSpar (muscle fatigue, flushing, insomnia.) I began a taper down from 50mg/day in November down to 10mg/day at the end of December.  
 

My motivation was more than just the uncomfortable side effects. It was also concerns about the possibility of antidepressant medication interfering with iron absorption. I’ve had very heavy periods my entire life. Not even surgery could slow it down. I was diagnosed with anemia in 2010, and I still struggle to keep my iron levels up.  
 

So, with the support of my psychiatrist, psychologist, and my spouse - today (January 1, 2022) was the first day I didn’t take any antidepressants. I have been fatigued and a little lightheaded all day. But to be honest, the symptoms are not nearly as bad as coming off of Lexapro. Not even as bad as the side effects of the Covid vaccine. 
 

 I don’t know if it will work or how well I will do. I have created a daily self care schedule that includes exercises, art making, meditation, etc. If I have to restart BuSpar, I will. But I would like to give this my best effort and see what life is like off of antidepressant medication.

[Onmyway]

Welcome to SA @Pattie007, 

 

it seems like you have had some significant changes to your medications over the last couple of years but you seem to be doing well. We generally don't recommend coming off of medicines cold turkey as some people suffer quite a lot but seems like your symptoms are manageable so far. I would suggest keeping track of them as sometimes symptoms might appear within a week or month(s). I am linking our advice on tapering at no more than 10% and speeding it up only if you don't have significant withdrawal effects. 

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage? - Tapering - Surviving Antidepressants

Why taper? SERT transporter occupancy studies show importance of gradual change in plasma concentration - Tapering - Surviving Antidepressants

 

Hope things continue to go well for you, 

OMW

[Pattie007]

Hi @Onmyway,

 

Thank you so much for the feedback.
 

I want to respond because, as a newbie to the community, I do not take my being here lightly. I want to ensure folks that the past two years have not been a walk in the park. And while I may speak softer, lighter terms, every day is work. Every. Day. I most certainly did not go cold turkey or make decisions without coordinating with my primary care physician, psychiatrist, and psychologist. I wholeheartedly agree that cold turkey is not a great path to take.

 

 I am probably using terminology differently than it is used or defined here at SA. I also realize my topic headline may have given the wrong impression. Perhaps if I’d have said “First day tapered off…” that may have been better. As I find my way around the forum, I expect that I pick up on the language and definitions much better.

My initial introduction lacked clarity and fine grained details. I have a second post planned that will address more details about my experience tapering, working with health care providers during the process, withdrawal and side effects.

 

All of this to say, accidentally stumbling upon this forum has been a tremendous lift for my outlook. The wealth of understanding, support, and combined lived experiences is a treasure.  I’m so very thankful it exists.

 

Sincerely,

Pattie007

[Onmyway]

Hi @Pattie007, 

sorry if I misunderstood the extent of your suffering. We don't take it as an offense if people don't have withdrawal symptoms - the length and severity of withdrawal varies for different people from weeks to months to years. If you have had a difficult tapering experience, you might want to be more careful and go even slower with the next medicine. We consider a few weeks taper a very fast taper closer to cold turkey in its effects on the nervous system. This does not agree with the larger medical community's recommendations of fast tapers. But psychiatry has been reluctant to acknowledge the severity of withdrawal symptoms (they similarly denied the severity of withdrawal symptoms of benzodiazepines as well initially). The reasons are quite clear, of course, people would be reluctant to  take these drugs if they knew they are no better than placebo on average and if they couldn't get off of them. At the same time without drugs psychiatry doesn't really have other tools. And drugs are what set psychiatrists apart as "more rigorous" than psychologist. The UK psychiatrists have only recently acknowledged the existence of withdrawal symptoms Stopping antidepressants | Royal College of Psychiatrists (rcpsych.ac.uk)

 

Hope that your symptoms do get better quickly, 
OMW

Edited January 2, 2022 by Onmyway