Tips for Tapering dosulepin/ dothiepin / Dothep / Prothiaden

[ChessieCat]

As with all psychiatric drugs, dosulepin must be tapered for safe discontinuation.

 

We recommend a 10% taper per month, based on the last dosage you took. If you get withdrawal symptoms from a 10% taper, go down by smaller amounts. See Important topics in the Tapering forum, particularly why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage.

 

The drug is not available in the United States or Canada.

 

According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dosulepin:

 

Dosulepin, also known as dothiepin and sold under the brand name Prothiaden among others, is a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) which is used in the treatment of depression.^[4][6][7] Dosulepin was once the most frequentlyprescribed antidepressant in the United Kingdom, but it is no longer widely used due to its relatively high toxicity in overdose without therapeutic advantages over other TCAs.^[6][8][9] It acts as a serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) and also has other activities including antihistamine, antiadrenergic, antiserotonergic, anticholinergic, and sodium channel-blocking effects.^[4][10][11]

 

 

From https://www.nps.org.au/medicine-finder/dothep-tablets#full-pi

 

Description:

 

Dothep 25 mg capsule: size 4 hard capsule with green body and red cap.

Each capsule contains 25 mg of dosulepin (dothiepin) hydrochloride as the active ingredient.

Dothep 25 capsules contain lactose as well as sulfites (present in trace amounts).

 

Dothep 75 mg tablet: red film-coated tablet, normal convex, marked "DT/75" on one side, "α" on reverse.

Each tablet contains 75 mg of dosulepin (dothiepin) hydrochloride as the active ingredient.

Dothep 75 tablets contain lactose as well as sulfites and soya bean products (sulfites and soya bean are present in trace amounts).

 

 

Make a dosulepin liquid yourself from tablets or capsules

 

Both the contents of capsules and the tablets can be made into a liquid. 

 

From http://www.rlandrews.org/pdf_files/handbk_of_enteralfeeding.pdf

 

Dothiepin hydrochloride is a white or faintly yellow, crystalline powder. It is freely soluble in water, and in alcohol.

 

If a drug can be put (crushed or in suspension) in a feeding tube, it can be crushed or liquified for titration.

 

From Page 211 http://www.rlandrews.org/pdf_files/handbk_of_enteralfeeding.pdf  

 

Capsules:

 

Dosulepin (Alpharma, APS, Ashbourne, Berk, Generics, Hillcross, IVAX, Kent, Sandoz, Sanofi-
Synthelabo, Sovereign, Sterwin)

25 mg Capsules contains insoluble excipients. Can be dispersed in 30 mL of water.

 

Tablets:

 

Dosulepin (Alpharma, APS, Ashbourne, Berk, Cox, Generics, Hillcross, IVAX,  Kent, Sandoz, Sanofi-Synthelabo, Sovereign, Sterwin)

 

Do not crush tablets and mix with water as there is a risk of blocking tube with fragments of film coating.2  Cox brand tablets disperse in 10 mL of water if shaken for 5 minutes, resulting in a pink milky dispersion that flushes via an 8Fr NG tube without blockage but leaves traces of red coating on the syringe and tube.3  APS brand tablets do not disperse readily in water; they are difficult to crush owing to the sugar coating, but with persistence they can be crushed and mixed with water. Once the coating has dissolved the dispersion will flush via an 8Fr NG tube without blockage.3
 

 

See How to make a liquid from tablets or capsules

 

Use an oral syringe to precisely measure out doses as small as 0.01mg.

 

 

Edited February 10, 2022 by ChessieCat