KellyS: Off Meds for a week!

[KellyS]

Hi everyone!

 

I just joined this site in the hope that I could get some support. I have been taking psych drugs since 2001. My history is, my parents have a history of mental illness (nervous breakdowns, depression, anxiety, Borderline Personality) I have trouble with insomnia, anxiety and depression. I recently weaned off my medication because I would like to get pregnant within the next year. I have having withdrawal symptoms: caffeine and sugar make me extremely anxious, sleeplessness, nausea, hot flashes, some mild dizziness, I cry at the drop of a hat, restlessness. these are just a FEW symptoms! ACK

Does anyone have any suggestions for natural supplements and a special diet that helps with these symptoms?

[Skyler]

Hi everyone!

 

I just joined this site in the hope that I could get some support. I have been taking psych drugs since 2001. My history is, my parents have a history of mental illness (nervous breakdowns, depression, anxiety, Borderline Personality) I have trouble with insomnia, anxiety and depression. I recently weaned off my medication because I would like to get pregnant within the next year. I have having withdrawal symptoms: caffeine and sugar make me extremely anxious, sleeplessness, nausea, hot flashes, some mild dizziness, I cry at the drop of a hat, restlessness. these are just a FEW symptoms! ACK

Does anyone have any suggestions for natural supplements and a special diet that helps with these symptoms?

 

Hello Kelly and welcome to the forum. The symptoms you describe above are withdrawal. Can you give us more information. What type of drug(s) did you withdraw from, how much were you taking, how long ago did you stop taking the med?

 

eidt...oops, off meds for a week But we still need to know how much were you on, for how long, and what kinds, and what type of taper you did if any. You probably need to reinstate at some level so you can taper more slowly as withdrawal symptoms can otherwise persist for much longer than you want to deal with them.. months, or even longer.

[KellyS]

I was taking effexor xr 150mg 2x a day, tapered off it over about 6-7 weeks, 2 weeks at only 150mg a day, then 2 weeks at 75mg a day, then 2 weeks at 37.5mg a day. My DR helped me wearn off it, so I am not sure I did it the wrong way? Today is Day 7 with no effexor.

 

I was taking Abilify .05mg once daily but went off it 2 months ago. Trazodone I was taking 200mg a night for sleep just stopped taking it after I stopped the anti-d because it wasnt working anymore. Thanks for your insight!

[peggy]

Wow kelly, that is a really fast taper..

my advice would be to go back to at least 37.5mg. The advice from this site is to go at 10% of your current dose each 3 - 4 weeks.

 

It isn't likely that a natural supplement will help you as your brain is screaming for effexor. it is a killer to come off, but done correctly it can be done

[Skyler]

I was taking effexor xr 150mg 2x a day, tapered off it over about 6-7 weeks, 2 weeks at only 150mg a day, then 2 weeks at 75mg a day, then 2 weeks at 37.5mg a day. My DR helped me wearn off it, so I am not sure I did it the wrong way? Today is Day 7 with no effexor.

 

I was taking Abilify .05mg once daily but went off it 2 months ago. Trazodone I was taking 200mg a night for sleep just stopped taking it after I stopped the anti-d because it wasnt working anymore. Thanks for your insight!

 

Hi again Kelly, When did the withdrawal symptoms you are having start? How long did you take trazodone? Trazodone is also an AD, which means you went off two ADs at essentially the same time. And how long were you on abilify?

 

I'm sure your doctor had your interests at heart, but unfortunately docs usually know little to none about how to withdraw from these meds, and unfortunately, your doc is no exception.

 

We generally recommend decreasing by no more than 10% of each successive dose, and holding each cut for a month. Some can go faster, but your taper was very fast indeed. Given the withdrawal symptoms you are having, a partial reinstatement is a good idea.

 

Sounds right Peggy.. I just like to see what specifics our admin Alto will suggest.

[Brandy]

Welcome, Kelly,

 

Some people can go on and off psych meds with little or no problems - at least at first. (They seem to get one or more "free passes" before their nervous systems no longer tolerate the kind of fast tapers doctors advise.

 

Other people need to taper carefully in small drops right from the first med they discontinue. No way to know which will be the case, or when difficult withdrawals will start if one had no problem with a previous taper.

 

Your tapers were very fast by most people's standards. Even some doctors' standards, though most are clueless about tapering in small drops and allowing sufficient time for the nervous system to heal. It's not your fault if your doctor, like most doctors, wasn't familiar with what a healing process is involved in recovering from the changes the meds make in our bodies over time. Luckily you realized the cause of your problems quickly and can re-do some of your tapers and prevent possible long-term problems.

 

Your signature mentions you went off klonopin (clonopin) also. That's as important as the other meds, even though this group's focus is antidepressants.

 

All psych meds act on the nervous system and the meds themselves and withdrawal from them are related. Could you add the same kind of information we requested (how long on benzodiazepines like klonopin), dosage, when and how you tapered off it? That will help us help you.

[KellyS]

Thanks so much everyone for all the information!

 

I REALLY don't want to go back ON the effexor just to taper off it for longer. Can't I just wait out the withdrawal? I feel like it will be taking a step backwards to do that and I feel like I have come so far! The clonopin I was taking was only once in a while at a .05mg very small dose. I didnt taper off it I wasn't taking it regularly so I just stopped taking it. The trazodone I didn't taper off, I just stopped it because once I stopped the effexor the traz wasn't helping me sleep anymore. It wasn't even worth taking it! What would be the difference if i went back on the effexor to only taper off it again? It seems counterproductive to me or maybe I just don't know enough about going off these meds?

My withdrawl symptoms started a few days after I stopped the effexor and seem to be getting worse. BUT, I have to say overall my mental health is good I feel very happy. I have bouts of crying but I am going to attribute that to my body readjusting to coming off the meds.

[Sparrow]

Kelly,

 

Let me be your cautionary tale. I did something very similar two years ago. In less than two months, I rapidly and simultaneously tapered off prescription amphetamine, Pristiq (Effexor's twin), and Klonopin. My withdrawal was nightmarish. I ended up very, very ill and bedridden for most of the following year. I spend more time out of bed these days, but I am still pretty much nonfunctional.

 

You may be lucky and have a more tolerable withdrawal. From what I have observed on various medication-withdrawal boards, though, it would be unlikely. You were taking a big cocktail of very powerful medications that have altered your nervous system -- your brain -- and you stopped all of them together rather abruptly. That's a recipe for a long, difficult withdrawal.

 

It's not too late for you to reinstate a small dose of Effexor, get stabilized and feel more comfortable, and then do a slow, symptom-directed taper. Trust me, the alternative is not worth risking.

 

Sparrow

[Brandy]

Hi, Kelly,

 

Glad you explained about the klonopin. Since your sig said, " The most recent medications I have been on are Effexor XR, Abilify, Trazodone, and Clonopin. I have recently weaned off ALL my medication" I thought you had tapered from regular use of the klonopin as well and if that had been the case, would have been an important consideration.

 

The question about whether or not to reinstate is tricky, because there's no way to predict whether going off too fast (referring to size of dosage drops, not just amount of time) will lead to a more lengthy and difficult withdrawal than if you tapered slowly with small drops, or not. That's what happens to some people, but there's no way to know what will happen to whom. Going off meds "too fast" is a shock to the nervous system, and in some cases some people can bounce back from that "shock" readily and in other cases not.

 

Effexor is a particularly hard one to go off of for many people, but I have read of some people recovering from it fairly quickly, even though they were shocked at it taking weeks (not long compared to the length of some of our recoveries from some of these meds) as well as at the symptoms they experienced.

 

I think it's safer to err on the side of caution if you're starting to experience withdrawal symptoms (especially since you went off several meds in a pretty short period of time), but only you can decide what to do. You'll get more input here that might help your decision. One thing to bear in mind is that reinstating doesn't always work, and the sooner one reinstates, generally the more likely one is to be successful. So if you decide to wait and observe how you're doing for a little while, if things start getting severe please don't try to gut it out but go back on at least a partial dose pretty soon. Some withdrawal symptoms take longer than others to manifest, but I also don't want to alarm you. Some people are amazingly resilient at going off psych meds. We just people to have the opportunity to make informed decisions.

 

Hopefully you'll be an exception and have an uneventful recovery. Consider the other responses you'll get, and at least any decisions you make now or in the future will be made on the basis of more information than most of us had when we went off the meds.

 

As for the question in your first post, eating a healthy diet with as natural foods as possible is bound to help support any kind of healing, not just withdrawal. And there is a very real healing process going on. But although a few supplements help a few people at certain stages of withdrawal (recovery), most people find that supplements make them feel worse. The body is rebalancing in complex ways, so be aware that potent supplements often exacerbate withdrawal symptoms or are not tolerated - even supplements we've taken prior to withdrawal with good results or no problems.

 

But there is no supplement that will make withdrawal go away. (Believe me, people in withdrawal have tried just about every supplement known to man!) The body has its own complex healing process for that.

[Brandy]

P.S. Sparrow posted while I was posting, so just saw her excellent post. She expressed my concerns very well.

 

Healing from the changes the med(s) have made is not a question of X amount of time of unpleasantness and then the process is complete.

 

As I mentioned above, there is a complex healing process affecting multiple body functions. How you feel initially is not necessarily how you'll feel over time.

 

This is just conjecture, but I'd suggest (as Sparrow did) that you reinstate just a small fraction of your dose at least, just to possibly (I can't prove this, just based on having read many people's stories over years) prevent or minimize possible reinstatement problems if you find you need to do that. Sometimes once off the med, people get a "kindling" reaction when they reinstate where the body rejects the drug.

 

I absolutely don't know if going back on at least a partial dose as soon as possible will minimize the chance of this occurring, and it isn't something that happens to everyone. But it causes needless misery when it does, and it does seem to be generally true that reinstating as soon as possible lessens the chance the body will reject the med when it needs it most, if that becomes the case.

 

Sometimes taking longer to taper results in a far faster recovery time than going to fast and having a lengthy recovery from the "shock" to the system physically.

 

Keep letting us know how you do and we'll try to give us the best advice we can.

[KellyS]

I am so happy to have found this message board and such insightful, helpful and supportive people! I felt so alone and had no one to talk to that had any idea of what I am going through, and I am so appreciative of all of your feedback and comments!

 

I think I am going to play it by ear, give it another week before I decide if I am going to go back on the effexor to taper off it more slowly. I know the withdrawal symptoms keep coming and I want to see if another week will make them go away or if they get worse. Overall I feel very GOOD, happy, upbeat. I realize now I probably did it too quickly (the taper) but I would rather march forward than go backwards. Unless I get worse in a week then i will probably go back on the small dose and taper off it longer. I will keep you all updated!!! Thanks again. Its so great there are forums like this out there, I felt so alone!

[Karma]

Check out this thread http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2595-mranxious-3-months-off-effexor-xr-6-years-on/

 

Martin was feeling fine for three months and then it got ugly.

 

We just don't want you to slip into intolerable withdrawal if we can help you prevent it.

 

Love and light,

Karma

[Skyler]

Just to clarify, as you have only been off effexor for 7 days, the odds are you can reinstate at a low dose effectively. Alto will be along shortly to give you more nuanced information.. Good to see you filled out a sig line, having one is very helpful, and many of us here are on more meds than we would like. I know you don't want to do this, but Sparrow is right. The risks of not doing so are very substantial. Alto worked out a taper schedule that will help you figure out if you can go faster in a way that is safe and we'll share that with you. I suspect you have more than enough info on your plate on the moment. : For now, you need to get into a place so you can start to get some of that sleep you are missing.

[KellyS]

I certainly have enough of the effexor left over that I could even count out the beads and take a much smaller dose to taper off slowly for a few more months. I will think about it and let you all know. I would love to get rid of the symptoms and maybe be able to sleep easier!

[KellyS]

Its 3am and I haven't slept a wink. I am having night sweats too. I decided that I would start the taper again and do it much slower. I can't take the withdrawal and don't want to go past the point of no return so I split a 37.5mg pill in half by counting the beads.

I want to cry because I feel like a failure but I have to go with my body and what its telling me is I need to do a better, safer taper. I will see how I feel later and report back. Should I see how I feel then decide how to do this taper?

[Brandy]

Kelly, you are NOT a failure!

 

This is not about willpower, this is about physical reality.

 

You were SMART to acknowledge that reality and listen to your body.

 

It's the pharmaceutical industry and medical profession who are failing their customers/patients by not acknowledging and fully informing them about these meds.

 

Your are honoring your brain and your health by taking good care of them. That is certainly not being a failure! Just the opposite!

 

Give your body time to stabilize. Don't be alarmed if you still feel some symptoms for a little while. Keep letting us know how you're doing and DON'T start dropping in dose yet. Right now just focus on feeling better and feel good about the fact that you almost certainly saved yourself from a lot of needless suffering! And post as often as you like here. We're familiar with withdrawal and we care.

[KellyS]

Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words! I will keep you all updated. I couldn't agree with you more about the information gap with the medical industry and pharma companies. I added you as a friend here, I hope you don't mind.

[jr1985]

Hi Kelly, I tapered from 75mg Effexor over a month, felt some withdrawals for a few weeks but nothing too bad, then had massive anxiety like I've never experienced before 5 weeks later. I reinstated to 37.5mg but it was very ugly for those two weeks before it kicked in.

 

I would recommend you listen to the advice you've been given here. You may be able to reinstate at a smaller dose and taper from there. Believe me, it's a much better alternative to what you could potentially end up going through.

 

PS. If your doctor "helped" you taper then you can pretty much guarantee it was wrong.

[KellyS]

Thanks, I am starting my taper again from 18.75mg, I will see how I feel over the next few days to see if I should "up" it or keep it at that. I am hoping I can keep it at that, but we will see how I feel. I am NOT re-instating my trazodone for sleep OR my clonopin.

[Nikki]

Hi Kelly.

 

It's not too late for you to reinstate a small dose of Effexor, get stabilized and feel more comfortable, and then do a slow, symptom-directed taper. Trust me, the alternative is not worth risking.

 

Sparrow

 

Kelly like Sparrow, I too have been on a number of medication support boards and Effexor is a tough medication. You symptoms are WD. They can last indefinitely. Some people do not have bad WD, most do.

 

Read thru the posts here, for members who were taking Effexor. It's not too late to reinstate. If we wait too long to reinstate the drug may not work. Why I don't know. I just know it's common.

 

Nikki

[Skyler]

Hi Kelly, you have only been off 37.5 mgs for a week. I would try to stabilize at that dose, though you may find that after a few days you need adjust to a higher level. You don't want to get into a situation with protracted withdrawal symptoms, a very real possibility with too fast tapering. As Sparrow said, withdrawal symptoms can go on for months or sometimes more.

 

This link just came to our attention and you might want to read through the article, specifically effexor is mentioned. SSRI discontinuation I'm very glad we have another objective resource we can site as a reference. It's hard for someone coming in new to digest all we have given you. On first learning a Lyrica taper was in the cards for me, I was in a state of utter disbelief.

[KellyS]

GREAT ARTICLE, thanks for sharing!

I am feeling like total crap today, I LOOK at food and feel sick to my stomach. Should I try the 37.5mg dose tomorrow or stick with the 18.75 for a few days first? I stopped my taper at 37.5mg last Saturday

[Skyler]

The clonopin I was taking was only once in a while at a .05mg very small dose. I didnt taper off it I wasn't taking it regularly so I just stopped taking it. The trazodone I didn't taper off, I just stopped it because once I stopped the effexor the traz wasn't helping me sleep anymore.

My withdrawl symptoms started a few days after I stopped the effexor and seem to be getting worse.

 

GREAT ARTICLE, thanks for sharing!

I am feeling like total crap today, I LOOK at food and feel sick to my stomach. Should I try the 37.5mg dose tomorrow or stick with the 18.75 for a few days first? I stopped my taper at 37.5mg last Saturday

 

Hold on for Alto's input here.. she's our expert. She will most likely get to you today. Rhi is top drawer as well, not that the rest of us are uninformed! Thing is, trazodone may also be causing withdrawal symptoms. Did you quit at the beginning of the effexor taper, or after the last dose a week ago?

 

It sounds like you were not taking enough clonazepam to make a difference if it was occasional, though .5 mgs of clon is not a low dose being the equivalent of 10 mgs of valium. You were not taking this regularly.. less than 2 to 3 times a week?

 

Given you did not get withdrawal symptoms until you were completely off effexor, your system may be resilient enough to do a faster taper than some of us here, but first you need to get stabilized. Thing is, withdrawal symptoms are more prominent at lower doses.

[Altostrata]

Hello, Kelly, thanks for joining us.

 

Did reinstating that low dose of Effexor help at all?

 

It seems you were taking Effexor XR twice a day? That's an unusual way to take it, since it's extended-release. At what point did you start having withdrawal symptoms, do you remember?

 

(Schuyler, thanks for that link to WikiDocs. I didn't know such a thing existed. It's a good article, too.)

[KellyS]

Hi there,

 

I was taking it (effexor) 2 x a day because my DR at the time told me that because it was extended release, after 8 hours I was feeling crummy so I should take a second dose. I started to have the bad withdrawal symptoms about 5 days after I stopped taking it and they got worse every day after.

 

I am feeling MUCH better today after taking only the 18.75mg, I feel more clear headed and stable, if that makes sense. I am not "quick to cry" like I was either, every little thing was setting off the tears..My nausea is what is bothering me the most, but I bought some peppermint tea that helps.. How long do you think I should wait and see how I feel before altering my dosage again? Thanks for all your help this sight has been a God Send!!

[Altostrata]

You're welcome, Kelly. I'm glad you're feeling better. Those were withdrawal symptoms.

 

Please plan to take this dose every day at the same time for a few weeks, at least.

 

Your doctor was exactly wrong. You take regular Effexor twice a day, not Effexor XR, and I fear you were excessively dosed with Effexor XR.

 

Please don't take any more advice about psych meds from that doctor.

[KellyS]

I'm not suprised, the DR retired and I could tell his heart wasn't in it anymore. I will take this dose for a little while to see how I feel. thanks again

[KellyS]

I re-instated a 18.75mg dose 3 days ago and feel so much better! I can’t believe how much better I feel. I am not going to re-instate anything else, I just did the effexor xr. (I was taking trazodone 200mg at night I won’t restart that) I am still feeling some nausea, hot flashes and not sleeping right but I am doing MUCH better. The crying jags or “quick to cry” feelings have completely disappeared too! THANK GOD

[Skyler]

I re-instated a 18.75mg dose 3 days ago and feel so much better! I can’t believe how much better I feel. I am not going to re-instate anything else, I just did the effexor xr. (I was taking trazodone 200mg at night I won’t restart that) I am still feeling some nausea, hot flashes and not sleeping right but I am doing MUCH better. The crying jags or “quick to cry” feelings have completely disappeared too! THANK GOD

 

Hold the 18.75 mgs for 6 to 8 weeks.. then follow the taper protocol for the rest. CONGRATS!

[KellyS]

Thanks! I feel like a human being again! Is there a place on here where I can see the correct taper protocol to use?

[Skyler]

Thanks! I feel like a human being again! Is there a place on here where I can see the correct taper protocol to use?

 

This help? Link

[Altostrata]

Good to hear the news, KellyS.

 

I moved your posts here, to your Intro and Updates topic. Only one topic to a customer in the Intro forum, please put your updates here, we'll be glad to see them.

[KellyS]

Its day 4 of being back on my taper of 18.75 and I am feeling overall much better. I still am GREATLY affected by caffeine and ANY sugar even a small amount so I have been drinking decaf tea and no sugar at all and a ton of water. I am still nauseated but only when I smell certain smells and not food but its slowing going away. I am still have a TON of trouble sleeping. ( I went off my trazodone 200mg daily and am not going back on it) I tried an OTC Unisom 50MG sleep aid and it did NOTHING, didn’t even make a dent in making me sleepy. The only thing that has been remotely helping me is a Benadryl which I don’t want to keep taking. Does anyone have any suggestions for sleep?? I have trouble falling asleep AND staying asleep. Chamomile tea does nothing, Sleep essentials tea AND even 6mg Melatonin dual release did nothing. Help!!

[KellyS]

 

Thanks! I feel like a human being again! Is there a place on here where I can see the correct taper protocol to use?

 

This help? Link

 

Yes this link helped thanks so much!

[Skyler]

Does anyone have any suggestions for sleep?? I have trouble falling asleep AND staying asleep. Chamomile tea does nothing, Sleep essentials tea AND even 6mg Melatonin dual release did nothing. Help!!

 

Hi Kelly.. I just love giving input people don't want!!

 

So, here goes. I would go back on 25 or 50 mgs of Trazadone. It won't be enough to help you sleep in terms of the direct sedative effect, but might well help with the withdrawal insomnia. Maybe 25 mgs would be enough given how well you responded to the effexor updose.

[Skyler]

( I went off my trazodone 200mg daily and am not going back on it) Does anyone have any suggestions for sleep?? I have trouble falling asleep AND staying asleep. Chamomile tea does nothing, Sleep essentials tea AND even 6mg Melatonin dual release did nothing. Help!!

 

Hi Kelly.. I just love giving input people don't want!!

 

So, here goes. I would go back on 25 or 50 mgs of Trazadone. It won't be enough to help you sleep in terms of the direct sedative effect, but might well help with the withdrawal insomnia. Maybe 25 mgs would work given how well you responded to the effexor updose.

 

The damage is/was not so much the presence of an AD in your system as the effect on your neuroceptors. Tapering too fast causes this damage to get worse than it otherwise might be. Your system is already neurosensitized (damaged) by tapering too fast, but this will resolve over time.