vaseadude Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 (edited) During tapering, it's really important to evaluate your symptoms and changes on a timely basis, so you see the picture more clearly and be able to make wiser decisions. I've decided to share the forms that I use, and found very helpful, and hope that others can benefit from these too: [links no longer active, removed ] filedropper.com/dailyjournalsample filedropper.com/graphs A good taper to all! Edited January 25, 2017 by scallywag remove inactive links 2008 - started taking Risperidone. In 2014 tried to taper it, taperred it to 1mg during several months then abruptly stopped, ended up in the hospital. 2014-2015 - been off meds 3 times, all 3 times ended in the hospital and was put back on them. 13 Jun 2016 - went from 2 mg Risperidone to 1.5mg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Altostrata Posted March 31, 2013 Administrator Share Posted March 31, 2013 Very impressive, vasea. How has tracking this information helped you? 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 Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaseadude Posted April 1, 2013 Author Share Posted April 1, 2013 Thanks, Alto! FIrst of all it's really easy to see how you do over time. If you don't keep the track, you really forget how you felt a few days ago. Then, you can see how each major change is affecting you. Sometimes it's assuring to see the positive trend as the stats improve, for example I've gained more confidence and patience seeing how my energy levels gradually increased after my last severe withdrawal a week ago. Overall, you just see a more objective overview of your progress. I've also found it very helpful to have a graph for overall symptoms. Sometimes when I'm feeling better, I get lazier and only evaluate myself less frequently. But I found it more useful to evaluate several times a day when feeling sick. Hope it is useful for someone! And I hope people can also come with improvements on this. 2008 - started taking Risperidone. In 2014 tried to taper it, taperred it to 1mg during several months then abruptly stopped, ended up in the hospital. 2014-2015 - been off meds 3 times, all 3 times ended in the hospital and was put back on them. 13 Jun 2016 - went from 2 mg Risperidone to 1.5mg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Emeritus Narcissus Posted April 1, 2013 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted April 1, 2013 Good stuff! Keeping a journal is vital I think, particularly toward the beginning when things are really crazy. Even just a brief one sentence description of your daily mood/symptoms works wonders. I've found that it's extremely comforting to look back at the 'good' days during a bad flare-up. This is helped me through episodes more than anything else. 3 Years 150 mgs Effexor 2 month taper down to zero 3 terrible weeks at zero Back up to 75 mgs 2 months at 75 6 or so months back to regular dose of 150 - was able to restabilize fine. 3 month taper back to zero 1 HORRENDOUS week at zero 2 days back up to 37.5 3 days back up to 75 One week at 150 - unable to stabilize. Back down to 75 mgs At 75 mgs (half original dose) and suffering withdrawal symptoms since October 2012. "It is a radical cure for all pessimism to become ill, to remain ill for a good while, and then grow well for a still longer period." - Nietzsche Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts