Jump to content
SurvivingAntidepressants.org is temporarily closed to new registrations until 1 April ×

ToothDoc: Hello all...An introduction.


ToothDoc

Recommended Posts

I found this wonderful forum on accident. A wonderful accident...

 

I have done A LOT of reading here before I got up the courage to register.

 

I have been on Effexor XR 75mgs daily for about 10 years.

 

In June this year I decided that I had had enough. The medicine was causing me more problems than it was helping.

 

Typical symptoms of AD tachyphalaxis (poop-out) had made life very mediocre feeling. Not bad, not good.

 

So I read as much as I could about tapering and microtapering.

 

I began my taper off Effexor XR in June with the standard 10% reduction.

 

I am using a digital scale to measure bead weight.

 

Today I am at approximately 50% of my original 75mg dose and up to this past weekend it has gone pretty much uneventfully. But as of late I have been hit with some pretty severe anxiety. I am not at the point of going back to the full dose but I have though about it.

 

I hope to interact with all of you as I continue a journey many people before myself have made.

 

Thanks for listening.

2000-2004 Celexa 75mg,Klonopin 1mg qd
2004-2014 Effexor XR 75mg, Klonopin 1mg qd
Effexor taper begun June 2014. Currently at ~50% reduction

Reinstated Effexor 75mg qd July 2014..... Contemplating another taper.

Link to comment
  • Moderator Emeritus

Hello ToothDoc and welcome to SA.

 

I have also felt the same about this forum since I joined. I'm in particular happy for you that you joined before starting your taper unlike many of us who came here in awful pain of withdrawal.

 

Putting the details of your drug history and taper in your signature would help us to give more advice: http://survivinganti...your-signature/ Then it will appear every time you post and we won't have to browse through your thread.

 

If you started 10 % reduction in June and now at the end of August you are at 50 % of the dose it means that you definitely went too fast. The important thing is not only 10 % reduction on the previous dose but a hold of minimum 30 days between the cuts. My guess would be that you made your cuts too quickly.

 

When we get more details, we will be able to give more advice.

 

You will find a lot of friendly support here.

 

best,

bubble

Current: 9/2022 Xanax 0.08, Lexapro 2

2020 Xanax 0.26 (down from 2 mg in 2013), Lexapro 2.85 mg (down from 5 mg 2013)

Amitriptyline (tricyclic AD) and clonazepam for 3 months to treat headache in 1996 
1999. - present Xanax prn up to 3 mg.
2000-2005 Prozac CT twice, 2005-2010 Zoloft CT 3 times, 2010-2013 Escitalopram 10 mg
went from 2.5 to zero on 7 Aug 2013, bad crash 40 days after
reinstated to 5 mg Escitalopram 4Oct 2013 and holding liquid Xanax every 5 hours
28 Jan 2014 Xanax 1.9, 18 Apr  2015 1 mg,  25 June 2015 Lex 4.8, 6 Aug Lexapro 4.6, 1 Jan 2016 0.64  Xanax     9 month hold

24 Sept 2016 4.5 Lex, 17 Oct 4.4 Lex (Nov 0.63 Xanax, Dec 0.625 Xanax), 1 Jan 2017 4.3 Lex, 24 Jan 4.2, 5 Feb 4.1, 24 Mar 4 mg, 10 Apr 3.9 mg, May 3.85, June 3.8, July 3.75, 22 July 3.7, 15 Aug 3.65, 17 Sept 3.6, 1 Jan 2018 3.55, 19 Jan 3.5, 16 Mar 3.4, 14 Apr 3.3, 23 May 3.2, 16 June 3.15, 15 Jul 3.1, 31 Jul 3, 21 Aug 2.9 26 Sept 2.85, 14 Nov Xan 0.61, 1 Dec 0.59, 19 Dec 0.58, 4 Jan 0.565, 6 Feb 0.55, 20 Feb 0.535, 1 Mar 0.505, 10 Mar 0.475, 14 Mar 0.45, 4 Apr 0.415, 13 Apr 0.37, 21 Apr 0.33, 29 Apr 0.29, 10 May 0.27, 17 May 0.25, 28 May 0.22, 19 June 0.22, 21 Jun updose to 0.24, 24 Jun updose to 0.26

Supplements: Omega 3 + Vit E, Vit C, D, magnesium, Taurine, probiotic 

I'm not a medical professional. Any advice I give is based on my own experience and reading. 

Link to comment

Thanks for the warm welcome.

 

And for the taper advice.

 

Signature updated....!

2000-2004 Celexa 75mg,Klonopin 1mg qd
2004-2014 Effexor XR 75mg, Klonopin 1mg qd
Effexor taper begun June 2014. Currently at ~50% reduction

Reinstated Effexor 75mg qd July 2014..... Contemplating another taper.

Link to comment
  • Moderator Emeritus

Sounds like you've gone too far too fast, a common experience when people start tapering. Take a look at this paper and in particular the charts starting on the fourth page, and you'll see why people can often get away with going pretty fast at the top of their dose but have to slow down as the doses get lower: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6036-why-taper-paper-demonstrates-importance-of-gradual-change-in-plasma-concentration/

 

Our 10% taper is 10% of your current (not original) dose with a 3-6 week break between reductions. (As you can see from the paper it's an exponental, not linear, decay.)

 

At this point, since you're getting withdrawal symptoms, you can either hold right where you are and see if you can ride them out, or updose a bit. Since you've cut so much so fast and you were on the drug for so long, in my experience I would expect things to continue to deteriorate for a while, and if it were me in your shoes, I would updose a bit. Then hold your dose stable for six weeks or so.

 

Once you destabilize your nervous system by a too-fast reduction you need to give it quite a bit of time to re-establish homeostasis, and since you went down so fast it's still trying to adapt to reductions you made a month ago and never gave it time to adapt to.

 

You should be able to stabilize at less than your full original dose. Whatever dose you go to (even your full original dose) you are going to continue to be symptomatic for a while. Fortunately you're in a good position to reinstate a bit and then just give things some time to stabilize. Once you are ready to taper again you will need to go much more slowly.

 

Your brain has spent the last ten years remodeling itself around the chemistry induced by this drug, like a plant shaping itself around a trellis. You are drastically changing the chemistry of your brain now, like yanking the trellis away from a plant. Brains have never before in evolution encountered anything like these drugs and what they do, so their mechanisms for adapting and recovering and re-establishing normal functioning are not efficient and well established. This is not a fast process. You were on these drugs for a long time. You need to plan at least a year to taper off, maybe longer. 

Started on Prozac and Xanax in 1992 for PTSD after an assault. One drug led to more, the usual story. Got sicker and sicker, but believed I needed the drugs for my "underlying disease". Long story...lost everything. Life savings, home, physical and mental health, relationships, friendships, ability to work, everything. Amitryptiline, Prozac, bupropion, buspirone, flurazepam, diazepam, alprazolam, Paxil, citalopram, lamotrigine, gabapentin...probably more I've forgotten. 

Started multidrug taper in Feb 2010.  Doing a very slow microtaper, down to low doses now and feeling SO much better, getting my old personality and my brain back! Able to work full time, have a full social life, and cope with stress better than ever. Not perfect, but much better. After 23 lost years. Big Pharma has a lot to answer for. And "medicine for profit" is just not a great idea.

 

Feb 15 2010:  300 mg Neurontin  200 Lamictal   10 Celexa      0.65 Xanax   and 5 mg Ambien 

Feb 10 2014:   62 Lamictal    1.1 Celexa         0.135 Xanax    1.8 Valium

Feb 10 2015:   50 Lamictal      0.875 Celexa    0.11 Xanax      1.5 Valium

Feb 15 2016:   47.5 Lamictal   0.75 Celexa      0.0875 Xanax    1.42 Valium    

2/12/20             12                       0.045               0.007                   1 

May 2021            7                       0.01                  0.0037                1

Feb 2022            6                      0!!!                     0.00167               0.98                2.5 mg Ambien

Oct 2022       4.5 mg Lamictal    (off Celexa, off Xanax)   0.95 Valium    Ambien, 1/4 to 1/2 of a 5 mg tablet 

 

I'm not a doctor. Any advice I give is just my civilian opinion.

Link to comment

Rhi,  thank you so much for your advice. Means a lot....

 

I agree with you entirely. I have currently reinstated a higher dose and feel that holding here for a while is what I need to do for my brain.

 

Cheers and good health to you!

2000-2004 Celexa 75mg,Klonopin 1mg qd
2004-2014 Effexor XR 75mg, Klonopin 1mg qd
Effexor taper begun June 2014. Currently at ~50% reduction

Reinstated Effexor 75mg qd July 2014..... Contemplating another taper.

Link to comment
  • Moderator Emeritus

Hi TD

 

Hope the up dose brings relief soon, what does did you go up to? Be good to update your signature to keep track of your changes

 

Take care

 

D

Please note - I am not a medical practitioner and I do not give medical advice. I offer an opinion based on my own experiences, reading and discussion with others.On Effexor for 2 months at the start of 2005. Had extreme insomnia as an adverse reaction. Changed to mirtazapine. Have been trying to get off since mid 2008 with numerous failures including CTs and slow (but not slow enough tapers)Have slow tapered at 10 per cent or less for years. I have liquid mirtazapine made at a compounding chemist.

Was on 1.6 ml as at 19 March 2014.

Dropped to 1.5 ml 7 June 2014. Dropped to 1.4 in about September.

Dropped to 1.3 on 20 December 2014. Dropped to 1.2 in mid Jan 2015.

Dropped to 1 ml in late Feb 2015. I think my old medication had run out of puff so I tried 1ml when I got the new stuff and it seems to be going ok. Sleep has been good over the last week (as of 13/3/15).

Dropped to 1/2 ml 14/11/15 Fatigue still there as are memory and cognition problems. Sleep is patchy but liveable compared to what it has been in the past.

 

DRUG FREE - as at 1st May 2017

 

>My intro post is here - http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2250-dalsaan

Link to comment

Hi TD

 

Hope the up dose brings relief soon, what does did you go up to? Be good to update your signature to keep track of your changes

 

Take care

 

D

 

Thanks for the encouragment.

 

I'll update my sig as soon as I get to my home computer where I have my taper Excel file.

 

I have been tapering by bead weight using a digital scale.

 

What I have not figured out is which generic manufacturers of Effexor XR are making the capsules with the beads. I am paying a premium for brand name just to get the capsules....

 

2000-2004 Celexa 75mg,Klonopin 1mg qd
2004-2014 Effexor XR 75mg, Klonopin 1mg qd
Effexor taper begun June 2014. Currently at ~50% reduction

Reinstated Effexor 75mg qd July 2014..... Contemplating another taper.

Link to comment
  • Moderator Emeritus

Sometimes switching to generics can cause their own issues. See http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6924-generic-vs-brand-versions-of-antidepressants/?hl=%2Bgeneric+%2Beffexor#entry85477

 

You might also want to search the tapering tips for Effexor thread for discussions on generics with beads - http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/272-tips-for-tapering-off-effexor-and-effexor-xr-venlafaxine/.

 

Sometimes the search function above is your best friend if you have a specific question

 

Cheers

 

D

Please note - I am not a medical practitioner and I do not give medical advice. I offer an opinion based on my own experiences, reading and discussion with others.On Effexor for 2 months at the start of 2005. Had extreme insomnia as an adverse reaction. Changed to mirtazapine. Have been trying to get off since mid 2008 with numerous failures including CTs and slow (but not slow enough tapers)Have slow tapered at 10 per cent or less for years. I have liquid mirtazapine made at a compounding chemist.

Was on 1.6 ml as at 19 March 2014.

Dropped to 1.5 ml 7 June 2014. Dropped to 1.4 in about September.

Dropped to 1.3 on 20 December 2014. Dropped to 1.2 in mid Jan 2015.

Dropped to 1 ml in late Feb 2015. I think my old medication had run out of puff so I tried 1ml when I got the new stuff and it seems to be going ok. Sleep has been good over the last week (as of 13/3/15).

Dropped to 1/2 ml 14/11/15 Fatigue still there as are memory and cognition problems. Sleep is patchy but liveable compared to what it has been in the past.

 

DRUG FREE - as at 1st May 2017

 

>My intro post is here - http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2250-dalsaan

Link to comment

The generic form of Effexor is only in a solid form. There is no generic capsule with beads.

If you can switch to generic you can reduce much lower in the end of your taper. This can be a good thing since

a single bead is about 1/4 mg which, for me anyway, is way too high a dose to stop tapering from.

Many people find that the withdrawal symptoms get worse at the lower doses. Mine got very bad very quickly

at around 5 mg because I was making 50% reductions that caught up with me. I thought since I was at such small doses that I could go faster-but turned out the exact opposite was true. Once I up dosed a little and waited about three months, I was OK again

and have done much better since.

Sept 12th 1992-began taking Imipramine (50mgs) for panic attacks.

Stopped Imipramine after 4 months (cold turkey).

7 months later experienced "mysterious" bad flu-like symptoms, although, without upper respiratory problems or fever. Because of this and a day of panic attacks, was put on Prozac (20mgs?) for 2 months and then, when that didn't work-was put back on  Imipramine,  plus Xanax 1 mg (4Xdaily)-October 1993.

March 1999-switched from Imipramine (50mgs) to Celexa.

2008-switched to Pristiq for 3 months, then back to Effexor XR (after bad reaction to the Pristiq).

Sept 1st 2010-Switched from Effexor XR (75mgs) to Effexor Generic (solid form) in preparation for taper.

Nov 15th 2010-Began tapering from 75mgs Effexor Generic.

January 13th 2014-.06mgs

April 17th 2014-      .03mgs

May 11th 2014-       .02mgs

Ended taper October 31st 2014

Oct 4th 2015-11 months post taper and completely back to normal!

Link to comment

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use Privacy Policy