Chaz: Hi I'm new...22 months free from Lexapro and Klonopin

[Chaz]

Just saying hello.  I recently joined after a long and on-going battle with benzos.  I am drug-free.  I also kicked lexapro in 2010, but it was not nearly as difficult for me.  I heard you had a benzo board here so I'm sure I will be around there, but my main reason for joining is that I have family members who are also on psych drugs and I want to become more familiar with AD and other drug tapering...how they are the same and different from benzo tapering.

 

I guess that's a question I have right now.  How is AD tapering different from benzo tapering?

[mammaP]

Hi Chaz, welcome to SA. Congratulations on getting free of the psych drugs that can be very difficult to 

get off.  I am not experienced with benzo withdrawal but have seen the devastation that is caused by

them here.  I have had lots of experience with ADs and have had every type at some time in the last

20 years. Anti depressants make changes in the brain and nervous system and quitting cold turkey

sends them into a spin trying to cope without them. We often say it is like using a trellis to support a 

plant, the plant grows through and around the trellis and the trellis supports it. The longet it has been

there the more the plant is entwined into it.  Suddenly ripping away the trellis leaves the poor plant on

a heap and broken. However you can 'tease' away the plant from the trellis and remove it gradually,

leaving it in one piece and healthy. Tapering the drugs means you are very very gently taking away

that drug and allowing the brain to adjust between each cut. 

 

Dependence on ADs is different to benzos, because with benzos the body becomes used to it and it

stops working so increases are needed to get the same result. Take it away and the body craves it

and feels it needs it to survive. No-one craves ADs but removing them causes distressing withdrawal

symptoms. Some people can quit c/t or taper fast and be fine, others can be in protracted withdrawal

for many years. There is no way of knowing who is going to be fine so a slow taper is insurance against

developing protracted withdrawal. 

 

If you look around you will find lots of topics on tapering and withdrawal and I would get family to look

around too so that they are armed with the facts if they do decide to get off the ADs.  Most people 

trust their doctors and believe that we don't know what we are talking about but we see people day 

in and day out, new members joining every day suffering badly from withdrawal or the effects of these

drugs. Thankfully some people are now doing research before starting to taper and managing to

taper carefully and safely. 

[Chaz]

Thanks for the welcome, mamma.  I've been around benzo forums for the past four years, but not ones dealing with ADs or other drugs.  It has been a learning experience, and I continue to learn.  The effect of benzos and ADs seem very similar to me and I wonder if the exact same tapering approach would work just as well for both.  I see great success with benzos when tiny daily cuts are used instead of step cuts.  How do people generally taper ADs?

[mammaP]

We recommend tapering Ads by reducing at a rate of no more than 10% of the current dose with at

least 4 weeks between cuts, this allows the brain to adjust to the new dose. If withdrawal symptoms are felt 

by the time the 4 weeks are up we recommend holding until they have passed. 

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1024-why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage/

[Petunia]

Hi Chaz, welcome from me too.  Did you taper from Lexapro first or the Klonopin?  Were you on both of them at the same time? 

 

I have a theory that which ever drug someone comes off last is going to be the most difficult  because there is no other drug in the body to 'cushion' the potential withdrawal symptoms.  We have members who previously came off a benzo, but are now having a difficult time trying to get off their AD.

 

How are you feeling now that you have been drug free for 22 months?

[Chaz]

Hi Petu, I was put on Klonopin and Prozac 25 years ago and was switched to Lexapro maybe ten years ago.  I tapered the lex with little problem in a few months.  At that time I didn't realize ADs could be such a problem.  I thought just benzos were dangerous.  But the klonopin taper was rough and I am still recovering from that.  I really didn't learn how to taper properly until it was too late in the game.  I've improved quite a bit, but it is still a struggle.  Totally shocking how long it takes to recover, but I am very glad to not have those drugs affecting me anymore.

[Altostrata]

Welcome, Chaz.

 

Please continue to let us know how you're doing.