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

Hello its Kizzie from pp


Kizzie

Recommended Posts

Hi everyone - I've found you !! 

Only the older members of pp will recognise me - was there almost from the start but not posted huge amount in last few years because after many failed withdrawal and switch attempts I had decided to stay on a lowish dose of a tricyclic for some time to try and give myself a break.

So 16 (!!!) years on from first starting AD's here I still am.

This is a very quick post to say hello as I'm away for a few days - but looking forward to catching up with people and reading all the info here x

Ads since 1999 for PND.

Many failed withdrawals (even when done very slowly over number of years.)

Switched from Paxil to Clomipramine (anafranil)

Was well on 25mg for many years which is equivalent to approx 10mg of Paxil.

Severe relapse of anxiety / depression in 2023. Increased to 60mg clomipramine but no longer appears to be working.

Priority at the moment is to get stable because of serious family illness. 

 

Link to comment
  • Administrator

Welcome, Kizzie.

 

Please do tell us more about how you're doing.

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

I remember you, Kizzie! I was JessG/JMarie on PP. Good to see you!

a.k.a JMarie

Paxil since Mar.1998

2006-2007:40-20mg
2009: 20mg to 14mg 2010: 14mg to 10.5mg 2011: 10.5 to 7.6mg  2012: 7.5 to 6.8mg

2013: 6.7-6.3mg 2014: 6.2mg-5.8mg 2015: 5.7 to 5.15mg 2016: 5.1-4.6mg

1/19/17: 4.5mg 3/17/17: 4.4mg

6/15/17: 4.35mg 8/10/17: 4.3mg

1/29/18: 4.1mg 5/07/18: 4.0mg

7/31/18: 3.9mg

 

Link to comment
  • Moderator

Hi Kizzie-- I'm so glad you caught up with us.  Have a safe trip.

 

((((((((((((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))))))))))

20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013.

Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks.  The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better.

Final Dose 0.016mg.     Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017

 

"It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general."  Stephen Hawking

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

Hi everyone - thank you for the lovely warm welcome.

I guess I'm at an interesting time.  Children bit older (although still at school), very very busy at work - and right in the middle of the perimenopause so hormones all over the place. (Because my probs started with post natal hormone issues this feels important.) Ideally I'd like to reduce but dont know if its a good time or not ??????

Thats what I'm going to be thinking about over the next few weeks.

Ads since 1999 for PND.

Many failed withdrawals (even when done very slowly over number of years.)

Switched from Paxil to Clomipramine (anafranil)

Was well on 25mg for many years which is equivalent to approx 10mg of Paxil.

Severe relapse of anxiety / depression in 2023. Increased to 60mg clomipramine but no longer appears to be working.

Priority at the moment is to get stable because of serious family illness. 

 

Link to comment
  • 2 months later...
  • Moderator Emeritus

Hi Kizzie, how's it going?  My kids are also at school, one started high school this year, the other will start next year.  My hormonal stuff has been a lot better lately, even though I haven't been taking the vitex supplement recently.  I'm putting it down to the anti-inflammatory (turmeric/ginger/boswellia) supplement I've been taking.  Have you done any dose reductions since your last post?  Hope everything is okay with you.

2001–2002 paroxetine

2003  citalopram

2004-2008  paroxetine (various failed tapers) 
2008  paroxetine slow taper down to

2016  Aug off paroxetine
2016  citalopram May 20mg  Oct 15mg … slow taper down
2018  citalopram 13 Feb 4.6mg 15 Mar 4.4mg 29 Apr 4.2mg 6 Jul 4.1mg 17 Aug 4.0mg  18 Nov 3.8mg
2019  15 Mar 3.6mg  21 May 3.4mg  26 Dec 3.2mg 

2020  19 Feb 3.0mg 19 Jul 2.9mg 16 Sep 2.8mg 25 Oct 2.7mg 23 Oct 2.6mg 24 Dec 2.5mg

2021   29 Aug 2.4mg   15 Nov 2.3mg

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Songbird - great to hear from you.  So glad to hear that your hormone issues have settled down - really hope that continues.

 

I haven't reduced anymore.  In fact I'm really not sure what to do.  I was so frightened by the horror of my last failed withdrawal attempt in 2010 (after a very long wean) that I had almost decided to stay on a lowish dose long long term. (I'm on the equivalent of approx 10mg of something like prozac at the moment.)

 

However I am becoming more and more concerned about the long term issues of ADs again.  My short term memory is getting worse (although as I think I'm a similar age to you it could of course be hormone / age related.)  And I've been on these things for 16 (!!) years now. How on earth did that happen?!

Ads since 1999 for PND.

Many failed withdrawals (even when done very slowly over number of years.)

Switched from Paxil to Clomipramine (anafranil)

Was well on 25mg for many years which is equivalent to approx 10mg of Paxil.

Severe relapse of anxiety / depression in 2023. Increased to 60mg clomipramine but no longer appears to be working.

Priority at the moment is to get stable because of serious family illness. 

 

Link to comment

Hi Kizzie

Why not start  real slow like 5% or even 2.5 % to start with? Just a thought. Do a super slow Brassmonkey.

Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen

We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. 

URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting  for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing.

http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651   

Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos.

Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you

Recovering paxil addict

None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. 

This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! 

  "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped."  Dr Mosher. Me too! 

Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015

I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015

Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017

 

 

Link to comment
  • Moderator Emeritus

I was so frightened by the horror of my last failed withdrawal attempt

 

Me too, that's why I've gone so incredibly slowly this time.  I haven't really been doing percentage drops, but I think they've been around 2%-ish for many years now.  Can you remember what percentage you did last time?  Also, I have not stuck to a schedule of dropping every so many weeks.  Instead I have always waited as long as it takes to stabilise.  I've done lots of long holds when stability was slow in coming,  For a while I was doing drops of just 0.05mg.  This is possible because I have a liquid compounded for me and use a 1ml syringe to measure my doses.  I think you will be able to taper if you do tiny enough drops with long enough holds in between.

2001–2002 paroxetine

2003  citalopram

2004-2008  paroxetine (various failed tapers) 
2008  paroxetine slow taper down to

2016  Aug off paroxetine
2016  citalopram May 20mg  Oct 15mg … slow taper down
2018  citalopram 13 Feb 4.6mg 15 Mar 4.4mg 29 Apr 4.2mg 6 Jul 4.1mg 17 Aug 4.0mg  18 Nov 3.8mg
2019  15 Mar 3.6mg  21 May 3.4mg  26 Dec 3.2mg 

2020  19 Feb 3.0mg 19 Jul 2.9mg 16 Sep 2.8mg 25 Oct 2.7mg 23 Oct 2.6mg 24 Dec 2.5mg

2021   29 Aug 2.4mg   15 Nov 2.3mg

Link to comment

Hi both - thanks for the messages.  Im going to look back in my diary and see exactly what % that last dose was - I know it was a low drop (and i had stayed on that particular dose for quite a while before the withdrawal kicked in) but not completely sure what it was.

 

I think I probably will do a tiny drop after the summer holidays. Psychologically it will move me out of the feeling of being 'stuck forever'. Fingers crossed !!!!!

Ads since 1999 for PND.

Many failed withdrawals (even when done very slowly over number of years.)

Switched from Paxil to Clomipramine (anafranil)

Was well on 25mg for many years which is equivalent to approx 10mg of Paxil.

Severe relapse of anxiety / depression in 2023. Increased to 60mg clomipramine but no longer appears to be working.

Priority at the moment is to get stable because of serious family illness. 

 

Link to comment
  • 8 years later...

Titled: Hello again- I need advice                                                          Hello everyone. I’m a very old timer. I was on the original paxil progress site in case anyone remembers me. 
Was given seroxat for pnd and after several failed withdrawals transferred onto clomipramine to see if I could stabilise and come off that.

Unfortunately that failed and I’ve been on low dose clomipramine ever since - although life has been good for most of it.

HELP: 

Earlier this year I had a horrible relapse of severe anxiety and depression. Took time off work / did all the self help but also increased the clomipramine to see if it would help in the way it has in the past. Unfortunately it hasn’t so I’ve been advised to come off it (I’m on 60mg) and switch to sertraline (Zoloft.) 

Now I don’t want to be on any of these medications but the complication is that my wonderful husband has incureable cancer and I need to be ok for him and our boys. Getting off medication completely is just not a priority at the moment - I hope you all understand. 
So my question is - what would be the safest way to get off the clomipramine and start the sertraline? Cross tapering isn’t advised. So it means coming off the clomipramine completely first. My dr has said we’ll do that reduction in two weeks and I can take diazepam to help but I know that will be very difficult. 

Id really appreciate any advice x

Edited by manymoretodays
Merged to prior Intro topic, title added

Ads since 1999 for PND.

Many failed withdrawals (even when done very slowly over number of years.)

Switched from Paxil to Clomipramine (anafranil)

Was well on 25mg for many years which is equivalent to approx 10mg of Paxil.

Severe relapse of anxiety / depression in 2023. Increased to 60mg clomipramine but no longer appears to be working.

Priority at the moment is to get stable because of serious family illness. 

 

Link to comment
  • Administrator

Hello, @Kizzie

 

Unfortunately, we don't know the best way to make that drug switch and we cannot help you with it.

 

We cannot tell you how effective such a switch might be -- and neither does your doctor. 

 

Sorry to leave you with this in this difficult time for you, but we simply do not know. It's up to your doctor to make sure it comes out well.

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

Thank you for the reply Alostrata - I hope everyone is doing ok 

Ads since 1999 for PND.

Many failed withdrawals (even when done very slowly over number of years.)

Switched from Paxil to Clomipramine (anafranil)

Was well on 25mg for many years which is equivalent to approx 10mg of Paxil.

Severe relapse of anxiety / depression in 2023. Increased to 60mg clomipramine but no longer appears to be working.

Priority at the moment is to get stable because of serious family illness. 

 

Link to comment
  • Administrator

Thanks, Kizzie. Everyone is doing as well as can be expected.

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

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