introduction sky68

[sky68]

hi there!

As a newbie in this forum, a short introduction.

 

After being on ADs for over the last 6 years, a year ago I decided it was time to quit. My depression had been over for a year or so, so it was time to leave the meds. In my eyes, ADs can be helpful for many, this has been the case for me with Nortriptyline. But all the SSRI's I had tried before, they did more harm than good for me imho.

 

Wish I had found this forum earlier, what a great site and so much useful information.

 

A short review of my tapering over the last year:

the instruction leaflet of my nortriptyline says tapering off in a few weeks' time.

NOOOO WAY! I found this asking for trouble. Decided to take my time, and to do it very very slowly.

So I made a plan (with consent of my GP) which I, during the time, adjusted according to my own findings and how I was feeling.

It turned out to be a one year plan, and so I did.

 

I quit completely just 5 days ago.

Normally I would feel some WD effects 5 or 6 days after tapering, so now I am constantly watching and checking my body and  mental feelings. Maybe I should not do this.. ;-) and should seek for more distraction.

 

Hope I can contribute to this forum.

Moreover, I wish all of you all the good luck and success!

 

 

[mammaP]

Hi Sky68, welcome to SA. Congratulations on tapering nortryptilene and for tapering slowly while listening to your body. 

 

Hopefully you will be ok and not suffer any withdrawal symptoms, some do just fine but others can have withdrawal. I tapered effexor over a year too but suffered withdrawal after a month off and reinstated a very tiny dose to stabilise. Effexor is one of the worst to get off though, and doesn't mean that you will be the same! 

 

It's good to have you here. 

[sky68]

Thank you mammaP for your kind words and welcome :-)

 

Effexor seems to be a pain in the a.. to get rid off. So glad I never used this. Hope you will get through this period without too many issues!

 

Is it unusual to experience WD symptoms a month after stopping? This may be a stupid question, but I have not read all the ins and outs on this forum, yet ;-)

Maybe it's best not to bother too much about this, and just see how it goes.

 

Peace to you and all other members here

[Fresh]

Hi sky , welcome.   No , it's not unusual at all to have withdrawal symptoms one month after stopping.

 

Keep a close watch to see if your symptoms become more pronounced over the next month.

 

It may turn out that jumping off from 2.5mg isn't going to work for you , and you may then decide to reinstate a small amount

as mammaP and many others here have.

 

Big congrats on your journey so far ,

 

Best wishes , Fresh

 

p.s. if you click Follow at the top right , you'll receive an email each time someone posts.

[mammaP]

It is not unusual to have withdrawal symptoms after being off for a month, especially with SSRIs, but as nortriptylene is a tricyclic you will hopefully be ok. 

 

This topic on withdrawal will explain what it is so you know what to watch out for.  Don't worry too much, to be forewarned is forearmed so you will know what is happening, it can be mild and short lived so no need to panic if you feel any symptoms emerging.  If they get bad reinstating a tiny amount can help, it doesn't have to be the full dose. Sadly whenever someone in withdrawal goes to the doctor they say it is a return of depression and they give more drugs.  You did well to taper for a year and hopefully will be fine. 

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/603-what-is-withdrawal-syndrome/

[sky68]

Thank you Fresh, I'll just wait and see.

Dosing smaller than 2.5 mg seems almost impossible with nortilen. Here, in the Netherland, the smallest pills are 10 mg and so very small.

I've used a pill cutter (cut twice per pill) and a nail file, ánd a weighing scale that weighs in mg's to get the 2.5 mg.

If I should reinstate then it can not be lower than 2.5mg. Because of the size of the pills.

but thank you for you comment and kind words, as well as the tip to 'follow'! I sure will do so :-)

 

And thank you mammaP :-)

I can relate to the comments of the depression returning (blah blah, never believed it!). Just for the sake of big Pharma, I used to think.

 

What a great forum and community, with such nice people around!

x

[Altostrata]

Welcome, sky.

 

If you feel withdrawal symptoms, you can take a very small amount, such as 1mg, by making a suspension with a tablet and water. See Tips for tapering off nortriptyline

[chicken]

Hi Sky,

I too am tapering nortriptyline.

 

Are you able to get the capsule? If so, it may help with smaller dosing.

 

My doc has presribed the liquid nortript for me. I haven't filled it yet as I am still using up my capsules.

 

If you can get the liquid or capsule you may find tapering much easier.

[sky68]

hi chicken,

 

Thank you for your input.

Here, in the Netherlands, notrilen is only available in pill form. No liquids nor capsules.

That certainly would have made tapering a lot easier!

 

Have you had any problems during tapering pamelor?

 

Not many people use Pamelor (or nortryptiline) I noticed. It's hard to find much information about that one.

[sky68]

short update.

All went fairly well and easy until last Wednesday. It was my day off from work and started to have headaches. Not the normal ones, but the WD headaches I know from earlier WD symptoms. Got also the feeling this was triggered by a stressful moment at work on the day before. There are some huge changes planned in the organisation (major reorganisation) with lots of sudden panic amongst co workers. This affects my job ánd me.

All of a sudden I can't handle sounds and other external sensations. I tend to stay away from other people and lock myself in my house where it is relatively quiet. At night I sleep with earplugs although there's no one sleeping or snoring next to me ;-)

 

This weekend I stayed in, occassionally listening to some ambient music. I've been repotting some plants which was a good extraction.

 

At times I feel as if I have a tight band wrapped around my brain and sqeezes it. Feeling restless, headaches remain. Paracetamol doesn't help at all.

 

Do I wait and see, and sit it out? How long will this last? I'm not willing to give up yet and reinstate my meds. But work will be an enormous challenge for me the upcoming days.

 

Don't feel like talking to anybody, just want to be left alone. I have to work tomorrow, but not feeling up to it.

I really have to find out what will work best for me to get me through this stage (or waves yet to come).

It is not unbearable, but quite uncomfortable. Hope it will not become worse.

 

x

[Flowers]

Hi Sky68

 

Sorry to hear that things are bad at work for you.

 

We have been taking different meds but sometimes WD hits us in similar ways.

 

Anything that is unsettling sets off a chain of events and symptoms for me since WD. I get the pressure headaches and  I too find it hard to stand noise and intereact with other people's conversations. I like gardening and have found this to be  very therapeutic.

 

I have had to learn coping mechanisms to get me through these tricky times. I was given valium to take in emergencies by my Dr but found that taking them as and when made me feel so much worse.

 

Are you taking any supplements? Magnesium and Fish Oil can help some people. There are threads about these on the Self Care part of this forum.

 

Can you try any relaxation techniques?

 

Hope you can find something that will help you get through this tough time.

 

Flowers xxx

[sky68]

hi Flowers,

 

Thank you :-)

As a matter of fact, I've just bought fishoil (omega 3). I'll give it a try! Thought I'd take them with vitamin E supplements.

In the past I tried magnesium before but found these not contributing so I'll pass on that one now.

The pressure headaches have remained during the whole day. Normally I'd take some work with me to my home, but I don't do that anymore. At least for the upcoming time.

At night I do some relaxation as the mindfullness. This helps for sure. It doesn't take away all the stress I'm feeling but gives me somewhat ease.

The diazepam are for 'emergencies' only.

Thanks again for your tips, really appreciate it

x

[Altostrata]

Magnesium can help with headaches. See

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1300-magnesium-natures-calcium-channel-blocker/
http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/36-king-of-supplements-omega-3-fatty-acids-fish-oil/
 

[sky68]

Thank you Alto

Maybe I should try magnesium (again). In the past I used it to relieve depression, as to no reveal. But I could give it another try to see if it helps with the WD headaches.

 

x

[Altostrata]

Magnesium doesn't help with depression, it's relaxing.

[sky68]

If it is relaxing, then it could ease depression I suppose?

Anyway, I set my hopes on fish oil (omega 3).

My WD symptoms are quite manageable now. They are there but I can deal with it.

What works best for me is to set limits to what I can or should't do. Say 'no' more often, have a good share of silent moments.

Most interfering is much noise and sound, I need to be able to shut myself off from other people. Too much interaction is a thing I can't handle last few weeks.

Have good hopes, still going strong.

[sky68]

All of a sudden, when I woke up this morning, I felt a big relief.

As like the wave had come to a stop and making place for a window.

I found this change quite abrupt, is that uncommon?

Just a few nights ago, in the middle of the night, I felt so ill from the WD that I packed my bag cause I thought I was going to end up in hospital. Which didn't happen, the bad feeling slowly went better...

 

Things that I keep in mind to make life easier during the WD might contribute to the better feeling I have reached today. This includes

- realizing I cannot solve anyone's elses problems

- say 'no' more often

- no more coffee later in the day

- using omega 3 fish oil and vitamin supplements

- not making plans or appointments for near future (see how it goes by the day)

- not working at home for the boss in the weekends anymore. if I can't finish my work due to stress at work, it is not my problem (anymore)

- keep having faith that I can get through this period of WD

- my home is my haven of peace and silence

 

A weight has lifted off me, so it feels right now. I hope I'm making the right choices.

Love to you all,

x

[Altostrata]

Waves and windows are both sudden or unexpected.

 

Sounds like you may be stabilizing, this is good.

[sky68]

So I've noticed, Alto, it's been a one day window only, this first time.

Nevertheless now I know what it is and that it can come back.

x

[sky68]

Just an update.

So I quit nortriptylene on May 5 2015. The WD symptoms faded after that time. The waves became shorter and the windows longer.

By August 2015 I was WD symptom free!

 

Unfortunately in the meantime some major negative things going on, life events. Which introduced a new depression episode. End of last February things got out of control and then I started mirtazapine 15mg. A relatively low dose, but enough to stop the suicidal thoughts that I had. No major side effects. I'm in therapy as well.

Mirtazapine was my choice because I get ill from SSRIs and the nortriptylene had too many unwanted side effects. And mirtazapine is supposed to make you sleep better. Well, that is in most cases. Which didn't work for me behh. My insomnia is my biggest problem at the moment, but it's getting better. Slowly.

 

Last month my GP diagnosed me with hypothyroidism. It can, but not necessarily, cause depression. I'm on meds for that now too and instating which can take a while to find the sweet spot. This might just be a very helpful aid to getting over my depression.

 

In the meantime I've been tapering diazepam which is going well. I'm taking it slow and the end of diazepam is near.

Spring time is helping too.

 

x