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princesspeaches01
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Smile Dec 27, 2018 at 05:12 PM
  #1
I’m just looking for people in similar situations as myself. I realized medication isn’t right for me personally, and decided to wean with supervision of my doctor. Withdrawal symptoms have been absolute hell. Anyone dealing with this?
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Smile Dec 28, 2018 at 03:40 PM
  #2
I'm sorry you are experiencing so much difficulty weaning yourself off of your antidepressant. I know, from reading posts here on PC, there are many members who've had experience with weaning off of antidepressants. Hopefully some will yet see your post & reply.

I've weaned myself off of antidepressants (& a couple of other psych med's) a number of times over the years. Sometimes it was with the help of my prescriber... sometimes not. However I've never really experienced any particular difficulty doing so. I know this is not always the case though. Here are links to 4 articles, from PC's archives, that discuss coming off psych med's:

What is Discontinuation Syndrome?

SSRI Discontinuation or Withdrawal Syndrome

Discontinuing Psychiatric Medications: What You Need to Know

When Should I Come Off My Antidepressant? 6 Things to Consider

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Default Dec 28, 2018 at 11:42 PM
  #3
Hi. I'm currently weaning off of antidepressants and anxiety medication. I agree it feels hellish. My antidepressant also helps me sleep so I've been only getting about half of the sleep I usually did. I think I'm about a month in. I hate being up at night with nothing to do, so I sometimes come here, just to read or vent a little.

Did your antidepressant give you too many side effects? Just wondering your reasons to wean off of them. I found they blunted my emotions and the dullness I felt was too much. Although I've felt almost suicidal some days while weaning, I use some mind (lessness), I like to think of that instead of mindfulness. Just a suggestion, as I like a teacher called Eckhart Tolle..... you can find him on youtube. He helps with my anxiety. Best wishes to you.
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Default Dec 29, 2018 at 06:21 AM
  #4
I weened off of amitriptyline once. I was taking 50 mg. each evening. I followed the advice of a psychiatrist who said to drop the dose every month by 5 mg. He was wise. That was the right way to do it - gradually.

If you're having a tough time, I would urge you to ween off more gradually than you're doing.

Previously pdocs had told me I could ween off in 8 days. That was bad advice.
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Princess6011
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Default Apr 25, 2019 at 05:32 AM
  #5
I've tried weaning off antidepressants before. If you wean very slowly you should be alright. But I haven't been able to get completely off even though I would like to.
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Default Apr 25, 2019 at 03:02 PM
  #6
10% per month is what i've always heard. i imagine that with benzodiazepines, it could be even slower, if you're in the unforunate group who has -major- problems with tapering. some people find that pursuing counseling, talk therapy helps during drug tapers. im torn on that...there's lots of mediocre and even plain out bad therapists out there, so I dunno...but its an option. :-)
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Default Apr 25, 2019 at 05:33 PM
  #7
I just quit taking them it was hell for a couple of weeks but then it was over, no dragging it out over months.

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Thanks for this!
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Default Apr 27, 2019 at 12:27 AM
  #8
I weaned off of them but had other medications which I feel helped me not to crash. I was taking gabapentin and risperdal, too, at fairly low doses and I still am. They help with depression symptoms. Good luck to you.

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Default Apr 27, 2019 at 01:08 AM
  #9
I was on sertraline once for about five months while going through some horrendous work-related stress. When I got up to a dose of 75 mg, after a few days I started feeling side effects (felt like I had a brick at the base of my skull), and backed down to the previous dose of 50 mg for a couple more months.

When I finally decided to discontinue it, I alternated between 50 and 25 for a while, then just 25 mg, then 25 on alternate days and then discontinued. It was about 15 years ago and I can't remember exactly how long it took, but I do remember the way I alternated dosages to make for a more gradual transition.
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Default Apr 27, 2019 at 08:16 PM
  #10
Hi, princesspeaches01, and welcome to Psych Central! I mainly had vomiting when I weaned off of them. It got better over time. Hope you feel better soon.
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Default May 27, 2019 at 07:50 PM
  #11
After getting off of 9 years of different anti-depressant use, I used Black seed oil and NAC which helped immensely. Withdrawal symptoms did last 3+ months in my experience which sucks... I still feel off/different.


Quote:
Originally Posted by princesspeaches01 View Post
I’m just looking for people in similar situations as myself. I realized medication isn’t right for me personally, and decided to wean with supervision of my doctor. Withdrawal symptoms have been absolute hell. Anyone dealing with this?

Last edited by ADWith; May 27, 2019 at 08:16 PM..
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