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Tried to stop antidepressants

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Brian0787
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07 Oct 2024, 11:32 am

Carbonhalo wrote:
There may be benefits to switching to a DNRI antidepressant.(Bupropion)
Possible weight loss instead of gain.
Minimal sexual dysfunction.
The downside is it takes a while to be able to sleep again after starting.

If you're already on an SSRI or tri/tetracyclic you will still have to taper from serotonin, and simultaneous administration is frowned upon. (But they let me)


Thank you for sharing! I had tried Buproprion in the past but didn't stay on it too long and didn't give it enough of a chance. I might have to try it again :)


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steve30
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06 Nov 2024, 2:06 am

Just wondering, how is the anti-depressant withdrawal going?



Brian0787
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06 Nov 2024, 2:13 am

Hi Steve! Hope you've been doing well! It's actually funny you should ask but it didn't go very well. I appreciate you asking! I tried cutting down to 12.5 mg of Paxil and then using 10 mg of Prozac but I ended up getting badly sick. I ended up going to 25 mg of Paxil and have been at that level for about maybe a month or so. I was feeling pretty good this week so I thought "Why don't I try to cut it down to 12.5 mg instead. I think I can do this somehow". It was a bad idea and ended up getting a severe panic attack tonight. I could feel my heart speeding up which was awful. It's finally calmed down now after taking 2 doses of Ativan and taking 25 mg of Paxil. I had talked to my Doctor last week and he said that I should just stay where I'm at for right now. As much as I hate the idea he's right. I can't tolerate coming off at least with a large drop.

I talked about the idea of a liquid taper of Paxil but he thinks there might be more side effects with that. I am going to take him at his word and just try to stay the course for now. It kind of depresses me because I really want to be off but I have to accept I have to take the 25 mg dosage.


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06 Nov 2024, 7:24 am

Very sorry to hear of your situation at this point, please feel better . And perhaps try not to give up on the fight to get control of your health issues .


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Brian0787
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06 Nov 2024, 11:46 am

Thank you, Jakki! I appreciate it :)


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06 Nov 2024, 1:42 pm

Coming off of any anti-depressant is hard, best wishes to you Brian with your wish to be less reliant on these medications.



Brian0787
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06 Nov 2024, 6:35 pm

Thank you, Blitzkrieg! I appreciate it very much :)


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06 Nov 2024, 6:40 pm

A while back, I was put on a higher dose that turned out to actually make things worse. While waiting to be put back on the lower dose, I got hold of a pill cutter and literally just cut the pills into quarters and took 3/4 a day.


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06 Nov 2024, 7:00 pm

Brian0787 wrote:
Thank you, Blitzkrieg! I appreciate it very much :)


No worries! :)



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06 Nov 2024, 8:53 pm

Brian0787 wrote:
Hi Steve! Hope you've been doing well! It's actually funny you should ask but it didn't go very well. I appreciate you asking! I tried cutting down to 12.5 mg of Paxil and then using 10 mg of Prozac but I ended up getting badly sick. I ended up going to 25 mg of Paxil and have been at that level for about maybe a month or so. I was feeling pretty good this week so I thought "Why don't I try to cut it down to 12.5 mg instead. I think I can do this somehow". It was a bad idea and ended up getting a severe panic attack tonight. I could feel my heart speeding up which was awful. It's finally calmed down now after taking 2 doses of Ativan and taking 25 mg of Paxil. I had talked to my Doctor last week and he said that I should just stay where I'm at for right now. As much as I hate the idea he's right. I can't tolerate coming off at least with a large drop.

I talked about the idea of a liquid taper of Paxil but he thinks there might be more side effects with that. I am going to take him at his word and just try to stay the course for now. It kind of depresses me because I really want to be off but I have to accept I have to take the 25 mg dosage.


That's a shame you ended up ill. Lets hope you can have another go sometime. I'm curious as to why a liquid taper would introduce more side effects. I'd have thought it would probably take longer to come off it, but probably will less severe effects.



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06 Nov 2024, 9:36 pm

what about stopping antipsychotics like abilify maintena.



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06 Nov 2024, 10:31 pm

steve30 wrote:
That's a shame you ended up ill. Lets hope you can have another go sometime. I'm curious as to why a liquid taper would introduce more side effects. I'd have thought it would probably take longer to come off it, but probably will less severe effects.


Thank you, Steve! I was curious too and asked my Doctor why there would be more side effects with the liquid. I think he said it has to do with the absorption rate. I am tempted to give it a shot as I'm not how else to go about it. The one other thing I could maybe do is directly switch from Paxil to Lexapro and then try to taper off Lexapro instead. Lexapro has a slightly longer half-life I think. I am hoping one of those methods would possibly work.


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06 Nov 2024, 10:35 pm

mjb4321 wrote:
what about stopping antipsychotics like abilify maintena.


Stopping antipsychotics I think can cause some severe issues if not tapered. I was put on a low dose of Abilify in 2019 when I was inpatient at a facility and ended up stopping it cold turkey. The next week I had very bad akathesia in my legs and it felt like I had to keep moving them. It was horrible. I also got very bad panic attacks and think it was related to this.


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06 Nov 2024, 11:29 pm

Titrate the dosage please....just chip off a piece of a pill then take the rest of the whole pill. for at least two weeks.?
then chip off bigger piece after two weeks ....and so on and so on . often tranquilizers of some sort can help with withdrawels .... And the tranq does not have to be a prescription..So consider some otc herbs from healthfood store
Valerian root ..passion flower, Skullcap, or even lower level in a tea ,such as chamomile. (just a thought ..not intended as medical advise ) Just incase you choose to go that route . :mrgreen: .


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Brian0787
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06 Nov 2024, 11:32 pm

Jakki wrote:
Titrate the dosage please....just chip off a piece of a pill then take the rest of the whole pill. for at least two weeks.?
then chip off bigger piece after two weeks ....and so on and so on . often tranquilizers of some sort can help with withdrawels .... And the tranq does not have to be a prescription..So consider some otc herbs from healthfood store
Valerian root ..passion flower, Skullcap, or even lower level in a tea ,such as chamomile. (just a thought ..not intended as medical advise ) Just incase you choose to go that route . :mrgreen: .



Thank you, Jakki! I will have to see if I can take a chip off the extended release pills I take. I think I seen you couldn't cut them but will call my local pharmacist and ask. It would be nice if I could try it :)


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05 Jan 2025, 2:32 pm

There is a forum just for safe tapering off of antidepressants, and other psych drugs.

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org

The people there will teach you how to taper off properly, and walk you through it. Many people have gotten off successfully, including myself. I was on Paxil, then Lexapro for 15 years, and finished tapering off over 2 years ago.


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