Advice on getting off anti depressants

In 2021 the start of the lockdown knocked me out mentally. I was ruminating like Conor Oberst. I remember I was returning from my usual zombie like walk in the park, and called the temp agency of the job I was doing and said, “I don’t think i can work anymore. I just want to sleep.” SHe was very understanding and said if you wnat to stop and open a UE claim i won’t fight it, I’m depressed also." I toughed it out, but online my dr. prescribed lexapro. Now almost 2 years later I think i can at least taper down. I’m on 10. I am looking at cutting in half and just take 5. I’ll keep it that way until the fall. Any experiences or viewpoints?,

For all I know, it’s done pretty much that way, but always overseen by a doctor, so you don’t get a rebound effect. You could start taking 10 day in day out, or 5 every day, and then later 5 day in day out. I’d just see a doctor to follow me up during and after.

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www.benzobuddies.org

These websites should be a useful tools. I tapered my mother off of 30 mg of ristoril and found benzobuddies to be an invaluable resource as ristoril is a benzo. Both websites have forums full of information for people looking to taper, with many people on these sites having experienced tapers themselves. My mom’s doctor didn’t really know much about tapering and wasn’t nearly as knowledgable as the people on these websites.

Get a pill crusher and a milligram scale (off of Amazon). Figure out what the weight of your pill equals in dose. For example a pill that is a 10 mg dose maybe weighs 5 mg. Decrease the dose 5% - 10% every 2 or 3 weeks.

You’ll be fine, but understand that tapering takes time. Be good to yourself and don’t taper too quickly.

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Oh dear god have I got advice. When I lost little Miracle, I ended up on lexapro and remeron. 15 years went by and the remeron seemed to be not working because of different manufacturers over and over. (Chinese crap) Well nobody told me to wean so I quit. Went through 2 months of horrible withdrawal but then I felt great… for 3 weeks…then I developed a horrid anxiety/panic/serious depression disorder. I have no memory left and felt so insanely terrified every second of every day. For many months every second. Cannot describe the fear. Went to a Dr and I was a guinea pig on so many combinations of garbage for months and months. I was completely nauseated every minute of every day. I was 200 pounds. I am now 95 pounds. Like 2 years have gone by and after changing shrinks I’m on some (like5) pills so I can be somewhat normal. The moral is DONT MESS WITH THAT CRAP, EVER. I know you did and are weaning properly and I’m sure you’ll be fine but if you feel anything odd or scared just hang in there or you can talk to me. Don’t go back on anything!!! I know everything. Now I’m addicted to like 40mg lexapro, cymbalta, librium…for the rest of my life. I’m done. I still feel some fear, anxiety, and extreme depression but I can function. But my muscles are gone. Things I used to do with 2 fingers now I can’t even pick up. I’ll see a tool I used a million times and say what’s that? I don’t remember…Please tell everyone don’t ever mess with this crap. BIG PHARMA SUCKS. that’s what it’s all about…$$

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Medication is a mixed bag. Most doctors who are well trained have only a small inkling of how the brain works. At the end of the day, it is mostly a guessing game. You have some who look at it as a chemical imbalance, when the brain also has electrodes in it. Then you have doctors who try to treat it with ECT (electro Convulsive therapy). I would guess, it’s somewhere in the middle.

As one whose body was ravaged by first generation antipsycotic meds, I can say, looking back meds were horrible at that time… I shouldn’t have gone of them. However, it was a struggle…i gained fifty pounds quicker than snapping ones fingers. I was so sick my first year of school. They allowed me to go to minimum classes. My day consisted of going to class, trying to eat a little, then going back to bed…sick as a dog. I probably spent 17 hours a day in bed. When I went off of them, it was a jolt of dopamine. I was on top of the fucking world. I lost weight…quick. The problem was with highs come lows. I’d just crash. My brain cracked a little…or so it felt. I am med compliant, but think there’s part of my life that I’m missing and they can’t give it back and I have some resentment towards the mental health community.

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That seems like an okay taper - it’s just about making sure you taper off, just as you had to titrate up.

Zoloft helps me when I get really bad so I support medication to help with mental health, but I prefer not to be on it all the time (which is the point anyway, of course).

I stopped taking one of my Antidepressants because it just stopped working. I was on the highest dose, and when I told my doctor, he refused to put me on another one. After a few agonizing days, I can say I’m feeling at least somewhat better not being on them. I think after time, your body just doesn’t get the proper effect anymore. Though it might help a lot of people, medication just can’t be a permanent fix for depression for people like me.