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[Smokey]

I just wondered if you lovely ladies would share any withdrawal symptoms you had when you started reducing your ADs I know some of you have been successful in stopping them.

It would be very helpful to distinguish any I might have between MS and menopause so I have an idea as to what is causing what!

Many thanks

Ann x

[CLKD]

I took 9 weeks to reduce the dosage of one AD [can't remember the name ] - GPs have access to small doses for this purpose.  Every few days I would lessen the dose and for 24 hours had 'withdrawal' i.e. similar symptoms to what I had been prescribed them for.  Once I realised these didn't continue I relaxed.  It wasn't as bad as I feared ;-)

Why are you stopping them?

[Hurdity]

I don't take ADs but it does depend on which type you take. I do know that those drugs known as benzos are highly addictive and withdrawal is often only possible by micro-tapering sometimes over a very long period of time eg a year. As CLKD says you can use liquid forms of the drug to do this. I seem to remember there is someone on here who has done this but hopefully she will be along to help you if this is the one you take?

Hurdity x

[Smokey]

Thanks for your replies ladies.

CLKD I'm reducing them because they could be the cause of my liver inflammation but this hasn't been confirmed yet but also with reducing them I hope to reduce the other symptoms I get ,dry eyes , dry mouth and constipation .

I was prescribed them for tension heads originally, that is related to menopause which I now know and still get them usually just before my period, I have found paracetamol gets rid of them so hopefully I won't need the Ads .

They are called Nortriptyline and I was on 100mg each night but have reduced them to 90mg and have been taking this dose for two weeks now my doctor suggested reducing them further to 75mg  after this again for two weeks, then to 50mg again two weeks later.

Hurdity I didn't know they can be reduced more slowly by getting smaller doses my GP never mentioned that.

Sparkle  how was your mood after you stopped ? 

I'll report on how I'm getting on each week, I did have one day where I just felt strange!  But that could be just hormones.


Ann x

[Kristy]

I have been taking Cymbalta for anxiety for the last 6 months. My doctor started me on 60mg's which was great for the first 2-3 months but then started messing me up with regard to my appetite which went through the roof. Whatever I ate didn't satisfy me, I was constantly hungry and worried about putting on weight. My sense of taste started to change and everything tasted bland but I didn't want to add extra sugar or salt to things. I was always restless which made me feel uncomfortable even though anxiety was under control.
I then started to reduce the dose to 30mg's a day which so far has not caused any noticeable side effects. My appetite is now under control and my sense of taste has come back. There has been a slight increase in anxiety again but nothing I can't handle.
So for me, reducing my AD's has been good but I will need to monitor it, particularly if anxiety starts to increase.

[CLKD]

It depends on which dose a patient is taking regularly as to how the GP suggests reducing. 

[Sarai]

I would say if its not vital to your health right now cut down very very slowly. I was on sertraline for 14 years and took 9 months coming off, I still crashed with serious anxiety and had to go back on them.
I would say 90mg for a month, and the 80mg for a month and so on. A phsychologist I know says we should double if not treble the time a doc says about coming off ADs.

[renee]

Hi Smokey....one of the worst withdrawal symptoms I had years ago was brain zaps. I was slowly coming off of Sertraline, they were awful. And also, flu like symptoms but they didn't last long....just a few days. Come off real slow and hopefully you should be ok.

Good luck xxx

[CLKD]

Oh the brain zaps  - I get these occasionally, makes me go 'oh' and it's gone !

I found that the withdrawal feelings didn't last more than 24 hours each time I lowered the dose - took 9 weeks. [Effexor]

[bramble]

I read up on this a few months ago when my friend was stopping another AD Venlaxafine. The rate of tapering down depends on how long you were on them but it did say that you should only cut your dose each time by a maximum of 10% if you have been on them for longer than a year. If it is only a few months then you can taper more quickly. The time between tapers can be anything from a few days to a fortnight, again depending on how long you have been taking the tablets. There is no exact science for it unfortunately but lots of 'advice' on the net.

Bramble

[Smokey]

Thanks ladies for your comments

I have decided to reduce them slowly by 5mg every two weeks, besides what's the rush slow and steady that's what I say I don't want to make myself ill.

Why do I keep being thrown of the website at the moment, it's a real pain having to find password each time as I can never remember it, it seems to happen every couple of days even though I ask to be kept logged in.  Anyone else got problems?

[GypsyRoseLee]

Years ago when I had PND I was in Sertraline for over a year then changed to Prozac for about 9 months. I dislike both ADs. They made me feel robotic and I found it very difficult to orgasm. I couldn't cry but I couldn't laugh either.

In the end I just went cold turkey and stopped the Prozac overnight. I didn't suffer with any side effects at all. Infact I started to feel better after a week or so. I never looked back.

But I wonder if this was because I didn't need them and shouldn't have been on them in the first place? I have no idea when I would have 'naturally' recovered from PND? Being on ADs probably blanketed any natural recovery process.

[CLKD]

Nope Smokey - we are having problems with e-mail addies though 

[Smokey]

GypsyRoseLee

I'm glad you didn't have any side effects,  I know a few which are possible and I've had them before when I was reducing them and the HRT at the same time, they were sharp nerve pains, but only lasting seconds and tinnitus which I got when I messed about with my dose, Hormones play a big part in how we feel emotionally I've never had PMT but do have 4 days a month wher I am tearful and anything said in a sharper than normal tone has me crying.

I was put on them for tension headaches believe it or not! It was a very scary time for me as I was dx with MS and Menopause at the same time, I wish my Nuro hadn't put me on them because I wasn't depressed just ill.
Ann x

[Limpy]

I was put on them for tension headaches believe it or not! It was a very scary time for me as I was dx with MS and Menopause at the same time, I wish my Nuro hadn't put me on them because I wasn't depressed just ill.

Smokey - I believe you are on - Nortriptyline?

Nortriptyline is not just used for depression. It is often used for pain relief because it alters the ways the pain receptors in the brain work. Your neurologist will have prescribed it to help with your headaches and not because he thought you were depressed.

I was given Nortriptyline to deal with migraines , my Neurologist stressed it was for the migraines, he did not feel I was depressed. 

When I wanted to come off them, I did what the others have suggested, cut down the dose progressively so it became less and less and then was able to stop them completely.

Good luck.