Effectiveness of Point Of Return Withdrawal System for SSRIs

[wife143]

I have been doing some research on www.labelmesane.com and their assistance with withdrawal from prescription medications.  I am currently on Lexapro 20mg and have had no success of weaning off of this medication.  I experience most of the side effects discussed on this forum.  I am a single mother of six children and also a therapist and am exploring the option of purchasing this withdrawl support (Point of Return) and supplements.  What is your professional opinion of this withdrawal method and its effectiveness?    I have minimal physical supports of others and have to be able to function during the withdrawl process to take care of my children.  Any feedback would be so appreciated.  

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

I don't know anything about this product so can not comment.  But if you wean over a three week period using the following schedule, you should be all right...first week, lowest dose you can take without withdrawal symptoms...then, two weeks every other dayon that dose...then last week, every thrid day..then stop, and during the last week ask your doctor to cover you with a two week supply of klonopin....

[Paxiled]

Withdrawal isn't so uniform as Dr. Gould suggests it is.  Some people need to withdraw very slowly, especially with Paxil and effexor.  Don't know as much about Lexapro, it's supposed to be easier.  Go by your own reactions, if withdrawal gets too bad, have your psychiatrist put you back on last dose with out withdrawal and go slower.  You have no deadline here.  Be careful with klonopin, it's addictive and very hard to withdraw from as well, make sure you don't keep taking it beyond that two weeks if that's a safe period of time to prevent dependency.  The biggest thing is to make sure your psychiatrist monitors you regularly whenever you change doses of a medication, don't let them just say here, see you in three months.  I made that mistake going off Paxil and ended up in a permanent withdrawal.  Don't know anything about this Point of No Return, but I've told fish oil is useful with head zaps.  There's a book called the Antidepressant Solution you migh want to look into, it focuses on a protocol for going off ssris.  Most psychiatrists consider the author out of the mainstream, but to me that's a good recommendation.