Getting OFF Antidepressants, Advice?

[RT93]

Hi All,

I'm a 25, male that has been on antidepressants for the past 7 years. Citalopram for first 4 years, then effexor for 2 years, zoloft for past
6 months, and then tried but stopped Wellburtrin this past week. I have been having big issues with meds and I'm fed up! Tired of this trial and error with these meds and their side effects! I feel like a lab rat. My good friend who now lives far away has been off meds for 5 years and somehow is able to get or qualify for medical marijuana. Says he has never felt better since he stopped all meds and been using this. I personally don't use any drugs, don't smoke marijuana, and hardly ever drink. Since I know, that I won't qualify to get a card to take any form of medical marijuana. I'm asking for advice from anyone to help come off antidepressant all together and what else I can do to help deal with side effects, withdrawal, and to help manage my depression.

Currently, I'm trying to tamper myself off Zoloft. Supposed to be taking 100mg daily. But have decided to start this week at 75 mg daily then as each week goes by, lower it a little, then take it every other day eventually until I'm completely off the pill.

Look forward to hearing from people.
Thanks!

[evewisewoman]

Hello there,   Going off antidepressants must be done cautiously. I would recommend that you make an appointment with the doctor who put you on Zoloft. Tell your doctor that you want to get off Zoloft and let your doctor tell you how to do it. Remember, he or she is the professional. As an aside, I am on antidepressants and have been for years as depression runs in my family.  Many years ago I asked my doctor at the time if she could prescribe Zoloft for me which she did.  I did this because a friend of mine was on Zoloft and she had good results with it. I was only on Zoloft for 2 days because I had horrible side effects on Zoloft such as horrible nightmares and profuse sweating. I made an emergency appointment with my doctor at the time and told her I wanted off Zoloft immediately. The other antidepressant you mentioned, Effexor, did not agree with me either.  You also mentioned Wellbutrin which is the antidepressant I take once a day ; 150 milligrams. Wellbutrin had the least amount of side effects.  You mentioned medical marajuana. I know someone who tried medical marajuana to help cope with chronic back pain. She felt physically sick using it and it made her extremely anxious and paranoid. Needless to say, she tried it only once. Depression is an illness . Some people like myself have hereditary depression and I have to take an antidepressant every day.  Other ways to cope with depression are meditation and deep breathing, but as you probably know, depression can be minor or major. I wish you well, but if you want to get off antidepressants do it with the help of your doctor or you could end up getting major side effects and withdrawl symptoms. If anything I have shared with you in this message is helpful, I am glad .  Take good care, Eve

[specialmom]

Oh ya, that's really good advice.  my advice  got stuck in a place that wasn't about that and evewisewoman is totally right.  You should only taper off your med with doctor guidance!  Don't go solo!

[RT93]

So I have been back on zoloft 100mg for two weeks.
Been feeling old symptoms again. Super sleepy like I want to fall asleep or my brain just wants to shut off. I'm still feeling Depresonalization and derealzation and uncomfortable in my head.
I will see my Psychiatrist on May 7. I don't know what to do next because every day has been torture for me. I feel so out of whack, feel like I'm getting dumber, hard time talking to people, and memory been suffering.
:(

[Paxiled]

This doesn't appear to be the right drug for you, I guess.  Might be time to slowly taper off and try something else.

[RT93]

It doesn't. Feel bad on it and feel bad trying to tamper off it :(

Today has been different then yesterday. Feel so brain dead. Like no thoughts, feeling lost and confused.

[RT93]

So yes. I was feeling good from April 2nd through April 8th. Thought finally I'm starting to feel better. Then on the 9th I ran low on med which is my mistake for forgetting to refill them. Its complicated I can only get my meds in IL because I lived there whole life and everything  medical wise is with that state. But I lived for
few past months and work in Wisconsin. So with working weird full time hours I dont have much time to be able to get my meds. Anyways for past 3 days I been taking 50mg of zoloft. Today I took 75mg because i finally got my meds. But yesterday and today i been feeling like crap. Feel hyper aware, non stop thoughts all over the place, really off, and just not comfortable.  

My situation feels so odd.

[Paxiled]

You just can't go up and down on dose -- it will put you into potential withdrawal.  Not a big one, but with what you're going through, you don't want to add to it.  I don't quite see why you can't have your meds phoned or emailed to a pharmacy where you live until you get new medical care where you now live -- that takes no time.

[RT93]

Yeah dont know why it's such an issue.
Getting an appointment with my Psych is also an issue. She's only in twice a week and always booked!
Can only see her once every 2 months or so. Finding a different one is hard to because not many psych take my insurance which is Merridian.

Maybe my issues are from too much cell phone usage too. As I play a lot of mobile games to distract myself from my thoughts, but at same time looking up random stuff.
Right now I feel like my brain is overloaded, wants to shut off, brain dead. Then sometimes I will get randomly a bunch of thoughts at once. Then starts the what if's. I'm a  mess :(

[RT93]

Hi., all
Thanks for all the replies and sorry for delaying response. Didn't get any notification for this post. Unfortunately, it's hard to get appointments to discuss stuff. Won't see my psych till May 7. Haven't seen my therapist in months! Didn't feel it helped me much. Therapy doesn't do much for me. Only short term help. But
So far the 75mg of zoloft has been ok for me. I actually feel better then when I was on 100 mg. So debating if I should reduce again or not. I only brought up medical marijuana because it's natural and less side effects. But like some have said I think you can get it without getting a high. Also, I asked if I can be taken off Zoloft, my psych told me to go off zoloft after a week and then start wellbutrin. Which sounded like a horrible answer to me. Don't want to deal with severe withdrawal, also I tried wellbutrin while using small amount of zoloft. Bad reaction. Chest pain/weird feeling in chest, sweats, and more.

Next time I see her. I will ask what she thinks about not taking meds.

[specialmom]

Going off of antidepressants needs to be regulated by a doctor. There are some serious side effects that can occur if you do not wean off of them. I have taken Effexor for several years. If I miss one dose, I get very dizzy and lightheaded. Just turning my head. I take the medication and the symptoms go away within a couple hours. I am currently weaning off of the Effexor and going onto Wellbutrin. I feel that Effexor is preventing me from losing weight. The doctor said to go from 225mgm down to 150 mgm and then stop after a couple weeks. I couldn't do that. I had to go down by 37.5 mgm increments every week.

[specialmom]

Hope you are doing better now!

[Paxiled]

Effexor and Paxil are the most difficult meds for the most people to stop taking.  The taper should be set at a pace that suits the person, not the doctor.  Some will do it very easily, but some will have a hard time.  Most doctors and psychiatrists do not treat their patients as individuals -- they are always in a hurry and seem awfully clueless about withdrawal for some reason.  Maybe they don't want to frighten us.  Maybe they really just don't care.  Who knows?  My current psychiatrist is the only one I've ever had, and I've had several, who understands withdrawal.  Given anyone can see this on the internet, I do wonder why docs still insist on using the same taper on everyone they treat.

[specialmom]

If you are getting off meds, get off meds.  Don't pick something else to substitute for it like pot.  Just my opinion but it's still being on 'something' and has a whole host of its own issues.  How is therapy going?  What kinds of coping mechanisms have you worked on?  In many lines of work, even with a card, if you test for pot in your system, you can't have the job.  You still have laws regarding driving a vehicle under the influence (DUI laws apply to marijuana often). Etc.  If you don't want to take antidepressants anymore, then work with a psychologist to have other ways (non drug oriented) to make it work.  And then try it.  If it doesn't, then devise another plan.  best of luck to you.

[specialmom]

PS: no judgment for using medical marijuana.  I just think drug free means drug free.  And miss the point of going from antidepressants to another type of drug.  :>)

[Paxiled]

Marijuana will be the same trial and error you're going through now.  Everything will be, even natural medicine, because the cause of mental illness isn't known.  The problem with pot is that, again, different people have different responses to it.  They are breeding it now so that it's getting more and more like a genetically modified organism and a drug, depending on your source.  So while one problem of using it is that you're going to be stoned all the time and that might suit some people but make it impossible for others to do much of anything, they supposedly have breeds now that have eliminated most of what causes people to get high.  Another problem is that many people got their problems while they were stoned, because if you do get high it can cause people to go deep inside and bring out things that are unpleasant, while for others it doesn't do that and just makes them happy or horny or hungry.  I used to use it when it was just for fun, and then it wasn't fun anymore, it was causing me to have anxiety attacks that were probably going to come out anyway but it pushed them out.  You're looking for guarantees, you won't find them, but if you keep trying things you may find the thing that helps you.  The only known cure for mental illness is changing the way you think, whether through therapy or some other way.  There are psychiatrists who use natural medicine to treat it, using diet, lifestyle changes, and natural remedies in concert.  A book to read on the remedies used, though it's old, is Natural Highs by Hyla Cass, and the psychiatrists who do it this way are called functional physicians, though they may decide in the end you need medication.  I agree, going down the same road over and over isn't getting you anywhere, so a change couldn't hurt.

[AnxiousNoMore]

Did you ever try therapy to discuss one on one with someone what the problem is, to try  to work on it?