[varla]

I have been on meds for 8 years for BiPolar
I have taken everything under the sun. My standard for several years has been
lamictal 200mg in am and pm
wellbutrin 200mg am and 5pm
requip from 1mg now up to 3mg pm (rls getting worses and worse)
elavil 75mg pm (headaches from pinched nerve)


They seemed to plateau every so often then a pdoc trys another and boost which never works out. I went on paxil 10mg for 3 mo and upped dose and went psycho. stopped.
I moved in august which has eliminated majority of the stresses in life.
I still went into a depression anyway.
I got a new pdoc and she said I needed booster to pull myself out of it.
so I have had the lamictal increased another 50mg then she added lexapro
it was horricble I became more depressed and I didn't recognize that it was the med not me. It gave me horrific bruises.
I stopped

I started cymbalta around oct until 2 weeks with slow increases during that time. I am 500 times worse!!!!!!!

I am dreadfully tired can't follow through with anything. ( I have gained 10 lbs in 3 weeks!!! and Acne!)
I have made promises to do little things like room parenting and I had screwed up everything like planning my sons class parties.
I promised to make these holiday potholders that I have made over the years and the people paid me and I can't even start them because I am so crippled by this med. and x-mas is around the corner.

My pdoc wanted to start me on remiran(sp?) I haven't started it. I'm and so fed up with medicine. She told me my other option is ECT!!!!
Because I have tried every med since 1998. I am only 33 and I am not severly stuck in bed where I know if I were that bad I would do ECT.
I feel like I have been on too many meds for too many years and they just don't work anymore.

I started them in my 20's but I had severe emotional problems and depression dysfunctional family and I started having flash backs of being molested when I was little.
My husband at the time was my highschool sweetheart we had a son and he was very controlling which I think fed into all these problems.
I went on meds and lots of therapy. The therapy saved my life and I am very together metally about dealing with my past. Then my husband died in 2000 he had a heart attack at 31 I was devastated so I was offical "disabled" by social security and am on medicare. I met an amazing man that is my soulmate. awesome dad patient supportive. I could go on so I moved in with him. He had gone through a terrible divorce with a psychotic ex who has consistently ruined our life for the last 5 years. I needed medicine to cope with her. I wanted to leave several times but the only reason was because of her. I knew that he and I have the best relationship ever and it wasn't worth losing him. plus my son loves him too.

Now in August he got an amazing high paying job 200 miles away from the ex and his kids (which are just as paycho as her) and we could afford a beautiful house with an ocean view.

So now with no real problems I amd sick of being on meds because no matter how many I try it does nothing to me and want to get off them. I think now that my life is settled and safe with a supportive partner I think I will be fine.
I have already tapered off cymbalta within the last week and a half.

I am in a horrble state like I said before. I am already decreasing the lamictal from 225mg bid back to the original 200 bid when I first moved here.
I want to taper off that and the wellbutrin. I take the wellbutrin 200 am and 200 at 5pm so the last 3 days I haven't taken the 5pm dose.
I figure I will adjust from the wellbutrin taper before I decrease the lamictal more because I think it would be too much all at once.

Q. WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU TAPER REALLY FAST (not cold turkey)?

I know I will not need requip when I am off the drugs because the rls is from the drugs. I don't know about the elavil I will deal with it later.

So here I am scared as to what life will be like w/o medicines.

I don't want to tell my pdoc cuz I think she would put me in a hospital or something. I don't trust her because I feel like she wants to dope me up.

HAS ANYONE TAPERED OFF LAMICTAL AND WELLBURTIN?
I am having withdrawal symptoms of
dizziness tingling hot flashes
constint forgetfullness
not knowing what I just did.
achy and numb. severe crying spells

ANYONE WHO HAS GONE OFF THESE MEDS PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU.
I am hoping to get off meds this next year and giving myself 3- 4 months bfore I get a job.

In the last 2 years I have worked temp jobs and I loved it I enjoy working but I have been scared into a catch 22 if I get a job then I will be kicked off disablity. then if I stay scared and continue halting my life to have it revolve around the meds I am taking then I am not acheiving anything.
I miss being normal. Before the meds I was a medical assistant and enjoyed working.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE BEEN THROUGH THIS. I NEED ADVICE AND TO HEAR EXPERIENCES FROM OTHERS.

I FEEL LIKE PDOCS ONLY WANT YOU TO STAY ON MEDS AND NOT TRY TO GET BETTER.

[sarah13]

I have taken wellbutrin on and off for 5 or so years. Everytime stopped taking it I did so cold turkey and nothing happened. Everyone is different though so you really should talk to a dr.

[varla]

I am suprised that you didn't have withdrawals. How high was the dose?
I am going to my pdoc tomorrow and I hope she will be cool about me at least getting off cymbalta and not go on remeron.

Thanks

[offmeds]

Read Peter Breggin, The Antidepressant Fact Book

Here is the synopsis:

Most commonly prescribed psychotropic medications have the potential to induce permanent brain damage in the dosages they are commonly prescribed.

Taper your drugs 10% per week. Taper one drug at a time. If you have difficulty tapering one of the drugs, stop tapering it (maintain the current dose) and reduce a different one. Find the easiest path down.

If your drugs are in capsules, open the capsule and spread the contents in a line along a piece of graph paper (sort of like lines of coke) and measure the dose using the divisions on the paper. If your drugs are in pills, crush them and spread them, or use a pill shaver and estimate. Prepare your doses all at once in advance and repackage them in capsules if powdered, then package each dosage level in separate, clearly marked plastic baggies. If you prepare them all in advance you will not have to think about what you are doing while you are in the throes of withdrawal.

The key points to remember are these:

Your nervous system will slowly recover (mostly) from the damage the drugs have done, but not completely. Expect to have residual symptoms of brain damage for the rest of your life that may only appear intermittently under stress, i.e. sleep deprivation, coldness, pain, stress.

Any symptoms you acquired during the course of drug therapy or withdrawal are probably due to the drug and not emergent problems you would have had anyway. By the time you started taking the drug, most likely all of the innate changes you experienced were already complete.

If at any time withdrawal symptoms become intolerable, step the dose back up 10% and wait. Be patient. It could take up to a year to withdraw safely.

You will feel quite ill for the entire time you withdraw and potentially for years afterward. This is normal.

If is quite possible that your nervous system has been so badly damaged, either from the drugs, from stress, or from inherent degenerative processes that are genetically induced, that you might need to maintain one or more drugs at a reduced dose in perpetuity in order to remain functional.

I successfully used this method to withdraw from effexor. It was hell and I still have problems years later. My condolences. You have taken so many drugs it is almost certain you will have noticeable abnormalities for the rest of your life.

[offmeds]

Read Peter Breggin, The Antidepressant Fact Book

Here is the synopsis:

Most commonly prescribed psychotropic medications have the potential to induce permanent brain damage in the dosages they are commonly prescribed.

Taper your drugs 10% per week. Taper one drug at a time. If you have difficulty tapering one of the drugs, stop tapering it (maintain the current dose) and reduce a different one. Find the easiest path down.

If your drugs are in capsules, open the capsule and spread the contents in a line along a piece of graph paper (sort of like lines of coke) and measure the dose using the divisions on the paper. If your drugs are in pills, crush them and spread them, or use a pill shaver and estimate. Prepare your doses all at once in advance and repackage them in capsules if powdered, then package each dosage level in separate, clearly marked plastic baggies. If you prepare them all in advance you will not have to think about what you are doing while you are in the throes of withdrawal.

The key points to remember are these:

Your nervous system will slowly recover (mostly) from the damage the drugs have done, but not completely. Expect to have residual symptoms of brain damage for the rest of your life that may only appear intermittently under stress, i.e. sleep deprivation, coldness, pain, stress.

Any symptoms you acquired during the course of drug therapy or withdrawal are probably due to the drug and not emergent problems you would have had anyway. By the time you started taking the drug, most likely all of the innate changes you experienced were already complete.

If at any time withdrawal symptoms become intolerable, step the dose back up 10% and wait. Be patient. It could take up to a year to withdraw safely.

You will feel quite ill for the entire time you withdraw and potentially for years afterward. This is normal.

If is quite possible that your nervous system has been so badly damaged, either from the drugs, from stress, or from inherent degenerative processes that are genetically induced, that you might need to maintain one or more drugs at a reduced dose in perpetuity in order to remain functional.

I successfully used this method to withdraw from effexor. It was hell and I still have problems years later. My condolences. You have taken so many drugs it is almost certain you will have noticeable abnormalities for the rest of your life.

[offmeds]

Read Peter Breggin, The Antidepressant Fact Book

Here is the synopsis:

Most commonly prescribed psychotropic medications have the potential to induce permanent brain damage in the dosages they are commonly prescribed.

Taper your drugs 10% per week. Taper one drug at a time. If you have difficulty tapering one of the drugs, stop tapering it (maintain the current dose) and reduce a different one. Find the easiest path down.

If your drugs are in capsules, open the capsule and spread the contents in a line along a piece of graph paper (sort of like lines of coke) and measure the dose using the divisions on the paper. If your drugs are in pills, crush them and spread them, or use a pill shaver and estimate. Prepare your doses all at once in advance and repackage them in capsules if powdered, then package each dosage level in separate, clearly marked plastic baggies. If you prepare them all in advance you will not have to think about what you are doing while you are in the throes of withdrawal.

The key points to remember are these:

Your nervous system will slowly recover (mostly) from the damage the drugs have done, but not completely. Expect to have residual symptoms of brain damage for the rest of your life that may only appear intermittently under stress, i.e. sleep deprivation, coldness, pain, stress.

Any symptoms you acquired during the course of drug therapy or withdrawal are probably due to the drug and not emergent problems you would have had anyway. By the time you started taking the drug, most likely all of the innate changes you experienced were already complete.

If at any time withdrawal symptoms become intolerable, step the dose back up 10% and wait. Be patient. It could take up to a year to withdraw safely.

You will feel quite ill for the entire time you withdraw and potentially for years afterward. This is normal.

If is quite possible that your nervous system has been so badly damaged, either from the drugs, from stress, or from inherent degenerative processes that are genetically induced, that you might need to maintain one or more drugs at a reduced dose in perpetuity in order to remain functional.

I successfully used this method to withdraw from effexor. It was hell and I still have problems years later. My condolences. You have taken so many drugs it is almost certain you will have noticeable abnormalities for the rest of your life.

[jennyniffer]

I have tapered off both Lamicatal and Wellbutrin. Thou I was not taking then at the same time. I loved Wellbutrin but I have a sensitive GI tract and lets just say things where not moving like they should have been. I am bipolar as well and I can't remember what we moved me to from that point, but I know that getting off Wellbutrin was not too diffilcult for me. Lamicatal on the other hand was, just because it takes so,so,so long. I was using it as a mood stabilizer and for it's positive affects as a migraine prophylactic. So to go from 200 mg down by 20 only every week was horrible on my nerves and my head throbbed the entire time. I was also starting to get some alarming skin issues which was the whole reason for stopping. But no, by no means would I pull a cold Turkey on that one. HAng in there, I feel for ya

[Patience]

Off Meds:
That is interesting and scary. Can you tell me a little more about your experience coming off effexor? I quit cold turkey about 5 months ago and am still feeling yucky. Now I know to expect this, but what was your timeline and symptoms like?

Thanks!