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Has anyone tapered off or currently in the process of tapering off antidepressants?
How are you getting on with it?
All I'd say is taper off very slowly, maybe cutting tablets in half, or getting lower dose tablets so you can slowly come off them. Side effects can be quite nasty.
Yeah you're supposed to talk to your Doctor about it.
I've tapered my 150mg Sertralene to 100mg, but have now been on 100 for a few years.
It's very important to do it very gradually over a long period.
I had no issues going from 100mg down to 50 but haven't attempted tapering to zero as I don't want to rock the boat 😵💫 Definitely speak to your GP first.
There are a few threads about life on different medication and tapering off comes up regularly. It does depend on the medication, some are harder then others. Fluoxetine I found simple, sertraline not so easy, but I'm off and well.
I take 50mg amitriptyline for pain takeofyf as opposed to mental health reasons, however it's used for both.ib went cold turkey on it once as part of an experiment and the withdrawal was horrible. Sweats, insomnia, mood, shivers etc.
My wife's stopping of Citalopram was quite similar.
Absolutely speak to the doctor about doing it and as above, taper over a long period.
depends on your length of use too, i was on the amitriptyline for neck pain for 4-5 weeks, i gave up on them after 4 weeks, necks still not right. but no side effects.
doctor and over weeks/months/years
My wife tried a few times to come off Citalopram - she's off now (two years) and doing fine without them.
The first time she tried she did it over Christmas holidays one year without telling anyone she was going to try - that was a fun Christmas - how we all laughed at the random outbursts of rage!! 😬😬
As others have said you need to consult your Doctor first, and also be as sure as you can be that the reason for going on them is no longer an issue or can be controlled by other means.
I did a few years ago now (Sertraline) and it was fine - however in my case it was very much a cause/effect situation, and I felt the problems that had caused me to want them in the first place had passed and I didn't like the 'flat' emotional journey that was neither high or low but had become more overall lower than baseline with not even occasional highs. Definitely helped me when I needed it though. The point being in my specific case I felt that I knew I didn't need them any more and it seemed quite a simple choice, whereas your situation may be very different.
However I absolutely knew to speak to my GP about it having been in a situation where I'd run out and various factors meant that I had to go 4 days or so without, the symptoms were akin to a really bad cold minus the snot, and weird 'electric shocks' all the time.
GP just had me taper off gradually by halving a tablet and staying on the lowered dose a while, then repeating until there was nothing left to halve (but always with the caveat 'come back and see me if it doesn't feel OK')
I'm on 50mg Sertraline and I've accidently gone cold turkey twice with neither occasion ending well. The first time I simply forgot (on a Thursday) and was in a pretty good place generally but it only took one small thing to send me spiraling (on the following Sunday). The second time I'd run out and I went into a slump almost immediately, possibly because I was aware of what was coming. On both occasions I had several black days without warning some time after restarting the Sertraline.
It took me nearly three months to go from 150mg sertraline to zero so i could move to mirtazapine. It's not nice, but it was planned via my doctors. 150 to 100 wasn't too bad, but then it got worse towards the end when i was tapering to zero.
A couple of times I've ended up going cold turkey for a couple of days due to mistakes on my prescriptions which was very unpleasant
Whatever you do make sure it's via your doctors. They do know what they are doing with these things
I'm using Mirtazapine now, and thinking about tapering off.
Yeah, Sertralene is horrible if you accidentally miss a day or two. Really weird spacey, otherworldly feeling of oddness.
I tried (via the Dr) dropping the dosage on my citalopram after 3 years - head aches, mood swings and generally feeling like I did before the meds. Due to other issues though I asked to go back up to my original dose -still on it 2 years later.
Now I'm in a 'better' place I might try again - there was a good article on the BBC that had been linked previously about the side effects of coming off/dropping down and the side effects mirrored the original symptoms and was difficult to tell if it was side effects or a relapse.
I went cold turkey off citaroplam going back about 12 years ago and I thought my brain had a strobe light inside it. Not recommended.
The first time I tried to come off my relatively low dose of Citalopram, I struggled, took about 18 months with several false starts. Mainly as i hadn't really dealt with the underlying issues.
Definitely do it only with GP advice.
Have you dealt with the root cause of the issues, or have you got alternative coping mechanisms in place?
Try and do it in the spring - going into a long dark winter wasn't a great idea.
Taper slowly.
Struggling isn’t failure. Reduce, stabilise, reduce again.
Been back on the meds 18 months now, not looking forward to coming off again. Maybe next spring/summer.
I tapered off 15mg Mertazapine for four weeks after taking it for ~5 months, while switching to 50mg Sertraline. Went from feeling really groggy all day having slept through all night (reason I wanted to switch), to returning sleep issues and daily dull headaches. Was given a box of sleeping tablets (25mg Phenergan), but everytime I've taken one, I feel worse the next day than I used to feel with Mertazapine... Stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Weirdly, sertraline massively improved my sleep, apart from the utterly insane dreams and mega morning grogginess in the early days.
So I might as well ask in this thread.
my doc is hassling me to go on ADs but I've said I don't understand why I'd put myself in the position of them having to come off the damn things later on. Bit like smoking really why start in the first place?
"But you're ill. You'd take a paracetamol if you had a headache, bandage if you were bleeding etc. Take the ADs to fix your head."
Tell me your thoughts people...
If you can manage without them then great. If the symptoms are having a prolonged and substantial negative impact on your life, which they probably are if you're at the point of discussion with your GP, then maybe you need to accept that whatever you've been doing until now hasn't worked and it's time to try something else.
That's one of the main reasons I thinking about tapering off Mirtazpine.
It solved my insomnia, and lessened my depression/anxiety. I sleep like a teenager. But you feel really groppy/doppy half the next day.
@thegeneralist I had a similar belief and also believed that since the problems I was dealing with were created by a third party and beyond my control (therefore how I was affected and feeling was also uncontrollable / wasn't 'depression' - it was and was leaving me unable to deal with the most minor things, unmotivated, anxious and pretty much staring at the wall / into space when I could and going through the motions when I had to) until a friend had a long and caring chat with me and encouraged me to see the GP.
The outcome was , whilst ADs wouldn't eliminate the root cause, they absolutely helped me to live my life, not thriving but at least a bit more than coping with everything else. I also recall the feeling just having taken the step of talking gave me, like a massive weight off my shoulders and at least like I'd regained control of something for myself.
I'd say be kind to yourself, and look after yourself right now - you can worry about stopping them later. Unlike smoking it can be a life improver and I'm glad I had the option
I’ve said I don’t understand why I’d put myself in the position of them having to come off the damn things later on.
Doctors can be eager to prescribe them and they aren't always the answer. I think there are limited things doctors can do for depression/anxiety etc... so they often default to the anti-depressants. Worth bearing in mind that taking them alongside therapy is more effective than just taking them and expecting something to change when you come back off them.
If you can get by without them then steer clear, if your life is becoming very difficult for whatever reason and the doctor is recommending them then it might be worth a go. As much as I dislike the side effects and withdrawal effects they have been helpful to me.
Trying a small dose to see how it makes you feel might be worthwhile (need to give it a few months at least before judging their effectiveness). You can come off them later or try a different type of AD if it doesn't help.
For the OP, I've come off sertraline and fluoxetine in the past, both after less than a year (which was a mistake). Both were unpleasant to come off but not awful. Fluoxetine was worse because it supposedly has a longer half life in your system and I felt the withdrawal effects mildly for a while after. As others have said, taper a lot and stretch it out as far as you can until you are taking very small doses daily, then every two days etc before you stop. Some people will halve pills or crush them up in order to take a very small dose because the NHS generally only have standard doses available.
Make sure you have something in place to support yourself when you are off them as well. For me it was pushing myself to do a load of exercise and healthy eating as well as psychotherapy.
Those worrying about going onto AD drugs. They will allow you to get the other stuff done that will address the underlying causes of the depression/mental health. The balancing act is ensuring that you have enough to function but not so much that you can't because of the drug.
Low doses are the start with checks to make sure you can function (one needs to be honest with oneself and the doctor at the reviews). I think I had a max dose of 20mg of Citalopram at my worst (not too bad considering shift work was involved, it took the extremes of reaction away). Mrs S got to around 70mg of Fluoxetine at one stage, that was a long taper indeed.
As someone who prescribes antidepressants….speak to your GP. Simple.
Definitely speak to your GP if you feel and are ready to very gradually wean yourself off them. I was taking a daily dose of 20 mg of fluoxetine for about 2 years. Gradually reduced the dose by taking 6 a week for a month, 5 a week for a month and all the way down to 1 a week for a month, there could've even been a few half tablets thrown in on the last month too! Appreciate that sounds a bonkers regime, but didn't want to shock my system and undo all the good and difficult work of getting my head straight. To be honest, it was more difficult getting onto fluoxetine and managing the mood change. I've seen friends in a bad way by just stopping ADs, cold turkey isn't the way to go... Hope it goes well for you..
Tell me your thoughts people…
I was reluctant to try meds, heard too many tales of side effects and struggling to come off them.
But I was seeing the doctor because I was so anxious and depressed I couldn’t safely function, had a shocking near miss in the car, and could only see one very permanent way out of the hole I felt I was in.
Despite the Citalopram taking over a month to kick in, slightly dodgy stomach for the couple of years I was on it, and the effort to come off it, it calmed my head enough to get help and support to stop me looking longingly at multi storey car parks.
When I started back down that road, I was much more proactive in asking my GP to go back on them with no concerns.
Don't know how typical it is but my gp suggested a low holding dose rather than going completely off them. Was less troublesome in the reduction phase and also seemed to help when I needed to go back to an effective dose.
It is a mean trick of antidepressants, how much they can **** you up, especially if you end up having to go through a couple to get an option that works. No different I suppse than that time they had to break my arm a bit more before they could pin it, but still.
I’m in the process of reducing my dose of Citalopram. I know it affects everyone differently and I’m finding it extremely difficult with some bad side effects. Mood swings, anxiety, feeling extremely tired and stomach issues. Nobody at work knows which is challenging. Some days are extremely tough and it’s hard to keep a lid on it. I became very panicky and tearful for no apparent reason on Tuesday and had to hide in a toilet cubicle for a bit. Good times!
All that being said I’m determined to attempt to get off them for food eventually. I’ve done all this with guidance from my GP whilst following a dose reduction plan. I wouldn’t recommend doing it any other way.
“But you’re ill. You’d take a paracetamol if you had a headache, bandage if you were bleeding etc. Take the ADs to fix your head.”
Tell me your thoughts people…
Anti depressants are a treatment not a cure. They can provide breathing space and a reminder what its like not to be depressed.
You also need to look for the cause of you difficulties and deal with that. Im a big fan of talking therapies.
Modern anti depressants can be completely life changing and life saving.
I had zero issues coming of sertraline.
Dropped from 150 to 100 to 50 and by the time I got to 50 I had started forgetting to take them.
I suspect I was very very lucky.
But it would have had to be insanely terrible like REALLY bad coming off them before it would have been worse than what was going on before I started on them. They gave me space to breathe which allowed me to engage and for the first time talk to people and therapists, I managed enough focus to complete my degree and not consider quitting my job every 10minutes.
I've never taken anti depressants however after being hooked on 8 tramadol a day for polymyalgia I can sympathize it is tough to get off and I must have been hard to be around Xmas /Jan 9 months ago. I did it over 3 months but the last 3 week were very rough
Don't miss the weird dreams , tiredness or the shivers in the summertime if you were out and forgot to take two tabs with you
Nobody at work knows which is challenging.
That you are on meds or that you are coming off them?
I found work to be very supportive when I revealed that I was on ADs and I'm sure they would be the same during withdrawal if I were to try it properly. It also enabled others to talk more openly about their use of ADs and mental health issues generally, even though we have several MH first aiders at work.
My wife was very reactive when she was tapering off her AD med, Citalopram I think but it was a number of years ago now. She started using a pill-cutter but she really struggled with the varying doses, plus she ended up needing to go down in such small steps that it become really difficult to cut up, or weigh the powder if it had ended up being ground up.
Anyway, she was able to get hold of it as a liquid, rather than a pill, which then allowed her to very gradually, and accurately reduce her meds over quite a long period of time. She used an accurate click pipette do-hicky which allowed her to measure the drops accurately.
Likewise my mother in law is currently on ADs and uses the liquid form, but she just uses a normal dropper.
So, it might be worth asking GP's if the liquid form is available.
I found work to be very supportive when I revealed that I was on ADs.....It also enabled others to talk more openly about their use of ADs and mental health issues generally
I found the same. Was amazed how many people offered an ear and their own experience of mental health struggles and ADs. A riding buddy who i wasn’t really tbat close to shared his experience as well.
Being open also helped me leave behind the embarrassment and shame about it. Your workplace may be different of course.
Yeah, Sertralene is horrible if you accidentally miss a day or two. Really weird spacey, otherworldly feeling of oddness.
That shocked me the first time I ran out, scared me more than what they were meant to be fixing! Went back to the docs and asked for something different and he switched me to Citalopram (I think!), took 2 months to taper back to zero and I was only on a 50mg dose. Horrible time but thankfully work were really understanding about it.
Definitely only do it with your doctor's knowledge.
Wow, thanks for all the replies and comments...
The problem I have is that my GP practice is utter shite. I have been on 100mg amitriptyline since 2014. I tapered down to 50mg without any issues, now I'm currently on 35mg and seem to be suffering with some side effects.
Last year my GP originally told me I could stop over 2 weeks, so basically I went from 100mg to 0mg over 2 weeks, and I have never felt so ill that I almost ended up in A&E. I later found out more info about tapering slowly by around 10% over longer periods of time.
The only issue I have at the moment is that its all causing insomnia and making my life crap. I have a GP appointment in a couple of weeks, but I'm not holding out for any useful help or support.
None of my family or friends know that I have been on medication, I know I shouldn't be, but if I am honest I am ashamed and embarrassed to be on the medication 🙁
No doubt everyone has differing experiences but for me it took two attempts to come of my escitilopram (Same as Citilopram but apparently have a greater impact on anxiety). The first attempt was a disaster. I tapered too quickly and had the typical brain zaps and dizzy spells which was unpleasant but it was the seemingly endless crying over the most innocuous things that was the most upsetting for my family and I. I was constantly breaking down. Bizarrely I hadn’t initially linked the stopping of my tablets and the waves of uncontrollable emotion together but essentially taking the pills for nearly 7 years had dulled my emotional responses to things and when I stopped taking them I just had no means to cope with the sudden onset of emotion. I hadn’t given myself enough time to adjust.
second time around I went much more slowly. Had half a tablet every day for 6 weeks. Half a tablet every other day for 6 weeks. Half a tablet every two days for 4 weeks and so on until I could just stop without anything noticing. It’s worked. No side effects as such but I am more irritable and prone to getting upset more easily but that’s just part of my depression/anxiety in general without medication.
tapering as slowly as you can is key and understanding the adjustments as you go, and if you can get some help along the way from a loved one then all the better.
That you are on meds or that you are coming off them?
I found work to be very supportive when I revealed that I was on ADs and I’m sure they would be the same during withdrawal if I were to try it properly. It also enabled others to talk more openly about their use of ADs and mental health issues generally, even though we have several MH first aiders at work.
Both, other than a couple of people who are more friends than work colleagues. I’ve been in the job fifteen years. I honestly think it would adversely affect my role and possibly be used against me at some point down the line. We have MH first aiders but there is still huge stigma attached to depression in a lot of work places.
I also come from a background (home and work) where talking about feelings or admitting to weakness wasn’t a thing. Something I have struggled with reconciling for a long time.
but there is still huge stigma attached to depression in a lot of work places
100% this.
No way in the world would I tell my employers. I had my MD having a laugh/mini rant about “all these people nowadays that are on meds” and he saw a thing on panorama blagh blagh. I just smiled, and said “yeah right, I know, crazy eh!?”
Tell folk. If your leg was broken you would tell folk and take the pills. If your head is broken do the same. There is no shame in it. Half of us will have a treatable mental health issue in our lives
If you'd like some professional advice from people who specialise in this area you can give the good people at Bristol Tranquilliser Project a call. Despite the name they're a nationwide service and provide excellent advice and info:
Sadly their NHS contract is not being renewed and they're closing on the 30th September, so get in quick while they're still around.
you’re supposed to talk to your Doctor about it.
You NEED to talk with your doctor. Preferably your psychiatrist.
https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health/treatments-and-wellbeing/stopping-antidepressants
Been trying to taper off the Sertraline for several months now.
From 100mg, down to 75mg for several weeks, then down to 50mg for the past couple of weeks.
Had an absolutely awful crash of mood for the last week or so.
It's always difficult to tell whether it's due to tapering off medication or whether how you're feeling is a natural reaction to external forces.
I had covid again and same as the 1st time (though not quite as bad), it floored me for several days. Work is pretty frustrating, mostly really boring, far removed from anything creative and stimulating and I just never earn enough money. Feel like I have to apologise for needing to earn money. Then things with my F'ed up family make an appearance from the back of your mind, giving me this enormous, recurring sense of doom for the future. Plus obviously winter returning.
Yeah, really hard to tell sometimes what is depression and what is a normal reaction to external influences.
I guess that's a form that it can take, in that you are unable to process normal feelings of sadness which then can snowball into something much, much deeper.
Just had this horrible, horrible anxiety and utterly desolate feeling in me this week, so have gone back to 100mg again to see if I can get out of it.
The anxiety side of it terrifies me as it reminds me of the worst period for anxiety in my life, in my twenties at university and regular debilitating panic attacks and alcoholic escapes and the repeating cycle of it all.
But yeah, the tapering off for me has failed.... again. 😔
Maybe it's not the best time of year to be tapering.
Need to get out of the desolation but hate that I've been using this medication for so many years.
I’m now down to 20mg of Citalopram. Feeling okay tbh, especially considering this time of year can be very difficult. Had a big wobble last month but rode it out. How’re you doing OP?
@kayak23 if you ever want to just vent at someone I’d be happy to fling you my phone number. Life can be a massive dickhead at times and being depressed just make rolling with the punches that much harder. Take care.
You've pretty much described me. Job, finances, family etc. So if it helps, you're not alone.
Re. job, I know I need to move to make it better, but I know I can't earn what I do now, so it's a non starter, finances are already tight. The trapped in a boring job feeling is awful, ticking the days off, this isn't what life's about!
I have been on Mirtazapine since Jan. A couple months ago I halved the dose, I'd like to not be taking anything, but sticking on the half dose until spring.
I don't think tapering off the meds, coming into the sh1tty months is a good idea for anybody.
I'm massively affected by the winter. In the spring/summer, I'm out on the bike for hours, sea swimming, paddle boarding and just loving life.
I’m on 20mg of citalopram and have been for quite some time now. I talked to my wife about coming off them and she said, “why would you? They make you a better person.”
Fixing the underlying issue is definitely the first job to be fixed and since the cause of my issues is, well.. this place. ie work, I decided to stick with it.
when I reflected on why I wanted to come off them I think just the idea that I was taking mental illness medication was the reason. I’m sure that’s some kind of mental illness stigma right there. So I concluded I’m not ready to come off them yet since I’ve not fixed the problem. Also, talking about stuff really works. Just writing this is making me feel a little better.
I’d also recommend skateboarding and playing drums.
I’d also recommend skateboarding and playing drums
Are we talking, at the same time? 😊
Currently supporting a adolescent family member who has just had to stop 40mg of citalopram and ariprazole cold turkey due to a liver issue, definitely keeps life interesting, they are clearly going through a wide range of emotions the haven't dealt with for a long time
I ran out of Citapramol on Monday, haven't managed to get any until today. I'm a stoic person (I'm not proud of that) and rairly cry but this morning I blubbed like a baby for no reason.
20 odd years ago I went cold turkey on sertraline, those side effects included fainting randomly. Not recommend.
As long as I remember repeat prescription I've accepted that I'm on a maintenance dose of Citapramol for life. I don't feel the stigma anymore, I take meds for life for physical ailments so how is that different?
Small Public Service Announcement for those who may not already be aware
If you have repeat prescriptions you can pay £111.60 for 12 months NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC)
You pay this one fee and ALL your medication prescriptions for the year are covered