Just an update for anyone else that might be on this stuff or considering coming off.
I dropped from 150mgs to 75mgs and experienced mild brain zaps and fatigue, the doctor gave me Beta blockers as well but I stopped taking them as they were effecting my Psoriasis, a known problem he failed to identify.
I stayed on that dose for about 10 days and the worst of the side effects subsided, given the short half like of this stuff even when using the XR tablets I didn't see any point in prolonging the pain and at this stage the problems were relatively minor.
On Monday of this week I stopped all together, I'm not recommending this approach consulting your doctor is vital in avoiding the worst of the withdrawal (discontinuation) symptoms.
The fatigue got quite a bit worse, I have been sleeping better than before but feeling very tired all the time. The brain zaps have been quite pronounced and intrusive, they jolt my whole body and are accompanied by auditory and sometimes visual distortion. Mentally I have not felt to bad, occasional feelings of wanting to cry and waves of emotion but TBH these are largely welcome as they have been absent for a long time.
The zaps seem to be slowly decreasing, certainly not getting any worse and I feel better in myself than I did whilst on the full dose, I haven't experienced any serious symptoms of depression which was my major concern.
The last thing I would want to do would be to trivialise withdrawing from this medication, but having read the horror stories I though a little balance would be useful. It's not been a walk in the park but anyone who wants off this stuff but is concerned about the issues of withdrawal should worry a little less and speak to their doctor about giving it a go, since it has such a short half life you can always back out and resume of things get a bit to much.
These drugs helped me in a time of great need but they have served their purpose for the time being and I'm looking forward to a 2013 full of laughter and tears
I dropped from 150mgs to 75mgs and experienced mild brain zaps and fatigue, the doctor gave me Beta blockers as well but I stopped taking them as they were effecting my Psoriasis, a known problem he failed to identify.
I stayed on that dose for about 10 days and the worst of the side effects subsided, given the short half like of this stuff even when using the XR tablets I didn't see any point in prolonging the pain and at this stage the problems were relatively minor.
On Monday of this week I stopped all together, I'm not recommending this approach consulting your doctor is vital in avoiding the worst of the withdrawal (discontinuation) symptoms.
The fatigue got quite a bit worse, I have been sleeping better than before but feeling very tired all the time. The brain zaps have been quite pronounced and intrusive, they jolt my whole body and are accompanied by auditory and sometimes visual distortion. Mentally I have not felt to bad, occasional feelings of wanting to cry and waves of emotion but TBH these are largely welcome as they have been absent for a long time.
The zaps seem to be slowly decreasing, certainly not getting any worse and I feel better in myself than I did whilst on the full dose, I haven't experienced any serious symptoms of depression which was my major concern.
The last thing I would want to do would be to trivialise withdrawing from this medication, but having read the horror stories I though a little balance would be useful. It's not been a walk in the park but anyone who wants off this stuff but is concerned about the issues of withdrawal should worry a little less and speak to their doctor about giving it a go, since it has such a short half life you can always back out and resume of things get a bit to much.
These drugs helped me in a time of great need but they have served their purpose for the time being and I'm looking forward to a 2013 full of laughter and tears
