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Misc The term "Discontinuation Syndrome" is bullshit

ChemicallyEnhanced

ChemicallyEnhanced

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I feel like it's been used a lot more fairly recently (last decade or so maybe) and it's so obviously (IMO) an attempt to sugar-coast WITHDRAWAL.

I had tried to stop taking Quetiapine (Seroquel) recently and experienced anxiety, essential tremor, TOTAL inability to sleep (I was awake for over 100 hours), nausea, diarrhoea and uncontrollable crying. When I called my doctor (who had told me it did not cause any dependency and had no withdrawal) she said "Oh, that's correct. There's no withdrawal, but it does have a Discontinuation Syndrome". When I asked her to define that she told me "By "Discontinuation Syndrome", we mean that if you stop taking it abruptly, you may experience a variety of unpleasant side effects""...uhhhh, forgive me, but...how TF is that different from withdrawal?
I was also told (during a medication review) that I'd probably be on Sertraline (Zoloft) for the rest of my life now* because people who have been on it in the very long term (I THINK she specified more than 12 years, but could be wrong about that...I've been on it for a little over 14) have a risk of experiencing a discontinuation syndrome that never goes away.
Which is terrifying in itself because some people are taken off these drugs whether they agree with that or not. But, yeah, apparently if you are on an SSRI for an extremely long time, if you DO come off it symptoms like rebound depression, anxiety and "Brain zaps" might continue FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.

Anyway, yeah, the term is bullshit. They know "withdrawal" scares people so they're trying to hide behind a different term.


*I have never had any intention of NOT being on it for the rest of my life
 
Isavelaa said:
I took ssri/snri meds many years ago. The WITHDRAWALS were horrible and torturous!
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SO sorry you had to go through that! They took me off mine while I was in hospital once (for unrelated reasons) by accident. I'm on 16 rx meds, so I didn't notice the pills were missing as I get so many anyway. I was having panic attacks for the first time in years and kept feeling like I was having electric chocks in my brain and finally, as I was making plans to kill myself, I had mentioned something being wrong and a nurse was like "Oh, you were taken off that med 6 days ago". She got me put back on it right away and said "I'm sorry, that never should have happened"< but it's scary how bad things got, how quickly.
 
Yeah well the pharm companies can call it discontinuation syndrome as they continue to rake in $$$ and make it sound respectable. But god help the low life street addict that is going through withdrawals from those BAD drugs.

It is all about money. I am appalled when I see some of those pharm commercials on new drugs. But the same FDA claimed MDMA is not a valid form of PTSD treatment. Something tells me they won't make money off MDMA.
 
It's funny the first time I head this term Discontinuation Syndrome I did get super annoyed. Probably for the same reasons it annoys you all. It reeks of sneakiness and greed. It has been around a bit. It also seems to class drug users. Good drugs, bad drugs based off of what narcissists in control of these organizations can figure out a way to make money off of people's misfortune. Also speaking of people's misfortune I always thought the pharm companies ALWAYS cash in on that. (like Dr. Phil comes to mind as far as cashing it in at other people's expense.) Let's give them meds to make us feel bette

I too have seen up close people I know coming off of antidepressants and having long lasting withdrawal. Most regret going on them. Others they truly helped. Strange drugs. But the terms that are used in society for illness that soften some areas and lay heaviness on in others is apparent. (a la George Carlin)
 
When I was a teenager, I had hardcore withdrawals from paxil, so bad that I actually took more medication to make it stop. When I told my doctor about this, he said it was all in my head and didn't believe me. I had to spend my 2 week Christmas holiday off from high school to lay in bed, sweat my ass off, and go through withdrawls in order to get off that shit drug. I never touched SSRIs again. I wouldn't start smoking weed until I was older, but in hindsight weed probably would've helped me.

Low and behold, 8 years later they came out with this "discontinuation syndrome" garbage. It's withdrawals. They're just rebranding it to shift the narrative and perceptions. I'm surprised nobody sued them over this. I was stuck on paxil for an entire extra year because I couldn't get off of it without suffering horribly. My doctor just told me to keep tapering my dose. Well, what the fuck is a taper for if your body isn't dependent on it, doc??? What do you call that??? I remember one day I went to school the day after my first taper and I was so dizzy that I fell down in class. Everyone was shocked. It was so embarrassing. After that, I decided to wait until Christmas to get off the shit.
 
someguyontheinternet said:
Have you tried?
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yeah waited 4 months after going off zoloft - I also hardly respond to any ssri's after the first 'super' response to effexor, including effexor.

Oh but I was doing a lot of speed then, but hadn't done any in the days before the botched roll. [cant remember the specifics, but I think 1-3 weeks since my last binge
 
I’ve been on OLANZAPINE pills for a month and 2 weeks after being given it for stim induced psychosis, I’ve gained lots of weight and have lost all joy in life weed and other drugs have stopped working, would it be dangerous if I just stopped taking it, what should I expect? I’m under no court order. The pill is 10MG Any advice is appreciated
 
ChemicallyEnhanced said:
SO sorry you had to go through that! They took me off mine while I was in hospital once (for unrelated reasons) by accident. I'm on 16 rx meds, so I didn't notice the pills were missing as I get so many anyway. I was having panic attacks for the first time in years and kept feeling like I was having electric chocks in my brain and finally, as I was making plans to kill myself, I had mentioned something being wrong and a nurse was like "Oh, you were taken off that med 6 days ago". She got me put back on it right away and said "I'm sorry, that never should have happened"< but it's scary how bad things got, how quickly.
Click to expand...
Discontinuation Syndrome is one of the stupidest terms I have ever heard; to hide the truth. They can't pick and choose which drugs have withdrawals and which ones have Discontinuation Syndrome. Medical bullshit; it is the same or in some cases worse.
 
JackARoe said:
Yeah well the pharm companies can call it discontinuation syndrome as they continue to rake in $$$ and make it sound respectable. But god help the low life street addict that is going through withdrawals from those BAD drugs.

It is all about money. I am appalled when I see some of those pharm commercials on new drugs. But the same FDA claimed MDMA is not a valid form of PTSD treatment. Something tells me they won't make money off MDMA.
Click to expand...
That's the truth! They will forever call it discontinuation syndrome to make themselves sound better, but those "junkies" that are withdrawing are lowlifes and deserve it. It's disgusting. Fuck Big Pharma.
 
I have never heard that term before. I have been taking duloxetine (cymbalta) an snri for about 7 years now. I take it for fibromyalgia. But it also helps with my depression, anxiety and pain. The first time I missed a few doses, I thought the world was coming to an end. I had that feeling in the pit of my stomach that something really bad was going to happen. I didn't realize at the time it was because I'd missed those few days of meds. Now if I miss a few doses it doesn't bother me like that anymore. I only take 60mg daily. I have tried to taper myself off, 20 mg at a time because I do not want to be on this forever. I couldn't do it. The side effects of not having that full 60 mg were awful. I've started with the brain zaps in the past year.
I currently have been out of meds for almost a week. I'm staying with a friend in the middle of nowhere and I do not have transportation. So it's been sitting at the pharmacy, waiting for me to get it. I feel like I'm spiralling right now. I am super emotional, I feel like I'm going to explode in anger and I'm someone who does not get angry very often. I'm really indecisive. I've been apologizing to everyone because I say something, then 5 minutes later change my mind. I feel like I've had a constant brain zap going on all day. Suicidal thoughts have returned. I was just hospitalized in May. I've been really good since I got out but now it's returned. The funny thing is, I've never had suicidal thoughts before. And I'm 48. They've only come on with this med. I hate it.
When I first started taking it, I thought it was great. It made me feel like an antidepressant is supposed to make you feel. It took away my fibromyalgia pain, which for me felt like getting hit by a truck and I'd be bedridden for days. I also couldn't stand light touches anywhere on my shoulders or back. My hips and thighs were the worst though. I guess back then the benefits were awesome. I was not aware of the negatives. No one ever told me it was very hard to come off of. I figured it out by reading forums.
I'm another one who will probably be on this for the rest of my life. That's a depressing thought.
 
In 1998 I was only on Paxil for 2-3 weeks. I stopped taking it cold-turkey because it made me too tired, and had severe mood swings (plus night terrors, cold sweats, head zaps, etc.) for almost a month!!!
 
I’m one week off an SNRI right now.

Only been on it for 5 months though.

Brain zaps and electrical buzzing in my head but opioids and benzos take it away
 
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