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  • EADD Moderators: Pissed_and_messed | Shinji Ikari

Weaning off meds

Eveleivibe

Eveleivibe

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Hiya,

I need some advice. I am trying to wean off subs n citalopram but it just isn't working. Doctor put me from 20 mg to 20 mg cit on 4 August but I'm tired all the time, have lost my motivation to exercise. So I'm breaking one in half n taking 30 mg cit. i don't want to go to the docs over this they don't care about me they just give pills n offer no other help it's a total waste of theirs---and my time.

I'm also taking one less subutex so taking 2.4 not 2.4 mg

Why wont the tiredness stop??? I can't stop at night I'm angry against instead of the feeling i had where i had not much emotion which was good.

I'm starting to feel like these meds own me. I've no support whatsoever i feel my life is going no where n im just a waste of space.

I want me nack again. I want some self worth i dont want these meds to own me n i want some support.

How do i get off these meds without all the anxiety n nasty negative emotions coming back where i was angry all the time. It's awful when you feel trapped in your own thoughts.

Help please

Evey
 
The trick is 'weaning off' - best do it in a lot of little steps rather than trying to rush things.

I'm sure somebody will have more specific information on the drugs your talking about but if your feeling tired etc it could be an indication that you may have tried to reduce too quickly or by too large a gap.
 
Mtruth is ive felt tired a long time even before the antidepressants. Theres no support as MT say i dont need to see them. Yet for five + years I've felt angry inside, empty, scared for the future, useless n done whatever to try n escape these feelings whether its codeine, alcohol, internet forums, spending but nothing works. Nothing. I'm absolutely petrified of coming off these meds n facing all these emotions again.

And there's this extreme guilt like no other. I feel guilty for being on benefits as i promised i'd be off them by now n give my daughter some proper value. When i see people on Facebook saying to others "at least by working you're showing your child values" i feel guilty. But then thus government is making it a nightmare to get back into work. If i got a job n it went wrong n got bk on ESA I'd lose over £100 100 fortnight in disability premium (cause they no lonher have the linking rules that got me jobs in the past n are making esa the same amount as jsa for new claimants n apparently new claimants cant get disability premium. I would lose over a £100 fortnight if it went wrong. Then after getting a job theres all the access to work interviews, equipment (if the government havent svrapped that too, that is) to get equipment to do the job.
Plus people get saying everyone on DLA is going to be reassessed for some PIP? More stress n hassle as i will lose £307 a month if i dont get it. The whole thing is stressful. And if I do well exercising i feel guilty n feel i've no right to be doing so as im on benefits n analyse everything I'm doing. The citalopram takes that away.

But no one understands at all. They just say "look how lucky you are" n mention people worst off. I didn't ask to feel all these feelings. They just don't go away unless I do something to distract myself like spend money or whatever.

I just feel trapped. Trapped by meds. Trapped by the system. Trapped in my own thoughts n I don't know what to do because there's only so many times i can run from myself n what an awful, useless person i am.

Evey
 
What Bear said.

I've never had to wean off subs or SSRIs, only methadone (several times), but the trick is to take it slow and easy. Reduce only in increments you are comfortable with and don't beat yourself up if you have the occasional relapse - just get back on track ASAP. That's all there is to it really. If you push yourself too hard you're setting yourself up for failure. The whole point of 'weaning' is that you don't notice the reduction. If you do then you're going too fast. Also, slowly decrease the increments you reduce by as your doses get lower - e.g. imagine you're on 100mg (for argument's sake), then a 5mg reduction is handleable. But when you get to 10mg, obviously a 5mg drop is gonna hurt! Try to aim for reductions as a set percentage of your current dose - say 5 or 10% Max. Don't feel pressured to force it to please anyone else, it won't work. It's your body and your psychological well-being that matters.
 
I've been taking it slow though, FUBAR, I've been on subs two n half years now. Ive been taking a bit less now n then to have a pile encase of emergencies. Only with the .4 mg as there's not much of a drop if I take 2 mg one day n 2.4 mg another.

If I wasn't so afraid I'm stop them all completely but I'm too frihtened.

Evey
 
Well it sounds to me like you're not yet ready to reduce. You need to stabilise on a specific dose. With respect, 2.5 years is nothing really. It takes as long as it takes, could be years, could be decades, but do NOT feel ashamed, guilty or pressured - all of these feelings will slow your recovery. I know it's easier said than done, but there IS light at the end of the tunnel - and take that from someone who didn't even realise he was in a tunnel until he came out the other side...
 
Hehehe thank you FUBY. Even when giving advice you make me laugh. I'm envisioning a shocked FUBAR popping his head out of a tunnel going WTF? Why's it so bright? Lol sorry but that gave me a chuckle. How are you doing with everything now????

Evey
 
For fuck's sake, Evey. Nobody ever tries to "wean themselves off" wearing spectacles, or using a wheelchair. Why should it be any different with medication?

You've been prescribed it for a reason (because your body works better with it than without; well, that's the theory anyway).

What you need to get rid of is the idea that there is anything wrong with taking medication.

True fact: Hundreds of thousands of years ago, "our" ancestors (who also are ancestors of other apes) lost the ability to manufacture ascorbic acid (aka vitamin C). Well, they were living in trees, with plenty of fruit for the taking, so they already had a diet rich in the stuff; losing the ability to make it was not fatal, so the mutation was passed on. And humans have needed vitamin C in our diets ever since. Elsewhere on the evolutionary tree, the cat family lost the ability to manufacture taurine (a protein found only in meat -- no plant source contains it) and became obligate carnivores. (This is only a problem when humans try to feed pet cats on a vegetarian diet, and they go blind and die of multiple organ failures.)

If your body needs a certain chemical to make it work properly, so be it. If, after taking your meds on a cast-iron schedule -- same amount, same time, every day -- for a certain time (your doctor will tell you how long) you are not getting better, then you need to go back and speak to your doctor. She has spent years at university and passed exams -- she ought to know what is going on. Probably, as harsh as this sounds, better than you.

If you keep messing with your dosing schedule, and you aren't either (a) medically trained or (b) bloody lucky, you will not end up doing yourself any good.
 
Eveleivibe said:
Hehehe thank you FUBY. Even when giving advice you make me laugh. I'm envisioning a shocked FUBAR popping his head out of a tunnel going WTF? Why's it so bright? Lol sorry but that gave me a chuckle. How are you doing with everything now????

Evey
Click to expand...

Heh, that's pretty much how it was Evey. I'm fine now as far as opiates go, thank you - I could now sit watching someone take heroin and have no cravings at all. I'm not that person any more.

Anyway, remember:

To normalise, ya gotta stabilise. So be wise and minimise, just don't compromise. Or summat...
 
Then it's your close family member who has the problem, not you. You do not owe it to anybody to get off prescribed medication. Anyone who thinks otherwise is bullying you.

I repeat: Nobody thinks they ought to wean themselves off glasses or a wheelchair.
 
Telling someone with mental health/addiction issues to 'suck it up' is a fucking ridiculous thing to do. I'd keep that opinion to yourself, even if you think it's easy enough to do. It helps no one, and will likely just make the sufferer feel even more useless.
 
Treacle said:
Telling someone with mental health/addiction issues to 'suck it up' is a fucking ridiculous thing to do. I'd keep that opinion to yourself, even if you think it's easy enough to do. It helps no one, and will likely just make the sufferer feel even more useless.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Treacle :)

I also read that you once had a codeine addiction n went onto suboxone too? If you don't mind me asking what dose subs were you put onto n how long did it take you to come off? I was first put on 8 mg then went to 12 mg due to cravings, n have slowly decreased over the last two n half years.
---

I've decided to stay on 40 mg cit for now n felt slightly better taking the 40 rather than 30 mg. i'm still taking 0.4 less subs so on Tuesday will ask my key worker to reduce me to 2.4 from2.8 mg I'll reduce subs first then get off citalopram.

Thanks for all responses - fully appreciate it xxxx

Evey
 
Apolagies evey i guess what i was trying to say is no matter how unmotivated u feel in the morning. forcing yourself to get up, go out and do something physical. As hard as it is, will make u feel better afterwards for me anyway. And keeping active mentally and physically stops u thinking aboutnegative issues. Tho what works for me might not work for u, just giving my opinion and sorry i wasnt more diplomatic/thoughtful in my previous response.
 
Treacle said:
Telling someone with mental health/addiction issues to 'suck it up' is a fucking ridiculous thing to do. I'd keep that opinion to yourself, even if you think it's easy enough to do. It helps no one, and will likely just make the sufferer feel even more useless.
Click to expand...

Totally man, agreed. Nothing worse than hearing those words or similar: 'just get on with it', 'think positive', 'give yourself a shake'.

People are ignorant when it come to mental health, they think depression is just feeling a 'tad low' or you're an oddball for having anxiety problems. Nobody tells someone who has a broken arm to 'just get on with it', I wish people would see mental health the same as physical. Unfortunately they just don't understand and you're correct in saying that it can make someone feel even more worthless.

Thing is, sometimes people who have said that to me in the past seem to have their own mental issues but don't even fucking recognise it. Like my mum, she clearly has some form of OCD, but she thinks she is normal and everyone thinks like her, or if they don't they must be the weird ones! I still love her though.

Maybe that's the answer, just think every other fucker are the loonies.
 
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