Weaning off of Anti-antixety Medication??????

Hi M. :-)

You have been taking a medication which has been working with the chemistry in your brain for the last one and one half years. It is critical that you do NOT just "go off of it" because you feel good.. you feel good because you have been on it and an abrupt withdrawal will potentially cause a crisis within your brain chemistry.

Here is information coming directly from the drug manufacturer:

"Symptoms associated with discontinuation of Celexa and other SSRIs and SNRIs have been reported (see PRECAUTIONS). Patients should be monitored for these symptoms when discontinuing treatment. A gradual reduction in the dose rather than abrupt cessation is recommended whenever possible. If intolerable symptoms occur following a decrease in the dose or upon discontinuation of treatment, then resuming the previously prescribed dose may be considered. Subsequently, the physician may continue decreasing the dose but at a more gradual rate."

Please phone your doctor in the morning and let him know what you have done and what you would like to do. The daily headache relates to your "head" where the medication has been targeting :-)

hugs,
A. R.N., Energy Medicine Practitioner

Call the Dr who put you on it and ask them to wean you off it.

Yes. I tapered off many types of meds, as well as stopped others cold. Competely and totally depends on the med itself and what else (if anything) I'm taking,

Unless you've been specifically told tby your doc or pharmacist o stop taking it whenever you want, and to do it cold... CHECK WITH YOUR DOC OR PHARMACIST IMMEDIATELY.

Many antianxiety meds and antidepressants have a perky little side effect known as death. Others merely will give you a stroke, seizures, cause brain damage or give you heart attacks. Other less dangerous side effects of CERTAIN meds include Manias & Suicidal Depression (aka medically induced bipolar disorder... which is temporary - a few days to a few months- but can be avoided all together by following a step down program). Yes. Sometimes these perky little side effects can take several days to exhibit symptoms of. Although from the number of exclamation points in your question (13 or 14) I'd suspect you're tipped into a bit of a mania at the moment. And a mania can often precede a stroke. So I'm very very worried about you right at the moment. You could be perfectly fine, but then again, you may wake up in the hospital tomorrow.

I could go look up the PDR right now on your meds, but ...

- I'm not a doctor
- I don't know what if any other meds you are taking
- I don't have you history or chart in front of me that would make you an "exception to the rule".

There is a 24/7 nurse advice hotline at every major hospital I've ever come across. They'll be able to give you the basics on your meds AS WELL as have the list of prexisting conditions (what would make you an exception to the rule).

Please. Call them immediately if your doctor and pharmacist is not available.

Hey there, I have not taken that specific medicine but did take another anti-anxiety medicine. It is supposedly one of the safest, even for during or after pregnancy. The first time I took it for a year or so (maybe 1 and 1\2 yrs) I too was feeling really good and not a pill person, though knew that I needed some help and they did help me get over the anxiety and deppresion. I decided to stop while on a trip and had run out, didn't feel like refilling the prescription. I had been thinking about it but didn't want to go to the doctor just to stop taking a medicine. Any way, I felt great for awhile (couple months) and then it came back on hard. It all came back even worse. It took me months to realize that I needed to go back on them, wasn't thinkin straight or something. But any way, moral of the story is, I would never recommend 'just stopping' the medicine.
I have since gone off of my meds, just before this last summer, and I did it by weaning off of them, as suggested by my doctor. You might even be able to just put in a call to your doctors office and either leave a message for him/her to call you back or relay it through a nurse that you want to stop taking xyz medicine and how should you do it. Best of Luck.

Go to your doctor. If you want to try to go off meds, that should be done under supervision. It is common to wean off of medication for depression, but I think you need to speak to a psychiatrist about the likleyhood that anxiety will return so that you know what to expect. It is common for these medications to need to be stopped appropriately, and that is not usually cold turkey. Call you doctor in the morning, and let them know what you have tired so that they can see if tomorrow if that is necessary.

M.

I have not been on this med., so that part of your question I cannot answer. But I do know that anxiety, like other medical issues, should prob. have doctor's recommendation on how to wean off.
My dad is on blood pressure meds and lost weight and the doc gave him a set plan to wean off the meds safely.

Good luck. Check with the doc who prescribed them to see if you can go "cold turkey" or not.

Call your doctor.

Now.

Don't waste any more time reading our opinions (although you have great advice).

I have LOTS of information and advice and experience with weaning on and off amnitryptaline, wellbutrin, zoloft, and prozac thanks to an OCD that I was clinically diagnosed with and went through treatment for over a decade ago. But basically...

Call your doctor.

Now!

Quitting cold turkey with no medical supervision is a bad idea. Please talk to your doctor about doing this gradually. I have seen a lot of people end up in worse shape by not taking their medications correctly. Have you considered you were feeling good because the medication is working the way it is supposed to? Many antidepressants stay in your body a long time (a few weeks or more). You may not feel all the effects of quitting right away but they will catch up with you later.

Stopping these meds without a doctor's supervision is not a good idea. Call your prescribing physician and discuss getting off the medication if that is what you want, but don't just stop taking it because you "feel good." Have you considered that you "feel good" because of the pills, and that going off a medication that affects your brain chemistry without your doctor's approval could actually cause you harm?
Please call your doctor in the morning.

dont go cold turky-cut the pill down each day...1/2 to 1/4,s...im on the same stuff for winter blues an migraines-im so hypersensitive to medication that i can only take a 1/4 of this stuff..but its doing the trick-going cold trky can set off depression,anxiety,seizures,the list list is endless...and you just might be feeling good cuz the medication is doing the trick.
i see this often with the mentally ill ppl that live on this property i work at-they think that their ok the meds cured them...they quit taking it-then..BLAM..all hell breaks loose-consult with the dr that put you on this.good luck

About five years ago I was taking Zoloft and decided I didn't need it any more, so I stopped taking it. And started having seizures. I didn't know that you were supposed to taper off those kinds of drugs. Def talk to your doc. I wouldn't even try to taper off without advice. Some drugs require a longer taper than others and can have bad side effects if you taper off too fast. Luckily in my case I went to the doc and found out the problem; got back on the Zoloft and tapered it off per doctor's instructions and haven't had any problems since.

When I found out that I was pregnant the doctor pulled me off Effexor. BAD IDEA! Labor was a dreeeeeam compared the withdrawal effects of stopping cold turkey. We eventually decided to put me BACK ON the meds so I could function and I was already 5 1/2 months pregnant (I had NO symptoms.)

You're feeling better because the meds are doing what they are suppose to do. My husband did that years ago and stopped taking his meds. He's having surgery next week to try to undo the damage he did to his body by NOT taking his medication as prescribed!

I am weaning off of Ativan .5 mg. I only take a half a pill a day usually. My dr said cutting back by half is the way to go. When I was on a higher dose and cut back by a whole pill I had terrible headaches. Now that I an on such a low dose I am cutting back by taking my half a pill every 36 hours, instead of 24, and just today I started going every 48. I have the support of my dr, I am going even more conservatively than he suggested. Anxiety has a way of popping up. I am using the book The Anxiety and Phobia workbook and Getting Rid of Anxiety Naturally. Figuring out the cause is the key. I have panic attacks and am working on desensitizing myself to certain scenarios. Meditation is helpful. Relaxation is necessary.

Good luck and be safe. Call your dr and find a strategy that works for you.

I'm glad you're feeling better - that's definitely good news!

Please understand that the vast majority of anti-anxiety medications help to change the chemistry of the brain and going cold turkey (for most meds) is not a good idea. It would be best to consult your psychiatrist or physician for guidance as to how to wean off the drug safely and properly as to not have a relapse or need it again.

I have family members who periodically choose to go off of medications (for stress and also for depression). It has been my experience that they feel fine, but the family members notice that they are not acting/behaving fine. So, I'm not very confident at all that you can be a true gauge of what is happening. You can't see your own forehead and need a mirror....

I see you're from Mpls. There are some good naturopath doctors in the area that can give you a medical assement and lead you to natural supplements whenever possible. http://www.minnesotanaturalhealth.com/ is one example.

Take care and listen to what your friends and family tell you!

I would never recommend coming off an antidepressant cold turkey. When I came off of Lexapro my doc had me got to 1/2 tab for several days followed by 1/2 tab every other day for a few weeks. I still had headaches and dizziness for a while. Call your doc for a weaning schedule.

I, unfortunately stopped taking Celexa cold turkey because I was snowed in and ran out of pills. In just a couple of days I was more depressed than when I started taking it. Once I'd resumed taking it for about a week I was feeling OK again.

Later, when taking it wasn't helping and the doctor suggested trying a different medication, he had me wean off of it gradually. Gradually I became more anxious and depressed. The doctor said that this does happen with some people. He emphasized with me that it's important to wean off of it with medical supervision because the negative side effects can increase to the point of the person making poor decisions. I think Celexa is also one that can cause seizures but I'm not sure. Celexa is more difficult to quit than many of the other medications.

I strongly urge you to talk with your doctor about stopping the medication and doing so as (s)he tells you to do it.

Hi,
I have just gone through a similar situation with the same drug. It started of by me just forgetting to take them for 4 or 5 days and realizing that I felt great. Well, by day 7 or 8 I was so dizzy I could hardly stand it. This continued for several days and just got worse and worse. Then I got really irritable and crabby. I finally went back on them and almost instantly felt good. Because you've only been on them for year and a half, you may not have the same degree of side effects just make sure you are aware of any. If you do start to feel this way, go back on them and then try taking less for a week, then even less, etc... until you are off of them. My husband just came of off a really strong anti-anxiety pill but it took him almost a year to do it. So be patient and make sure to monitor yourself.

Good luck.

Clex is a SSRI which isn't a true anti-anxiety med. It can be used for a variety of things. Mainly depression and has a nice side effect of helping with anixety. So this isn't going to be like coming off a Benzo which is beyond hell.

Wean slowly. It's much easier to get off of an SSRI of course. I'd talk to either your psych or your GP about a plan usually you go down in doses slowly. The lowest strength that I have heard of is 10 mg. If you are taking that I'd take it every other day, then every third, then every fourth, then every fifth.. you get my point. I'd pry try the every other day in 2 week intervals. That should make it easier. If you are on a stronger strength I'd start this process but doing it a week per strength. So 20 I'd do every other, then every two, and every third... and so forth literally until you are down to the 10's then I'd go slower.

All SSRI's have there side effect from weaning but if done correct they should be minimal at best. But make sure a doctor knows you are doing this. It can sometimes be dangerous to come off these sort of meds. I've been on quite a few psych meds being's I'm bipolar and the one time they gave me a SSRI I found it cake compared to others and did it really fast but I did still have withdrawal symptoms. I just had other meds that they added to help me.

But if you have any questions feel free to PM me. I've had to taper off lots of meds slowly and know how annoying or tough it can be.

Talk to a pharmacist to see what possible side effects going off cold turkey can happen. This is a professional question for an expert. You can't just go off long term meds like this without doing it correctly. This med has built up in your system over the past year and a half and it can take several weeks to get it out of your system, that's why you are still feeling okay. It is gradually going though and will suddenly be gone and you can start having some side effects anytime, even after it's out of your system.

There is light at the end of the tunnel. If you are done with therapy and doing well without avoidance behaviors to combat the anxiety then it may be time to wean yourself off. But please talk to the Pharmacist or doc to see how they suggest you handle it. You really don't want that anxiety coming back in wave after wave when that med completely goes out of your system. It would be like starting over. It may be that you could just take half a dose for a month or two and see how you feel then go down another step but only the professional can tell you this.

Think about it like this:

If you were a heart patient and were on lots of meds for Cholesterol and decided you didn't need them anymore because you felt fine and stopped taking them one day. What would happen? Maybe nothing until a heart attack killed you.

It's the same with psych meds. They work and then you feel better, if you stop taking the meds without it being the right way you can end up being worse off and then having to start all over. When you are ready and it's time, if it's not a lifetime med you'll need forever, then the doc will work with you to get you off and being yourself without them.

Easiest answer. TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR!!

I was on very low doses of Budeprion (Wellbutrin) and Cymbalta for SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). Three years ago, I started doctoring with alternative medicine. My Integration Doctor took me off all pharmaceutical drugs except my high blood pressure med (I had been on 12 different ones). I had no issues with going off them, but I was also doctoring with her and taking supplements and doing other things to take care of the imbalances in my body.

I currently have no depression, no SAD, and do not even use my therapy light in the winter. I also do not take anything for depression or SAD, other than daily Vitamin D and Vitamin C. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked with an increase in the likelihood of having SAD. I have never felt better in my life.

I still doctor with alternative medicine and now see a naturopath doctor. So help me, I'll never go back to taking pharma drugs again if I can help it. There is something natural that can be taken for everything, and if you have a problem or issue, almost always, it's a sign that there is an imbalance in your body, and that imbalance can be taken care of/cured with something natural--or you could just be low or deficient in a specific vitamin, mineral, enzyme, amino acid, or other crucial nutrient.

If I were you I would find myself a very good, recommended naturopathic doctor who can help you find other alternatives to help manage your symptoms rather than taking pharma drugs.

Good luck.