The unfortunate seduction of a good cut --- anyone who’s been through withdrawal from ADs knows the feeling... no matter where we are in the taper, we desperately want off these medications. So a few years back, when I was making multiple cuts that my body seemed to tolerate, and there were no extra symptoms, no insomnia, no nausea, no sudden descent into doom, it felt like a victory. Cue the internal celebration: Whoopie, I cracked the code.

And then came the dangerous thought: “If I feel fine… maybe I can go a little faster.” But that’s exactly the trap. Last time, the first five or six months of tapering, I felt great, convinced myself I must be some kind of tapering genius, and kept pushing harder. That particular crash ended up costing me about a year of my life.

So, when I finally had a “perfect” cut a month ago after years of holding, a tiny reduction and no symptoms, it felt like a huge win. And the tempting voice immediately came back: “See? You’re fine. You can probably push this a little harder.”

It’s amazing how quickly the brain starts pleading like a toddler in a candy aisle. “More, more, more!” Or in my case, “Faster, faster, faster!” But I decided I wasn’t doing it again. My nervous system had already given me the souvenir t-shirt from my last visit to hell’s amusement park.

Which brings me to today. After spending the last month wanting to speed things up, now that tomorrow’s taper is right around the corner, my brain has once again gone full toddler mode: “No, no, no! You can’t make me!”

48 minutes ago, RachelSusan said:

The unfortunate seduction of a good cut --- anyone who’s been through withdrawal from ADs knows the feeling... no matter where we are in the taper, we desperately want off these medications. So a few years back, when I was making multiple cuts that my body seemed to tolerate, and there were no extra symptoms, no insomnia, no nausea, no sudden descent into doom, it felt like a victory. Cue the internal celebration: Whoopie, I cracked the code.

And then came the dangerous thought: “If I feel fine… maybe I can go a little faster.” But that’s exactly the trap. Last time, the first five or six months of tapering, I felt great, convinced myself I must be some kind of tapering genius, and kept pushing harder. That particular crash ended up costing me about a year of my life.

So, when I finally had a “perfect” cut a month ago after years of holding, a tiny reduction and no symptoms, it felt like a huge win. And the tempting voice immediately came back: “See? You’re fine. You can probably push this a little harder.”

It’s amazing how quickly the brain starts pleading like a toddler in a candy aisle. “More, more, more!” Or in my case, “Faster, faster, faster!” But I decided I wasn’t doing it again. My nervous system had already given me the souvenir t-shirt from my last visit to hell’s amusement park.

Which brings me to today. After spending the last month wanting to speed things up, now that tomorrow’s taper is right around the corner, my brain has once again gone full toddler mode: “No, no, no! You can’t make me!”

Well expressed.... don't be fooled...nice and easy...slow is the new fast. ❤️🙏😊

I love this. So well said. And a good reminder to all of us. Patience ... patience .... patience.

Wombat

@LostinCanada Thank you for making me laugh. “Slow is the new fast.” Is that like “60 is the new 40?”

I spent this last month wanting to sprint toward taper day, only to arrive and immediately start trying to negotiate my way out of it. Withdrawal logic is crazy.

I find myself doing the same thing when a cut has gone well. And when it has gone badly I tell myself I am going to hold forever.

Wombat

@Wombat

Thank you, Wombat. I suddenly feel like I’m in an old 1970s episode of Kung Fu. “Patience, Grasshopper… patience.” Yes, I truly was alive back then. 😄 Maybe I need to find a few reruns to watch late at night for when my brain starts doing the doing the waltz with the withdrawal werewolf.

7 minutes ago, Wombat said:

I find myself doing the same thing when a cut has gone well. And when it has gone badly I tell myself I am going to hold forever.

Just saw this, so true!

1 hour ago, RachelSusan said:

“Slow is the new fast.” Is that like “60 is the new 40?”

Absolutely…I coined this at some point on SA….we are all so bougie. 🤣🤣🤣

Years ago I came into tapering assuming I’d be one of the “10% a month” people. But found out the hard way my nervous system was not so robust, but I was hoping I would at least be a 5-percenter.

Instead, I recently did a 3.8% cut and my nervous system is treating it like a 3-alarm fire. Okay, I exaggerate, maybe more like a cardboard box fire behind a Walgreens, but still not good.

At this point, “reduce by 10% monthly” feels less like guidance and more like hearing about people who enjoy running marathons. They are amazing but it just isn't something I can do.

Also, something I learned the hard way: do not make a chart projecting it will take you 6, 7, 8, or 9 years to get off. There is absolutely nothing emotionally uplifting about this experience.

So to all my fellow microscopic-cut people, it’s okay to take a moment to mourn the slow pace, and remember, even if we’re crawling inch by inch to the finish line, we will get there… in 6 to 9 years. 😂

7 minutes ago, RachelSusan said:

Years ago I came into tapering assuming I’d be one of the “10% a month” people. But found out the hard way my nervous system was not so robust, but I was hoping I would at least be a 5-percenter.

Instead, I recently did a 3.8% cut and my nervous system is treating it like a 3-alarm fire. Okay, I exaggerate, maybe more like a cardboard box fire behind a Walgreens, but still not good.

At this point, “reduce by 10% monthly” feels less like guidance and more like hearing about people who enjoy running marathons. They are amazing but it just isn't something I can do.

Also, something I learned the hard way: do not make a chart projecting it will take you 6, 7, 8, or 9 years to get off. There is absolutely nothing emotionally uplifting about this experience.

So to all my fellow microscopic-cut people, it’s okay to take a moment to mourn the slow pace, and remember, even if we’re crawling inch by inch to the finish line, we will get there… in 6 to 9 years. 😂

6-8 years if we are lucky🤣🤣🤣

Definitely best not to go down that rabbit hole...we never know when things will pick up either.

I want to mention, just like 10% is a max, 28 days is definitely a minimum. For most neurotransmitters and receptors etc, it takes months and years for them to rebuild so don't be discouraged if after 28 days, you aren't bouncing back.

What a journey! 🎢🎢🎢

I have to say @RachelSusan we don’t see many on here who can manage 10% no Olympic athletes in sight! It varies but 2% is very common, sometimes more like 4%. I can’t think of anyone who’s tapered 10% for any length of time tbh! Every drop is a drop closer and stable is definitely the goal here so you can live whilst tapering!

@LostinCanada

1 hour ago, LostinCanada said:

For most neurotransmitters and receptors etc, it takes months and years for them to rebuild so don't be discouraged if after 28 days

You said it so well above. I haven't forgotten. Also @Beehive spoke a while back about what is building up off shore while we at the beach have no idea what is about to hit us. Maybe I will call it the Tsunami Surge or Tsunami Syndrome. I keep hearing the theme music from "Jaws" in my head.

Your "What a journey!" said it all. Yes, a true roller coaster.

@Chippy You made me smile! I am indeed relived to hear that there aren't too many Olympic athletes here, I was feeling the pressure to keep up. 😅

Sometimes its hard to tell in text but I am a little cheeky with a lot of my postings about my tapering. It is a very serious and life altering situation for all of us, I just tend to try and deal with it the best way I can, to find something in the nightmare to laugh about even if it is not very funny. Perhaps dark humor?

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Edited May 20May 20 by RachelSusan
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1 minute ago, RachelSusan said:

Sometimes its hard to tell in text but I am a little cheeky with a lot of my postings about my tapering. It is a very serious and life altering situation for all of us, I just tend to try and deal with it the best way I can, to find something in the nightmare to laugh about even if it is not very funny. Perhaps dark humour?

I think this is the best way to deal with life’s challenges. Love a bit of dark humour, can help get you through some challenging times, laughter is the best medicine. 😃

Just popping by to offer solidarity for your taper, and wishing you luck. I salute your bravery in embarking on a second taper. If there is anything that can convince others to keep going is that you have successfully completed one taper, and are willing to tackle another (albeit with great trepidation no doubt). 'The unfortnate seduction of a good cut' is surely the title of a book you will one day write!

I enjoyed reading through yout thread, particularly the discussion of delayed symptoms. I find the acute symptoms after a cut are things like whooseyness, and brain zaps after too big a cut seem very different from the low mood and doom- which is far less predictable. When I started to reduce (from 20 to 4mg over ~4 months), the mood changes didn't happen until about four months in, and possibly worsened 5-6 months after that. The idea of a long hold every few months- like a fire break- makes perfect sense. Isn't is amazing how collectively we to feel our way through all this? Sharing experience and hard-earned wisdom is so powerful.

On 5/20/2026 at 5:14 PM, LostinCanada said:

6-8 years if we are lucky🤣🤣🤣

Definitely best not to go down that rabbit hole...we never know when things will pick up either.

I want to mention, just like 10% is a max, 28 days is definitely a minimum. For most neurotransmitters and receptors etc, it takes months and years for them to rebuild so don't be discouraged if after 28 days, you aren't bouncing back.

What a journey! 🎢🎢🎢

You certainly have to laugh about that- or you would never stop crying! There is no good time to be going through this, but for those of us 'of a certain age' it is all the more important to stay as functional as possible during the process. The reality for me is that by the time I finally get off there will be things that I'll simply be too old to do. So need to keep as well as possible and try to do them now!

Your patience is an inspiration to us all @LostinCanada !

39 minutes ago, RedRobin said:

Your patience is an inspiration to us all

I don't feel very patient or inspirational. 🤣🤣🤣

I am so thankful we have each other and this forum. ❤️🙏

On 5/23/2026 at 12:37 PM, LostinCanada said:

I don't feel very patient or inspirational.

@LostinCanada I’m not sure if you intended to make us laugh, but you certainly gave me a good chuckle. Let me clarify, I’m not laughing at you, us, or our plight, but rather at the way you said it and how much I could relate. No, I don’t feel that way either, but what choice do we have? As you have said, "slow is the new fast."

@RedRobin

Thank you for stopping by. Your message gave me a smile. I really appreciate the support and solidarity.

After my last cut, I did have a rough week, but thankfully it was only physical symptoms rather than psychological ones. I was very grateful it lasted only about a week and didn't turn into something more prolonged.

I could relate to your comments about delayed symptoms. It really is remarkable how different the acute physical symptoms can feel from the mood-related changes, and how much less predictable the latter seem to be. The idea of periodic long holds as a kind of firebreak continues to make a lot of sense to me too. We really are all piecing this together collectively, aren't we?

How are you doing? I hope things have calmed down and been relatively steady for you. I should have looked at you thread before answering you, but I'll go look now.

@RachelSusan I am happy to hear WD only lasted a week.

When did you do your last cut and how long after the fist one?

I am doing good. Haven’t postet for a while. I am still in the “we wait group”.

I will stay here a while and enjoy my life

Hugs xxx 🙏💕💕

6 hours ago, RachelSusan said:

@RedRobin

Thank you for stopping by. Your message gave me a smile. I really appreciate the support and solidarity.

After my last cut, I did have a rough week, but thankfully it was only physical symptoms rather than psychological ones. I was very grateful it lasted only about a week and didn't turn into something more prolonged.

I could relate to your comments about delayed symptoms. It really is remarkable how different the acute physical symptoms can feel from the mood-related changes, and how much less predictable the latter seem to be. The idea of periodic long holds as a kind of firebreak continues to make a lot of sense to me too. We really are all piecing this together collectively, aren't we?

How are you doing? I hope things have calmed down and been relatively steady for you. I should have looked at you thread before answering you, but I'll go look now.

We certainly are!

I'm feeling a lot better, thanks for asking. This recent wave must have been the result of previous cuts. I then suddenly felt it was the right time to reduce again, so am back on the merry-go-round. So far, so good...

@Haa Thanks for stopping by. First cut was 18 April and second cut was 18 May. I think staying in the waiting group is probably smart for you and is hopefully bringing you some much needed relief.

2 hours ago, RedRobin said:

We certainly are!

I'm feeling a lot better, thanks for asking. This recent wave must have been the result of previous cuts. I then suddenly felt it was the right time to reduce again, so am back on the merry-go-round. So far, so good...

I do agree with you about it being from previous cuts. In my humble opinion, I really don't claim to be an expert, I do believe the cuts are cumulative, at least for me. You know when it is right for you to taper. Glad to hear you are doing well thus far.

Just a quick Gabapentin taper update. Overall, things are going well, but apparently my sinuses didn't get the memo. I have been dealing with swelling, pressure, and postnasal drip, which I have learned can happen while the nervous system is readjusting during a taper. It seems my body is busy re-calibrating and my sinuses have decided to stand up and voice their acute displeasure. Other than that, all is good and I am surviving.

10 hours ago, RachelSusan said:

Overall, things are going well,

Sooooo pleased to read this @RachelSusan :)

@Chippy I was filling it out, and it asked for the date of injury from the product. I had to laugh to keep from crying. They mean one specific day, and I was thinking, "How about the last eight years?" Thank you for sending me the link. I really appreciate it.