I've been on this tapering journey for years now, and it's been tough at times yet SO worth the slog. Going into this, polydrugged to heck, I expected that lowering the meds would make me more reactive and cause the cPTSD they were prescribed for to spiral out of control. Basically, expecting the worst yet drawn to try anyway.

 

Surprisingly, as I bring things down slowly, it's been incredibly rewarding. Contrary to my expectations, I have more emotional regulation and can handle myself in tough situations more than I could when drugged up. I'm making more progress in therapy, since I'm not as numbed and zombie-like. My partner said I'm "more myself" on less drugs too, thank goodness.

 

The slog is long, and slow, and each taper takes a toll... and it's so worth it. I'm going to sound so cliché, but honestly colors are brighter and the world seems so much more... more. I can't believe how long I was a med-zombie, just nodding along when doctors suggested adding more pills in. 

 

If anyone is just starting, and feels discouraged by how long it takes, I just wanted to say that personally this years-long process has very much been worth it. I'll share more, and finish my signature soon, but gotta hop into work-mode.

 

Keep on keeping on, taperers! Thank you to everyone who has helped me along the way. More to come, big internet hugs to anyone who would like one.

Edited March 25Mar 25 by littlebird

Welcome to the forum!

 

This is a volunteer-run, community forum aimed at helping those who are tapering and/or experiencing difficulties with psychiatric medications and withdrawl syndrome. We are not medical professionals and cannot offer medical advice. We simply offer support and opinions which you could use as talking points with a medical provider knowledgeable in withdrawing off psychiatric medications.

 

Please familiarise yourself with the forum rules and the disclaimer located here: Guidelines

 

Please make sure your signature is kept up to date with your drug history. This will allow members to see some basic information about your drug history and situation so that they may help you best. Information on how to do this is located in the FAQs section above, but here is a direct link: Update Signature

Once this is done, future posts made by you will have this signature turned on by default. For this reason please keep it clear but condensed as possible.

I'm so sorry to read about the tough time you've had recently you will find plenty of support here for sure.

 

In the mean time this is what I would do if I were you:

 

-Stay Hydrated 

 

-Eat a good clean whole food diet, avoiding processed foods and sugars.

 

-Stay away from caffeine, alcohol and antihistamines and any other psychoactive substances.

 

Supplements are to be avoided initially, as they often irritate our nervous systems. Try to get your nutrition through food.

 

Down the line, you may wish to introduce Fish Oil and Magnesium. Those who can tolerate them have found them calming to the nervous system. Be careful try one at a time and start low and see how you get on should you choose to try them.

 

A daily walk is very important as much as you can manage, if you can manage it. Gets you your fresh air and Vitamin D does wonders for your mind!

 

It would be good to get more details on the tapering you've been doing, what method you've been using and so on. Perhaps it would benefit other members to learn from your experiences.

 

It's good that you have experienced some positives from tapering down, even though it is not always easy.

 

Were you a member on SA previously?

 

You are very welcome here and I hope you find the site supportive.

Nice to see you here @littlebird

I think you were one of the first SA members to welcome me 3+ years ago when I was such a mess.

Glad things are going well for you. ❤️🙏

Welcome @littlebird and thank you for making your topic. 😀

On 3/25/2026 at 10:59 AM, Luke said:

This is a volunteer-run, community forum aimed at helping those who are tapering and/or experiencing difficulties with psychiatric medications and withdrawl syndrome.

Thank you for this! Sending appreciation to everyone putting in time and energy to helping people.

 

On 3/25/2026 at 11:08 AM, LostinCanada said:

I think you were one of the first SA members to welcome me 3+ years ago when I was such a mess.

Glad things are going well for you. ❤️🙏

Hi!!! How are you doing these days? It's not all sunshine and roses, each taper still hits hard no matter how small the lowering was, but life is overall absolutely better on less meds.

 

On 3/25/2026 at 11:39 AM, Chippy said:

Welcome @littlebird and thank you for making your topic. 😀

Thank you! 

It's gabapentin-o-clock and I find myself pausing and pondering: I tried a taper recently after a long hold, then yesterday got the closest to a full-blown panic attack I've gotten in a loooong time. This seems like a sign that it's time to retreat, and go back to holding the line, at least for this dose.

 

The zero-to-sixty worst-case-scenario thinking lately has been next level. If there were awards for catastrophizing I could maybe make it to a regional ranking. I brought the panic yesterday on myself with a lightning quick spiral! So.... okay, talked myself into dosing at the old dose and kicking a taper down the road.

15 minutes ago, littlebird said:

? It's not all sunshine and roses, each taper still hits hard no matter how small the lowering was, but life is overall absolutely better on less meds.

Agree... every cut kicks me in the butt and my cuts are small. But every drop is a win. 🎉🎉🎉

7 minutes ago, littlebird said:

talked myself into dosing at the old dose and kicking a taper down the road.

Stability is more important than cessation...this journey is hard enough...we do the best we can.

❤️🙏

9 minutes ago, LostinCanada said:

But every drop is a win. 🎉🎉🎉

Slowly and surely, they add up! 

 

9 minutes ago, LostinCanada said:

Stability is more important than cessation...this journey is hard enough...we do the best we can.

Yup, as the gaba kicks in, the sharp blade of anxiety is turning into more of a dull pressure. Not the time for a taper! Stability is everything, you're so right.

 

Quote

"... your strength will be in keeping calm..."-Isaiah 30:15

Phew, and your signature says it all too! I won't be able to solve work problems if I'm fighting off panic. Gaba still dulls my thinking and senses, even at this low dose, but that's more workable than catastrophic thinking bringing on panic. 

 

So glad this site exists, and so happy we could reconnect! One day, we'll get to cessation. 

This is always one to remember:

https://antidepressantrecovery.org/topic/340-dont-fight-the-panic-claire-weekes/?do=getNewComment

 

4 minutes ago, littlebird said:

So glad this site exists, and so happy we could reconnect! One day, we'll get to cessation. 

Me too. We will conquer. 💪💪💪

You are doing great. 💯

3 hours ago, LostinCanada said:

This is always one to remember:

https://antidepressantrecovery.org/topic/340-dont-fight-the-panic-claire-weekes/?do=getNewComment

Her voice is so soothing, thank you.

 

3 hours ago, LostinCanada said:

Me too. We will conquer. 💪💪💪

You are doing great. 💯

You too! We've come a long way, and each little step adds up. I'm glad sites exist where I can read about other people who jumped off too fast and got a rebound effect, otherwise I'd be tempted to get to zero since it's soooooo close. Slow is fast in the long run.

I think as I continue down the pointy end of almost-to-zero gaba, I need to (carefully) dilute the liquid so each tapering is easier to control. I'm using the smallest syringe I could find, so the liquid has to change. It's just a rock and hard place of the current dose feeling too high and any tiny lowering of amount (even the tiniest "squint under the light to make sure it's not a full measurement lower") is feeling like too much and WD hits.

 

I can't believe how often this medication is handed out for everything under the sun and people are told it's gentle, with no major side effects. I don't want to get my meds with everyone, but sometimes if someone says "I got prescribed something called 'gabapentin' for ____ and it makes me feel so dizzy and out of it, but my doctor said that goes away if I just keep taking it" (which happens a lot tbh), I will say, "I tried that, and it did not work for me and the side effects were way too much to handle."

 

It's being prescribed for so. many. things.

Edited March 28Mar 28 by littlebird

LB how is your grounding plan when panic starts?  I've started a google doc of mine and pull it up in a discreet tab in my browser, to use early and often 😂

 

Lately I've been doing a lot of breathing techniques and 5-4-3-2-1 to stay in the moment and try to head off the anxiety before it sets in.  

 

Not gonna lie, it was much more convenient to take a pill 😁💊 and it feels really unfamiliar to keep up with doing this stuff all day long.  I don't have time for this 

 

crap, I have work to do!!!  😆  but in fact I do have time to 'reset' myself if I make it.   It's been surprisingly effective this last week, but chemical anxiety is a whole 

 

other beast.   

@littlebird I don't know what your budget would allow but this is the micropipette Dr Horowitz uses. Super accurate:

https://shop.brandtech.com/en/single-channel-micropipette-transferpetter-s-adjustable-de-m-p13154.html

 

Slow is the new fast. 💯😁

23 hours ago, LostinCanada said:

@littlebird I don't know what your budget would allow but this is the micropipette Dr Horowitz uses. Super accurate:

This is incredible, didn't know it existed! Thank you, we'll see if this needs to be part of the kit. Hopefully I can figure it out without investing, but hey, if I need it to get past the pointy end of tapering, then it'll be an investment in stability.

 

 

I'm going to try experimenting with lowering the last dose of the day, instead of the morning dose and then spiraling the reset of the day. Fingers crossed I can get out of this "dose is too much, but tapering is also too much" sticky spot. I've definitely been here before, it'll pass. The only constant in life is change, right?

 

I rarely forget doses of things, but I forgot a wellbutrin yesterday and I'm feeling it. These meds are so powerful!

 

2 minutes ago, littlebird said:

forgot a wellbutrin yesterday and I'm feeling it. These meds are so powerful

Dang, they really are. 

2 minutes ago, littlebird said:

experimenting with lowering the last dose of the day, instead of the morning dose and then spiraling the reset of the day

Good plan... You are doing so well. You had went quiet on SA so I am happy to see your progress. 

3 minutes ago, littlebird said:

This is incredible, didn't know it existed!

It is pretty amazing....I really need to convert to liquid at some point. Definitely going to get me a micropipette. 💯🤣

 

I'm on the hunt for a new doc, one who won't say things like, "At your dose, you shouldn't be feeling much of any withdrawal or side effects."

 

If only! The new one I was assigned also knows very little about the physiological effects of trauma (and doesn't have the imagination to try to understand things like hyper-vigilance).

 

In the past, I've spent time and energy sending studies and info to doctors who aren't trauma-informed... and at this point in my overly stressed life, I just want to find a new doctor who knows what's up.

Apparently Outro accepts insurance now..I don't know if that is a good fit.

https://share.google/CECQXSy2ld6TrgR3j

 

AI:

Yes, Outro Health now accepts insurance for their antidepressant tapering (deprescribing) program in the United States. 

Outro Health

Outro Health

 +1

Outro has partnered with Headway to allow for in-network billing of clinician visits. 

Outro Health

Outro Health

How Insurance Works with Outro (As of March 2026)

Clinician Visits: Billed through your insurance via Headway; you pay your standard plan copay per visit.

Membership Fee: A fee of $99/month applies for the program, which includes the taper plan, tracking tools, messaging, and support groups.

Coverage Check: You can verify if your specific insurance plan is accepted through Headway during the Outro onboarding process.

Out-of-Network/Self-Pay: If your insurance is not accepted, you can join as a self-pay member, and Outro can provide a superbill for potential out-of-network reimbursement. 

Outro Health

Outro Health

 +2

Key Program Details

Availability: Operating in select U.S. states, including California, New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Washington, and Colorado.

Method: Utilizes specialized "hyperbolic tapering" methods designed to minimize withdrawal symptoms, often using compounded medications.

Providers: Care is provided by nurse practitioners and physicians specializing in deprescribing. 

Business Insider

Business Insider

 +3

Edited March 31Mar 31 by LostinCanada

Tried lowering just the last dose of the day yesterday of gaba, just the teensiest bit, and woke up to a nervous system that is short-circuiting with anxiety. It feels very med-induced, things that should feel disappointing at worst are hitting my CNS in a panic-inducing way. 

 

This feels like a big red flag reading "even with the side effects, you are better off holding and not attempting a taper at this time."

 

OK, mental health first aid time for lunch! Just checking in with myself on HALT (hungry, angry, lonely, tired) yes on all of them. Gonna eat while listening to something soothing, reach out to a friend, and take a short rest. Do some grounding activities. See if we can get this train back on the tracks.

 

I'm literally shaking like a leaf, y'all. That doc who said this med shouldn't affect anyone at these doses can get bent (over all the studies out there, learning more).

 

 

On 3/30/2026 at 12:31 PM, LostinCanada said:

I really need to convert to liquid at some point. Definitely going to get me a micropipette

Getting a scale made such a difference, maybe I do need to invest in this... 

 

3 hours ago, LostinCanada said:

Apparently Outro accepts insurance now

Ooh... thank you! This is worth looking into, turns out there are secret health insurance options... kinda like a secret menu, so it might be worth advocating for with the health corpos. 

 

It would be ideal to have a doc who makes me feel heard and believed. Thank goodness for sites like this! I can search a med name and see I'm not alone in how it makes me feel, it's validating.