Hello everyone — I’m new to this forum, though not new to psychiatric medication or tapering. I wanted to share my story.

I’ve been on a long journey of tapering off psychiatric medication (antidepressants), which I was originally prescribed for social anxiety and generalized anxiety. I’ve had anxiety since 1995, and I’ve been on medication since 2001.

 

As for my medication history, I’ve tried most kinds of antidepressants over the years, and from around 2016 until spring 2024 I was taking a combination of Venlafaxine, Lamotrigine, and Brintellix.

 

I started tapering off Venlafaxine in the autumn of 2023, after a long period of feeling very unwell and dealing with a lot of anxiety. I began to wonder whether, after so many years, the medication might actually be making things worse for me — as if my brain had simply had enough. After tapering, I actually felt really good for a few months in mid-2024. But in the autumn of 2024, everything took a dramatic turn for the worse because, as I later found out, I had been advised by my doctor to taper far too quickly — first off Venlafaxine, and later off Brintellix as well.

 

As many of you have probably experienced, tapering is often approached with a “one size fits all” mindset. It was only through my own research, and really by chance, that I found a place offering proper guidance on psychiatric drug tapering. That was the first time I understood what was actually happening to me. Unfortunately, the professionals around me have shown very little understanding of these issues, and still do. I don’t feel that my experience of withdrawal effects from tapering too fast is being taken seriously.

 

Since December 2024, I’ve been taking Duloxetine and Lamotrigine, and I’ve been on a stable dose since March 2025. That was also when I had to go on sick leave from work.

 

Since then, my recovery has been marked by waves of extreme anxiety — what feels like chemical anxiety, where I barely recognize myself — mixed with windows where I can breathe and feel more like myself again. When I look back over the past year, I can see that I have improved. The intense waves come less often now, and they don’t last as long. Before, they could last for days or even weeks, with nonstop anxiety. Now they may last only a few seconds, or sometimes several hours. I can still have a bad week, but even then the days are easier than they were a year ago. So I am healing — it is just happening very, very slowly, as I know many of you have experienced too.

 

What makes my situation more complicated, in my view, is that I am still taking two medications (Duloxetine, Lamotrigine). That means there is always the possibility that some of what I’m dealing with is related to still being on medication that may not be right for me. I find that very difficult to navigate. At the same time, I don’t feel ready to start tapering the remaining medication until I feel noticeably better — but then again, what if the medication I’m still on is part of what is keeping me stuck?

 

I also struggle with social anxiety, which makes returning to work especially difficult, since I have a fairly outgoing, people-facing job. RIght now I work aprox. 2 hours a week.

 

Thank you for reading this far. I’m looking forward to finding new inspiration in this forum, and I hope that one day I’ll be able to come back and share my own success story about tapering off successfully. 🙂

Hi @recov70

 

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.
 

36 minutes ago, recov70 said:

Hello everyone — I’m new to this forum, though not new to psychiatric medication or tapering. I wanted to share my story.

I’ve been on a long journey of tapering off psychiatric medication (antidepressants), which I was originally prescribed for social anxiety and generalized anxiety. I’ve had anxiety since 1995, and I’ve been on medication since 2001

Thanks for joining and telling us a little about your journey. Unfortunately yours is a common tale but I’m glad you’ve found us. 
 

37 minutes ago, recov70 said:

As for my medication history, I’ve tried most kinds of antidepressants over the years, and from around 2016 until spring 2024 I was taking a combination of Venlafaxine, Lamotrigine, and Brintellix.

Would you be able to adjust your signature to show some more detail of your dose changes, in particular the last few years?
 

Write it like this:

01 Jan 2025 Cymbalta 60mg

01 Feb 2026 Cymbalta 50mg

and so on….

 

40 minutes ago, recov70 said:

I started tapering off Venlafaxine in the autumn of 2023, after a long period of feeling very unwell and dealing with a lot of anxiety. I began to wonder whether, after so many years, the medication might actually be making things worse for me — as if my brain had simply had enough. After tapering, I actually felt really good for a few months in mid-2024. But in the autumn of 2024, everything took a dramatic turn for the worse because, as I later found out, I had been advised by my doctor to taper far too quickly — first off Venlafaxine, and later off Brintellix as well.

It’s very common after many year of use for tolerance to set in. This often results in feeling worse, the drug turning on you and acting paradoxical. Reducing the dose as you did will have helped and helped reverse this for you. 

Unfortunately, as you know, you tapered too quickly. Wd can be delayed in onset as you found out. 
 

43 minutes ago, recov70 said:

As many of you have probably experienced, tapering is often approached with a “one size fits all” mindset. It was only through my own research, and really by chance, that I found a place offering proper guidance on psychiatric drug tapering. That was the first time I understood what was actually happening to me. Unfortunately, the professionals around me have shown very little understanding of these issues, and still do. I don’t feel that my experience of withdrawal effects from tapering too fast is being taken seriously.

It’s great you found some help with all this. You are right there is so little understanding in the main stream medical community. 
 

45 minutes ago, recov70 said:

Since December 2024, I’ve been taking Duloxetine and Lamotrigine, and I’ve been on a stable dose since March 2025. That was also when I had to go on sick leave from work.

It’s good you have found some stability. It’s unclear to me how you ended up on the different drug. It would have been better to reinstate the original drug at a lower dose. But it’s good you are starting to be stable now. I’m pleased to see it. 
 

Reinstating an Antidepressant

 

46 minutes ago, recov70 said:

Since then, my recovery has been marked by waves of extreme anxiety — what feels like chemical anxiety, where I barely recognize myself — mixed with windows where I can breathe and feel more like myself again. When I look back over the past year, I can see that I have improved. The intense waves come less often now, and they don’t last as long. Before, they could last for days or even weeks, with nonstop anxiety. Now they may last only a few seconds, or sometimes several hours. I can still have a bad week, but even then the days are easier than they were a year ago. So I am healing — it is just happening very, very slowly, as I know many of you have experienced too.

There is very clear signs of your body working this all out for you. I think at this point you are very wise to find as much stability as you can before commencing a nice safe slow taper. 
 

Tapering Information
 

Micro Tapering

 

Preparing Doses for Tapering - Weighing & DIY Liquids

 

48 minutes ago, recov70 said:

What makes my situation more complicated, in my view, is that I am still taking two medications (Duloxetine, Lamotrigine). That means there is always the possibility that some of what I’m dealing with is related to still being on medication that may not be right for me. I find that very difficult to navigate. At the same time, I don’t feel ready to start tapering the remaining medication until I feel noticeably better — but then again, what if the medication I’m still on is part of what is keeping me stuck?

It’s not uncommon to end up on more than one drug. Try not to worry too much about this. You are not alone. 
 

49 minutes ago, recov70 said:

I also struggle with social anxiety, which makes returning to work especially difficult, since I have a fairly outgoing, people-facing job. RIght now I work aprox. 2 hours a week.

I think anxiety is triggered by different things for different people. Even wd anxiety. I hope as you stablise you’ll find this easier to manage. 
 

50 minutes ago, recov70 said:

Thank you for reading this far. I’m looking forward to finding new inspiration in this forum, and I hope that one day I’ll be able to come back and share my own success story about tapering off successfully.

Pleasure. I look forward to reading it!
 

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!

 

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

 

Chippy

@recov70 Welcome sounds like you are doing quite well , you seen improvements , i would definitely stay as you are for now and not rock the boat 😊 lots of great people on here 

Thanks Chippy for taking the time to comment on my post; must appreciated!

I've updated my medicin-signature 🙂

1 hour ago, recov70 said:

Thanks Chippy for taking the time to comment on my post; must appreciated!

I've updated my medicin-signature 🙂

Thanks for the additional information. I’m sorry you’ve had your doses/drugs switched about so much. Doing this can actually make you pretty poorly unfortunately. I’m really happy to see things are stabilising for you. 
 

When you’ve reached your baseline wd state and feel ready to tackle a taper we can discuss how to best approach this if you wish. 
 

Until then I hope you find lots of support here, I’m certain you will. 
 

Chippy

Hi everyone, I am past the worst part of my healing, but I am definitely not fully there yet. I do feel that my windows are becoming clearer, and over the last 7 days I have been waking up without getting cortisol peaks immediately on waking or later in the morning around breakfast.

 

I wanted to share one of the biggest sources of relief I use when I get hit by waves, which is acupuncture.

I went off work on sick leave in March 2025, and I was already seeing an acupuncturist at that time for a physical injury. I asked him somewhat randomly if he also worked with anxiety and whether he could help regulate my nervous system, and it turned out that he had a lot of experience with that.

During the first few months, I saw him a couple of times a month. Over the last few months, it has been about once a month, and around 95% of the time I have experienced relief in the waves.

He says the treatments are made more difficult by the fact that I am currently on more than one medication for anxiety, but he does the best he can.

 

Has anyone else had success with acupuncture?

Hi @recov70

 

We like to keep all these kinds of posts in one place. So I have moved this back here for you. 🙂 

 

Chippy

58 minutes ago, recov70 said:

Hi everyone, I am past the worst part of my healing, but I am definitely not fully there yet. I do feel that my windows are becoming clearer, and over the last 7 days I have been waking up without getting cortisol peaks immediately on waking or later in the morning around breakfast.

 

I wanted to share one of the biggest sources of relief I use when I get hit by waves, which is acupuncture.

I went off work on sick leave in March 2025, and I was already seeing an acupuncturist at that time for a physical injury. I asked him somewhat randomly if he also worked with anxiety and whether he could help regulate my nervous system, and it turned out that he had a lot of experience with that.

During the first few months, I saw him a couple of times a month. Over the last few months, it has been about once a month, and around 95% of the time I have experienced relief in the waves.

He says the treatments are made more difficult by the fact that I am currently on more than one medication for anxiety, but he does the best he can.

 

Has anyone else had success with acupuncture?

Thanks for sharing your experience @recov70 I've heard quite a few who swear by it so it's definitely an option for me later on.

So glad to hear your windows are longer and brighter, that's such an encouraging sign, may it stay that way!

Take good care and stay well!

Edited April 14Apr 14 by Fullhealing

How do you all feel about having to step back from your social life and work during a WD process?

I’m self-employed, and I’ve told my business contacts and collaborators that I’m dealing with “stress,” because I don’t feel comfortable sharing my full medical history with everyone. At the same time, I find it difficult, because I feel like I’m hiding something, or at least that I should explain myself the next time I see them.

At times, WD brings up a lot of inner insecurity for me, and the vulnerability that comes with that can make it hard to navigate relationships and social situations. I don’t mean my closest circle, because they know what I’m going through, but more the wider circle of people who don’t know the full background.

What are your thoughts on this?

I have sometimes felt the need to explain my behavior during withdrawal to people that don't know me well. I usually just tell them that I am living with disordered anxiety and panic, which is true; I'm just not elaborating on why.

I've noticed that there is more tolerance and empathy for mental health issues than there used to be in the past, and people are consequently more open about their struggles, which is helpful for those in our situation.

Edited April 22Apr 22 by Treefrog

For the longest time, I’ve locked down and hidden from most what’s happening, seems safest that way. What I hate about this approach, is it leaves the door open to assuming, there is an unknown, but potentially serious mental health journey, going on. And yes that should be ok, we shouldn’t stigmatise these things. However it makes me mad, when that isn’t the truth. So I’ve started standing up and telling certain people the true story. Not everyone, just an increasing number. I’m shocked by how open folk are to the reality of withdraw, and it feels validating, and generally good, to tell the truth about what has happened.

13 hours ago, recov70 said:

How do you all feel about having to step back from your social life and work during a WD process?

I’m self-employed, and I’ve told my business contacts and collaborators that I’m dealing with “stress,” because I don’t feel comfortable sharing my full medical history with everyone. At the same time, I find it difficult, because I feel like I’m hiding something, or at least that I should explain myself the next time I see them.

At times, WD brings up a lot of inner insecurity for me, and the vulnerability that comes with that can make it hard to navigate relationships and social situations. I don’t mean my closest circle, because they know what I’m going through, but more the wider circle of people who don’t know the full background.

What are your thoughts on this?

Those who haven't been through it wouldn't know how to contain it, of course there are exceptions, but in general, exposing yourself even more when you feel so exposed can be too much. If there are those you trust enough, then maybe it's worth giving more background. Usually I say that I'm just going through a difficult personal period, some are empathetic and some aren't.

Work in progress here on not feeling guilty about my situation and therefore giving too deep explanations.

Edited April 23Apr 23 by Fullhealing

5 hours ago, Fullhealing said:

Those who haven't been through it wouldn't know how to contain it, of course there are exceptions, but in general, exposing yourself even more when you feel so exposed can be too much. If there are those you trust enough, then maybe it's worth giving more background. Usually I say that I'm just going through a difficult personal period, some are empathetic and some aren't.

Work in progress here on not feeling guilty about my situation and therefore giving too deep explanations.

I agree. About feeling quilty: I know that feeling; especially if I've to cancel appointments ...

18 hours ago, Treefrog said:

I've noticed that there is more tolerance and empathy for mental health issues than there used to be in the past, and people are consequently more open about their struggles, which is helpful for those in our situation.

That's for sure; I’ve experienced several times that when I open up about my own struggles, the other person often ends up sharing some of their own mental health difficulties too.

I need some input on my work situation, as I’m currently in a wave.

The wave started on Monday last week. It was relatively mild on Monday and Tuesday, then got stronger on Wednesday and Thursday, and became really bad on Friday and Saturday. Yesterday afternoon it eased off, but now this morning, Monday, it feels bad again.

I’m self-employed and have my own business, but at the moment I only work up to around 5 hours a week because of my whole situation. I have one regular client, and that is something I can handle within what my body and mind are currently able to manage.

Three weeks ago, when I was feeling really well, I said yes to a more demanding and different kind of job for another client, scheduled for Friday, May 22. My sense is that the current wave started independently of this upcoming job, but at the same time I also feel that the wave may be kept going by the thought of these more demanding tasks, and by my changing thoughts about whether to cancel or go through with the job.

I’m very conscientious, and I find it really difficult to cancel work for clients — even when it is for the sake of my health. I’m very aware of how much my thoughts and worries can affect my physical sensations. I have lived with anxiety for more than 30 years and I know all the “techniques”, but these days everything is just spinning around in my head.

When I have small windows during these days, I think that maybe I can manage the new and more demanding job. But when the waves return, I absolutely cannot see myself doing it.

For now, I have given myself a deadline. If I don’t feel okay over the next few days — with no wave, or almost no wave — then I will have to say no to the job by Wednesday morning at the latest, simply to protect my own health. In January, I experienced what happened when I pushed myself through several weeks with too much work again, around 15 hours a week.

So yes, I’m really just curious to hear your input. Not necessarily only about my specific situation, but also how you handle work while going through WD.

@recov70 i think everyone is different, but i personally think staying well inside of your envelope whilst in wd is important. Hope this wave ends soon.