I’m here from SurvivingAntidepressants.

I’ve read the guidelines. My biggest question at this point is if Antidepressant Recovery .org has any guidelines or stance against talking about remaining on medication, switching between medications, or restarting psychiatric medications.

I am not med resistant. I’m also not sure that getting and staying off is best for me. I actually used a very slow taper to get off and stay off 25+ years ago but went back on during a hard time. Therefore, I’d like to be able to get peer support around that without too much dogmatic pushback about never using meds.

Below is my second introduction to Surviving Antidepressants with some updates. I lost access to my first account I had.

Mild Mannered on the outside … but sometimes screaming or crying on the inside.  
 

I’m 59 (now 63) and doing pretty good. I moved from a southern US state to Europe in 2022, retiring at the same time, and that has helped a lot. 

 

But certain things can really set me off into a spiral of anger or shame and feeling worthless.
 

Here is my entire drug and therapy history. I started when an episode of grief over a relationship ending lasted more than about 8 weeks. Lots of crying, feeling worthless, all while trying to pretend I was okay. I started therapy, she suggested going to a psychiatrist to get an SSRI, and to my regular doc for some Buspar just for a short while. But doc prescribed Xanax and I was too scared to insist on Buspar. Luckily I didn’t use the Xanax much. 
 

I was on SSRIs for 7 years starting about 1993 including Paxil, Celexa, and Effexor, for last few years with Wellbutrin added. Tried to get off with a taper but it wasn’t slow enough; failed and restarted the meds; a year later got back off with a very slow taper - more than a year. I was in therapy all or most of the time I was on meds on this go-round.

I went back to therapy in 2005 with a new therapist I trusted more. I remained off meds 

until 2009 when started getting s. ideation, had a failed business, and needed to get a job.
 

Got on 75mg Pristiq, was upped to 100mg about a month later. At some point, Gabapentin was added for anxiety, for a max of 400mg allowed (2 in morning and 2 at night), but I was usually just on 300mg (200 at night).

 

Pristiq is not available in my new country, so I did a cross-taper to Effexor XR, no change to Gabapentin, in late 2021, in preparation. Ended at 0 Pristiq and 75mg Effexor XR. . It was surprisingly easy symptom-wise. I kept a detailed chart of the plan and the actual, which was very close.
 

Got a psychiatrist here, and meds. So I am still on the same.  My psychiatrist wanted me to go down to 200 mg, which I did on 14 January. So that is 33% reduction. 
 

Things were going well, just a few minor headaches, insomnia, a nightmare. Then I attended a social thing this weekend which has someone that really bugs me. I had trouble going to sleep (up until 3 which is really rare for me), and was just so angry that day. But I took an outside bike ride and am back on an even keel. 
 

I know that is more than the 10% recommended, so I plan to stay there but don’t know how long.
 

So I look forward to this journey. Thanks for this forum!

 

Here it is in bullet form.

1993 - 2000 - various SSRIs plus later Wellbutrin added.
2000 - failed taper.
2002 - Successful taper to 0. 

2009 - 75mg Pristiq (desvenlafaxine)

2010 - 2015 100 mg Pristiq

2015 - 2019 100 mg Pristiq + 300mg Gabapentin

2019 -2023 taper/switch to 75mg Effexor XR (venlafaxine) + 300mg Gabapentin

2023 - 75mg Effexor XR + tapered to 200 mg per psychiatrist. 

-> update:  I successfully got off gabapentin doing a slow taper. After a pause, I started reducing my venlafaxine at my psychiatrist’s recommendation. I had a bad reaction going at about the 50% of original dose mark earlier this year, so slowed down. I do the 10% reduction of previous dose for at least a month and until stable. I also stopped tapering during the winter because it is a depressive time for me. I like my psychiatrist, we actually talk for an hour unlike in USA. He thinks I can get off my meds but isn’t pushing me; and my long term therapist isn’t keen on the idea.

(end of update)

This is just the latest. I was on SSRI’s for 7 yrs before this then slowly tapered and got off for 5 or so years. Then I started again because of depression and sliding towards inability to manage daily life.

2010 - 2015 100 mg Pristiq (desvenlafaxine);  2015 - 2019 100 mg Pristiq + 300mg Gabapentin, Zyrtec 10 mg

2019 -2023 taper/switch to 75mg Effexor XR (venlafaxine) + 300mg Gabapentin, Zyrtec 10 mg; 2023 - 75mg venlafaxine XR + tapered to 200 mg Gabapentin per psychiatrist; Zyrtec 10 mg
2024 - 75mg venlafaxine XR. Tapered off gabapentin, now at 0. Zyrtec 10 mg; 2024 - July. 75mg venlafaxine XR. 10mg Atorvastatin started for high cholesterol. 600 mg Calcium + 400 IU Vitamin D3 started for osteopenia, Zyrtec 10 mg for allergies.

2024 - 1 Sep 67.5 mg venlafaxine XR (90% of 75mg)

2024 - 2 oct - 60.75 mg venlafaxine XR

9 Oct - messed up my dosages (too high, missing pills) but got back on track. doc added 500 mg Metformin (pre-diabetes); continued other meds.  

2024 -2 nov to Apr 2025 - 60.75 mg venlafaxine XR   

2025 - 17 Apr - 54 mg venlafaxine XR; 10% reduction in Jun - Aug; Aug 19 10% reduction

2025 - 15 Sep 53% of original dosage (= 39.82 mg) Continued other drugs: 500mg Metf

ormin 10mg Atorvastatin. 500mg Metformin. 600 mg Calcium + 400 IU Vitamin D3, Zyrtec 10mg.

2026 - 30 Aug 30,5 mg venlafaxine XR. Continued other drugs.

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

 

Thank you for updating your signature.

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!

7 hours ago, AnaBanana said:

I’ve read the guidelines. My biggest question at this point is if Antidepressant Recovery .org has any guidelines or stance against talking about remaining on medication, switching between medications, or restarting psychiatric medications.

I am not med resistant. I’m also not sure that getting and staying off is best for me. I actually used a very slow taper to get off and stay off 25+ years ago but went back on during a hard time. Therefore, I’d like to be able to get peer support around that without too much dogmatic pushback about never using meds.

We will do what we can to support you. We provide information, and suggestions- it is up to you what you do with them.

What I can't guarantee you is that you will agree with all of the suggestions provided by the other people that use this forum. If they stay within the rules, we try not to censor people. The value in this forum is in the support it provides, but also the range of considered suggestions you get from others who are thinking about what is best for you.

The overwhelming majority of people here have been significantly harmed by these drugs, so naturally a lot of the suggestions and thoughts you might have from others are going to be based on reduction of harm. Clearly you've had withdrawal issues at various points when reducing the dose by too large a quantity. It sounds like you've then been more cautious when tapering further, which is good.

Can I ask what kind of peer support you envisage receiving?

 

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

2 hours ago, Luke said:

The overwhelming majority of people here have been significantly harmed by these drugs, so naturally a lot of the suggestions and thoughts you might have from others are going to be based on reduction of harm.

I think most of us thought the drugs were good till they weren't.

Going off and on drugs can cause kindling which is a real danger.

Also the body can only carry so much stress and change. The allostatic load is very important to watch.

So please continue to show caution and treat yourself with kindness. ❤️🙏

Luke,

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. Most of it is familiar, but it is good to be reminded. I will look into the antihistamine issue as I do take loratadine - I see there is a topic on it.

As for peer support, I am usually fine searching for answers and occasionally have a specific question. I just would like to be able to discuss for me only, what to do if my anxiety and depression symptoms get too hard to handle.

Some find that antihistamines do not significantly affect them, but others have had quite bad setbacks from them. The harm that these drugs can do is typically quite complex and unpredictable, but it can often make people very sensitive to other drugs.

Some antihistamines in particular are not totally dissimilar to various psychiatric drugs.

I hope that you're able to find useful information when searching around here. We'd be happy to help with this if you have difficulty.

1 hour ago, AnaBanana said:

As for peer support, I am usually fine searching for answers and occasionally have a specific question. I just would like to be able to discuss for me only, what to do if my anxiety and depression symptoms get too hard to handle.

I hope that we're able to provide a supportive environment for you.

I feel though that I should emphasise that as this is a community forum, the support will be coming from other members of the community, and this community is primarily made up of people who have sought out these drugs to deal with emotional difficulties and have suffered harm as a consequence. In many cases, this is really quite severe harm.

This does not mean that you are unwelcome here- far from it. What it does mean though, is that the types of support and suggestions you are likely to receive will be affected by their desire to prevent similar harm being done to others.

Thank you, Luke.