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jules · Post by **jules** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 11:39 am

Did you give up?

I recall you struggled a lot this summer with this.

blowfish · Post by **blowfish** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 12:02 pm

DreamStalker · Post by **DreamStalker** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 12:03 pm

Mike

You have been away. Hope you are not planning on staying away from the treatment too.

If you don't get any offers here ... there is now an auction site where you can sell PAP equipment -

http://www.cpapauction.com

Hope you are well.

blowfish · Post by **blowfish** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 12:15 pm

jules · Post by **jules** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 12:28 pm

Going off AD's that fast is crazy.

I can't tell you what to do or tell your doctor how to do it, but .....

every time I went off Effexor (and it wasn't just once), I would take 8 weeks to do it cutting back the dose a small amount of the pellets in the capsule every week. My doc suggested 1/4 of the original dose every 4 days and that was WAY too fast for me. Even with my slow withdrawal there were headaches each time I went down.

blowfish · Post by **blowfish** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 12:12 am

oceanpearl · Post by **oceanpearl** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 11:33 am

mth712 wrote:I think I know how one can die from untreated Apnea... I quit useing the machine when I had a cold and I ate some rich food right before going to bed. I awakened in a huge panic cause i puked up pure acid and inhaled it in my lungs and was coughing it out and couldn't catch my breath and every cough of acid hurt soooo bad..... Oh the burning. My heart raced so fast I thought I was going to die.

This isn't the first time but the worst. I have no reflux on the machine.

I went to the Dr. and have to take BP meds now on top of antidepressants and now Klonopin... He said I am a walking future stroke victim at 189/116.

I am on the 2nd day of trying to come off antidepressants after 18 years on them. I have been on Cymbalta 6 months and decided enough is enough and my Dr. said to go from 60 MG to 30MG for 2 weeks then off. Well 2 days later I had runs all day,so dizzy I can't walk straight... I had some old Lexapro so I just popped 20MG of that and hope it helps cause atleast it is a tablet and I can break it and taper slower.... Man what hell. I have to work the next 3 days and I can't be dizzy as hell.

But I am ready for to not be a zombie anymore and get off these drugs.

Know the feeling. A couple of years ago I decided to get off Paxil. It was a tough fight and then I fould that you can get liquid Paxil which makes tapering off much easier.
The doctors who put you on these things seem to never learn anything about them except what the drug detailers tell them. My doctor was suprised at the severity of my problem when I was weaning myself. Sic weeks later I was hearing birds chirping at night and bells ringing,

BigGayBert · Post by **BigGayBert** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 11:55 am

mth712 wrote:I am on the 2nd day of trying to come off antidepressants after 18 years on them. I have been on Cymbalta 6 months and decided enough is enough and my Dr. said to go from 60 MG to 30MG for 2 weeks then off. Well 2 days later I had runs all day,so dizzy I can't walk straight... I had some old Lexapro so I just popped 20MG of that and hope it helps cause atleast it is a tablet and I can break it and taper slower.... Man what hell. I have to work the next 3 days and I can't be dizzy as hell.

Cymbalta also comes in 20mg capsules. Try to get your hands on some of those so that you can taper off more slowly. After a couple of weeks on 20mg, you can go down even lower. Carefully cut open one of the capsules (I know it says on the label not to do that, but you can!) and empty the beads inside. Each of those beads is a actually a tiny little time-released tablet. You will not destroy the time-release feature of the drug by opening the capsule itself.

Divide the pearls into two parts, and then you have an approximate 10mg dose. Sprinkle it on some applesauce or whatever food of your choice, but don't chew, otherwise you will destroy the time-release feature of the drug, and that burst of duloxetine will make you very sick. You can even divide further if you need to. This method was recommended by my psychiatrist, and I personally know of others who have done it, so I'm relatively sure it's safe. Of course, I'm no doctor!

Good luck in discontinuing your meds, and remember that if you feel that you're not doing well afterwards, there's no shame in going back. Your family would rather have you alive and medicated than dead and drug-free. I would, however, recommend that you see a psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse, if you're not already. Today's plethora of psychotropic drugs are incredibly complex, and 99% of GP's are well-intentioned but just don't know what they are doing. Your life is way too valuable!

Best of luck to you.

BigGayBert · Post by **BigGayBert** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 12:02 pm

mth712 wrote:I went to the Dr. and have to take BP meds now on top of antidepressants and now Klonopin...

Oh, I almost forgot to mention.....Klonopin is notorious for potentiating depressive states. Valium is also a long-acting benzodiazepine, but it is not known to cause depression. Ativan is not depressing, either, but it is much more short-acting. Just a few options to throw out to your doctor.

[Edited for grammar]

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 1:32 pm

BigGayBert wrote:
mth712 wrote:I went to the Dr. and have to take BP meds now on top of antidepressants and now Klonopin...
Oh, I almost forgot to mention.....Klonopin is notorious for potentiating depressive states. Valium is also a long-acting benzodiazepine, but it is not known to cause depression. Ativan is not depressing, either, but it is much more short-acting. Just a few options to throw out to your doctor.

[Edited for grammar]

Thanks for all the advice. The second day I actually tried to count the little beads cause someone said there is approx. 260 in a 30 mg and I was going to try and count them and taper. Yeah right! No way I could control those little beads. I have been taking meds for 20 years so I am a veteran. MY shrink said I would be fine taking 30MG for 14 days and then stopping. I told him I had read a lot of horror stories on the internet and he said I should really stay away from the internet....

So with Christmas on the way and after two days of the runs and my head spinning I started taking 20MG of Lexapro and that has helped a lot but still a little dizzy and upset stomache and runs and headache..... I figured atleast Lexapro I can break into half and quarters to taper off.

New insurance first of this year and my shrink isn't covered so I will hopefuly find a better one. I though this one would be good since he is fresh out of school. I am going to go one more time and give him a piece of my mind about how sick stopping these can make a person.

I actually went in and asked if I could change meds cause Cymbalta is the third one in the year I have been seeing this guy and it has caused me to feel very wierd and get dizzy a lot. He took me off Zoloft after 14 years and put me on Effexor Xr which my blood pressure went to 189 over 120 or something and so he took me off of Effexor Xr by cutting the dose in half and adding in Lexapro. Then I started a new job about a month later and had I guess a panic attack out eating with a new coworker who took me to the hospital - embarassing.... Nothing wrong... I thought I was going to die..

So two weeks and lots of Klonopin later I got home from training and ran up a 4000$ bill for testing for why I was getting so dizzy and why my BP is so high... I now think it was withdraws from the Effexor XR even though he said I shouldn't have had any since he subbed it with Lexapro.

So BP is still real high and I went to shrink telling him about the panic attack and he changed me to Cymbalta and I have felt weird every since with dizziness,sweats and itching and other stuff.

So I go to him again and intend to ask if I can go on ye old Prozac or back on Zoloft and he says do you want to try no meds and I said I would like to try that and see if I even need them anymore. So he writes a script for Remeron x 14 and said if I had any problems coming off the Cymbalta that helped he had heard and he also writes a script for Paxil. I asked why the Paxil and he said that he thought I would probably want something after I stop and Paxil is real good for Anxiety.....

I filled neither and am off Cymbalta about 5 days and on 20mg of Lexapro and I will tell him about it when or if I see him again....

I really wish I could find a shrink here in Missouri that understands these drugs,,,,, I originally went on Elavil and gained a hundred pounds in 9 months (Sleep apnea hits too) because I was in school fulll time after getting out of the Marines and about to get Married and I was very sick with a sinus growth and infections and I laid around a lot and next thing I knew I started to have what I call evil bizarre thoughts and then wondered why I would have thoughts of hurting someone I love and the harder I tried not to have them the worse they got until I just got out of bed crying and scared and shaking and exhausted and called good ole Mom who eventually got me to a shrink that put me on Elavil and then Prozac and others and then Zoloft.... He moved away and here I am 18 years later and with 5 kids and still Married (Yes she stuck and sticks by me for some reason)....

Well I hope this little story helps someone... If you have a wierd thought flash through your mind like you might drop your baby or stab someone for no reason and you do not hear voices other than your own self talk you may have a form of OCD and therapy can help (I haven't had any but have read some good books) but just know you are not nuts but it is more like a run away mind condition... Try to get some meds and at the same time Cognitive therapy so you aren't on the meds 18 years like I have been. I think these meds cause some sort of damage after som many years.

If on the other hand you think some higher power is telling you to do bad things or some voice outside your head is talking to you like god please seek medical help right away!! You may have a more serious condition and actually act on those voices but you can quiet those voices with the right meds and live a pretty normal life if caught early- this usually hits in the early 20s/late teens.

Now I know these fleeting thoughts everyone has and dismisses but OCD types dwell on them and think they are nuts....

Mike

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 1:39 pm

I know not the best grammer and spelling but I am tired and need to go to bed cause I work all night Tonight starting at 6PM and haven't slept since I got home this morning..... Withdraws? Lexapro? I don't know...

Mike

P.S. - My spelling and grammer are a lot better...

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 1:40 pm

P.S> Hey Bert I am glad you are Happy

sleepycarol · Post by **sleepycarol** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 1:52 pm

What part of Missouri are you in? I am in the central part. My psych is pretty good -- pretty thorough to.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 2:59 pm

South of Kansas City

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20mg Capsules