Hi there! 16 years of antidepressants and other medication...

[Luc]

Yeah, it can be very frustrating to have to convince medical people that what you are going trough is really WD. I just stopped trying to convince them. I am sure within a couple of years there will be much more knowlegde about the devestating effects AD's and other psychotropic's have on people.
That even your homeopath believe that the withdrawal takes only a few weeks is to bad!

I wonder...dont they read critical articles about AD's or something?

Absolutely so - I can already see the beginnings of it. Though, there's still not enough of critical articles about those drugs (and many many others) - it's been systemically repressed, and those that miraculously *are* there, well, doctors go in denial (psychological, economical reasons). But the Internet has been changing it big time. Some years more and the cat will get out of the bag.

[sterre]

Yes, I agree with you Luc!

I can see the beginnings also. A few years ago I googled for side effects of AD's, but found nothing substancial. Now when I search I run into a lot more critical articles then a few years ago.
I think that within some years there will be some real critical research results with unexpected outcome, and possible claims form long term users.
To many people take these type of medication, that claim to work on serotine levels or noradrenaline or dopamine, but never did any drug company proved that depression is in fact the result of in imbalance in your serotonine levels.
They cannot even messure the levels of serotonine in the brain yet.

When I start to think about it, it seems so ridiculuos to me. It looks like a scam on a large , large scale.

I once read somewhere that the prove for the serotonine theory, is comparable with claiming that headaches come from low levels of asprine in the brain. Wich is complete bullocks off course. ;-)

[sterre]

The St. John’s wort might be a problem. It’s generally best not to take anything that is too directly serotonergic. More generally supportive supplements seem to be better tolerated.

I’m sorry your daughter seems to have gone through withdrawal (w/d). You are not alone. This is a worldwide pandemic of doctors telling women it’s OK to get pregnant while on these drugs. It sounds like she is finished with her w/d and doing very well. By age 5, it seems extremely likely that she is fully and permanently recovered from the medication exposure. Remember, the young brain is incredibly plastic and able to be repaired fast.

We can help you explore strategies for managing the anger and hyper-sensitivity that are so common in w/d.

Thank you Sheila, for your encouraging and soothing words regarding my daughter, it means a lot to me.

I dont understand what you are saying about the st. Johnsworth though. Would you mind to explain a bit further?

I never beleived that st. Jonhnsworth would do anything for me, but strangely enough it does. I do feel better and more balanced. It could be a placebo effect, but it is very welcome in this part of my yourney.
I wonder however if I am not replacing one drug with another, that is my main concern regarding the use of St. Johnsworth.

[stan]

i know one people who at the end took st johnworth while tapering antidepressant, she took st john one year after meds free, she has well recovered after two years,
i have taken but not much long time;
i have much read about and they say that drug interaction between antidepressant and st john can drive to serotonin syndrome, but as you do it at the end , i think there are not risks

i read the same sentence than you about the example of "we need aspirin" every day to prove the taking needed of a antidepressant, or the diabetic insulin example

[Sheila]

Well, I don’t think we really know for sure whether St. John’s wort is beneficial or harmful in w/d.

Stan’s right that you don’t need to worry about serotonin syndrome at this point in your taper.

It’s possible that taking another serotonergic substance is confusing your system as it adjusts to the loss of the Fevarin. We are hyper-sensitive to everything in w/d, but especially sensitive to serotonergic substances.

It’s also possible that it is going to be another serotonin agent that you will have to taper off of. My understanding is that SJW works like an SSRI. But, this may be the best course of action for you. It may help you with the Fevarin taper, and then you can do a SJW taper.

The detective work you can do now is to try to be clear how it is helping you. How do you know it helps you? And are there any indications that it could be causing any problems?

That’s the best that any of us can do – detective work on our own situation. Each of us is different, and there’s much we don’t know about how this all works.

[sterre]

Allthough I am very skeptical towards altertanive/herbal medicine, I decided to try a high dose of SJW, and started using it two weeks ago.
I did some research and ended up bying a highdosed biological SJW.

Two weeks ago I was in some sort of mild crises, I couldnt seem to get out of the fight loop ( the flight/fight response) and it was wearing me out. Physically and mentally. I was stressed and unstable, wich caused me to become slightly depressed.

I noticed that no matter what I tried I just couldnt get out of the "loop". My thinking patterns became increasingly negative and introusive again.

I decide to give the SJW a try, after I did some research about the serotonin syndrome and SJW.
I thought that at the low levels of AD's that I am taking now, it would not clash with the SJW.

And luckely it didnt!

I did not believe it would make a difference, because of all the exposure of heavy levels AD, trougout the 16 years of use. But strangely enough it did something. After two days I could feel how I became calmer and more focussed, instead of the aggitated state I was caught in.
My thinking became slightly more positive,and I could relax a bit better.

Maybe it is a placebo effect, but it is like this now for two weeks.
So, I cannot deny the effect SJW is having on my mood and mental state.

[sterre]

For now it seems that I cannot really make a difference between the WD effects and possible side effects of the SJW.
My body is a mess, and I have headaches almost every day. I dont know if it is from tapering, or if it comes from the SJW,or the fish oil, the magnesium, or the melotonine I am taking.


What I do notice however is that I have to pee much more often, now I am on SJW, than I allready did. ( one side effect of the AD's was that I had to pee more often). Besides the peeing I also have to go to the bathroom more often to poop. ( yeah, maybe TMI but hey, everything for science ;-))
It seems like my digestive system is speeding up because of the SJW.

My sleep is pretty good ( considering the tapering and the fact that I used sleeping pills for over 5 years). I start to dream again, and I like that very much.
( besides the occasional nightmare).
Almost one year ago I followed a training giving by the mental healt department in my town. The training was for woman with Complex trauma ( of wich I am one), and combined techniques from mindfullness to CBT and more. It was kind of an eclectic training and I found it to be helpfull with my sleeping problems.
It was called a stabilisation training,and we were taught new techniques to help to stay grounded and to be able to relax during heavy symptoms.

It was very down to earth, and practical.

I learned about sleeping disorders and how to make a sleeping plan for yourself. It helped me a great deal, and since then I weaned myself off the sleeping pills I took for more than 5 years. ( alprazolam)
To this day, my sleep is pretty good, not fabulous, but good enough.
I am very happy I no longer have to knock myself out with sleeping pills every night, altough sometimes I miss the easy trick of poppingin a pill and be sure to be knock out for a couple of hours, I dont miss the drowsy feeling of waking up in the morning, the fact that my house looked like a little farmacy and that I had to increase the dose every half year or so.
I love that I am able to have a natural sleep again.

I am someone who likes to live healty. Not by overdoing it, but just in a plain normal way. I eat a lot of vegetables, because I like them, I dont eat meat, I dont drink coffee, or alchohol ( brhhh...I dislike the taste of them very much)
I eat whole grain bread, drink some milk now and then, and I like to eat fresh fruits in the summer.
I love herbal tea, esspecially fresh mint tea.

But I do smoke heavely....ever since I was fourteen, and was only able to stop for two years during and after my pregnancy. For some stupid reason I begon again, and it is a very hard habbit to break.
I dislike it, but for now I am not going to quitt. Because I think I will put to much pressure on myself while still tapering of medication.

For now I am on 6,5 mg of Fevarine, and I plan to take this dose for three to for weeks from now. Than there is no way to make the dose smaller than they are now, so for then I want to stop taking it.
What is the best way to taper of the last dose slowly?

[stan]

i think as long as what you are doing (st john, fish oil, magnesium...) works for you, you have to continue, no matter it is logic or not;
if i have understand your question, the method wich has success is 10 % of 6,5 mg, then 5,85 mg, then 5,27 etc
more speeder is risky(example what if sleep deteriorate? better go slowly) there is no rush; the goal is success, not to have to reinstate...

[sterre]

Hi Stan,
Thanks for your answer! You did understand my question properly!

The problem with the last tapering is that the crumbs I swallow now, can not seem to be made any smaller, or they will pulverise.
I looked up the water solution method but cant figure out how it works?

I think within four weeks time, it is time to release myself of the last dose...

Brhhh... I am a bit scared and exited at the same time.

[Barbara]

Hi Sterre,

I want to welcome you to the IAWP. It seems like you are being put through your paces in trying to determine which supplements or herbs work best for your individual system. You deserve a lot of credit for exploring the different options.

It sounds like you are doing very well with eating a healthy diet. That certainly has a lot of value and will pay off in ways that are not always clear.