Just want to add a warning to this blog. So that it will be at the top of the page.
Withdrawing from psych meds is DANGEROUS.
Way back when I started my blog I understood this. I linked to a paper by Joanna Moncrieff that makes plain as day the dangers. I said it was a scary paper and withdrawing is scary.
But it doesn’t have to be. If you do it right. I did not. But people should be scared, if only to do it right so that they don’t have to be scared.
I am very very sick and I for the most part I followed the rules of psychiatric withdrawal—what few there are. What I didn’t always do was listen to my body—that is a much more subtle thing than following printed out proclamations of good practice. My body told me I was getting sick and had I listened to one of my mentors who always insists that after each taper one wait until they feel as good or better than before the taper, I wouldn’t be in this predicament.
I did not listen to that. What I did follow was the 10% or less rule. No more than every two weeks. One drug at a time. That can still be way too fast. Especially if one has a long and complicated history.
I cringe at the thought of all the fly-by comments left by random readers, many of whom I never heard from again, blithely saying how they were coming off of multiple drugs in a matter of days, weeks or a couple of months….
Why did we never hear from them again? I hate to say it but it’s likely they failed. Short of people who have been on drugs for a short time, coming off drugs is dangerous and should be done with great caution and conservatism.
I have learned the hard way. I’m extremely ill. My endochronological system is shot and I have some awful sort of withdrawal syndrome. I am debilitated in a way I wish on no one ever.
I did not listen to my body.
I have actually found a doctor who gets this. Expressed it better than I could. She also told me she “might” be able to help me with no promises. She told me my situation was dire.
All the other quacks I’ve seen have promised a miraculous and quick turn-around. Doctors in general know nothing about withdrawal. And this includes both alternative and traditional doctors. Demand that they educate themselves if you want to come off drugs. Bring to them some of the books and articles I point to.
I trust a doctor who tells me she doesn’t know if she can help me a whole lot more—that in my mind is an educated and humble doctor.
Coming off of drugs is dangerous. It could make you crazy, or like with me, it can simply be physically disabling.
This site still offers valuable advice, but do yourself a favor and really get into the conservative tone of it. Don’t hurt yourself. Especially just because you’ve heard a few stories of people doing it stupidly and surviving it.
And call me a fanatic, it’s been suggested many times, but eating right, nutrition, spirituality, movement and meditation or some combination of similar self-care, will get you through. Don’t even try withdrawing if you aren’t going to support your body through these means. Your body has been ravaged by the drugs and needs special care.
And lastly, take note. I did not do this in days or weeks. I was not reckless by any stretch of the term. I was on six drugs and I’ve been withdrawing almost six years. Most of you are on much less. So take as much time as you need and stay functional.