Posted by 49er on October 16, 2010, at 5:13:23
In reply to Thinking of coming off meds, posted by Maxime on October 13, 2010, at 22:32:42
> A close friend of mine told me that I don't look like the person I was a year ago. I am very overweight and at the same time I look bloated(puffy face and hands. I have an eating disorder (ED NOS)and I restrict my food a lot.
>
> I can't blame the meds for everything ... but I can blame them for a lot.
>
> I'm going to slowly come off the Parnate. I will keep the Nortriptaline for a while so I don't crash and burn. Then I will slowly decrease the Nortrip. I will stay on the Trileptal to keep my mood "stable" -ha! What a joke! I will also stay on the Adderall XR.
>
> Of course I am going to ask my pdoc if it's okay to do this. Maybe he will give me tips on how to decrease the Parnate.
>
> I really hope that I am not creating a disaster. Do you think I am? I just don't want to be on all these meds. I want my old body back. I want to have all my cognitive functions working properly (of course one could argue that coming off the med will create cognitive problems)
>
> Does anyone have any thoughts on my plan of action? Maybe there is something I have not thought of yet.
>
> Thanks y'all! :)HI Maxime,
If you do decide to taper off of your meds, please do it very slowly, especially since you are multiple meds. I came of of 4 meds by mostly tapering at 10% of current dose every 3 to 6 weeks.
Tapering slowly doesn't guarantee you won't have withdrawal symptoms. But it is the difference between having some semblance of a quality of life and not having one.
Of course your mileage will vary but I think to be safe, tapering slowly is the way to go.
I would also be very careful about taking any supplements.
Withdrawal, even doing it slowly, will make your system very sensitive. One of biggest mistakes was taking too many of them.If you do decide to taper off of meds, you need to think about how you're going to handle the issues that caused you be put on meds in the first place. For example, when I start getting into what I feel is very negative self talk that isn't helpful, I simply remind myself that I don't want to go down that path.
Of course, it isn't that simple but I wanted to give you an idea of what I experienced.
By the way, even though I was considered normal weight when I on meds, I lost a few more pounds after I finished my taper. I think it gathered in my stomach and that is where it came off.
Feel free to babble mail me if you want to talk more about this. It is a big decision and not one to be entered into lightly.
One more thing - My psychiatrist, while cooperative with my taper, didn't support my getting off of meds. He didn't say anything directly but it was quite obvious.
I think what I am saying is I understand you wanting to consult him. But in the end, it has to be your decision.
If I had listened to mine, I would still be on meds and suffering from the horrific side effects that caused me to taper off of them.
Good luck.
49er
poster:49er
thread:965683
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20101009/msgs/965925.html