Coming off one AD quickly to change to another.......worried

[Winksclub76]

Hi,

Just want someone to listen really, I guess there no clear cut answers.

I have to drop from 30mg to 20mg (which I started Thur) for one week, then 10mg for a week and then nothing for a few days. Following this I then have to start another AD and go through the side effects of starting up again.

I'm worried for my children, how my mood and capacity to cope will affect them. I'm worried about going to work (even tho I'm light duties) and how I will behave and look. Last time I started my meds I was off work and unable to function properly the first week.

I know there's no quick fix but I just want to 'get off the ride' now.

I hate the this feeling of slipping under.

Fingers crossed for me.....

Hi winksclub, thanks for responding to my thread, I just wanted to say good luck.

I agree about getting off the ride, hopefully we'll get there

What are you coming off of?

If you feel like this is too fast at any time, you can go back to your doctor and cut it down slower than that to suit you. I've done a very quick switch before (just over a week) and it was a bloody nightmare, although I think the thinking behind it was that it's a nightmare no matter how you do it (seroxat), so short and sharp with an overlap on the other AD meant my suffering was brief.

Thanks for your posts,

Coming off Citalopram. It's making me have horrendous anxiety and panic attacks. Did not suffer from anxiety before, was put on Cital for depression. I've gone well and truly past the settling in period.

Maybe your right, perhaps I should take longer but do not want to prolong everything. Like you say, I'd like the nightmare to be brief. I will try and see GP this week.

So far I don't feel terrible yet. Just uneasy and jittery feeling in chest. Not wanting to go with family tho and just happy to potter inside......but then this is only day 4.

I'm expecting it to get alot worse.

No, coming off quickly makes sense to me if it's giving you bad symptoms like that. How long were you taking them?

I tried to look at mine as a period of illness, so having lower expectations so that I don't make myself anxious and if the withdrawal is hard then I am not letting anyone down if I go lie down until I felt better. Don't expect the worst, just be ready for it and try to focus on other stuff. x

Thanks Rabbits, that's a good way of looking at it. Just going to keep telling myself 'short term pain, long term gain'!

Is this the switch to mirtazapine? Rememebr some of your anxiety is coming from the cit. When I switched from sertraline (which gave me awful anxiety) to mirt, it took some time for he anxiety to go.

In terms of start up, mirt was by far the easiest ad to take for me in terms of side effects. 3 days of mild anxiety, 2 days of tearfulness and that was it. I am ultra ultra sensitive to all ad side effects.

I came off paroxetine after 11 months, I now know it was too soon. I was off them for almost a year.

I have just admitted that I need medication again an have been really ill with side effects, I started fluoxetine 6 weeks ago, only just starting to feel like myself again.

I barely remember what "myself" is really like.....