beala Posted September 17, 2004 Report Share Posted September 17, 2004 Anyone have suggestions on stopping on ssri ? Do you really need to decrease over several weeks, or can you go quicker if you already feel so crummy and sick from the med ??Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MightyMouse Posted September 17, 2004 Report Share Posted September 17, 2004 You should check with your doctor, or ask your pharmacist. In general, stopping an SSRI should be done gradually to avoid withdrawal effects.http://www.drugstore.com/qxa1607_333181_se...pping_ssris.htmhttp://www.healthyplace.com/communities/de...on_events_2.asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MightyMouse Posted September 17, 2004 Report Share Posted September 17, 2004 And, from WebMD, "Never suddenly stop taking antidepressants. The use of any antidepressant should be tapered off slowly and only under the supervision of a doctor. Abruptly stopping antidepressant medications can cause negative side effects"Nina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgan617 Posted September 17, 2004 Report Share Posted September 17, 2004 depends on the dose how slowly you should taper. ask your doc, but do not just stop it. sorry it is making you feel so crummy. morgan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RunnerGirl Posted September 17, 2004 Report Share Posted September 17, 2004 Definitely check with your doc on a taper schedule. In addition to dose, the particular half-life of the medication is also a consideration. For example, Prozac can be terminated more quickly due to its longer half-life than some of the other SSRIs.Good luck to you. RunnerGirl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoGiuliana Posted September 17, 2004 Report Share Posted September 17, 2004 Agree with all of the above posts. You must do this under the guidance of your doctor.Also, regarding feeling crummy on an SSRI, my experience is that it takes 6 to 8 weeks to realize any positive benefits of one. I felt *worse* on the SSRI for that long and then slowly started to get better. I wanted to stop it several times, but my doctor encouraged me to see it through to 2 months and then I was glad I did.Katherine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MightyMouse Posted September 17, 2004 Report Share Posted September 17, 2004 Oh, I agree with Katherine... I should have said that earlier. It took me nearly a month to get over the nausea, irritability, shakiness. However, once that passed, I started to do much better with my GI symptoms.Nina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beala Posted September 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2004 that would be fine if you could function. my sons brain fog is so bad he can't go to school andhas trouble remembering which class to go to next. each day the brain fog get worse and worse and they keep telling us to wait. He is a senior in high school and need to graduate. How long can he wait !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoGiuliana Posted September 17, 2004 Report Share Posted September 17, 2004 bealaI wish there were easy answers. I so understand your anxiety and frustration. The doctor is probably the best person to answer your question about how long to hold out with a trial course on an SSRI. Like I said, for me it was 2 months of feeling even more terrible, including the brain fog, and then a LONG road to recovery from there--months. The SSRI may or may not be the answer in your son's case.Perhaps your son will need to take some time off and graduate a year late. Unfortunately, POTS tends to put lives on hold at least for some time. Many of us have been or are in that situation. It isn't easy for the patient or his or her caregivers.Take care, Katherine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin Posted September 18, 2004 Report Share Posted September 18, 2004 which ssri is your son on?i've tried to quit my anti-depressant no less than six times, each time with disastrous results. i think the longest i've made it is a week, and the withdrawal symptoms/side effects are just too much.you must always taper off, never go cold turkey. your doc should say the same thing. if on a normal dose, try cutting in half for a week or two, then in half again, and then if possible--again. by that time your dose will be so low that it would be virtually the same as taking nothing, so you can simply stop.so, for example, celexa:say you're on 40 mgdrop to:20 mg 14 days10 mg 14 days(5 mg 14 days my doctor would say don't even bother with this amount, but if you can't go from 10 to zero try it anyway)0 mg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merrill Posted September 18, 2004 Report Share Posted September 18, 2004 I hope you (or your son) can get a withdrawal schedule from the prescribing physician--the other post was an example of what tapering could look like, but it may not be what's recommended in your particular situation and for the medication you're taking. Supervision is absolutely mandatory--the doctor may put you on something else as you taper off the med you're on. Keep us posted, Beala--let us know what you've decided to do. (PS is it 100% sure that it's the ssri that's causing the "brain fog?") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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