Kicking Anti-Depressants Outta My Life

[Marina9]

I'm so happy this thread exists, I have posted here before; I am experiencing withdrawal. Its perfectly fine as i am again on the path to no longer consuming anti-depressants, again.

Recently i was admitted to the psych ward for a week, I finally broke. I was under lot of stress and my need to make others happy was exploited. I didn't see this while I was in the situation of course. Any who; I was given paxil during my stay, and a month supply upon discharge. I weened myself off (start Nov 16th 2015, end Dec 22nd 2015). The situation I was in made me think for some reason that such a drug was okay...WRONG!

I did my research and found that Paxil contains fluoride, among other things; Serotonin re uptake inhibition, and what it does to the gut. ...while doing some reading I came across this "Not only do we have to consider people we come into direct contact with who, even with the best of intentions, can destroy our lives through ignorance, we also have to consider those who are exploiting this." The Wave 68.

Couldn't help feeling like this related to my situation.

Just wanted to share, and I hope all on this thread are staying strong, and keeping away from Paxil and other mind altering pharmaceuticals.

My symptoms (dizzy, weird foggy head feeling, stomach upset) are subsiding. I have found that fresh ginger in butter tea helps :)

That's great to hear celena! I was told by my last therapist i needed to get medicated... and did my own research on the topic and said no no, she said it was irresponsible from my part to search things i didn't know about, and that was the red flag to drop that therapist and find another one hehe... Im glad ur doing much better! Stay strong and have a big hug from my part! :D

 

[Celena Johnson]

Thank you for the kind words
I can definitely relate to the whole "its irresponsible to not be medicated " speech. Because it's so responsible to prescribe psych meds on a whim without any information given before hand on top of that.

Anywho just had another day without Paxil. Fish oil and loads of fat :) taking the hugs and advice
And thank you Brightlight 11 for sharing your story and creating a thread where sharing an experience such as this is possible. More help than you know

 

[Marina9]

it's great to hear you've had another day off meds! Im happy for you celena!

Practicing EE on a daily basis can help a lot too :D

Big hug!

 

[Buddy]

I'm so happy this thread exists, I have posted here before; I am experiencing withdrawal. Its perfectly fine as i am again on the path to no longer consuming anti-depressants, again.

Recently i was admitted to the psych ward for a week, I finally broke. I was under lot of stress and my need to make others happy was exploited. I didn't see this while I was in the situation of course. Any who; I was given paxil during my stay, and a month supply upon discharge. I weened myself off (start Nov 16th 2015, end Dec 22nd 2015). The situation I was in made me think for some reason that such a drug was okay...WRONG!

I did my research and found that Paxil contains fluoride, among other things; Serotonin re uptake inhibition, and what it does to the gut. ...while doing some reading I came across this "Not only do we have to consider people we come into direct contact with who, even with the best of intentions, can destroy our lives through ignorance, we also have to consider those who are exploiting this." The Wave 68.

Couldn't help feeling like this related to my situation.

Just wanted to share, and I hope all on this thread are staying strong, and keeping away from Paxil and other mind altering pharmaceuticals.

My symptoms (dizzy, weird foggy head feeling, stomach upset) are subsiding. I have found that fresh ginger in butter tea helps :)

Hi celenajohnson23. Thanks for posting that. I'd like to add my bit of support here as well, if you don't mind.

When I met my wife 20 years ago, we were both on a cocktail of meds. She was on Prozac, Dezeril, Tegratol and Lithium, a common salt, discovered as a treatment for bipolar and her doctor was experimenting with dosages of all these:

Deseril - (methysergide) in the treatment of vascular migraine headache
Desyrl - (trazodone hydrochloride) an antidepressant
Tegretol - anticonvulsant or anti-epileptic (brain-related seizures) and Mood stabilizer. It can treat seizures, nerve pain, and bipolar disorder.

I was on some schedule II drugs like Ritalin 10, Attenta and dexamphetamine, lasting for three to four hours, and experimenting with longer-acting forms (including Ritalin LA that lasts six to eight hours and Concerta that lasts ten to twelve hours). Mainly because I would feel the calming effect of these meds within about half an hour of taking them. Non-stimulant medications (like Strattera) was also experimented with for awhile. According to my doctor at the time, I needed help with a release of more dopamine. According to him, greater amounts of dopamine help to curb the hyperactive and impulsive behaviors typical of a child with AD/HD.

Over the years, though, dealing with sleep disturbances, restlessness, headaches, irritability, changes in sex drive and reading about all the possible damage to bodily organs, I decided I didn't want to live like this. My wife thought the same thing for herself. She started a massive research effort on nutrition and diet. She joined multiple forums. She still experiments to this day and has eliminated all medicines - including her diabetes insulin and pills. She has even discovered ginger and used it for the same reason you mentioned. She controls everything through diet now. Everything, and I'm so proud of her! :)

As for me, I took to reading a lot. Not just the usual med research, but also stuff related to the hierarchical nature of stress responses outlined in Stephen Porges' "Polyvagal Theory" regarding the SNS = sympathetic nervous system and PNS= parasympathetic nervous system.

I experimented with diet. I settled on a low carb (5-10 grams a day), moderate protein diet supplemented with large doses of vitamins to start since I hate most veggies. I found 5HTP and experimented with that. So, now I stick with my diet with fish oils with omega-3 fatty acids, 5HTP on occasion and some serious study and application of Mindfulness as well as the EE program. All has helped enormously and got me off drugs.

I feel like my wife and I are both success stories in that regard and I applaud any and everyone who will go the distance needed to get off drugs. This is the first time I told this story on here, so thanks for bringing this up and congratulations on your success!!

 

[pinkfreud]

BrightLight, it seems you've helped many already with this thread! As a former antidepressant taker, I am so happy for all of you who are over it. I was prescribed Zoloft, then Prozac, then Effexor, then Wellbutrin, and finally lexapro throughout my late teens and early twenties. I was also told by a doctor that I would likely need to stay on something, even if just a low dose, for life.

But no, turns out I didn't need that.

When I was 21 or 22 I decided to quit Effexor cold-turkey. I was almost completely uninformed back then, obviously. Needless to say, I was thrown into quite a negative spiral.

Since I was very sick and tired of side effects, I was reluctant to try anything else, but I tried the other prescriptions the psychiatrist and quack doctor insisted on (and persisted with!) at about a quarter of the rate they wanted me to and tapered off slowly until I didn't have health insurance anymore. I fear for the people of my country now. "Obamacare" could have put much more pressure to conform. As many of you have experienced, the idea of an authoritative figure shaming us into taking these substances can be scary and confusing

It's exactly like any other dangerous pill or vaccine. They act like the choice doesn't exist.

For those of you going through this, remember that the choice is yours, always, and you know how you feel more than they do!

Courage and strength, friends! The world makes so much sense once you discern STS and STO!

Best wishes to you all, and thanks again to everyone out there to lend a true helping hand. Not drowning, but waving. I see you, too

 

[Lilou]

[quote author= pinkfreud]
"Obamacare" could have put much more pressure to conform. As many of you have experienced, the idea of an authoritative figure shaming us into taking these substances can be scary and confusing [/quote]

Having the government in 'control' of healthcare does not bode well for anyone! There is a lot of pressure being placed on the doctors as well. My family doctor of 40 years was not happy about all the changes, but conformed none the less. I suggested he re-open his old office and only take cash, but he said he didn't want to work that hard, as he'd probably be "too busy". I think he is just afraid to buck the system as he is nearing retirement. He is not even allowed to phone in an Rx unless he sees you in person and orders the appropriate lab tests.

And then there are those doctors who are authoritarian types who will push the "standard of care", even if causes more harm to the patient. Iatrogenic (doctor caused) deaths are the third leading cause of death in the US. http://chriskresser.com/medical-care-is-the-3rd-leading-cause-of-death-in-the-us/ The stats are truly frightening and with the gov involved, look for this to become even worse!!

 

[theos]

And then there are those doctors who are authoritarian types who will push the "standard of care", even if causes more harm to the patient. Iatrogenic (doctor caused) deaths are the third leading cause of death in the US. http://chriskresser.com/medical-care-is-the-3rd-leading-cause-of-death-in-the-us/ The stats are truly frightening and with the gov involved, look for this to become even worse!!

For it to become worse would really be mind boggling. It's already a tragedy. If the docs get fed up enough maybe they'll go on strike which will lead to fewer iatrogenic deaths.

...

But when doctors strike, the scientific research evidence finds that patients stop dying.

The most comprehensive review of the medical impact of doctors' strikes is published in the prestigious academic journal Social Science and Medicine. A team lead by Solveig Cunningham and Salim Yusuf at Emory and Georgetown Universities in the USA. and McMaster University in Canada, analysed five physician strikes around the world, all between 1976 and 2003.

Doctors withdrew their labour, in the different strikes analysed, from between nine days and 17 weeks. Yet all the different studies report population mortality either stays the same, or even decreases, during medical strikes. Not a single study found death rates increased during the weeks of the strikes, compared to other times.

For example, in a strike in Los Angeles County, California in January 1976, doctors went on strike in protest over soaring medical malpractice insurance premiums. For five weeks, approximately 50% of doctors in the county reduced their practice and withheld care for anything but emergencies. One analysis, quoted by Cunningham and colleagues, found the strike may have actually prevented more deaths than it caused.

...

 

[KJN]

Sounds a bit like we ought to kick doctors out of our lives! If we did that, then we could kick big pharma out, medical insurance out, TV propaganda advertisements out, and let's not forget snake oil salesmen! Whew! It feels lighter, less complicated and HEALTHIER already!

 

[pinkfreud]

Word, KJN. Word.

 

[herondancer]

Word, KJN. Word.

Absolutely. The only way I would ever go near a regular doctor is if I had a bone sticking out somewhere. Allopathic medicine does trauma well. With centuries of war to practice on, you can get really good. But after everything's patched up, diet, supplements and good bodywork is the way to go.