psych med detox : how to
Thursday, September 24th, 2009 at
9:14 pm
psychiatric medication detoxification guide, how to come off, get off, Icarus Project Harm Reduction Guide for coming off psychiatric medications. theicarusproject.net Peter Breggin www.amazon.com Beyond Meds bipolarblast.wordpress.com detox center, drug rehab, cold turkey, tapering regimen … psychiatric medication detoxification guide TIP Peter Breggin taper cold turkey
soon enough you will have a 400 page book in your hands to review all my thinking processes in much more detail than a video or a comment can provide
Thank you,you answer my question very well,i am glad that i add you as a friend..
Yes, I have been off all psychiatric meds for 2 years plus now. I was on the same two you were on plus the “new” ones. I also “snuck” around and did not take my meds for the whole 22 years. I exercise every week. I eat low carbs. I feel great. I am hypomanic (my baseline) 90% of the time. I can focus and stay on a good idea and not go overboard. I had NO problem coming off those terrible antipsychotics. I feel human again is my only problem off them. I weaned off though. BLESS you–keep talking.
The newer ones are worse because they are unseen–the older ones made you rock and shuffle–etc. But the new ones cause heart and vascular problems and liver problems for many–and kidney—they will kill you off early. Don’t expect your psychiatrist to tell you this—they told me about the new ones “these new ones have no side effects like the old ones” THEY DO–read the literature on the side effects–I would not give Seroquel to my DOG–they will destroy you but you’ll be a good boy of girl.
i think my bipolar friend is continuously in the manic mode because she does anti-depressants too and valium and pot everyday. she’s considered the town
crackpot, it’s sad.
have you ever asked her what her opinions on her behaviors are?
it’s pretty awful stuff
hi, i hate being bi-polar. i have no choice. i have to stay on my meds or i get into big trouble.
I totally disagree
well that’s partly because when you first go off them, if you’ve been on them for awhile, you get withdrawal, yeah, like any other drug your brain gets used to so, your immediate symptoms when you quit are the the drug damage talking to you, you have to give it some time, try, Dr Peter Breggin’s ‘your drug may be your problem and how to go off them’
I totally disagree too
if you mentioned what specifically, exactly you disagree with, we might get some comment dialogue going on
sorry, – emotinal at the time – I disagree with going off your meds cold turkey.
ah, well, no harm in simple disagreement
I am very glad I did personally, it got that stuff out me very fast and that I didn’t have to experience long drawn out gradual withdrawal, i just got it over and done with
some folks who are on them longer than I ever was could probably benefit from a taper regimen
i am afraid to go off my meds becasue i don’t start thinking right and there is a chance i will end up in jail. thanks anyway.
I understand, you might want to think about a detox facility, depending on the type they may sedate you when they clean you out and it can help deal with the mental problems from coming off meds, that way you can get close supervision and help without worrying about getting locked down as you come down
its downright dangerous to go cold turkey . I myself was taken off my zoloft gradually and I still got the “zaps”. I was also on cloazepam, which I became clinically addicted to. If you stop that one cold turkey you are going to have withdrawals same as any opioid withdrawal. so I was recommended by a vewry nice dr who exxplained how to safely come off… and it only takes a month. you halve your dose everyweek, down to the last crumb. It worked for me and i had no discomfort.
wow – it’s like I’m psychic, this happens ALL the time – I think of something and it happens later. Kind of like when they say the Bible predicts stuff that has happened in history – but they don’t know what was predicted until after it happens. You can’t see it beforehand. Anyway – I thought earlier about quitting my meds cold turkey – scared to death – but after watching some of your vids… I’m not sure what to do… makes sense though
I was on 5mg Zyprexa for 3 years, then I tapped them in two weeks… It went terrible bad, I became a danger, I took them again…. six months past and then I tappered it much more carrefully for three months, Ive been off zyprexa for some moths, then I stopped Wellbutrin and Clonazepam. Today im doing great just calming my mind from time to time, and handling with patience some “minor episodes”.
Cold turkey can work, but its an unnecessary risk. UNNECESSARY!! why playing such a big risk??????
if you had a jagged piece of metal stuck in your body somewhere would you want it out immediately or would you just pull it out one millimeter a week? I successfully quit Trilafon cold turkey. I had no problems and the jagged sliver in my brain that was trilafon was removed very quickly and I felt great relief. When you taper you are still poisoning yourself. You are dragging on your suffering and still giving Big Pharma your money when you want that crap out of you.
On the nature of risk. Life is full of unnecessary risks. You risk being chomped on by sharks when you surf Mavericks. You risk being stomped on when you get near the mosh pit at the concert. You risk a bad trip when you drop acid. If you stayed away from all unnecessary risks your life would be pretty boring. You took an unnecessary risk when you took psych meds and going cold turkey is another risk. Should you succeed you are done with meds when the half life is gone.
However, a sufficiently slow, and smooth, departure of benzodiazepines from the body permits the natural systems to regain control of the functions which have been damped down by their presence. There is scientific evidence that reinstatement of brain function takes a long time. Recovery after long-term benzodiazepine use is not unlike the gradual recuperation of the body after a major surgical operation. Healing, of body or mind, is a slow process. (Ashton Manual)
. Abrupt or over-rapid withdrawal, especially from high dosage, can give rise to severe symptoms (convulsions, psychotic reactions, acute anxiety states) Slow withdrawal means tapering dosage gradually, usually over a period of some months. The aim is to obtain a smooth, steady and slow decline in blood and tissue concentrations of benzodiazepines so that the natural systems in the brain can recover their normal state.
Benzodiazepines take over many of the functions of the body’s natural tranquilliser system, mediated by the neurotransmitter GABA. As a result, GABA receptors in the brain reduce in numbers and GABA function decreases. Sudden withdrawal leaves the brain in a state of GABA-underactivity, resulting in hyperexcitability of the nervous system.
I like the way you think Jane, but why not use the safety belt in youre way home, the ride will not get boring with it.
Oh..very nice change of subject. We were talking about antipsychotics and apparently now the subject is antianxiety meds. Benzos are a class all by themselves. They are not treatments for bipolar or SZ. Proper use of a benzo is ‘ as needed’. They should never be taken for more than three days in a row. If you adhere to that then you can stop and start without any problems. Daily use will alter your brain chemistry eventually. Typically these are Rxd for adults who have informed consent.
What happened here is this, you deliberately switched the topic you started from antiP meds to antiA meds. Then you proceeded to beat me over the head with a bunch of benzo trivia you probably just learned. You have some nerve explaining to me what tapering is after I discussed tapering in this video. But you didn’t watch the whole video nor did you look at my links. All three links take you to resources where you can work out a tapering regimen to fit the drug(s) you are on or get more info