The Challenge of Going Off Psychiatric Drugs

Re:The Challenge of Going Off Psychiatric Drugs by martinald on Monday April 01, 2019 @05:00PM (#19548177)

I dont mean to be alarmist but taking benzodiazepines for an extended time (anything more than 2 weeks is probably a bad idea, especially with strong ones such as clonazepam), is definitely not a great idea. There is a very prolonged withdrawal syndrome, with many not reporting feeling completely better after many years in cases of high dose long term usage.

You may take the view that you can always take them, but circumstances change (your doctor may no longer be allowed/feel comfortable prescribing for a long time - this happened with opiods) or you may not be able to get access with them for other reasons.

The drugs will most likely stop working or rapidly increase in side effects after very long term use, it's generally just a matter of time.

I would strongly recommend you get a plan to taper if possible and look into alternatives. Many think the benzodiazepine withdrawal is as bad if not worse than opioid (plus it can be lethal).

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Re:The Challenge of Going Off Psychiatric Drugs by mastox on Monday April 01, 2019 @05:49PM (#19548669)

I had no idea the impact of benzo's but my first thought after reading the OP and experiencing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) myself, "Isn't that just a band-aid, not really treating the 'wound'".

I guess I'm just agreeing with you from a philosophical point of view.

For what's its worth for anyone (including OP) reading this, I found success in studying philosophy as a poor man's CBT especially Existentialism. I think an argument could be made that these two things are the same thing but represented slightly different language and with slightly different goals.

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Re:The Challenge of Going Off Psychiatric Drugs by GlenTheMachine on Monday April 01, 2019 @10:17PM (#19550463)

As I said in the parent post, I agree, and I am in fact tapering. I'm down to half my original dose. I'm taking it slow. This is something where you really need to listen to your body; it isn't helpful to have a set plan. You need a goal, but you also need to be flexible about it.

I tried CBT, and it didn't work. Admittedly I only tried it once. There are lots of different flavors of CBT for insomnia, and maybe if I had tried harder I could have found one that did work. The problem is finding a doctor who knows about it and will work with you, especially if you don't live in a big city.

Benzodiazepines are worrisome drugs, but I have to admit that for my insomnia, they were almost magic. Once we got the dose right it went away almost literally overnight. But then, as the OP illustrates, doctors aren't necessarily helpful in getting back off them.

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Re:The Challenge of Going Off Psychiatric Drugs by mastox on Monday April 01, 2019 @10:51PM (#19550638)

> I'm taking it slow. This is something where you really need to listen to your body; it isn't helpful to have a set plan. You need a goal, but you also need to be flexible about it.

Truth!! I had to discover this for myself as well, and I'm continuing to figure it out as I go (currently lost about 50lbs in a 150lbs weight loss journey).

I'm sorry if I came across as judgemental, nor do I want to diminish your accomplishment. As someone on both sides of these drugs, it is no easy feat to make this big of a change. Kudos!!!

It sounds like the medication has done its job in that it has given you relief to get some sanity back and to focus on other options.

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Re:The Challenge of Going Off Psychiatric Drugs by flycaliguy on Monday April 01, 2019 @07:11PM (#19549319)

Stoic philosophy has a lot of overlap with CBT. It basically re-opened those cbt books for me and kept me at it.

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Re:The Challenge of Going Off Psychiatric Drugs by mastox on Monday April 01, 2019 @11:03PM (#19550698)

Also true. And I've probably been heavily influenced by Stoicism as well, its hard to keep track where the lines are when there's so much overlap between the three.

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Re:The Challenge of Going Off Psychiatric Drugs by mmjaa on Monday April 01, 2019 @06:14PM (#19548883)

.. and here, another reason to distrust the Lords of Pharmaceuticals: the cloaking of danger by way of re-branding. Why, exactly, is this necessary again?

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