Having a tough time at the moment

[ElizabethJane]

I haven't been able to post for over a week now. There has been something wrong with our settings on our computer. I can read the forum but not post until now. I have had a bit of a relapse with a return of my depression. I have been experiencing low mood, morbid thoughts, lethargy, unable to sleep and very bad dreams, also irritabilty. I have also felt unable to cope and 'losing it' After trying so hard to come off mirtazapine I am now back on it at 30mg. I have also been taking dothiepin 150mg and lithium 1,000mg. I have major depression but although I feel better I have been feeling very doped up. My psychiatrist wants me to short taper the dothiepin to 75mg for three days and then stop. I am to call him in ten days time to let him know how I have been getting on. Well I had another bad night last night and this morning I awoke feeling sick and tearful. So this is what the withdrawal will be like?These instructions have been given to me and I would not recommend anybody else copying these instructions. It hasn't helped that my husband has been away all this week. I'm feeling quite vulnerable tonight but it is not like I am not on any other meds(I am) The zopiclone and valium that I had previously for the mirtazapine withdrawal might come in useful again. I did confide in my boss to say that I was trying to come off an anti depressant that I have been on for twenty years on and off. So again the uncertainty will be there. Will I be able to come off the dothiepin? At least with the weekend and half term coming up I have got time to come to terms with myself? Wish me luck as I'm not sure what the future will hold?

[JaneC]

ElizabethJane :hugs:

I most certainly wish you luck. I've just changed meds and it's been very unsettling, between the withdrawal from one and the side effects from the new one, trying to work out when I could safely taper the old one and get on to the new one without it affecting me too badly on the days I work or had something else important on.

I can only say I hope you don't suffer too badly and that any probs don't drag on too long. Fingers crossed for you that it will be worth it in the long run.

[ElizabethJane]

Thankyou for your comments Jane. I am on day three of reducing the dothiepin to 75mg at night. Yesterday was a bit of a write off as I felt drowsy and nauseated all day. Today is a little better although I awoke with a pounding headache like Friday. I'm really not sure what the thinking is about my fast withdrawal from the dothiepin? I received a letter from Dr J to say I'm to contact him after ten days to let him know how I am feeling. Today I just feel out of it although I have managed to cope with a choral mattins. I knew if I just shut my eyes I might pass out or go to sleep or just disappear so my eyes remained open most of the time. As usual I have work tomorrow and behaving normally (I hope!) If I feel less sedated then it must be better and I'm still on the lithium and mirtazapine. In the long term it remains to be seen if I will go onto a different anti depressant or not.

[JaneC]

I'm really not sure what the thinking is about my fast withdrawal from the dothiepin



My doc had me down from 45mg clomipramine and on to Prozac within the space of five days. A dreadful week followed in which I didn't leave the house once - symptoms included horrible stabbing pains in my head and stomach, nausea like I've never experienced and bouts of uncontrollable crying. I'd to stop the Prozac and return to previous full dose of the c, and try again from scratch over another two months, often taking two steps forward and one back.

If you're managing to function at any level, you're doing better than me. Once again, good luck. If you can get through the quick way, it's probably better than weeks of trying to work out suitable days when you can risk dropping without worrying about the impact and so on. If I hadn't only been working two days a week at the mo I might well have given up.

That said, I seem to be quite sensitive to the effects of these damn drugs, so maybe that made coming off particularly hard.

I'll be thinking about you, keep us up to date with how you are doing x

[ElizabethJane]

Jane I dont think that it matters how long it takes to come off a particular drug. It is the help and support that you are given that matters. I went to see my GP today and she was surprised that I had completed the withdrawal in such a short time. Apart from feeling very wobbly today and also having a lot of fluid retention (ie wanting to pee a lot) I have had very few side effects. I am worried because I haven't got my 'security blanket' of dothiepin but I am still on mirtazapine and lithium. I am definitely going in the right direction but it is too early to tell what those changes will be. Already colours are sharper because I feel less sedated.

[ElizabethJane]

I just thought that I would post to let others know about my withdrawal from dothiepin 150mg. It is not quite a month since I came off the dothiepin. I actually feel more with it. It is like someone opening the curtains and letting the light in. I have lost the lethargy but I still get very tired. I am exercising a lot to counteract the effects of the mirtazapine weight gain. I'm still having the same bad dreams. Last night I woke up sitting up in bed. My husband asked me what I was doing? I dont know.. At least I wasn't sleep walking. I am having terrible problems with constipation that cannot be blamed on the sedative effects of the dothiepin. I haven't been back to the psychiatrist but I think that he might be pleased with the results. My mood remains stable but that could be the lithium. I notice slight depressive feelings in the morning.

[erin31]

Well done.:yesyes:
It is such a boost to hear of people coming off their medication and coping well!