Coming off medication

[Star84]

Hi all,

I have been taking medication for 2 years and it's helped me so much right from day 1, no panic attacks and I've even faced fears that I otherwise would not have.

My life has done a 180, I left my partner of 12 years, I got a new job, a great group of friends and I am so much happier. It's helped me through the changes I needed to make and more.

So now I am ready to wean off the medication and I had my first day off it yesterday and it went well. Initially I am dropping it one day every four days, then every 3 and so on so it's very gradual taper... I am wanting to hear some withdrawals/side effects you may have experienced and how long until you felt "good/normal" again after completely stopping?

Any advice appreciated 🙂

[JessF]

Hello Star84,

This is a bit of a 'how long is a piece of string' question as it depends on the medication you're taking (which we can't talk about here), and of course everyone's body is different and will react differently. I'm guessing that you are doing the tapering in consultation with your GP? He or she should be able to give you some guidance as to what to expect during the process and don't be afraid to check in if anything happens that worries you or seems off.

For me, it was quite a long tapering process that required me to go from the smallest dose of one medication to a small dose of another to avoid the worst side effects, which included 'brain zaps' and a feeling of spaciness.

What's interesting is now that I am no longer on medication, and I'm in a place in life where I encounter similar stresses that used to 'tip me over' and dealing with them, I'm actually questioning how much of my recovery was the medication and how much was me.

You describe a number of really positive changes in your life, I hope you can give yourself some of the credit for those changes and remember the strength you found to make them, as you will need to draw on those skills again in the coming years when challenges pop up.

[Star84]

Thanks for your reply JessF 🙂 I am under guidance of a GP and aware of the withdrawal symptoms etc, hopefully they'll be minimal.

What insightful advice! I had not thought about the changes this way and it does make sense, maybe we underestimate our own strengths! I'll keep this in mind and use it to get through tougher times ahead. Glad to hear you seem to be in a good place in life right now, all the best to you.