Medication -withdrawl timeframe

[Eley]

Hi

My son has been taking SNRI medication for the last nine months, then approximately 2 weeks ago the psychiatrist has told him to take half the dosage so he can start a new NRI medication, it has been 6 days since now he has not taken the SNRI as started the new one.

The side effects of this drug withdrawl is horrific, how long does the side effects last .?

i know everyone is different, tried called the psychiatrist but his not there til after the weekend.

My son has been taking the new medication for one week now

Need some thoughts please

[blondguy]

Hi Eley

Thankyou for having the courage to post about your sons's welfare (and yours too)

The new meds can take more than a week to have an effect Eley. I have been on SSRI's for 22 years for anxiety/depression. I will ask my colleagues for assistance to enable a more helpful response for you

May I ask you about about the withdrawal symptoms your son is experiencing?

The forums are safe and judgement free place for you to post Eley

In the meantime you can always call Health Direct on 1800 022 222... this is a 24/7 Government helpline that is staffed by qualified registered nurses to provide expert health advice and support for you

Beyond Blue also have qualified counselors available 24/7 on 1300 22 4636

You are not alone Eley

my kind thoughts for you and and your son

please let us know how your son (and you are) when its convenient for you

my kind thoughts

Paul

[Doolhof]

Hi Eley,

Withdrawal from medications and starting new ones can be unpleasant. Paul has offered some great suggestions, especially calling Health Direct.

Also as Paul mentioned, it may depend on exactly what the symptoms are as to how you go about assisting your son.

If he is experiencing almost psychotic or suicidal thoughts, I would be taking him to the emergency department of a hospital.

If it is vomiting, diarrhoea and sweating, I would be encouraging small amounts of water or sucking on ice blocks.

Did your son receive an information sheet with his new medication? If not, then Google it and find out what some of the side effects can be.

In my experience, weening off one medication before starting another generally takes weeks not such a short period of time.

Another option may be to visit the chemist where yo purchased the medication. The pharmacist may be able to advise yo as well.

It may be beneficial to make an emergency appointment with your son's Dr as well as soon as possible to discuss all of this.

Hopefully the side effects will soon disappear and your son will be feeling more settled.

Wishing you both all the best, cheers from Dools

[Beetle]

Hey

am on a SNRI I know if I don't take it one day or two I get terrible withdrawals. ( worst are the brainzaps. I do think the meds help but as the manipulate your brain chemistry you gotta be careful with going of them. XX

[White_Rose]

Dear Eley

Welcome to the forum. Withdrawal from SNRI medication can be a s difficult as stopping other meds. Dools is right in saying the withdrawal time can be much longer than a week. It surprises me that a psychiatrist swapped meds so quickly as though know the disengagement time. Was your son supposed to stop the SNRI or stay on the half dose? Sounds like there may be a miscommunication somewhere.

Phone the psychiatrist and ask about the time frame for ceasing the SNRI. I know I had dreadful withdrawals when taking SSRI meds which took several months to clear up. As I understand it, SNRI has less problems when stopping the meds but everyone is different. Has your son seen the psychiatrist since he was told to reduce the dose? I think it would be well if your son returned immediately and asked for an explanation of what should be happening.

Has your son started the new meds? Once my doctor knew what was happening he was able to prescribe something that would help. Phone the psych and get an immediate appointment or speak to him on the phone. Your son should not have to go through a horrible time in order to change meds. This is important and sounds urgent enough for an immediate review.

Mary

[Yabb3]

Hope someone can give me some feed back.

was put on medication last March, on a particular dosage for 10 months, weaned off in Dec over 5-6 weeks. Its now early March- i feel like maybe im having withdrawls still. Not sleeping headaches, foggy brain, feel surreal etc...

im tellmpted to restart this medication.

Anyone else have long term withdrawl symptoms?

is there light at the end of the tunnel?

[Nurse_Jenn]

Hi Yabb3,

Welcome to the forum. It is great to see you reaching out here and talking about your challenges with coming off medication. I can be a really difficult time and I am sorry to hear that you are experiencing the symptoms you describe. It can be a really tough period for some people. I can assure you that you are not alone in your questions around how long do the withdrawal symptoms last. This is really difficult to know as each persons body chemistry is unique and every person will experience something different and for different lengths of time. There will be many people who can respond to this post and I hope that they do. Many others already have an open thread on the forum and if you go to the top search bar on the page and type in medication withdrawal you will find several topics to review.

What I recommend to most people is to keep a log of your symptoms such as date, time, what was happening in your day when symptoms occured and a score of 1-10 on how much the symptom has impacted you. This can be done using a simple calendar or even a daily journal. You could even text yourself to keep track of symptoms as this method offers a time and date stamp. By keeping a record of your withdrawal symptoms, you can track them over a period of time and see if they are improving or not. This can help if you go to see your GP and as you can show how coming off the medication is impacting you and for how long it has occurred.

I would advise you going to see your Doctor prior to starting medication again. It is important to take medications at the recommended dose by your prescribing Doctor. This way they can monitor any side effects and do a physical health assessment to assure that your body is in the right place to tolerate medication changes. The Doctor may also come up with some other solutions to the withdrawal effects you are experiencing.

You have come to a point where you are coming off your medication which is a huge obstacle in itself and you have been successful despite these withdrawal effects. This is really hard and is a success in itself. Please take time to acknowledge this and be gentle on yourself during this transition. Sometimes it can take a while to get back to a medication free you but doing this under the supervision of a Doctor is the safest way forward.

Wishing you the best possible outcome,

Nurse Jenn