2 Huge Resources for Coming off Psych Drugs Safely
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- Опубліковано 16 лип 2024
- Resources for safely coming off psych drugs were once hard to find. They’re greater in number nowadays, but finding thorough and trustworthy sources of information still proves elusive for many, worsening the nightmare of tapering and withdrawal.
You’ll find two resources in this video that cover the process of coming off your meds from beginning to end, and I recommend them virtually every time someone has reached out asking for help.
This is not a deep dive into the resources themselves. That video would be truly huge.
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Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:04 - First Resource: The Withdrawal Project
02:41 - Second Resource: Surviving Antidepressants
06:54 - Conclusion
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Relevant Links:
The Withdrawal Project
withdrawal.theinnercompass.org/
Surviving Antidepressants
www.survivingantidepressants....
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Support the Russell B channel:
Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/russellbyt
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About Russell B:
I was 11-years-old when I was first taken to a psychiatrist. Like so many children, I was struggling to deal with a stressful home environment. Rather than embarking on the complicated, difficult, and delicate task of thoroughly exploring all of that and attempting to solve the problems at their origins, the psychiatrist instead gave me a diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and promptly prescribed the antidepressant Luvox to treat its “symptoms.”
This sequence of events kickstarted nearly two decades of wandering through psychiatry’s labyrinth of symptom management and prescribing cascades. By the time I was 25, I had received a half-dozen diagnoses, taken countless psychiatric drugs - including ten straight years on antipsychotics - and had more side effects than I could keep up with or manage. I weighed 400 lbs (181 kg), had out-of-control Type 2 diabetes, and felt like I was dying. And honestly, I had felt so bad for so long, I sometimes welcomed it.
I didn’t know where the DSM labels and all the treatments for my supposed “disorders” stopped and I began. I was sad, broken, and worst of all, someone I’d never had the chance to know.
But then I experienced a spark of hope. A light bulb-over-the-brain moment. Maybe I didn’t have to live that way. Even though the belief had been drilled into me for so many of my developing years that coming off the meds would surely seal my doom, something deep inside told me to take a chance and bet big on Russell B. Using this internal guidance, I began a psych drug taper and slowly started coming off every single one of the drugs in a psych drug cocktail: Lexapro, Concerta, Ritalin, Geodon, Klonopin, and Rozerem. None of them were safe. All were on the chopping block.
It took 5 god-awful years to complete the taper and with almost no help from the docs who’d put me on them. But I succeeded.
I’ve been off all meds for 10 years now (as of August 2023) and haven’t seen a psychiatrist since way back in 2009. It’s been a brutally long journey down a nightmarish path. One that was often too dark to see in front of me and littered with steep drops and soul-testing trials. But you know what? I survived. And my life has been improving, slowly but surely, ever since I escaped the house that psychiatry built.
If you’re wandering down the same path, please know you’re not alone. You’re not fated to lose your way - or yourself. You can succeed. We all can.
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Support Calls:
Support Call appointments are not currently available, but you can send me an email at RussellBYT@gmail.com if you would like to be added to the list of folks who will be notified as soon as more Calls are being scheduled.
Just put “Support Call Notification” in the subject line and you’ll be added to the list!
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Disclaimer:
Any advice given on this channel is not a substitute for medical advice. Please consult with a licensed medical professional before coming off psych drugs.
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Russell B's videos are made using the following software: Adobe Premiere Pro (and/or DaVinci Resolve), Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe Audition
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Film Credits:
Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
The Wolfman (1941)
Starship Troopers (1997
Your Highness (2011)
Raising Arizona (1987)
Couple notes:
1) There’s also the Inner Compass Exchange which can be found through the Inner Compass website, but I wasn’t familiar enough with it to include it in the video. It has several paid plans, as well as a free one. So any of those might be worth a look for you. But the focus of this video was primarily on free resources.
And although these resources are free, please show your support if you have the means, in whatever form is accepted, since providing support, resources, and education on this subject is very time and resource intensive.
2) On the video production-related front, UA-cam’s encoding obliterated the quality of this video in its original properly exposed form. I finally just jacked up the global exposure setting in Premiere Pro and uploaded that because I wanted to meet the deadline for this morning. But it’s meant to look darker overall with my face and the lampshade not looking blown out. Not sure if too many here are interested in the video-making side of things but just wanted to share that.
I quit all antipsychotics 1 year ago, and i feel so good ❤❤
Awesome, congrats on your success!
What were you on? I'm currently on 5mg of Zyprexa for one year
I’m currently trying to come off abilfy from 5 mg to 2 mg, I feel like complete s***, your videos are a big help, thank you
Glad they’re helpful! Just be sure not to reduce the Abilify too fast. A slower taper isn’t guaranteed to prevent suffering but it can help a ton. Just throwing that out there, feel free to disregard it if you’re already doing it :)
I have some good news guys I am 7 months without this drug. Doing very good and stable. My tips would be drink cacao, valerian root and melatonin. Be strong however if you get psychotic symptoms go back to minimum dose.
@Aire Li That’s great! Thanks so much for providing an update and reinforcing that recovery is real.
This isn’t so much for you, Aire Le, but for anyone reading this who’s interested in learning more about using supplements while tapering, please read this page on the Surviving Antidepressants site:
www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/606-important-topics-about-tests-supplements-treatments-diet/
Glad to see you back man!
Thanks - good to be back!
Another excellent video. Thank you for this. ✅💯
@Paper Thank you! Glad I could help 😀
New subscriber…please continue putting out videos… very informative
Welcome aboard, Glory! Glad to have you as a subscriber. More content is on the way :)
Great video! You have a good ethical, mature perspective on the matter and that is soo important!
Please keep making helpful videos like this and the other.
4 months off here and never going back after 4 years on the stuff!
Thank you for your supportive words, and congrats on being 4 months off!
Worth to note that i only had severe adhd not for example psychosis! :)
Just wanna say I'm so glad I found your channel, really helpful information. Navigating mental illness and psych meds can be so difficult. Thank you so much for sharing! :)
I’m really happy you’ve found it helpful!
Glad your doing so well now 😃
Proud of all you have achieved 👏
Thank you!
You rock brother...super appreciate your info and the time you've spent to educate others on this matter!!!
It’s great to know the vids are helping folks! 🤘🏻🤘🏻
A great tips sir
Thanks :) Hope they’re helpful for you!
Its Amazing you touched every aspect of these Forums and Journey ahead..You are a Treasure 🎉🎉
Your videos helped me so much in the beginning of my adverse reaction to prozac. You saved my life. God bless you.
So glad you made it through. And thank you for sharing that. Really. Much love to you, Darkstar!
@@russellbyt Thanks. I'm still not recovered but I have some amazing windows sometimes. That gives me hope.
Hello Russell, hope you are well. I have been a follower of your youtube content since last year. I myself was prescribed antidepressants during my teenage years which caused health issues and some long term/permanent problems which keep me upset. Finding someone with similar experiences on the internet has been of huge help and i sometimes come back to rewatch some of your videos for peace of mind. I greatly appreciate the efforts you have put into these🙏
Hey, I'm glad the vids have been helpful and I hope some of those long-term issues will eventually heal. It can be such a long road to recovery, or at least finding some semblance of feeling like we're okay and aren't still thoroughly devastated by everything we've been through. I wish you all the best in your own wellness journey!
Thank you for your support and much love.
Do try Ashwagandha, Shilajit for your sex drive. Mucuna Pruriens for Dopamine and Choline for your brain which was destroyed by these meds
Thank you for sharing!
Happy to help!
Russ, i wish you Happy New Year and Happiness!
Thank you, and I wish you the very same!
This is really great sharing my dear friend👍👏
Thank you! Hope it was helpful :)
Thank you for this.
Glad it’s helpful!
I have been enforced medication for 17 years.
Thank you for some of these videos
I'd like to put it behind me.
I am having a hard time titrating.
I was 17 when they started me (Nice and young)
The medications are so powerful; if you take them for 15 years you may never be able to get off medicines.
I want to come off meds because I don't wanna be dumb anymore.
It's not fun.
I don't wanna be attacked by APS anymore.
I knew I was screwed 4 years in.
Hopefully I can completely get off these.
We need to get this information out there.
These medications are severely damaging and prescribers are prescribing more readily.
They are coming up with new mental illnesses.
They already made up mental illnesses so that they can give you a medicine to help with that disorder.
Hey John, I do think it's possible for you to complete you taper. Doing this sort of thing requires a huge leap of faith so to speak. We have to believe that we'll succeed when there isn't a ton of evidence out there that we can do it. But as I said in another reply to you, a lot of people have done it, even those who were on meds for decades. It's anything but easy, but it can be achieved.
Those of us who were psychiatrized and medicated at a young age may need a little more time and have to be much more patient with ourselves, but given enough time, we can do it. Hang in there and just see the process as something that will take as long as it needs to take. No more, no less. Your future self doesn't mind waiting for you.
@@russellbytafter 900 days u get a sleep like 6 hours please answer I m 26 months off now
@Ramesh Lumb My sleep has improved dramatically since I finished my taper.
You are a wonderful human being God bless you
Thanks, Miriam :) Wonderful might be too good a word to describe me, but I always do my best!
@@russellbyt ♥️
Thank you
Happy to help out!
Hi Russell thanks so much for your videos. I had an episode one night after taking LSD. It wasnt a bad trip it was more of an other worldly experience. The problem was this experience scared the hell out of me and i became paranoid that this experience would happen again at any moment. I was living in fear. This was twenty years ago and i was put on olanzapine by a psychiatrist. I would stay on this for twenty years plus i added two anti anxiety/depression meds as well. Long story short mate the side effects have become too severe for me to continue to take these drugs. I went off them 3 days ago. I had to go cold turkey because even the slightest amount of the drugs were giving me this intense brain fog and headache that took all the joy of living away from me. So far ive been amazed that the transition has not been any where as bad as i expected. Sure my anxiety has increased but i am bunkering down at home until i get through the transition period. Already i feel an increase in my well being. I feel very positive and look forward to an increase in confidence and a more fulfilling life.
@davidhughes6 Glad to hear it’s going well so far!
Bunkering down is a great approach to take just in case. I’ll quote the following line from Surviving Antidepressants: “Given olanzapine's half-life, it's possible your body will not even recognize a change in dosage for 2 weeks.” So there _can_ be a delay in developing symptoms, but hopefully everything will only get better from here on out. I don’t share the delay thing to be discouraging! Just want to mention it in case you start noticing something that wasn’t there before and you’re wondering what could be causing it. Or suspecting it’s the return or worsening of a “symptom” of a “mental disorder,” you know what I mean?
But it’s a good sign that you’re noticing improvements without having much that’s negative beyond the increased anxiety. Can’t wait for you to really start feeling healthy and energized again - to get all that vitality back. It’ll happen. Much love to you!
Quick edit just to add the source of the Surviving Antidepressants quote: www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/3743-tips-for-tapering-off-zyprexa-olanzapine/
@@russellbyt Thank you brother xxx
Do try Ashwagandha, Shilajit for your sex drive. Mucuna Pruriens for Dopamine and Choline for your brain which was destroyed by these meds
How are you right now ?
Hello new friend here. . Thank you for sharing
Hey, hope it’s helpful!
New video oh yeh.
🤘🏻
Hi Russell, great comeback.
I took 3 months of neuroleptics (risperidone + onlanzapine) and I stopped 5 months ago. My condition has improved since then: I sometimes recover my intelligence and my personality from before for short periods of time but I always fall back into a state where I have difficulty thinking.
After a while, will everything come back the same as before or am I doomed ? Do you have any idea how long it takes ? Thank you and have a good day.
Hey, I do think that eventually everything will heal. But there’s no way to know for sure how long it will take.
And healing isn’t linear. That’s why we have these periods of progress followed by a regression. Then we progress again. They’re often referred to as windows and waves. But we’re making progress all the while, regardless of whether or not it feels that way.
@@russellbyt You are real warrior, Russ!
It takes a long time to titrate.
Congrats, don't get back on it.
I've taken it enforced for 17 years :(
I'm still tapering.
I can recommend milk thistle against withdrawal, it helps it speed up by a lot
Glad you found it helpful!
@@russellbyt Thank you, it contains enzymes which should help the liver metabolize it by a large margin, i can recommend it to anyone who is going through a long painful withdrawal
I'm waiting for your new video
please upload some videos
Working on it!
Make another video personal update
So the two weeks isn't the only thing I found weird. It took a year off to come back from it. There's no way it's two weeks.
Hello Russell! I was wondering if you knew of any online support groups? From people who are off the meds and recovering.
Also do you know of any other success/recovery stories?
I've been trying to find something online but haven't had much luck.
Thanks again!
I’m not really aware of what’s out there when it comes to online support groups. Have you checked out the Inner Compass Exchange? I haven’t participated in it so I’m unsure if it’s in the neighborhood of what you’re searching for, but it might be something worth looking into.
Surviving Antidepressants has a section for success stories. Not sure how populated it is with posts but here’s the link:
www.survivingantidepressants.org/forum/28-success-stories-recovery-from-psychiatric-drug-withdrawal/
Most of the folks who recover just kinda get on with their lives as soon as they’re able to. Those of us talking about it publicly are in the minority. That’s something to keep in mind when looking for these types of stories online. It makes it seem like very few people improve - but that’s definitely not the case!
@russellbyt Thank you! I recently joined the inner compass on Facebook.
I have been having a hard time accepting my situation, and I am looking for some more hope. Thanks for your reply! It means a lot to me.
Russell thank you for your time and dedication i wish you and everyone else happyness. Please excuse me but i have a sensitive question... now im only 22 years old but due to a street fight i was forcefully put on a hospital were they gave me tons of pills and injections then i got out and for a year i took risperdal, tavor and xeplion. Thing is due to the antipsychotics i took and god knows what else i have severe sexual dysfunction. No erections, no libido nothing. In your experiance and knowledge does this damn dysfunction go away? Will i ever heal or im chemicaly castrated for the rest of my life? Thanx
That’s an important question! Yes, I can say from personal experience that these things improve over time. Plenty of others have recovered too. It could take months, even longer in some cases, but you should get back to normal eventually. So don’t get discouraged and hang in there. Much love.
You can recover.
I'm still in recovery from these damaging psych medications.
The mind is very powerful at a young age so they put you on medicines young so that you can handle it.
It causes brain damage and other damage yet you wont feel it much because you could have looked young and been very successful.
Recovery can last the rest of your life like your doctors say or even you can try to stop.
Be careful. The staff will yell at you to get they're way
Thanks Russell, you are doing an amazing job helping others 🤍
Thanks Jordanna, it really helps to hear that!
RUSSELL,currently in 3 months after Lexapro taper after 22 years of SSRi use. I was able to build a business and get my electrical license during my taper process. My brain has completely shut off. I can hardly deal with just slightly stressful situations. I'm almost ready to quit because I feel like I'm messing up. I don't want to hurt anyone because of my brain not working properly. I'm not sure if zi should quit this venture entirely and move out to the woods until I'm healed or just deal with this until the fog clears and hope I'm still standing in the end. Appreciate the encouragement. I can't believe how many of us were put on these meds at a young age... I just wanted to ask if you went through something similar. And if so, how did you get yourself through it?
Hey Brian, sorry you’re going through all this! I can relate to the brain-shutting-down experience.
It’s not uncommon for people to have to take a break from their job, and even the managing of day-to-day responsibilities while tapering and for at least _some_ of the recovery period that follows.
As for how I dealt with my own brain/body devastation: I pretty much had to stay in bed most of the time while I was tapering and for several years afterwards. The main reason for it is that I was doing it as a form of sensory deprivation. My brain and body were too sensitive to everything and I just couldn’t handle much. And then there was the thing about my brain not being much use to me anyway during that time.
I ultimately surrendered to the experience. It helped me to prevent getting caught up in a fight or flight feedback loop - with what would’ve been a heavy emphasis on “fight.” Not fighting people. But I would’ve been too amped up, anxious, and beyond rattled every second of the day. So surrendering made the most sense for my survival.
I know the bed thing isn’t reassuring if you’re trying to keep a business afloat. If delegation is an option, that might be the way to go in the meantime. But there’s no shame if you’re unable to do anything at all. No blame either. It’s not your fault. You didn’t ask for this and were unaware this was waiting for you, as were we all. You just have to do whatever you have to do to get through it. Though it may feel like it now, it won’t last forever. Much love to you.
@Russell B thanks so much for the feedback. I appreciate it !
@@russellbyt oh gosh this sounds like my withdrawal> How the heck to deal with this level of isolation for so long. And all the loss. 3 years ago I was fully functional and fully human. Just stressed, enter a med which led to polypharmacy. Am acutely unwell and lost all support as they think I'm just nuts. not to mention the gaslighting. What gave you strength? Unable to handle any stimulation yet so lost just sitting here brain dead and terrified
@Waves I ultimately had to surrender to the experience. We don’t know how long the whole thing will take. We don’t have much support. We’re sick. Can’t think. The list goes on, as you know. It’s hard to be strong - and stay strong - with that many things working against us and for so long. So for me, it was about accepting that this is how things are, for however long they need to be this way. And I learned to get by within that framing of the experience. It didn’t make it easy, but it made it survivable.
I also did as much as I could to invite calmness into my life. I did this through the “surrender” framework, my diet, who I spent time with when I did spend time with people, etc. It didn’t work all the time, but it helped me undermine my haywire fight-or-flight mechanism. As much as it could be undermined. It was a huge help.
There’s more I could share, and I honestly need to make a video about it (and a lot of other things too!). But I think it’s best to look at it like you’re a caterpillar who’s built your chrysalis and now you’re doing the long, hard, transformative work of becoming a butterfly. It’s often an ugly process, and looks like a straight-up mess* to outside observers, but if allowed to finish, it has a beautiful result.
*especially if you were to peer inside the chrysalis
@Russell B that's such great advice... changing my mindset has helped 110 percent. Accepting my new normal for however long it takes.
Hey i was misdiagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia instead of cptsd due to narcissistic abusive family. I ended involuntary in ward and they forced me on 20 mg of zyprexa during a 2 month stay. I managed to spit most of the doses out and took it only around 10+ times. Since 3 weeks im in home and i feel depressed empty numb no emotions like a zombie. I never felt such depression ever before no pleasure at all i know ap caused it. Will i recover if i took it only 10 times around? 😭
@Organic You should eventually recover from the meds, yes. Sorry you’ve been through all that! Much love to you.
Zyprexa makes people depressed and hungry Also mean. They force the antidepressants then...the circle never ends. They force people and when you stand for your self just one alone against 3 securities they call you violent. They are violent toward you ...Awful experience . Sorry to hear this. Just take your health into your hands. Don't give it to the quacks They will kill you a slow death
That's nothing.
I've been on this junk 17 years enforced.
I"m still titrating.
They will throw you in a hospital and make you take it.
A smart man would spit it up without the staff knowing.
Very intelligent; you will be fine.
Don't let big pharma bully you like that.
I did because I was yelled at. I took the brunt of they're hit.
If they wanna play god(Me) Then they can.
I'll just off someone.
Hey Russell
So grateful to you
Im currently experiencing emotional bluntness as a result of taking olanzapine twice, one of which was a 300mg injection its been 5 months since the last injection but the emotional bluntness seems to stay...do you have any inkling as to when ill get my emotions back ..will i ever? Also 300mg is 20mg per day for how long?..does olanzapine permanently down regulate dopamine
@PoETitia I can’t say how long it will take with any certainty since each person is different, but yes, even though they feel permanently gone you should get them back. And our dopamine levels should return to normal over time. Whatever “normal” is for us.
I don’t have a lot of knowledge specific to the injectable form of Zyprexa. Are you asking how long it’ll stay in your system? You can check out this page on Surviving Antidepressants to see if it answers your question:
www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/3743-tips-for-tapering-off-zyprexa-olanzapine/
I’m not sure if it mentions the injectable form, but maybe it’ll be helpful to give it a read regardless.
Thanks manifold for your response and presence ,Russell ❤
Really happy to help!
How long does it take to recover? You said 5 years. After taking Olanzapine for 8 month I can not think. I am 2 years with any antipyschotics, will I ever go back to normal? I took other antipyschotic mainly invega.
No one can say how long it will take. But it almost always takes longer than we'd like.
And it took me 5 years just to taper. The recovery has taken longer. But I'd been on psych meds in general since I was 11, and on antipsychotics since I was 15 (had been on antipsychotics 10 years by the time I started coming off). My brain basically developed on psych drugs. Combine that with mostly no help from psychiatry while coming off them and that's why it's taken so long for me. Most people won't take nearly as long to recover, and you shouldn't expect it to take you the same length of time either.
@@russellbyt thanks, I took since 17/18 years old for 14 years. It is horrible. I feel the last medication was the worst, ever since got off I am having a lot of headaches and brain fog, something I never had before in my life.
What if you have taken two doses of medication? That's it.
Hi Russell, my case is that in 4 months I received 4 injections of "Xeplion" ("Invega" I think is in English). I received the fourth injection at the end of February, so I was told that its effect should end at the end of March, when I should receive the fifth. But I decided not to receive any more (despite the psychiatrist's opposition), because gradually from the first to the fourth injection I lost my creativity and thinking and speaking abilities that I had before. And now I've ended up in severe despair and depression because of it, and I've lost my self-confidence.
(I also take quetiapine 200 mg tablets along with Xeplion for four months.)
What is your experience with Xeplion? Do you think there is hope for recovery and recovery of abilities in my case as well? Is there an antipsychotic that the brain can't recover from?
I appreciate any reply.
Hey, I don’t have firsthand experience with Xeplion/Invega but what you can expect in terms of your recovery is pretty much the same as it is with other antipsychotics. Which is to say that over time you should recover _dramatically_ and reach a point where you’ve gotten those things you mentioned that are currently missing from your life.
I’m basing this on what I’ve heard from others who were once on the medication and have had enough time to heal. There are extreme cases with recovery from psych drugs but by definition, most people aren’t in that category. It’s very unlikely that you will be too. So I wouldn’t worry about that. The most important thing is recognizing that it _can_ take a very long time to heal. So don’t get discouraged if this is turns out to be true for you! We do get better. Much love.
@@russellbyt Thank you for your reply, now I finally have something to hold on to and lift myself up in these difficult times of despair and hopelessness. Your answer is so encouraging that it gives me the strength to endure.
Just to ask you one more thing, have you noticed, in your case, that something helped you speed up the healing process and had a positive effect on your recovery? Maybe something like exercise, walks, certain foods or something else. Or is it purely a matter of time?
@@russellbyt Can you please answer the question of whether my thinking and speaking abilities and creativity will return on their own over time regardless of what I was doing at the time (say playing video games) or will it have to be relearned (reading books , writing practice) or return and get them in some other way? Thank you in advance for your reply.
@patrikmartin1300 It was both in my experience. Time made a big difference. But it wasn't enough on its own. The muscles, so to speak, had atrophied from lack of use. They had to be restrengthened.
@@russellbyt Just one more question about my case please and I won't bother you anymore. Do antipsychotic drugs (xeplion and quetiapine) destroy intellectual abilities or only suppress them? I used these medicines for 4 months. Is it possible that all my creative and cognitive abilities that I have been developing for decades have "atrophied" so much during those 4 months that I will have to develop them again, or are they just suppressed and will return to me after a few months? Thank you in advance for your reply.
4 years off Lexapro, Vicodin and xanax. 43 months off Seroquel. What ride……. Still in withdrawals but healing is happening……..
Congrats on your progress! It can take a _long_ time for some of us, but we do get better.
@@russellbyt Thanks brother
How to withdrawer when you've got 2 depot injections a month under a court order?
Hi John, sorry for the delay. Do you know what medication specifically is in these injections?
Sorry too for the delay, yes Russell Haldol and apriprazol
@@johnherbert6497 hi it took a year for injections to leave my system and feel normal again.
Do you think that I need to taper a medication that I've taken two doses of?
What med are you taking?
Rexulti
Tapering is beneficial when we’ve become physiologically dependent on a drug. This dependency on the drug takes time to develop. But once it’s there, it’s the reason we can have withdrawal symptoms when stopping the med.
It’s unlikely you’ve developed a dependency on it after only a couple of doses, so it shouldn’t be necessary to taper it. You shouldn’t have withdrawal symptoms at this point. Having said that, I would actually recommend making a post on the Surviving Antidepressants site (mentioned in the vid) to make sure you’ll be okay in your situation. You can find the link below:
www.survivingantidepressants.org/
I don’t have experience with that specific drug and am just speaking in broad terms about antipsychotics. I’m also not as familiar with situations where someone has only been on a med for so few doses. Maybe there’s something I’m not aware of that might be useful to take into account. They can hopefully help with that.
@@russellbyt Thank you for your response.
Broo ..now u are totally clean or consume drugs la little bit..?
Hey.. How are you doing Russel.. Any signs of psychosis returning?? Or you are fine??
@bystudy8041 I’ve improved a lot. Only psychotic symptoms I ever had were either medication induced or happened during a bad case of insomnia (but that was just one instance and I was still medicated at the time for what that's worth). So I really just had the negative symptoms of my primary diagnosis and those have cleared up.
Most of today’s issues are related to having lived an abnormal life for so long. A lot of isolation due to being overmedicated and so on, just to name an example. These are the kinds of things that can take a long time to heal. So I still have things to overcome while also slowly building a life for myself, but overall I’m so much better than I was years ago.
I wish you build yourself the way you want.... N hope things turn best for you..! Can you tell me insomnia related psychotic symptoms were after leaving the medications?? I am on 0.5 mg aripiprazole now n on verge of quitting... Let's c how things go
Thanks!
Are you asking if I had insomnia-related psychotic symptoms _while_ tapering? I did have withdrawal insomnia, but I didn’t have any psychotic symptoms during or after my taper.
The ones I mentioned in the first reply happened over the course of several years before the taper began.
I wish you the best with the last of your reductions!
Dats great Russell.. U r really motivation for me.. Because of you I could think of tapering.. Please wish me that I never have psychosis again
Hey Russell, thank you so much for your videos. They are very helpful. You said „maybe it will not go away entirely“ what do you mean by that? Thanks
Hey Simon, glad they’re helpful!
I was referring to the trauma of the experience of coming off the drugs. There are plenty of people who come off meds and make a full recovery re: their withdrawal symptoms, but they still remember - and continue to feel - the horrors of their experience. It’s something that can stay with us, and is a result of the discontinuation process and all the bad stuff that goes along with it. So I see that as part of tapering and withdrawal. Just because someone’s withdrawal symptoms are gone doesn’t mean the experience is over and they can just get on with life, if that makes sense.
It’s a quick little line in the vid but it’s a big enough topic that it could probably use its own video.
@@russellbyt it never really occured to me that there would be trauma coming off of meds/ drugs because I always associated meds as being a big part of the problem and being free of them my goal.
A front desk worker made this comparison: think of pmeds like stepping on a nail. Remove the nail = stopping pmeds. But the wound still needs to heal = takes time.
We have to learn to function ( and actually enjoy life!) while healing.
This scares me a lot.
Much of what can make the experience so traumatic is the lack of help and acknowledgement from the majority of doctors and other healthcare professionals as well as the absence of infrastructure to help us come off meds safely and effectively. These are problems that need to be solved ASAP, and hopefully will be solved someday.
There are some ugly truths to discontinuing medications, and it’s important to acknowledge that it’s still far from being a painless process for a lot of the folks who undertake it.
Not everyone will be deeply traumatized by it. But I always want to acknowledge those who are. It’s a reminder that there’s still a long way to go in making things as good as they ought to be. This isn’t a process that should be rushed into. A lot of planning and thought, and weighing the pros and cons, should precede any attempt to discontinue psych drugs.
@@russellbyt i didnt know about tapering and i cold turkey 3 meds. It was hell and after 5 years i still have lots of issues. Neuropathy, anxiety, fatigue. And even trauma of all new fears i got during this years. God help me. Thanks for your video and comment.
Hey Russell. I want to share my story a bit... I deeply loved a boy.. We were in relationship for 5 years.. Could not imagine my life without him.. But he drained me emotionally.. At d end it found he was cheating on me.. N many more things he said to me... I got ptsd and trauma from that....!!! After an year I got psychosis bcoz I had lots of stress n love for him.. M on antipsycotics since 1 n half years.... I want to come off them I want to ask you will I have a relapse... Will I have psychosis again... I want to be normal again like before
Hey, I’m so sorry for everything you’ve been through. And thank you for sharing your story. People do recover from situations like yours (regarding psychosis). As for coming off the antipsychotics, if and when you decide to come off, you’re going to want to follow the guides I mentioned in the video and not come off your medication too fast. You really want to limit stress on your body and mind. Make sure the timing is right and that you have a support system in place (family, friends, etc) before tapering.
It might also help to begin to rethink psychosis. Psychiatry’s view of it is really unhealthy. But that’s a bigger topic than I can get into here.
@@russellbyt do you believe I can go off antipsycotics n function fully?? I don't want rebound psychosis again.. :(I have tapered to 2.5 mg aripiprazole. .but now I feel bit different like pressure on head.. Confused n ol..also I have a high anxiety. ...cn you tell me how to overcome anxiety also
@Vikrant Thakur How fast have you been tapering? Are you following the 10% reduction recommendation?
You can read about it in this link:
www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/1024-why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage/
@@russellbyt yes. 10 mg then 5 then 2.5
@Vikrant Thakur Those reductions are way too big.
“…the 10% taper method recommends a 10% dosage reduction every 4 weeks, with the 10% calculated on the last dosage.“
If you were to start following the 10% recommendation with your 2.5mg dose, for your next dose, you would reduce your 2.5mg dose by 10%.
So you’d multiply 2.5 by 0.10. This would equal 0.25.
So you’d reduce your 2.5mg dose by 0.25mg and start taking a dose of 2.25mg per day.
Keep taking that dose for 4 weeks or so - or until you feel ready to make another reduction. This could take longer than 4 weeks! Depends on the person.
Then when you’re ready to make the next reduction, multiply your last dose of 2.25mg by 0.10. This would equal 0.23mg (after rounding up from 0.225).
So you’d reduce your last dose of 2.25mg by 0.23mg.
This would get you a dose of 2.02mg per day.
And you would continue reducing by 10% of your _last_ dose until you’re roughly down to zero. Though there will of course be a small leap to zero once you’re down that low.
But I wouldn’t reduce any further for right now since you’re having these symptoms. You should probably stay at this dose for a little while longer, or depending on the severity of your symptoms, reinstate a slightly higher dose, stabilize on it, then begin following the 10% recommendation from that dose.
Surviving Antidepressants post on reinstatement:
www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/7562-about-reinstating-and-stabilizing-to-reduce-withdrawal-symptoms/
The whole process of tapering needs to happen _very_ gradually. This is true for everyone but is especially true for those with a history of psychosis. And while you can’t always be perfectly precise with your reductions, you want to get as close as you can to those ideal reduction numbers.
I’m simplifying things a little since I can’t cover everything here (plus I only know a little about your circumstances), but the site I linked to earlier has a lot of info that can answer your questions in greater detail.
P.S. Math is not my strength so I welcome anyone to double-check my numbers, even if I was doing something as simple as figuring out what 10% of something is.
Hi, Russ! Tell me, please, did you have weakness after this fucking pills and if yes, how long it was?
I had a lot of problems with fatigue, both mental and physical. Took years for that to improve. Got better physically faster than I did on the mental side of things.
I said fatigue, but you did say weakness. I didn’t feel weak in any specific areas of the my body. It was more generalized. All over, basically. So that’s why I used the word fatigue. We may be talking about the same thing but I just wanted to clarify just in case.
@@russellbyt Thanks for your reply! And what about EPS? Maybe i'd already ask you, don't remember.
You asked about recently and I replied. It was on my “When will your intelligence return?” video. Should be one of the most recent comments, so just filter them by most recent and you should be able to find it easily.
Forced treatment must be abolished
You mean forced "treatment".
Hey, im very bad, can i talk to you, i need hope.
I need someone who has been through the same torture.
@@serhumano7368 hey friend, its been thrre weeks, how are you doing now?
This even works for schizophrenia?
Coming off meds can be such a huge undertaking that I don’t like to present it as something that is guaranteed to work. Instead, to answer your question, you might want to watch this vid where I mention a Mad in America article about how antipsychotics can lead to worse outcomes in some patients over time:
Being at Risk for Psychosis and Coming off Antipsychotics
ua-cam.com/video/eYOt4TnPFrI/v-deo.html
Reading articles like the one shared in that vid can help you learn about what works and what doesn’t. Especially in the long term. There should be other articles in the same vein on the MIA website too.
Have you healed?
Can't say if I'm at 100% but I've come a long way and am continuing to improve. Night and day difference from how things were years ago.
Do you have Instagram
Just a personal account that’s not connected to the channel. Not something I use much currently.
@@russellbyt can you share it
instagram.com/russell.baugher
🌺 'promosm'