Reddit reviews Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal: A Guide for Prescribers, Therapists, Patients and their Families

PLEASE LISTEN. take it from someone who had to learn the hard way, please. doing what you’re about to do ruined my life and my health.

you really really REALLY do not want her to be cold turkeying any meds at all, let alone 4 meds at once. the withdrawal from one med can mimic mental disorders so severe she could be institutionalized for life. doing this can also cause permanent damage to her brain and body.

you need to find a way to get refills, first of all. if you can’t reach her doctor, try to get your pharmacy to give her a “loaner” which is when they give you just enough pills to last until you can get a refill. explain that she could suffer withdrawal which can be life threatening.

once you have enough pills to buy some time, you can figure out a plan. she should be getting off one medication at a time, and SLOWLY TAPERING. if you can get a doctors support and supervision for this, that is ideal. having someone she can trust advocating for her in the health system throughout this process will be crucial. since she is a woman, and a mental health patient, there is a lot of discrimination and gaslighting she might face in the health system, which is invisible and very hard to pinpoint - i would suggest you educate yourself on how this happens!

you may be able to get her current doctor to sign on with this plan, if they have already approved and supervised her tapering off two others. i would advise you against taking too strong of an anti-psychiatry stance in these settings, doctors won’t respond well to that. entirely getting off medication may be realistic or it may not be. but getting off 4 meds at once, could be a death sentence. for real. you want to take your time, research carefully, plan ahead.

as she gets off meds, especially if she’s been on them since age 6, she’s going to feel a lot of things she may have never felt before, it’s going to be a difficult and intense time. she should have someone else to talk to who isn’t you, some kind of counseling in which the big picture of the situation is understood ... she will need it

if you can do this the legit way, it will be a lot easier for you and your wife... and a whole lot safer. but you will need to be very educated so that you can advocate for her effectively in a corrupt system, and help her with the life changes that will come

EDIT:

https://www.amazon.com/Psychiatric-Drug-Withdrawal-Prescribers-Therapists/dp/0826108431

this book was recommended and purchased for me, you should read it. i cannot vouch for it though, i’ve lacked the cognition to read books for quite some time, i wish somebody in my life had cared enough to put the time into reading it and doing their own research.

some good resources here:
https://www.madinamerica.com/drug-withdrawal-resources/

advice for caregivers of withdrawal patients:
https://youtu.be/Mu27Q0sTXYU

online support groups:
https://withdrawal.theinnercompass.org/

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/

i’ve heard there are facebook groups also, i’m not on facebook though. reading other people’s stories and finding info on online forums and youtube was my saving grace through all this, because there is sooo little info out there, and a lot of the legitimate science is made inaccessible to the public. good luck. i’m wishing you and your wife nothing but the best.

I've posted 2 guides on low dosage neuroleptics, check on r/criticalpsychiatry.

Also check this book: https://www.amazon.com/Psychiatric-Drug-Withdrawal-Prescribers-Therapists/dp/0826108431

Talk with a doctor, but make sure it is one who will support you in your attempts to get off the drugs - not one who will force you back on. Every psychiatrist I have encountered has refused to assist any patient who wanted to come off the drugs against their advice. In my field this behavior would be considered unethical and you would lose your license, but apparently it is standard practice in the medical field - or at the least psychiatry.

If you want to come off the drug and cannot find a doctor or do not want to see a doctor, I highly recommend Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal by Dr. Peter Breggin. He provides helpful information on how to withdraw safely from psychiatric drugs.

http://www.amazon.com/Psychiatric-Drug-Withdrawal-Prescribers-Therapists/dp/0826108431

One tip in your situation is that if you cannot handle a dose reduction, go back up to the previous dose and try again with an even smaller reduction - perhaps half of the previous reduction. You cannot withdraw too fast because you could have a serious problem or fail in your attempt to withdraw. Try to find a doctor knowledgeable in withdrawing from drugs.

> Dr Peter Breggin may have a withdrawal guide

He has, it's this book: https://www.amazon.com/Psychiatric-Drug-Withdrawal-Prescribers-Therapists/dp/0826108431/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=peter+breggin&qid=1565262325&s=gateway&sr=8-1