Starting an anti-depressant while tapering

Hi all. I was diagnosed with clinical depression when I was 21. I am now 49. I was diagnosed with panic/anxiety disorder when I was 27 and put on Klonopin. I was also on an anti-depressant- Paxil at the time.

I have been on various anti-depressants in addition to the Klonopin since the age of 27. I was able to taper off of Paxil and Klonopin 3 1/2 years ago. It wasn't that bad. It was hard, but I was functional. After having a very stressful time at work and ending up in the psychiatric ward after asking my psychiatrist to reinstate the Paxil (had been off Paxil for 6 months and the Klonopin for about 9 months). I had a horrible reaction to being reinstated on Paxil and the panic and anxiety were so bad I went to the hospital. I was reinstated on Klonopin and another anti-depressant in the psychiatric hospital

I had a very traumatic even occur in February of 2017. I was on and off anti-depressants still and the Klonopin- 1 mg. In November of 2017 I decided to try to titrate off Klonopin again. My Psychiatrist wanted me on an anti-depressant while I was tapering. I tried a mood-stabilizer- Lamictal and it gave me terrible anxiety. I tried Trintellix and pretty much the same thing. Finally I told her no more anti-depressants and she decided to titrate me off Klonopin over a two week period. I lost it. I almost ended up in the hospital again. I got a new psychiatrist and got back to the 1 mg. of Klonopin. My new psychiatrist and I started my taper off of Klonopin- actually Clonazepam, in March of this year. I am using a compounding pharmacy and going down by .1 mg every 30 days.

I tried Wellbutrin about two months ago because my depression was so bad. It made me more anxious. I then tried Zoloft about a month ago and the depression seemed worse.  I started on Fetzima about four days ago at a very low dose.

I am so depressed during this taper that I want to die. I can barely function most days. I am so desperate that I've been trying these anti-depressants, but I think it's not good for me. I think that I really need to just ride out this taper and do the best I can at managing my symptoms.

Anyway, does anyone have any input? Has anyone started an anti-depressant while tapering and had success?

Thank you so much.

 

Clonazepam .7 mgs

Highest Clonazepam dose throughout my use- 3 mg. per day.

Every SSRI there is I've been at one time or another from 21 to 49.

I was on Zoloft (3 years), Paxil (4 years) and Lexapro (1 year), it was way prior to my benzos (1997 to 2006).  The antidepressants worked, but I didn't want to be on them indefinitely.  During my benzo withdrawal last year, I went back on Lexapro for about 5-6 weeks to alleviate depression and anxiety, but Lexapro didn't work this time around.  In fact, it made everything a lot worse, so I discontinued it.  I think you made the right decision.

I went on Zoloft while tapering.  Honestly, I have no idea if it helped, or if overcoming the benzo has empowered me, psychologically, to the point where I don't feel as anxious about things any more.  I'm still on 50mg, and am looking to quit, but nervous about all of

the stuff associated with discontinuing.  I feel like I've learned enough about anxiety through this experience to control it on my own.

The only major side effect of Zoloft that I've experienced is weight gain, which is bad for me, because I've experienced weight-related

depression my entire life.  So now I'm stuck in this Catch 22, where I'm afraid to discontinue Zoloft because of withdrawal, but I am

also afraid to continue it because I'm afraid it will make me more depressed.  The bottom line--ADs don't work for everyone; it sounds like you've tried a few and have never had success.  You can keep riding the AD merry-go-round, or you can try to overcome anxiety and depression using natural means and not have to worry about tapering another drug in the future.

Foolsfire -

 

I'm sorry things seemed to backfire on you when you had a fairly easy time getting off the Benzo's.  This stuff is so tricky like that and I really hope this doesn't happen to me.  I did have to reinstate once during my taper as things unraveled quickly.

 

My Dr put my on Lexapro to aid in taper after failed attempts without.  It's been a month today from my last Klonopin so I would have to say the Lex did help me?  It's all so complex and different from each and every one of us.  I am currently at 5mg Lex.

 

Please keep up posted as to how you are hanging on....

 

Wolfie 

Foolsfire:

I started Lexapro (first time) 3 months ago--and while phase in was hard--it has helped with sleep and depression. I don't regret decision but given your history with SSRI's--maybe not a good idea?

Thank You. The Fetzima seemed to help a bit for a while when I took it in 2016. Starting with a very low dose- 10 mg as I have become highly sensitive to medications.

I've decided to stop the Fetzima and try to do this thing without any added medications. Ugh! I'm ok though.

Thanks for all the input.

Love you guys!

Hi all. I was diagnosed with clinical depression when I was 21. I am now 49. I was diagnosed with panic/anxiety disorder when I was 27 and put on Klonopin. I was also on an anti-depressant- Paxil at the time.

I have been on various anti-depressants in addition to the Klonopin since the age of 27. I was able to taper off of Paxil and Klonopin 3 1/2 years ago. It wasn't that bad. It was hard, but I was functional. After having a very stressful time at work and ending up in the psychiatric ward after asking my psychiatrist to reinstate the Paxil (had been off Paxil for 6 months and the Klonopin for about 9 months). I had a horrible reaction to being reinstated on Paxil and the panic and anxiety were so bad I went to the hospital. I was reinstated on Klonopin and another anti-depressant in the psychiatric hospital

I had a very traumatic even occur in February of 2017. I was on and off anti-depressants still and the Klonopin- 1 mg. In November of 2017 I decided to try to titrate off Klonopin again. My Psychiatrist wanted me on an anti-depressant while I was tapering. I tried a mood-stabilizer- Lamictal and it gave me terrible anxiety. I tried Trintellix and pretty much the same thing. Finally I told her no more anti-depressants and she decided to titrate me off Klonopin over a two week period. I lost it. I almost ended up in the hospital again. I got a new psychiatrist and got back to the 1 mg. of Klonopin. My new psychiatrist and I started my taper off of Klonopin- actually Clonazepam, in March of this year. I am using a compounding pharmacy and going down by .1 mg every 30 days.

I tried Wellbutrin about two months ago because my depression was so bad. It made me more anxious. I then tried Zoloft about a month ago and the depression seemed worse.  I started on Fetzima about four days ago at a very low dose.

I am so depressed during this taper that I want to die. I can barely function most days. I am so desperate that I've been trying these anti-depressants, but I think it's not good for me. I think that I really need to just ride out this taper and do the best I can at managing my symptoms.

Anyway, does anyone have any input? Has anyone started an anti-depressant while tapering and had success?

Thank you so much.

 

Clonazepam .7 mgs

Highest Clonazepam dose throughout my use- 3 mg. per day.

Every SSRI there is I've been at one time or another from 21 to 49.

 

Yes... if you look at my sig box you can see a snap-shot of what I've taken and for how many years this has been going on. My psyche Dr. actually was irritated with me because he kept trying new drugs to hopefully make me feel better and nothing ever works. They all make me more depressed or ungodly tired. It's like I cannot even function on drugs. Even ibuprofen and pain meds bother me. So I don't take anything. I'm down to 0.25 mg of Clonazepam and holding. I feel like crap most days, I'm tired no matter how much sleep I get, body aches and my tinnitus has become worse. I'm not even done with the taper yet.  I'm depressed because I feel so bad and nothing works so I have settled with the fact that this is life... this is it. I will NOT take another drug because I blame the drugs for taking my life... my health.  I just try to be positive. I'm going to force myself to workout maybe try meditation... something natural but no more meds. I hope and pray you get better.. I hope all of us do. Be kind to yourself...