Candace had been coming down from her six psychiatric medications easily and smoothly when, during our last appointment, she mentioned that she had a terrible time with sleep the night before. This was highly unusual since her withdrawal process had been going so well for months.
"Oh, by the way," she said, "I forgot to take my Effexor yesterday. Does that matter?"
Today's Weekly Update helps to answer her question and give people a better appreciation of how slow their medication withdrawal should go.
Have a great week. Enjoy!
Names have been changed to protect privacy.
How Slow Does a Withdrawal Need to Go?
Does medication really need to come down a bead at a time?
Candace is smart, successful, and determined. She's been working on her withdrawal from six different medications: Effexor, Trazodone, Seroquel, Klonopin, Propranolol, and Trileptal. Everything has been going very well for her as we lowered her medications gradually over the past few months. Each week, with careful energy testing, she was able to lower three to four medications in small increments over the course of the week.
When it came to her Effexor XR, we have been lowering her dosage a bead at a time on a daily basis. But one day, she forgot to take a capsule. She didn't feel depressed, but her sleep was disrupted and light that night.
When I did energy testing to evaluate how skipping her dosage affected her withdrawal process, I was surprised by how significant the effect was. She would need to stop the withdrawal of her other medications that week and focus on reestablishing her Effexor XR blood levels. What had been a gradual withdrawal of three to four different medications each week came to a screeching halt.
From a lay person's perspective, the little beads in her half capsule (130 beads) of Effexor XR may seem insignificant. I can understand how minuscule it may seem to those without any empirical experience. For Candace, many past psychiatrists had changed her medications abruptly in massive dosages over short periods of time. She was unable to function and didn't connect the dots between those medication changes and her inability to think or feel properly.
After discussing how a small change can make a big difference in a person's biochemistry and mental health, she gained greater compassion for her own past suffering, realizing how her horrifying mental health symptoms were often associated with inappropriate withdrawals from her psychiatric medications. I invited her to write something for us today, and here are her thoughts:
I have been on various psychiatric medications over the last 2 years (2018-2020). These were prescribed by various psychiatrists in an effort to treat my “bipolar” condition. My experience over the last two years on these medications and with conventional psychiatry has been a complete and total disaster.
My symptoms of acute anxiety and depression were exacerbated with many new symptoms and side effects: insomnia, suicidal ideations, uncontrollable movements, cognitive impairment, and many others. I would continuously speak to my psychiatrists about all these symptoms and my deep sense that we were on the wrong track.
Those discussions would result in either a new medication added to the list of others or a change in dosage…always a stronger dose and several hospitalizations where I would see more psychiatrists that would prescribe new medication or different doses. Dosing changes of 25% up or down. I was a mess.
Determined to get off of this crazy cycle of medication and symptoms as well as get my life back, I called Dr. Lee in March of 2020 for an appointment. I can't take credit for finding Dr. Lee. My husband searched for 2 years to find me the right help and found her. Her expertise in holistic psychiatry and drug tapering was exactly what I intuitively knew I needed.
After an in-depth evaluation, I started the process of tapering off my 6 psychiatric medications. Yup 6! Over the past 2 years, I read many testimonials about the challenges of tapering off medications. I was ready for what I thought might be a very bumpy ride.
Over the last 8 months with Dr. Lee, I have come off of 2 meds completely with ZERO side effects. My remaining medications have been reduced by 50% of the original dose with zero problems. I continue to work with Dr. Lee. Most importantly I have regained a deep sense of well-being, confidence, and optimal mental and physical health.
What I learned is that tapering successfully means very slow and small changes. Every small change makes an impact on the brain and body. For example, I forgot to take one medication completely for 1 dose and my body responded with a bad night's sleep. I didn’t even connect that. But Dr. Lee did.
She made an adjustment to my dosing and literally the next night I was back on track and sleeping well. I think back on all the many medication changes and doses that I was prescribed during this 2 year period, and I have a new perspective on how and why I had gotten so sick.
I’ve learned a few key lessons:
1. The body and brain are very sensitive to these medications. Even the tiniest dose change is perceived and can affect your progress or further decline.
2. You need to work with a holistic psychiatrist that has in-depth knowledge and success with tapering. Dr. Lee is excellent!
3. Meditation and energy work done consistently every day are very powerful tools for healing.
4. Don’t give up.
I want to thank Candace for her thoughts and hope that you have gained something valuable from our empirical experiences.
Have a great week!