Weaning From 20Mg To Zero...
#1
Posted 18 June 2015 - 07:12 PM
#2
Posted 19 June 2015 - 01:34 AM
Sfava987
Going from 90 mg to 20 in 4 weeks then stopping altogether is a very short timeline considering your long-term exposure to these drugs. It's not uncommon for symptoms to be light until you start removing the last 25% or so.
Are you stable now at 20 mg?
Sorry to hear about those symptoms that are still hanging on; hopefully they will diminish soon.
I think going from 20 mg to 0 isn't significantly different than going from 90 to 0-- it's going to take some time, especially with your length of exposure. How long is unknown. Start with a long timeline (consider using about 8 months and reduce by perhaps 5% every 2 weeks) and see how it goes for a couple of months: if symptoms emerge, stop reducing until you stabilize, slow down the weaning and extend the timeline by going to say 5% every 3 weeks.
A weigh scale needs to accurately measure to .001 of a gram, and the reviews online are all over the map-- it'll cost about $100. with no real guarantees of accuracy. I've tried both weighing and bead-counting and prefer to count beads. I know the number of beads varies from capsule to capsule, but that doesn't matter-- count the beads in a few capsules and work out an average number and work with that.
Gastro-intestinal issues are very common with serotonin drugs, and the symptoms can hang on for some time. I had significant GI troubles in withdrawal and I had to modify my eating habits to feel comfortable. I ate small portions, and nothing 4 hours before retiring for bed. Laying down after eating causes nausea for me still, and I get that flu-like pain in the pit of my stomach, and nowadays I am in pain if I over-eat even a little.
As a general rule in weaning, if there are uncomfortable symptoms you are weaning too fast. You should know that ultra long-term weaning (a year or more) is anecdotally reported to be virtually symptom-free.
Take care.
#3
Posted 08 July 2015 - 09:20 PM
I was taking 60mg for chronic pain for about a year and a half. Put on 30 lbs and craved sweets like crazy! Decided it wasn't helping like my pain med does and the additional weight is just aggravating my pain. So, I dropped myself to 30 mg once a day for about 10 months. Took 30 mg for so long because trying to taper more produced unpleasant side effects. I tried going every other day, but got brain zaps really bad. Because I am a teacher, I decided to wait until school let out to reduce my dosage more.
At the beginning of June I asked my doctor to lower my dose to 20 mg ( lowest available ). He did so without any argument. I started taking the 20 mg each day and only had real minor withdrawal symptoms. For the past 2 1/2 weeks I have been taking one every other day and am feeling it! I have to say the first week was worse than it is now, so I am going to continue the every other day for a while longer before I try to go to every two days. My goal is to be completely off before I go back to work middle of August. Other than being slightly agitated and hypersensitive to noises, the brain zaps are the absolute worst part.
I wish you luck, let me know how you do!
#4
Posted 09 July 2015 - 12:05 AM
Hi Oncebit47
Hi and welcome!
Don't skip days-- this puts you in-and-out of mini-withdrawal as the half-life of duloxetine is only 12 hours.
Here are two better ways to do it:
1. Taper off in a linear fashion (for example-- one bead out today; two beads out tomorrow; three beads out the next day and so on).
or
2. Reduce the last 20 mg by 10% each week and be done in 10 weeks. That means, 2 mg removed today and stay at that reduced dosage for a week; then remove 4mg for a week; then remove 6 mg for a week and so on.
Enjoy the off-season!
Take care.
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