Tapering approaches

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FUNDAMENTAL APPROACH TO TAPERING

 

OK, let’s skip the ‘Ashton manual’.

 

I’m not doing well and I’m anything but fine. My unique relationship with the drug doesn’t help.

 

What’s really the tapering style of the members of the forum ?

 

Do you get all sorts of physical health problems and get specialist help for that (somatic healthcare)?

 

Do you get problems with sleep or mood, and do you take psychiatric pills (‘antipsychotics and antidepressants’) for that ? I take it that many people do. That’s not ‘Ashton’.

 

Help from a neurologist ?

 

I mean, really, many members do not follow the Ashton manual in a ‘pure’ fashion.

[[Ch...]]

The Ashton Manual is a guide, not a mandate.  It works well for most people, and if it isn't working, it can be tweaked either faster or slower. 

 

I didn't take any adjunct meds when I was tapering or afterwards.  Still don't, except for Requip, which is a Parkinson's drug used off label for RLS.

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I mean, really, many members do not follow the Ashton manual in a ‘pure’ fashion.

 

Nor should they.  You know the deal, Liberty, one size doesn't fit all, everyone's unique ... blah, blah, blah and all that jazz. 

[[bu...]]

FUNDAMENTAL APPROACH TO TAPERING

 

OK, let’s skip the ‘Ashton manual’.

 

I’m not doing well and I’m anything but fine. My unique relationship with the drug doesn’t help.

 

What’s really the tapering style of the members of the forum ?

 

Do you get all sorts of physical health problems and get specialist help for that (somatic healthcare)?

 

Do you get problems with sleep or mood, and do you take psychiatric pills (‘antipsychotics and antidepressants’) for that ? I take it that many people do. That’s not ‘Ashton’.

Help from a neurologist ?

 

I mean, really, many members do not follow the Ashton manual in a ‘pure’ fashion.

 

Ashton takes a fairly positive view of antidepressants as an aid for tapering.

 

"Antidepressants are the most important adjuvant drugs to consider in withdrawal. As mentioned before, depression can be a real problem in withdrawal and can sometimes be severe enough to pose a risk of suicide, though this is unusual with slow tapering. Like any other depression, the depression in withdrawal responds to antidepressant drugs...

 

"Antidepressants not only alleviate depression but also, after 2-3 weeks, have anti-anxiety effects. They are in fact a better long-term treatment than benzodiazepines for anxiety, panic and phobic disorders, and may in some cases actively help the benzodiazepine withdrawal process.

 

"Apart from their therapeutic effects in depression and anxiety, some antidepressants have a sedative effect which patients who are particularly plagued with insomnia have found helpful. Low doses (10-50mg) of amitriptyline (Elavil) or doxepin (Sinequan) are remarkably effective in promoting sleep if taken at bed-time. These can be taken for short periods of a few weeks and stopped by reducing the dosage stepwise or taking the drug every other night. Withdrawal is not a problem when small doses are taken for short periods or intermittently."