stopped taking ADs what are the effects

[Skizo]

I took ADs (cipralex) for 4 months and I stopped taking them what will be the side effects??

I really dont want to take them any more at all I feel like it is detrimental to my physical and mental health.

[jessed03]

You may get withdrawal symptoms like bad headaches, sickness, trembling. You may also cause a relapse in anxiety by throwing your serotonin way out of balance.

It's always best to withdraw from these things slowly, and with supervision. They are mind altering drugs afterall.

[alankay]

Depends on the dose, half life of the med as well as you. Higher the dose and shorter the half life, the more effects from stopping(in general). I never had much of an issue stopping one but I know others have. Stopping from most any ssri at the normal starting dose shouldn't be much an issue for most.
Tapering off is best as jessed mentioned.

[Skizo]

I just feel really light headed and weak all the time so I'm guessing is this related to my quitting ADs or just sleeping irregulary..

[Skizo]

I told u im feeling really light headed and weak its kinda like a fever but not really a fever ... hard to explain.
and to my mental health i mean I cant drink alcohol and smoke weed when taking ADs so I cant even drink in new years eve ..

[PanicCured]

I highly recommend when stopping SSRIs, you taper off very slowly. Remember, many doctors are not taught that they cause withdrawal syndromes and are lied to by the pharmaceutical companies. They now call it, "Discontinuation Syndrome". If you quit cold turkey, you may experience very intense withdrawal symptoms that will cause you to just go back on the drug. Why shock your brain chemistry like that?

It's much better to lessen the dose little by little. What you would do is get stable for a time period such as 2 weeks at a time. So for example, let's say you cut by 10%, then for 2 weeks you would take it at that much. Then after 2 weeks if things are feeling stable for you, you then cut another 10%. You would continue this process until its done. At some very small level, when it's safe, you would do the jump. Obviously you wouldn't keep cutting until it's microscopic. There are pharmacies out there that will even do this cutting for you. When I was tapering off Klonopins, I did the cutting myself with a knife.

Above is only an example, and not rigid numbers. You will have to adjust according to your situation. But the reason you go for a period of time such as 2 weeks on that same dosage is so your brain does not go into withdrawal. It keeps your brain feeling stable, yet slowly reducing.

Now, if you have already quit cold turkey what do you do? Either deal with the "Discontinuation Syndrome" for as long as it takes and grin and bear it until your brain readapts, or you will need to get back on them at a dose that will get your brain stable. You'll have to figure out how many mg it will take for your body not to go into withdrawal and then get on that for something like 2 weeks and continue the taper process.

Whatever you decide to do, please keep us posted and please be patient!

[Skizo]

yes i was taking half a pill in august, 1 pill in sept, oct, nov, and half a pill in december so i reduced the dose in december and since christmas I have stopped taking them.

I may be still take some but like take half a pill in 2-3 days from now on until the pack is empty then i stop

[PanicCured]

That is not a very good taper program you are on. I would recommend what I suggested above.

[StarryNight]

Be very careful. I forgot to take my escitalopram ONE day and I'm only taking 4 mgs. The next day I had a full-blown panic attack and was forced to take a generous dose of benzos. You don't want to gasp for air or start panicking in public just because you didn't taper off correctly. I had the same problem with Clarityn by the way, which is a antihistamine. I thought I'd never be able to go off it. Do it very slowly.