#Tapering

[tinyowlthoughts]

BRAIN ZAPS?!?!?!

So I got a new doctor, who took a look at my records and was like, "Wow, you've been on Effexor (venlafaxine) since 2007. And you're currently on the highest dose. And you've been dealing with chronic fatigue for years, which could be caused by it. We should taper you off."

Okay, cool. No prob. I'm in a much better place mentally with my depression and anxiety, I have a therapist, we'll taper off the drug and I'll be dizzy and grouchy for a month and then it'll all be good, and hopefully I'll feel better than ever (and finally start that novel I have planned).

Nope.

"You'll experience some brain zaps."

"...some what?"

"It's like, a little electric shock in your brain. It's harmless but can take you off guard."

"...what?!"

So yeah, next two/three months are gonna be interesting. Better for me in the long run, but still.

[leynaeithnea]

Vocabulary Captive Prince taught me

#62

pennants

a tapering flag, especially one flown at the masthead of a vessel in commission

p. 35

#62.5

tapering

becoming thinner or narrower towards one end

[bipolar-moon]

I'm losing my mind.

Been suffering from benzo withdrawal for almost 2 months now. I think. I stopped counting.

Starting tapering by 1/8 of a mg on March 1st. I decrease the amount every 2 weeks. I'm not at the point where I'm almost completely off of it. Only a few days left.

So far, I've experienced:

agitation

irritability

increased anxiety

flu-like symptoms for a few days after about 3 weeks of tapering

muscle tension

mild nausea

muscle jerking

restless leg syndrome

probably other things that I'm forgetting

those last 2 symptoms (#9 not included) are the most prevalent right now. The only real reason I'm writing this is because my phone is updating and I don't have anyone to talk to about this. But I NEED to talk about this, even if it's just to myself in journal form. and I'm currently being driven up the wall by the nerves in my right leg. It feels like electricity is shooting around my kneecap and down to my ankle. This is the most uncomfortable I've been since the early withdrawal symptoms.

Early on I found someone via Twitter who has gone through the same thing as me, and I've since adopted her as my "sponsor", for lack of a better term. She's been very helpful. I feel very lucky to have her help me along this journey.

This is the second time I've attempted to taper off klonopin. The first time I failed after 2 weeks. About a year and a half before that, I had experienced pretty bad withdrawal symptoms after running out of meds for 36 or so hours.

I'm tired of these symptoms. They're not nearly as bad as I was expecting, probably due to tapering so slowly. But it's still hell.

As I sit here, super uncomfortable, moving my leg every 30 seconds to feel the least bit more comfortable, I remind myself how easy it would be to just take my previous full dose and have all of this over with. Just go back to normal. Sure, I'd become a slave to this drug again, but I'd have my sanity and my comfort back.

I've been on klonopin for 7-8 years. I didn't want to get off of it. My psychiatrist insisted. I thought about getting a new one. The long-term effects scared me, but so did the withdrawals. Now I'm in limbo. I have been since March 1, 2023. I'm frustrated.

To give up is so tempting.

[some-eldritch-bats]

Month 2 of tapering down my pain medication. Slow and steady, going well. Down by 50mg a day on average.

[anzu2snow]

Today was kind of a weird day. I was supposed to have my steroid right after getting my contacts in this morning. It’s the whole reason I get up at 7:30am. They say it’s ok to take until 8:30am, but I try to do it earlier. (They prefer it as early as I can.) Anyways, I almost forgot to take it. I had it with the rest of my pills after having breakfast. Also, today I’m supposed to start having 15mg of it in the morning, and 5mg in the afternoon. It’s the next tapered dose. I went from 17.5mg and 5mg to 15mg and 5mg. So far I don’t notice any side effects.

Then, my home aide, who does my bed bath, was running really late. She was in a rush. She almost forgot a couple of things. She’s going on vacation next week, so this would be the last bed bath until she comes back. It’ll be for a week. I’ll try to do what I can on my own. I can’t do nearly as much as her when she does it. I ended up having lunch at 2pm. Pretty late. I couldn’t do anything while I waited for her, either. She gives me a time frame for when she might visit in the morning. It was a big window this time. I feel behind on stuff because of it. Having my Ibrance after 12pm is not good, either.

I had an Xgeva shot appointment for 4:30pm. I was a little early, and they took me in almost on the dot. It hurt again. She did it slowly, and I think it was for about 5 minutes, but it felt longer.

Since we were out and it was kind of close to dinnertime, we went to Applebee’s. I got a 6 oz sirloin, broccoli, and garlic mashed potatoes. I was still following the Passover diet this way. It was good. Low in calories, too. I had a slice of the kosher for Passover chocolate chocolate chip cake for dessert. (Not pictured.) It was really good.

[cavebehindthewaterfall]

The anti-depressant tapering is making me question my gender and sexuality again. #bizarre :-P

[tripeakathlete]

Tapering for your Race

As we taper for your triathlon. We have to keep ourselves focused and rested. Many people try to make up for the workouts they missed and try to cram as much as possible which will lead to an injury. It’s important to stay consistent and make sure that your body is ready for the race. Follow the workouts planned and don’t try to do more than necessary. Depending on the distance of the race, you…

[yeenybeanies]

some winged courting rituals work better on humans than others 😓🪽💨

patreon ✨ ko-fi

[stinkypeanutbutter]

He eepy . .

But seriously , he’s a heavy napper

someone help her

pls

[ottiliere]

[fanomilov]

What if nyon gets that low taper fade

[tinyowlthoughts]

Wow, I'm tapering off my antidepressant and I'm feeling great! Fantastic, even!

I feel creative, put together, and want to actually do stuff instead of just thinking about doing stuff!

Uterus: Why no baby? WHY NO BABY?

Huh?

Uterus: DISHONOR!

Uterus: DISHONOR ON YOUR JELLY BRAIN! DEPRESSION! DEPRESSION FOR A MILLION YEARS!

[chemevan]

imagine if patrick stump got a super fade

[andstuffsketches]

a selection of robins

[loseractivities]

imagine if stu got a low taper fade

[shakingparadigm]

Another ALNST friday i forgot about because I was too busy *raking fingers down my face*

ANYWAY FUCK MY LIFE