Posts by restlesshawk17

nimbleharbor54 said:If anyone here has any experience with this medication,
could you please share some insight
or describe what it was like for you?
Thanks

Look, ma'am—I actually have some experience with Lyrica, or Pregabalin. I've been taking it for anxiety for nearly three years now at 300 mg, and honestly, I just can't seem to get through to my psychiatrist to explain that I don't even feel like the drug is doing anything. I tried to work out a tapering plan with her, but she gave me absolutely terrible instructions—I dropped the dose way too fast, and let me tell you, the withdrawal side effects are disgusting. Just for perspective, coming off Helex is like dealing with a newborn compared to the nightmare of coming off Pregabalin. If you search for "English lyric experiences" online, you'll see exactly what pops up.
My advice? Don't touch it. Seriously. You'd be better off taking Helex than Lyrica. Or better yet, have a real conversation with your doctor about switching to something else entirely. At the end of the day, it's one of the tougher drugs to kick, and I'm living proof.

Kimberly Ward said:Question: You claim you were taken off your meds following "protocol"—but what kind of protocol are we actually talking about? I feel like I'm hearing that excuse more and more lately.

Hey Azalea—look, if those mental health specialists decide they’ve drawn up a "protocol" to taper you off, you might want to think twice before blindly following their lead. Their endgame isn't really getting you off the stuff; it's keeping you hooked on the prescriptions... because that's how they stay in business. If you're going to do this—and I mean really do it—take it slow. We're talking a gradual reduction of maybe 10-15% of your current dose every two or three weeks. If you can, just break those pills into quarters. It's all about that steady, cautious descent.👍

silvergardener15 said:I'm sorry to hear that. What were you prescribed Cymbalta for, and how long have you been on it?
I’ve been on it for two months now. Those first two weeks—man, just getting through the adjustment period was a struggle. Now, two months in, I’m not seeing much of a difference. My anxiety is pretty mild and I deal with panic attacks, but those aren't actually what the Cymbalta is treating—it's for my neuropathy. It's been two years since a botched gallbladder surgery, and honestly, the only thing my doctors could come up with to help was putting me on Cymbalta. They also gave me some Ambien for sleep, but I try to stay away from that if I can.

Hey Tina—as for me, I'm taking Cymbalta for anxiety, depression, and GAD. I've been on it since about nine months ago. Before this, I was on Celexa for seven months. Does Cymbalta actually work? Well, I'm not even sure myself—which is exactly why I tried to taper off under my psychiatrist's supervision. But, as I mentioned earlier, that was a total bust. I'm still taking it because, frankly, nothing is changing right now, and trying to switch to something else or go back to Celexa just brings on these horrific side effects—the kind where you're basically stuck in bed. Give it a little more time; if you don't see progress soon, you should definitely push for a different prescription.

Jessica Moore23 said:Ma'am, are you still taking Paxil?
I was on it for a full year before my doctor helped me taper off following their specific protocol. It’s been about a month since I quit, but what’s really getting to me is this return of the emotional volatility—I’m becoming tearful again, picking fights constantly, and my brain feels like it's running a thousand different thoughts all at once.

It worked for me, honestly, but the weight gain was just brutal.

Hey, Patrick, hang in there.
Just so you don't feel like you're wandering through this fog alone after coming off an antidepressant,
believe me, I've been in those exact trenches myself. I only managed to hold out for four days before the withdrawal hit so hard I had to crawl back to my meds. Right now, I'm on a combo of Cymbalta and Lyrica, and man, I went through the exact same withdrawal symptoms you're describing. And look—no matter what some psychiatrist tells you about how antidepressants aren't "addictive," they are lying about how grueling the process is. In my experience, it was actually easier to get off benzodiazepines—you know, things like Xanax and the rest of that crew—than it was to kick the ADs.

Hey everyone out there who's currently wrestling with tapering off psychiatric meds—or those of you who actually managed to pull it off.

I want to walk you through my own "attempt" at weaning myself off Cymbalta and Lyrica.
So, after talking things over with my psychiatrist—it was actually my idea to try life without medication, by the way—she walked me through the process of a gradual taper.
My dosage at the time was Cymbalta; 60mg/1.0.0.
Lyrica; 150mg/0.0.1.
Her plan was simple enough: drop the Lyrica down to 75mg for the first week, then stop entirely after another week.
As for the Cymbalta, we were going to drop to 30mg, then cut it completely after two weeks.

Now, let me tell you what happens when you hit day four without any meds... It’s absolute garbage. We're talking full-blown anxiety attacks, dizzy spells, nausea, crying fits—just a total mess.
Since I couldn't get a hold of my psychiatrist—she was out on leave—I called my primary care physician to consult. She told me straight up that the taper was WAY too aggressive and advised me to go back up to 100mg of Lyrica and 30mg of Cymbalta to try an even slower descent.
The new plan? Reduce the Lyrica by just 25mg every three weeks.

To make a long story short, I decided to just stick with the meds for now. This whole tapering attempt has been incredibly brutal and unpleasant—maybe I'll give it another shot sometime in the distant future, but not today.
In the meantime, I stumbled upon this guide on the "Ludes" forums about "Tapering off Psychopharmacology"—it goes into much more detail than what I experienced, so if anyone is feeling brave, you might want to check it out.

I'd love to hear from anyone else who has experience tapering off any kind of psychotropic medication..