Tapering off antidepressants and anticonvulsants

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..

I'm so sorry to hear you're going through that. What was the reason you started taking Cymbalta, and how long has it been for you?
For me, I’ve hit the two-month mark today. Those first two weeks were a total grind just trying to get my body used to it. Now that I'm two months in, I'm honestly not seeing much of a difference yet. I deal with some mild anxiety and panic attacks, though those aren't actually caused by the Cymbalta—they're actually coming from neuropathy. It's been two years since I had a botched gallbladder surgery, and the only thing my doctors could come up with to help was putting me on Cymbalta. They also prescribed some Lorazepam to help me sleep, but I try to steer clear of that if I can.

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.