Why Get off Psychiatric Medicines?

Over 35 years ago in jr. high school, I remember our health teacher saying that 1 out of 10 people have a psychiatric illness or disorder. That's changed. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. Though not every person seeks medical treatment, that still means there are millions of Americans on some form of psychiatric medicine, whether it be antidepressants, mood stabilizers, antipsychotics or something else that is supposed to alter out-of-balance brain chemistry. And many people take more than one med to help find balance, so there are an awful lotta meds being taken by a significant percentage of the population.

If psychiatric medicines are so popular, why would someone want to get off of their meds? Well, I've read numerous bulletin boards and forums focusing on people getting off psychiatric medicines and the main reasons people want to discontinue their meds are:
1) They don't work for their specific problem - ie. it doesn't help their depression for example
2) Debilitating short-term and long-term side effects
3) They want to try something natural to control their symptoms, such as nutritional supplements and/or cognitive behavioral therapy

From what I've read, many psychiatrists are reluctant to have someone go off of their meds unless it is being replaced with a different med. I'm fortunate that my psychiatrist, Dr. Will Van Derveer of Boulder, Colorado is open to me reducing and/or completely discontinuing one or all of the three meds I'm on. He is an integrative psychiatrist, meaning that he "combines the best practices of conventional western medicine with effective healing modalities which have not fully reached acceptance in the medical mainstream, with a specific focus on patient choice in decisions about treatment." 

Coming off psychiatric meds is something someone should always discuss with their psychiatrist or other health care professional, for it can be dangerous to taper off too quickly. That's one reason I'm writing this blog, because I want to share my experiences with others. I've found folks who have gone before me who have tried to get off of their meds and done so successfully with or without their doctor's help. This has given me hope that I too can eventually be psychiatric drug-free and approach my bipolar disorder with natural alternatives.

Going off Antipsychotic meds

I've decided to start a blog as I attempt to go off my bipolar meds for the second time. The first time, over a year ago, I had lots of withdrawal symptoms despite using True Hope's supplements, and had to go back on my regular doses of Depakote, Seroquel and Zyprexa. I've spent the last 15 months trying to find out as much information as possible as to how to go off the meds without severe withdrawal symptoms. I'll cover some of the info I came across in upcoming blogs and possibly test out some of the natural alternatives myself as well.

In a week or two, after I start a 7-day pre-taper using the organization The Road Back's supplements, I'll begin tapering from the 500mg of Depakote ER I'm currently on. We (my psychiatrist and I) are switching to Depakote sprinkles in the hopes that I can weigh the sprinkles and then gradually cut back on the dosage. If I don't do that, my cuts will be 25% with each taper (the smallest dosage Depakote immediate release comes in is 125mg), and that might be too big since The Road Back suggests 5% cuts every two weeks for an anticonvulsant (Depakote falls under this category, but is also used off label as a mood stabilizer). I'm going to try a 1/8th reduction instead, and see how that goes. I can always make adjustments for a faster or slower taper as I move along.

I'm also only tapering one drug this time around, the Depakote, since The Road Back claims that you need to go off of the anticonvulsant before the antipsychotic meds (which is the category Seroquel and Zyprexa fall under). According to The Road Back, the reason why is that the antipsychotic stimulants increase the clearance time of the anticonvulsant by as much as 50%, and if you reduce these other drugs first you will go into withdrawal with the anticonvulsant, even though the anticonvulsant dosage was not reduced.

And one more thing. I plan on continuing with The Road Back supplements throughout the taper, and I'll go into more detail about those later, but I'm really hoping that they help with some of the symptoms that I experienced last time, such as:
Hot flashes/sweats, day and night
rashes
headaches
nausea
anxiety
heart palpitations at night right after going to sleep
jaw clenching
insomnia
restless leg syndrome
overall just feeling lousy

I think that the Seroquel was causing many of those symptoms, but I could be wrong. I wish I had a magic ball that would tell me what would be the best way to get off of all of my meds (something my psychiatrist is on board with), but until then, trial and error, keeping notes on my progress, and gut instinct will have to suffice.