The Road Back and True Hope: Using Supplements to Withdraw from Psychiatric Meds- Part 1

Using natural supplements to treat bipolar or other mood disorders isn't a new fad. There are two organizations that I know of that have been using supplements to help maintain brain chemistry balance for over a decade: The Road Back and True Hope. I was on True Hope's regimen when I attempted to reduce my psychiatric meds over a year ago, and I'm going to use The Road Back's supplements when I taper off my Depakote in a few weeks. I thought I'd share what I feel are the similarities/differences between the two organizations so that if you are contemplating tapering off of your meds, you can see if either organization has a program that might be right for you.

Both organizations support the use of supplements, or as True Hope calls them, micornutrients, to get off psychiatric meds. However, True Hope focuses on long-term usage of their supplements, the primary one called EMPowerplus, to give the brain what it needs long after the meds are stopped. The Road Back suggests taking supplements, the main one called JNK (sold through TRB Health), for six to eight weeks after discontinuation of a med.

A major difference between the organizations is the tapering process. True Hope has a two week pre-taper where you start on their EMPowerplus and gradually increase the number of capsules taken each day. The Road Back has a one week pre-taper and you take the JNK supplement with their Relax Day and Relax Night formulas plus other supplements depending upon the meds you are withdrawing from. Both organizations recommend tapering a med approximately every two weeks.

When I tapered with True Hope, I reduced all three meds simultaneously - Depakote, Seroquel and Zyprexa. They consider Seroquel and Zyprexa red flag medications, meaning you need to taper off more slowly at a 12.5% reduction every two weeks. I did not do that because I didn't know about withdrawals at the time and the importance of going slowly. That, and the meds are only made at certain dosages. For example, I was on 5mg of Zyprexa, and the smallest amount they make is 2.5mg. That's a 50% reduction, not 12.5%. I didn't believe I'd have any problems, so I didn't think about cutting the pill, or what I would learn about later, water titration (will discuss this in more detail in an upcoming blog).

While True Hope usually recommends tapering off all meds at the same time (at least that's what my psychiatrist recommended and he is familiar with their program), The Road Back generally suggests one at a time, unless you are taking ADD, ADHD, stimulants, antidepressants and antipsychotics, which can be reduced simultaneously (alternating weeks). I was clueless when I started True Hope's program that the withdrawals would get so intense, but I believe I may have been dumping too much med from my cells too quickly. So, I'm hoping that by doing the Depakote first this time, and using different supplements from The Road Back, I can avoid a severe reaction.

This is the end of Part 1. Part 2 to follow shortly...