The Road Back and True Hope: Using Supplements to Withdraw from Psychiatric Meds- Part 2

In part 1 of this blog, I discussed several differences and similarities of The Road Back and True Hope's programs for tapering off of psychiatric medicines. Both organizations use supplements to help the brain make adjustments to the withdrawal process. Using supplements is something foreign to many psychiatrists, and a plethora of people have complained that their pdocs (psychiatrist dr.) don't acknowledge that there can be severe withdrawal symptoms from antispsychotic meds (benzodiazepines such as Valium, Xanax and Klonopin and sleeping pills are the exception, and pdocs usually recognize that there is addiction and withdrawal from these classification of drugs). 

Since many pdocs aren't familiar with the impact of supplements during tapering, people who want to use The Road Back or True Hope's micronutrients often look for support from these organizations. Both groups have people you can call or email and ask questions, though The Road Back only has one person that I know of, whereas True Hope has several counselors. Both have forums where users ask questions and discuss various topics, but there aren't many posts on The Road Back's newsgroup. True Hope's is more active and there are new posts almost every day. I believe you need to have a True Hope account to access the TH message board.

They both offer ways to track your progress, but True Hope's is on-line, whereas The Road Back has charts you can print out and fill in. Tracking symptoms, dosage of meds and supplements, and foods eaten can be very helpful in determining what is beneficial and what makes withdrawal symptoms worse.

From what I've read on the TH message boards, one area of major concern is protracted withdrawals (PW). The Road Back's website hardly addresses this topic at all. Protracted withdrawals are the continuation of withdrawal symptoms after you've stopped taking psych meds. True Hope message board posters claim that the first six months after discontinuation are the hardest with most symptoms, but that PW can continue for many months or years after that. The reason is that antipsychotic drugs are not just in the blood, but stored in our cells and tissues. Over time, the drug continues to be released from the tissues into the blood, but at varying levels. According to True Hope users, giving the brain the micronutrients it needs makes the brain healthier, so PWs arise because you are in effect giving a healthy brain drugs it does not need. This can cause the same symptoms as when tapering or create new ones.

If TH gives the brain the nutrients it needs to be healthy, that may expalin why PWs are so long with True Hope users. In other forums I've read, such as Topix Seroquel Withdrawal, the majority of people who didn't use supplements claim the worst of PW is over within 6-8 weeks, not 6 months. Yes, some people have issues with insomnia for longer periods than that, but the nausea, anxiety, and other withdrawal symptoms usually subside within two months

Overall, I'm mildly skeptical that The Road Back supplements will help me through withdrawal, but I'm going to give them a try. I'll post how I feel, and what I think might be helping, once I start tapering in a few weeks. I hope this brief overview comparing True Hope and The Road Back programs helps you if you are thinking about getting off of your psychiatric meds.