Lived Experience Forum

[Staceace111]

Seeking answers or opinions? Then this is the right place..

I'll start First: my question is has anyone ever weaned down or off medication whether you had been on them for a short or long amount of time, high or low does and found that the feel better with the lower dose or without the medication? Why's is this?

[hanami]

Hi @Staceace111 

Great question actually! I have been on quite a few different medications for anxiety and always feel much better on a lower dose. My GP will prescribe something and say start with such and such amount and go up gradually to such and such. When I do go up higher I always feel awful. So go back down and feel better. For me, on a higher dose I feel a bit numb and zombie-like. I honestly think everyone is different but I do know of others who've said the same as me - lower dose suits them better.

Hope that helps

Take care

Hanami 

[FloatingFeather]

Hi @Staceace111,

Good question - I have been on and off antidepressants for quite a few years. I feel like when I am struggling and I go on them it takes me a couple of weeks to feel okay but during this time of adjustment I do feel `cloudy' in the mind. I can only speak from my own experience but when I do go off them it's usually after I have been on antidepressants for a few months and I feel mentally strong enough to go off them (under medical supervision). 

So in answer to your question I think for me the feeling about feeling better on or off antidepressants is probably a combination of the medication and the state of my mental health (depression) at the time.

Hope this makes sense.

FloatingFeather

[TuxedoCat]

hey @Staceace111! Great questions! 

When I first started my anti-depressant, I tried two different low doses. When I felt like they could be more impactful, I asked to go up a little bit again. But the higher dose made me feel kinda yuck (too brain foggy, not myself). I definitely felt better on a lower dose. I'm currently tapering off completely after a number of years. Me weaning off was not because of anything wrong with the medication or how I was feeling, more about feeling like that medication has served it purpose. So, with my GP and Psychiatrist, I've been tapering down for a while. 

For my ADHD medication, I tried a few different doses and have slowly gone up until I hit a dose which really felt right.

I don't know why sometimes different doses feel better. I think everyone is different and working with a GP or psychiatrist is definitely how to make sure meds have the best impact.

Is this something you've been experiencing @Staceace111? 

[Staceace111]

@TuxedoCat yeah, I'm being taken off the antidepressants to be put onto ADHD medication and I'm currently on the lowest dose of my antidepressants and in terms of mood/anxiety symptoms I actually feel quite good, better than prior. It really interested me.

Alot of my struggles are around physical symptoms which has now been flagged as possible adhd which is why my medication wasn't working well enough and a change is being looked at

[TuxedoCat]

@Staceace111 that is SO similar to what happened to me too! I'm so glad you've found the things which are working for you! It sounds like it's been an awesome change for you. ❤️ 

[tyme]

Hey @Staceace111 , I had experiences with coming off some meds and being put on others. Each med has its own side effects. For some, I get heart palpitations, sweaty and stomach issues; for others, I don't feel anything.

It's hard to give you a straight answer, but have you raised this with your treating team?