Antidepressant Detox

I provide the experience and expertise to safely guide you off psychiatric medication.

Antidepressant Detox Approach

I specialize in assisting people getting off antidepressants. Common antidepressants include Zoloft, Prozac, Celexa, Lexapro, Effexor, and Cymbalta. Effexor, for example, is notoriously difficult to get off. This problem leads people to just stay on the medication out of fear of withdrawal.

 

There are typically 3 reasons people struggle with stopping antidepressants. 

  1. First, the taper is done too quickly.  An appropriate taper is carried out over a period of months, not days or weeks.

  2. The second problem is each dose reduction is done in an increment that is too large. For example, the lowest dose that Effexor is manufactured in is a 37.5mg dose. Therefore, this is the typical dose drop that is attempted which often turns out to be too difficult.  I use custom-dosing, which is readily available through a local compounding pharmacy to customize much smaller doses.  This allows for a much more gradual taper. 

  3. The third problem is attempting to “cross-titrate” or in other words, starting a new medication while weaning off the old medication. This is often problematic because as the body withdrawals from one medication, it is undergoing an adjustment to a new medication. This often creates even more discomfort.

 

Antidepressant withdrawal IS real

Reasons to Detox from Antidepressants

 

Weight Gain

 

This is the most commonly reported reason for wanting to wean off of a medication. Nobody wants to gain weight especially when they are depressed or have been depressed. Often times the weight gain can be minimized or eliminated with the right choice of medication or a nutrition plan specifically tailored to a medication regimen but sometimes the weight gain is unavoidable. Weight gain not only has psychological implications but physical health dangers as well. The increased weight leads to higher chances of diabetes, high blood pressure, sports injuries, making physical activity difficult and many more.

 

Sexual Dysfunction

 

This is probably the second most common complaint from patients. Both men and women struggle with a decreased sex-drive which negatively impacts their relationships and psychological health. Men and women can have difficulties having an orgasm which is equally problematic even if their sex-drive is still intact. Long-term this just isn’t an option for many people who find themselves stuck on antidepressants.

 

Sweating

 

Antidepressants often cause excess sweating. This side-effect often does not subside and people are left with embarrassing amounts of sweat on their hands, face, feet and underarms. Often times these people had no prior issues with sweating until they started taking the antidepressants.

 

Insomnia and Sleep Disturbance

 

Almost all antidepressants cause a disruption of restorative sleep stages during the night. Not only can some people sleep too little or too much but when they are actually sleeping, their restorative stage 3 slow-wave sleep is greatly diminished which leads to chronic fatigue, weight gain and chronic brain fog. It is impossible to get a true resolution of depression or anxiety when one is not receiving the restorative sleep that is necessary for the brain to heal.

 

Memory Problems

 

Some antidepressant and psychiatric medications can disrupt cognition and memory. This is above and beyond the cognitive issues that can arise from losing restorative sleep while on medication. Over time people notice their ability to stay motivated, retain memories and form new memories diminishes. Fortunately this problem resolves when someone detoxes from their antidepressants or psychiatric medication. The problem often creeps up and worsens over time in a way that goes unnoticed initially until somebody else points it out.

 

They Stop Working

 

Antidepressants simply do not solve the problem of depression or anxiety in the long-term. In my opinion these medications were never designed to provide a long-term solution. It is not surprising then, that many people find their medication simply “stops working.” The body and brain are highly adaptable. The brain adapts over time to the new neuro-chemistry that the medication creates which ultimately leads to the perception that the medication has stopped working. While it is usually the case, there are certain cases where long-term medication is successful and recommended but in my experience the cases are few and far between.

 

Outpatient Antidepressant Detox Procedure

I have used my experience of the years to fine tune a comfortable and safe method of detoxing people from their antidepressants and psychiatric medication. The protocol includes the following:

Slow Customized Taper

The first step is to create a slow, comfortable tapering of the medication. The specific dosing and speed of the taper is dependent on several factors. These factors are:

  1. How long one has been on a antidepressant medication

  2. The specific antidepressant or psychiatric medication

  3. The dose of the medication

  4. The person’s underlying psychiatric condition

  5. Other medications that can interfere with the taper of the medication

  6. Their physical health

  7. Their nutrition and diet

  8. Their support structure (family, friends etc)

  9. Their obligations with work, family, school and life

  10. Their wishes and desires! This is the most important. I work with people to achieve their specific goals providing they are safe and realistic

In order to provide a slow taper, a customized dose can be formulated using a local Scottsdale specialty pharmacy. This allows the creation of incremental dose decrease in doses that are not traditionally manufactured. The truth is most medication is not manufactured ins mall enough doses which is typically why it becomes very difficult to wean off or detox from antidepressants.

Depending on the above factors and the time-frame that the patient desires, the weaning period can take anywhere from weeks to months to a year. My goal is to create long-term success by utilizing the best protocol for each individual person. The ultimate goal of getting off of the medication is to improve mental health, not have a relapse of any psychiatric symptoms and perform this in a comfortable manner.

 

Diet and Nutrition Balance

In order to most easily and comfortably come off of antidepressants, a foundational change in diet is often necessary. Depending on where a person is in terms of their diet and nutrition to begin with, I often customize a diet/nutrition plan as they begin to taper off of their medications. The reasoning is twofold. First, as one starts lowering their medication dose, the brain and body undergoes changes to slowly “reset” itself back to pre-medication conditions. This puts a stress on the brain and body from a nutritional and neurochemical standpoint. Having the appropriate nutrients and diet will allow the brain to regain its full function at the appropriate rate.

Second, after being on antidepressant or psychiatric medication for a long period of time can often disturb one’s metabolic and hormonal system which is highly regulated. To get a persons metabolic system back to a healthy functioning level, the appropriate diet and nutrition need to be implemented.

The lack of integrating in proper diet and nutrition is an extremely common reason why people have struggled in the past with trying to get off of their medications. They often struggled with excessive fatigue, emotional dysregulation, physical illness and excessive sleep disruption. These can all be avoided when the proper protocol is crafted and followed.