Sorry for the length of this post, but it is important for me to write it, and others may benefit from my experiences.....This past Sunday, I took my FINAL bead of Cymbalta! Today was my visit to my PsychDoc, whom I have not seen since before I started my what ended up to be a two month Taper Program (62 days to be specific). I did not enlist the help of my PsychDoc during my Taper Program, since I had tried to quit antidepressants several years ago and was unsuccessful, probably because of the quick step-down taper he prescribed.
At my appointment today, I was fully prepared to tell him that I had tapered off of Cymbalta on my own and was feeling well. I brought along with me printouts of my Taper Program spreadsheet, which tracked my Planned Dosage and Actual Dosage each day for the 62 days, along with details on the supplements I took each day, the amount of sleep I got each night and Notes describing what I was feeling each day during my Program. However, when the doc asked if I had been taking my meds (60mg of Cymbalta & 15mg of Mirtazapine), I told him I'd like to talk about getting off the antidepressants. He IMMEDIATELY told me he thought that was a bad idea and strongly recommended that I not pursue that course of action. I explained that I had been feeling very well over the last year or two, and that I was ready to give it a try. He reminded me that we tried this a few years ago and failed. I mentioned that I thought we probably stepped down the dosage too quickly the last time and that maybe we should gradually taper the meds more this time. He IMMEDIATELY got defensive and told me that his approach to weaning patients off of drugs IS more gradual and conservative than what is the norm for the industry. Sensing my resolve, he agreed to develop a Taper Program for both the Cymbalta and Mirtazapine, one at a time. He selected Mirtazapine to taper first (although I chose to taper Cymbalta first so I could continue to get decent sleep w/Mirtazapine while tapering off Cymbalta). Needless to say, I did NOT tell him I'd already quit Cymbalta!
His 'gradual taper' approach for my 15mg daily Mirtazapine dose is....Cut 15mg pills in half and take 1/2 pill every night for one week. Then stop taking it. MY Taper Program will be to take 75% of the usual dose for a week, then 50% for a week, then 25% for a week, and then stop, three times the duration of my doc's plan.
His 'gradual taper' approach for my 60mg daily dose of Cymbalta is:
Week 1 40mg each day
Week 2 20 mg each day
Week 3 20 mg every other day
Week 4 Stop taking Cymbalta
MY Taper Program is described in other posts, but basically, was to remove 1.5mg more each day until I reached 5mg, then to slow down that taper by just one bead every 4th day. MY program took 3 times as long as my doc's plan, and it was no picnic!
Do these doctors REALLY not know how powerful these drugs are, or does their profit motive come into play by keeping us on these drugs, or both? Although I wanted to tell this guy that I had already quit the Cymbalta, I didn't want to risk being labeled a troublemaker and potentially getting referred to a mandatory, non-voluntary 72 hour evaluation.
I'm starting my Mirtazapine taper on Sunday night....wish me luck!