Any change in medication demands attention and extreme care for yourself and those around you. If you are considering a change, please be mindful, careful, and communicative. Let others know what you are going through.
I would like to share some of the things that I have learned in this journey in the hope that withdrawal, if it is the best option, will be considered with the most information possible. Withdrawal from any drug is a very big deal and it is not addressed by most doctors as the difficult process that it is. You should find willing and involved helpers (supportive friends and family and all the disciplines of healthcare with which you feel comfortable and even explore some that you may not have previously considered) and include them in the details and planning – and you must plan for your withdrawal. Let everyone around you know that you are taking on the very important task of safely withdrawing from medication and moving on with your new life.
Psychiatric medications are powerful. We need full disclosure to be aware of all potentially dangerous side effects but, unfortunately, drug companies have a vested interest in preventing some of this disclosure. We as consumers are left to do our own research and make decisions with the help of those who really care about our well being.
In my experience, people change as a medicated person and then as a withdrawing person. These changes are separate from the issues that made one choose medication in the first place. These issues may still be present and may still require attention even as one faces the difficult challenges associated with withdrawal.
In our story of withdrawal, I now believe the symptoms that brought David back to the professionals for help included the symptoms of Paxil withdrawal – though withdrawal was not discussed by these professionals and the idea of symptoms related to withdrawal were not within our consideration either. David was prescribed a cocktail of medication which included Prozac to treat the anxiety he was feeling. (Prozac rather than Paxil, which had been prescribed for previous episodes but had caused extreme weight gain among other side effects.) The final, deadly cocktail consisted of Trazadone for anxiety, Ambien (with Lunesta the night before the tragedy) for sleep, and only 7 days of Prozac. All of the medications in this cocktail were prescribed by professionals and at no point were the potentially dangerous side effects of this cocktail made known to us.
After the tragedy and while he was in custody, the cocktail of medication was changed as David was psychotic and was thought to be depressed and perhaps bipolar. This new cocktail consisted of Risperdal for psychosis, Lexapro for depression and Lithium as a mood stabilizer. This new cocktail was taken by David during his first 2 1/2 years in prison. At that point, the Lithium had begun to adversely affect his thyroid and kidneys and he needed to withdraw from it. As he withdrew from the drugs, he began to wake up in prison. He was not happy and he was not calm. He was no longer manic, but his unfiltered responses to things often made him hard to hear. The full extent of what had happened to him was becoming all too real. The first 6 months of David’s medication withdrawal in prison were some of the most difficult days that our family has experienced.
Now, David has been medication-free in prison for years. He has not had any psychotic episodes and is back to his authentic self. The awareness that this family has gained has helped us to make more healthy decisions regarding the substances we ingest and, as a result, has helped us with our overall wellbeing. We realize that we are a chemically-sensitive family and make our decisions based on that reality as, we believe, all people should. Wellbeing involves body, mind, and spirit and we need to keep all of these aspects of health in balance and adjust properly and safely when imbalances occur. We do our research and have broadened the scope of healthcare professionals we seek out for consultation in an effort to exercise a more integrated approach to our healthcare.
My prayer is that you will be well in your journey as you love and care for those you hold most dear. We miss Tessara and Samantha and their earthly sense so much and we honor what their passing has taught us about love and life.
I came across some amazing brief animated videos that I wish I had seen when David was withdrawing from medication back in 2008. These videos are brief and filled with helpful considerations. They are done by Recovery Road – Website: www.recovery-road.org
Find the Withdrawal Dialogues videos at this link:
http://recovery-road.org/dialogues/
Withdrawal Dialogues – Acceptance (4:42 minutes)
Withdrawal Dialogues – Tapering (4:00 minutes)
Withdrawal Dialogues – Benzos & Antidepressants (2:58 minutes)
Withdrawal Dialogues – Family & Cares (4:28 minutes)
Withdrawal Dialogues – Doctor’s Visit Pt. 1 (3.38 minutes)
Withdrawal Dialogues – Doctor’s Visit Pt. 2 (3.47 minutes)
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