Having been on a cascade of drugs since a severe insomnia event over 2 years ago I have learnt the following lessons:
1. When it comes to drug withdrawal don't trust any advice from doctors, psychiatrists, mental health workers or any internet source except user groups (such as on Facebook and elsewhere) and the Ashton manual. And don't be in a hurry. The patient must drive the process and if you rush you may end up paying the price years later.
2. Try not to add additional drugs to what you are already on except in an emergency. It will just make coming off everything that more difficult.
3. Use a liquid taper if possible and the lower you go the slower you should reduce your dosage. Drug dosage tends to have a logarithmic relationship to effect. Meaning a given milligram change in a small dose will have a much larger effect than the same milligram change in a higher dose.
3. Read the article below by the founder of the survivingantidepressants website before beginning your taper. It's a good overview. Then read the Ashton Manual. From there you will have a solid base.
4. Best not to use any psychiatric drug (i.e. benzodiazepines, antidepressants, antipsychotics, etc.) in the first place, particularly on a regular basis (here I reference benzodiazepines, z-drugs and barbiturates/muscle relaxants such as Soma), unless you are faced with a real emergency: e.g. debilitating insomnia, severe depression or uncontrollable mania, for example. All drugs have unwanted side effects and can be very difficult to come off of.
5. This is not medical advice. It's just my experience. Make of it what you will. I won't say however to consult your health provider unless you have one of the rare ones that understands these issues. If you can find such a rare soul, good luck to you. But of course if you have a prescribing doctor then they must be on board.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2045125321991274
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