Chapter 11
Immediate Release
Antidepressant Pre-Taper
Please Note: This
pre-taper is for individuals taking an
Immediate Release antidepressant.
Starting Your Pre-Taper
If you have not read the entirety Chapter Six “General Pre-Taper
and Taper Instructions,” please do so before
continuing with this chapter. Reading and
understanding the Chapter “General Pre- Taper and
Taper Instructions” is vital before starting the
pre-taper.
You may already be in withdrawal before you found
The
Road Back Program. Please hang in there;
relief can come very quickly for you. Most people
are never able to get off an antidepressant due to
the head symptoms that are common with reducing this
type of medication.
Your
pre-taper is a little different than for a time
release antidepressant.
The
American Medical Association now acknowledges at
least 10% of the people that try to get off
an antidepressant will not be successful due to the
withdrawal side effects. The 10% is probably higher
with a time-release antidepressant. We want you to
know this so you
know it is not just you. Sorry to say, most
physicians have never read the AMA report on
antidepressant withdrawal and they have not realized
that 1 out of every 10 of their patients they have
prescribed an antidepressant to will have this
withdrawal problem unless they begin doing something
differently.
Head side effects are the ones that stop most people from being
able to get off an antidepressant. An electrical
brain zap, dizziness and other head symptoms are the
problem. For The Road Back, these debilitating head
side effects
are easy to stop and stop quickly. If you
have not started
to taper the antidepressant yet, using this
Antidepressant Pre-taper should stop the head
symptoms from even starting. If you have already
started to taper the antidepressant and have these
head symptoms, the right type of omega 3 fish oil
will get you back on your feet quickly.
The supplements that are required for the immediate release
antidepressant withdrawal program are the Neuro Day,
JNK Formula, Omega 3 Supreme TG, and Neuro Night.
It would be good if you also take 200i.u. to 400i.u. of vitamin E
each day. Omega 3 supplements need a little extra
vitamin E each day to help with absorption.
Make sure to keep your Daily Journal up-to-date and use graphs so
you can visually see the changes taking place with
you.
What to do:
1.
Get with your prescribing physician and/or pharmacist
and layout your drug taper
schedule.
2.
Plan out the second and third reduction of the medication as
well at this point to ensure you are ready
with the correct dosages of the drug.
Once you
have read all of the pre-taper section proceed to
Chapter 15, “How to Taper Antidepressants” and fully
read it as well.
The Pre-Taper
For the next 7-days you will be doing your pre-taper. You do not
reduce your antidepressant during the pre-taper but,
to state again, this is the time to also plan out
the reduction phase of the drug which starts after
the seven days of the pre-taper are completed.
Goal of Antidepressant Pre-taper
·
If anxiety
is present, have it
eliminated
·
If fatigue
is present, have it
eliminated
·
If flu
like symptom are present, have them
eliminated
·
If depression is present, have it
eliminated
·
Eliminate
all other antidepressant side
effects
·
Set up the body correctly to eliminate potential
withdrawal symptoms.
The goal of the pre-taper may seem unobtainable to you at this
moment, but after you experience a day to two of
taking the supplements used with this program, you
should begin to experience the changes we
suggest will happen. It is not out of character for
people to feel as though they are no longer even on
an antidepressant as all side effects vanish
quickly.
Supplements You Will Take:
Neuro Day
JNK Formula
Omega 3 Supreme TG
Neuro Night
Anxiety or Insomnia
The Neuro Day, JNK Formula and the Omega 3 Supreme TG should
handle these symptoms with ease.
Fatigue
If you have fatigue, the JNK Formula and the Omega 3 Supreme TG
should help but 3 nights of a sound sleep will
likely do wonders.
DAY ONE Action:
Rate your daytime anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia and other side
effects. Use the Daily Journal and rate anxiety,
sleep and any additional symptoms you may be
experiencing from 1 to 10. Rate with number 10 being
the worst and number 1 being no side effect or
symptom remaining.
Rate the previous night’s sleep first thing the next morning.
Rate the daytime anxiety just before bedtime of that day.
If you take the antidepressant first thing in the morning, take
the medication as normal and 1 hour later take the
morning supplements.
How to do the Pre-Taper: Supplements:
JNK
– Take 1 capsule of the JNK Formula first thing in the morning
but at least 1 hour apart from medication. Take a
second JNK Formula capsule 4 to 5 hours later in the
day.
Omega 3 Supreme TG
– Take 1
Omega 3 Supreme TG in the morning and 1 more at
noon.
Neuro Day –
Take 1
capsule 1 hour after taking the JNK Formula. Take a
second capsule of the Neuro Day 4 or 5 hours after
the first capsule.
Anxiety or Insomnia
Anxiety:
Between the JNK Formula, Neuro Day and the Omega 3 Supreme TG,
your daytime anxiety should fade away quickly. The
sequence of taking the JNK Formula first and the
Neuro Day an hour later can be changed as needed.
If you
respond real well to the Neuro Day and really do not
feel much change after taking the JNK Formula in the
morning, try taking the Neuro Day first, wait one
hour and then take the JNK Formula.
Insomnia –
The Neuro
Night should help with a sound sleep quickly.
Fatigue
Once again, the JNK Formula and the Omega 3 Supreme TG should
help with the fatigue but most likely the fatigue
should lift after 3 solid nights of sleep.
How to Adjust the Supplements if Needed:
JNK
– As stated earlier, the JNK Formula and the Neuro
Day can be switched around. Start with the JNK
Formula first in the morning but if more relief
comes from the Neuro Day, take it first.
Neuro Day– The Neuro Day formula addresses quite a broad scope of side
effects caused by antidepressants. From stress
feelings, anxiety, agitation, and more, you should
begin to have a calm feeling within a day or two of
starting this supplement.
Just remember; no more than 1 capsule at a time, no more than 2
capsules in a day and have at least 3 hours apart
with this supplement.
If anxiety tends to return or start at a certain time of the day,
take the Neuro Day about 1 hour before that normal
time the anxiety starts.
Don’t leave the JNK Formula out of the daily routine though, even
if you do not feel a massive change after taking it.
It is working and working in concert with the Neuro
Day.
Omega 3 Supreme TG
– All head symptoms, except headaches, when coming off an
antidepressant are handled by the Omega 3 Supreme
TG. If you are feeling any symptoms in the head,
increase the Omega 3 Supreme TG to 2 softgels in the
morning and 2 additional softgels at noon. If
symptoms persist after this increase, raise the
amount of Omega 3 Supreme TG to 5 softgels in the
morning and 5 at noon. A few people have needed to
increase to 6 softgels in the morning and at noon to
get the head symptoms under control. Once the head
symptoms are back under control reduce the Omega 3
Supreme TG back down to the 3 softgels in the
morning and the 3 softgels at noon. Check with your
doctor before increasing the Omega 3 fish oil if you
are taking heart medication or blood pressure
medication.
Neuro Night
– Adjust around the time you take this supplement as needed.
Start with 15 minutes before bedtime but move to an
earlier time if you are not feeling sleepy at
bedtime.
Finishing the Pre-Taper
Do the pre-taper for 7-full days. Do not cut the pre-taper short
no matter how well you may feel after a few days.
Give your body a chance to balance, give yourself
the chance to fully experience relief before you
tackle the reduction of the antidepressant.
If you wish to stay on the pre-taper for an extended time, that
is fine to do, many have. You may have
experienced extreme trauma the last time you tried
to get off the antidepressant and the apprehension
you may feel now is normal, not a mental disorder.
This is
your time; do not let yourself get rushed by your
physician or by the information in this book. The
drug manufacturer, the F.D.A., and even the American
Medical Association state a gradual reduction of the
medication is required. We cannot stress enough,
take your time. This is when the tortoise beats the
hare to the finish line.
|