“Do not be afraid to spend an extra week or even month titrating if it makes it easier on you.”Antidepressants are famous for producing flu-like symptoms when you stop taking it. If you miss a dose, or come off of it too quickly, you can get a headache, nausea, or dizziness. This is especially true of antidepressants with a short half-life, such as Effexor, Lexapro, and Paxil. These medicines are often accused of being “addicting” because a poorly-handled withdrawal regimen can cause such misery that the patient goes back on a drug they were trying to quit.
If you want to stop your antidepressant, the psychiatrist will recommend a titration schedule. If you get withdrawal symptoms, you will need to slow down the titration. Often, things go pretty well for the first half of the dosage and then cause problems near the end. Do not be afraid to spend an extra week or even month titrating if it makes it easier on you.
Still, sometimes even the mildest cut will trigger severe withdrawal symptoms. Sometimes, the psychiatrist will replace the offending drug with Prozac. This removes the withdrawal symptoms and once the previous antidepressant is gone, the patient can easily remove the Prozac, which has a long half-life and is much more forgiving. Your psychiatrist will tell you if such a regimen is appropriate for your teen.
“If you have the luxury of choosing when to make a medicine change, discuss these options with your teen. Often, you will find your best answer there.”