Hi, I'm Christina

September 11, 2026

61 female, poly drugged for decades. Stopped a SSRI in Dec. 2025 after feeling like I was being poisoned about an hour after taking it. Accidentally made a 5mg cut in April earlier in the year. Had cut my TAD in January of same year and was finally down from 75mg to 20mg no problems with the large cuts. In December I couldn't take the poisoning feeling any longer and got rid of the SSRI I had started to taper when I discovered hyperbolic tapering. At the beginning of 2026 I started a liquid taper of my nortriptyline using the hyperbolic method. I am down to 8 mg and am having issues with akathisia. Sometimes it is bad, sometimes, especially after making a cut, it lightens up. I have had to cold turkey the 75mg and after about 10 days the withdrawals went away and I felt normal but then the script would get refilled and I would just go back on it. Now I am at 8 mg and feel lousy. Have been wondering if I should just stop the nortrip considering I had no issues in the past but am concerned that it may cause a worsening of symptoms. Not sure if tapering at this rate is making things worse. There's more but in the early morning my akathisia actually woke me up it was so bad. That has never happened. I am at my wits end.

Nortriptyline — 8mg — 20 years — holding | Gabapentin — 600mg — 15 yrs — researching taper | Klonopin — .5 mg — 20 years — holding | without clinician

1 Reply

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CatinaSep 11

Community AnchorEffexor

Hi @Christina, welcome to Taper Community. ❤️ You have quite a complex history of drug changes. I'm sorry you've been polydrugged for so long and have experienced negative effects.

"Had cut my TAD in January" — @Christina

Can you clarify what TAD is? Thank you.

"when I discovered hyperbolic tapering" — @Christina

I'm so happy you did!

"At the beginning of 2026 I started a liquid taper of my nortriptyline using the hyperbolic method. I am down to 8 mg" — @Christina

How much do you reduce and how often? Perhaps your reductions have been too much and too quickly.

"Have been wondering if I should just stop the nortrip considering I had no issues in the past but am concerned that it may cause a worsening of symptoms. Not sure if tapering at this rate is making things worse." — @Christina

Considering your history and the current state of your nervous system, I don't think that stopping at 8 mg would be a wise decision. When was your last reduction? It might be time to hold your dose for awhile until things settle a bit. Holding is an important part of the tapering and healing process. It might help if you used the My Taper feature and started to log and track your taper, including dose changes and how you feel. It keeps everything organized and in one place and can help you identify symptom patterns. I'm really sorry you're struggling so badly. Please remember that you have not done permanent harm to yourself, and what you're going through is only temporary. Hopefully some other members can offer their thoughts as well. We do have some information about akathisia that might help: https://taper.community/thread/a80813cd-5a59-4f2c-8765-693fe877aa41 https://taper.community/resources/blog/akathisia-from-antidepressant-withdrawal Please hang in there and know that you're not alone in this. Is there anything else we need to know about your situation? We're here to help. Catina 🩷

Venlafaxine (tapering) - Current dose 17.28 mg
Trazodone - 50 mg
Synthroid - 25 mcg

“Your brain and body know how to heal. Trust the process and keep going.”

Please Note: I am not a healthcare professional. Any advice given is based on personal experience and that of others in the lay withdrawal community.

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