Hi, I'm Claire

October 18, 2026

Hi, I'm Claire and I'm 52 years old. It's taken me eight months to taper down from 30mg of amitriptyline to 5mg after being on it for 15 years and it's been tough! I'm holding at 5mg because I'm in an extremely, extremely depressed and anxious place right now. I've been taking 5mg of diazepam on and off for about a year and have noticed my anxiety and insomnia have increased since being on it, but am scared to come off because I'm so unwell. However I'm also scared about Benzodiazepine-Induced Neurological Dysfunction. Eventually I'd like to come off fluoxetine, 20mg, which I've been on for 30 years, however I want to finish tapering the amitriptyline and diazepam first. I'm being seen by the mental health Home Treatment Team because I'm so unwell. I had 16 sessions of ECT earlier this year which didn't help. Now the mental health team and psychiatrist have put me on zopiclone to help me sleep — I've been taking 7.5mg for 14 nights and then sleeping all day because I'm so depressed. Now I'm worried about coming off that. The mental health team are telling me, "Keep taking 5mg of diazepam everyday and also keep taking zopiclone every night", but they both affect your GABA receptors which can affect your central nervous system and my central nervous system is already extremely overwhelmed and vulnerable, and now they also want me to start taking venlafaxine on top of everything else! I'm terrified. Absolutely terrified and have no idea what to do. I have CPTSD stemming from childhood and more than anything I need therapy, but getting that on the NHS is really difficult. I'm mostly depressed because of my situation at the moment (lots of serious life stuff going on) and I don't know whether to follow my instincts and refuse more medication and insist on tapering the amitriptyline, then the diazepam, and then the fluoxetine, or to do what they say. I'm also in menopause and on HRT. Oh, and I’m addicted to co-codamol..... Anyway, sorry for the long rambling explanation. I would appreciate ANY advice. Thank you so much ❤️

Amitriptyline — 5mg — 15 years — actively tapering | Prozac — 20mg — 30 years — researching taper | Valium — 5mg — 1 year — researching taper

2 Replies

Ani2h ago

LighthouseZoloft · active

Hi, i am sorry all of this is happening to you right now and life is a struggle. I hope you get some answers and better days soon. What does your medical team say about the potential of further dependency on medication? Did your situation worsen during your taper? It might be good to give the medication your taking some time to get a bit more stable, but I acknowledge it's difficult to figure out what the minimal necessary amount of medication is that is necessary to get a bit better. How open can you be about this with your medical team about your worries?

Zoloft — current 2.8 mg — 6 years — actively tapering - tapered from 50 mg

Claire1h ago

Amitriptyline · active

Hi Ani, Thank you so, so much for your reply. I'm able to be very open with the mental health team, however I'm so unwell that they're insistent that I need all this medication to stabilise. I just feel that while I'm still tapering off amitriptyline, which has had, and is still having, a profound effect on my mood and sleep, and am already on so many other meds, just giving me more and more medication is not the answer. I'm really frightened of venlafaxine because it's so hard to come off of, and I feel that starting it while already being on fluoxetine, diazepam, zopiclone, amitriptyline and co-codamol is ridiculous. Sorry, I know this community is about tapering off medications, and ultimately I'd like to be off all if them if I could safely do so. But how do you know if it's the right time to take psych meds because you're ill, or if they're actually contributing to you being ill?! It's such a minefield. I've become really paranoid about psychiatric medication. Half of me thinks they're amazing and can save lives. The other thinks they're extremely dangerous and shouldn't be used at all. I'm just really confused because there are SO many conflicting opinions out there. It's hard to know what the truth is. It's probably somewhere in the middle and I'm being a bit extreme. It's just that these thoughts are causing me so much anxiety and confusion. I just want someone to give me the magic answer! Are all the people within this community tapering off their meds because they are recovered and feel they don't need them anymore? Or are people tapering because they feel the meds are damaging them? Or is it a mixture of both? Thank you again, I really appreciate your reply 🙏

Amitriptyline — 5mg — 15 years — actively tapering | Prozac — 20mg — 30 years — researching taper | Valium — 5mg — 1 year — researching taper

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