Hi, I'm Janie

Hi @Janie, and welcome to Taper Community! Yes, Mikhaila's video brought much-needed attention to the topic of pharmaceutical harm. People need to realize they're not alone. These drugs can definitely affect cognitive abilities over time. It's great you're desiring to taper off your drugs and want to learn the best way to do that. Please have a look at the Learn section to read about Hyperbolic tapering, and why it's the safest way to taper. When dealing with multiple drugs, it's best to taper only one at a time. Is your clinician supportive of your desire to taper? Are they knowledgable about Hyperbolic tapering? Please let us know if you have any questions or need further help with anything. Glad to have you here! You're taking an important step, and we'll be here to help you along the way. Catina 💜

Hi Janie, thanks for joining us! please keep us updated on how you are doing and share your jpurney! its so important for others to see how things go. Thanks again for joining us and i hope to see check ins from you!

Hi Janie, welcome. I've known people taking Topamax and Gabapentin also. Gabapentin doctors were prescribing for anxiety a lot until recently because it was considered a non addictive option to benzodiazepines, however it unfortunately has a withdrawal profile similar when stopping from what I have seen in other people, so the tapering needs to be done in a similar way to them. Topamax is also difficult as it can potentially cause seizures if not withdrawn very slowly and carefully, memory loss is a common side effect of Topamax, Gabapentin can also add to memory issues. Do you have a doctor who is willing to assist you to slowly taper off the medications? It's also important to read up on hyperbolic tapering before deciding to proceed with a taper, along with ensuring your doctor is recommending or willing to consider something very slow with very small reductions over a long period. If I was on the medications you are on, I would probably consider tapering the gabapentin first, as you have been on it for the least amount of time compared to the other two. The good news is that Wellbutrin is known to usually be a much easier medication to come off than most other anti depressant medications, but tapering is still required.

Hi Janie: I have a similar story to yours. You’ve gotten good advice here. I look forward to getting to know you. Keep coming back.