Hi, I'm Psychiatrized

Hi Psychiatrized, thanks for joining us youve come to the right place! Looking forward to supporting you in your journey. If you want some more info, check out the learn section in the side bar, and please fill us in with checkins along the way. If theres any specific info you need help with dont hesitate to ask

Hi Psychiatrized, and welcome! I love your username, but after you're done tapering you won't need it anymore. 😉 I'm really sorry you're on three psych drugs that are harming you. When you're dealing with multiple drugs, it's best to taper just one at a time. Some people like to start with the most activating one first and save the one that helps with sleep for last. But if there is one in particular that you know is harming you the most, you might want to start with that one. It's up to you how you want to do it. You can use the Learn section to read about Hyperbolic tapering and what to expect as you taper off. Here is some information about your drugs: https://taper.community/drugs/lithium https://taper.community/drugs/wellbutrin (We don't have info on Invega yet) Please have a look around the site and check out all the Forum features on Tapering, Symptoms & Self-Care, and Support. You're doing the right thing with learning how to taper safely and properly utilizing Hyperbolic tapering. We look forward to supporting you on your tapering journey! Catina 💜

Thanks to you both. Sorry for the delayed response, I haven't logged back in since making my profile. I've been aware of or involved with different psychiatric survivor/withdrawal/tapering spaces for several years now, so I'm pretty familiar with the general guidelines and community wisdom. I've already made significant progress in terms of reducing my doses of both the lithium and the Invega. I was originally on 1,200 mg of lithium, and now I'm on 300 mg. I was originally on 12 mg of Invega, and now I'm on 1.5 mg. I did a linear taper where my psychiatrist reduced the doses of said drugs by the next lower standard available dose. I experienced no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever, which leads me to my current decision of whether or not I can afford to just stop taking each drug a month after I get down to the lowest standard available dose. I realize this goes against what the various tapering communities advise, but I have managed to taper down this far without any issues. I realize jumping off from the lowest dose can be the most challenging part (receptor occupancy theory). My other problem is that my current psychiatrist does not support me in actually getting off the drugs. I do see that you have a "Find a Provider" tool; maybe I can find someone who can help me taper the rest of the way off the drugs (I live in New Jersey). I've decided to get off the lithium and Invega first because they are causing the most problems, and deal with tapering off the Wellbutrin later.

"I experienced no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever, which leads me to my current decision of whether or not I can afford to just stop taking each drug a month after I get down to the lowest standard available dose. I realize this goes against what the various tapering communitie..." — @Psychiatrized

Hi, thanks for the update. It's great that so far you haven't had any significant withdrawal symptoms. Some people don't, so maybe you're one of the fortunate ones. The decision is yours as to how you want to handle the rest of your taper. Sometimes withdrawal symptoms can hit months after cessation of a drug, so just keep that in mind as well. It's hard to predict how things will go for you, that's why withdrawal communities try to err on the side of caution when giving advice. If you can't find a deprescribing provider near you and need help in how to approach the subject with your own doctor, we have information that can help you with that. Keep us in the loop with how things are going for you!