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Chapter 11
Immediate Release
Antidepressant Pre-Taper
Please Note:
This pre-taper is for individuals taking an
Immediate
Release
antidepressant.
Starting Your Pre-Taper
If you have not read the
entirety Chapter Six “General Pre-Taper and Taper
Instructions,” please do so before continuing with this
chapter. Reading and understanding the Chapter “General Pre-
Taper and Taper Instructions” is vital before starting the
pre-taper.
You may already be in withdrawal
before you found The
Road Back Program. Please hang in there; relief
can come very quickly for you. Most people are never able to
get off an antidepressant due to the head symptoms that are
common with reducing this type of medication.
Your
pre-taper is a little different than for a time release
antidepressant.
The
American Medical Association now acknowledges at
least 10% of the people that try to get off an
antidepressant will not be successful due to the withdrawal
side effects. The 10% is probably higher with a time-release
antidepressant. We want you to know this so
you know it is
not just you. Sorry to say, most physicians have never read
the AMA report on antidepressant withdrawal and they have
not realized that 1 out of every 10 of their patients they
have prescribed an antidepressant to will have this
withdrawal problem unless they begin doing something
differently.
Head side effects are the ones
that stop most people from being able to get off an
antidepressant. An electrical brain zap, dizziness and other
head symptoms are the problem. For The Road Back, these
debilitating head side effects
are easy to stop and stop quickly. If you have not
started to taper
the antidepressant yet, using this Antidepressant Pre-taper
should stop the head symptoms from even starting. If you
have already started to taper the antidepressant and have
these head symptoms, the right type of omega 3 fish oil will
get you back on your feet quickly.
The supplements that are
required for the immediate release antidepressant withdrawal
program are the Neuro Day, JNK Formula, Omega 3 Supreme,
and Neuro Night.
It would be good if you also
take 200i.u. to 400i.u. of vitamin E each day. Omega 3
supplements need a little extra vitamin E each day to help
with absorption.
Make sure to keep your Daily
Journal up-to-date and use graphs so you can visually see
the changes taking place with you.
What to do:
-
Get with your prescribing physician and/or pharmacist
and layout your drug taper
schedule.
-
Plan out the second and third reduction of the
medication as
well at this point to ensure you are ready with the
correct dosages of the drug.
Once you
have read all of the pre-taper section proceed to Chapter
15, “How to Taper Antidepressants” and fully read it as
well.
The Pre-Taper
For the next 7-days you will be
doing your pre-taper. You do not reduce your antidepressant
during the pre-taper but, to state again, this is the time
to also plan out the reduction phase of the drug which
starts after the seven days of the pre-taper are completed.
Goal of Antidepressant Pre-taper
-
If anxiety is present, have it
eliminated
-
If fatigue is present, have it
eliminated
-
If flu like symptom are present, have them
eliminated
-
If depression is present, have it
eliminated
-
Eliminate all other antidepressant side
effects
-
Set up
the body correctly to eliminate potential
withdrawal symptoms.
The goal of the pre-taper may
seem unobtainable to you at this moment, but after you
experience a day to two of taking the supplements used with
this program, you
should begin to experience the changes we suggest
will happen. It is not out of character for people to feel
as though they are no longer even on an antidepressant as
all side effects vanish
quickly.
Supplements You Will
Take:
Neuro Day
JNK Formula
Omega 3 Supreme
Neuro Night
Anxiety or Insomnia
The Neuro Day, JNK Formula and
the Omega 3 Supreme should handle these symptoms with
ease.
Fatigue
If you have fatigue, the JNK
Formula and the Omega 3 Supreme should help but 3 nights
of a sound sleep will likely do wonders.
DAY ONE Action:
Rate your daytime anxiety, panic
attacks, insomnia and other side effects. Use the Daily
Journal and rate anxiety, sleep and any additional symptoms
you may be experiencing from 1 to 10. Rate with number 10
being the worst and number 1 being no side effect or symptom
remaining.
Rate the previous night’s sleep
first thing the next morning. Rate the daytime anxiety just
before bedtime of that
day.
If you take the antidepressant
first thing in the morning, take the medication as normal
and 1 hour later take the morning supplements.
How to do the
Pre-Taper: Supplements:
JNK
– Take 1
capsule of the JNK Formula first thing in the morning but at
least 1 hour apart from medication. Take a second JNK
Formula capsule 4 to 5 hours later in the day.
Omega 3 Supreme TG
– Take 1 Omega 3 Supreme in the morning and 1 more at
noon.
Neuro Day –
Take 1 capsule 1 hour after taking the JNK Formula. Take a
second capsule of the Neuro Day 4 or 5 hours after the first
capsule.
Anxiety or Insomnia
Anxiety:
Between the JNK Formula, Neuro Day and the Omega 3 Supreme, your daytime anxiety should fade away quickly. The
sequence of taking the JNK Formula first and the Neuro Day
an hour later can be changed as needed.
If you
respond real well to the Neuro Day and really do not feel
much change after taking the JNK Formula in the morning, try
taking the Neuro Day first, wait one hour and then take the
JNK Formula.
Insomnia –
The Neuro Night should help with a sound sleep quickly.
Fatigue
Once again, the JNK Formula and
the Omega 3 Supreme should help with the fatigue but most
likely the fatigue should lift after 3 solid nights of
sleep.
How to Adjust the Supplements
if Needed:
JNK
– As stated earlier, the JNK
Formula and the Neuro Day can be switched around. Start with
the JNK Formula first in the morning but if more relief
comes from the Neuro Day, take it first.
Neuro Day–
The Neuro Day formula addresses quite a broad scope of side
effects caused by antidepressants. From stress feelings,
anxiety, agitation, and more, you should begin to have a
calm feeling within a day or two of starting this
supplement.
Just remember; no more than
1 capsule at a time, no more than 2 capsules in a day and
have at least 3 hours apart with this supplement.
If anxiety tends to return
or start at a certain time of the day, take the Neuro Day
about 1 hour before that normal time the anxiety starts.
Don’t leave the JNK Formula
out of the daily routine though, even if you do not feel a
massive change after taking it. It is working and working in
concert with the Neuro Day.
Omega 3 Supreme
– All head symptoms, except
headaches, when coming off an antidepressant are handled by
the Omega 3 Supreme. If you are feeling any symptoms in the
head, increase the Omega 3 Supreme to 2 softgels in the
morning and 2 additional softgels at noon. If symptoms
persist after this increase, raise the amount of Omega 3
Supreme to 5 softgels in the morning and 5 at noon. A few
people have needed to increase to 6 softgels in the morning
and at noon to get the head symptoms under control. Once the
head symptoms are back under control reduce the Omega 3
Supreme back down to the 3 softgels in the morning and
the 3 softgels at noon. Check with your doctor before
increasing the Omega 3 fish oil if you are taking heart
medication or blood pressure
medication.
Neuro Night
– Adjust around the time you
take this supplement as needed. Start with 15 minutes before
bedtime but move to an earlier time if you are not feeling
sleepy at bedtime.
Finishing the
Pre-Taper
Do the pre-taper for 7-full
days. Do not cut the pre-taper short no matter how well you
may feel after a few days. Give your body a chance to
balance, give yourself the chance to fully experience relief
before you tackle the reduction of the antidepressant.
If you wish to stay on the
pre-taper for an extended time, that
is fine to do, many have. You may have experienced
extreme trauma the last time you tried to get off the
antidepressant and the apprehension you may feel now is
normal, not a mental disorder.
This is
your time; do not let yourself get rushed by your physician
or by the information in this book. The drug manufacturer,
the F.D.A., and even the American Medical Association state
a gradual reduction of the medication is required. We cannot
stress enough, take your time. This is when the tortoise
beats the hare to the finish line.
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