How to Get Off

Psychoactive Drugs

Safely

All of the chapters of the book, How to Get Off Psychoactive Drugs Safely, are available here in their entirety, just click on the chapter heading. If you would like to receive the book as a free pdf file and save to your computer, click here. Introduction by James Harper AFTER ELEVEN YEARS of research, assisting tens of thousands of people to get off their psychotropic medication, this book is the final and closing chapter of the development of The Road Back Program. More... 1. The Road Back Basics THE ROAD BACK Program is a very specific, heavily researched, proven program. This program is designed to help people get off all types of psychoactive medications, while reducing to almost zero the crippling side effects often associated with coming off the medication. More... 2. The Four Simple Steps STEP ONE Do Not Stop Your Medications Abruptly. More... 3. "Nutritionals" Used on The Road Back Program In 1999, we were assisting individuals off their medication without using nutritional supplements by having people gradually reduce the dosage. We came up with a slow tapering process, wherein the drug was only tapered further when a person felt they could handle the withdrawal side effects caused by the previous taper of the medication. Roughly 50% of the people could taper off their medication using a gradual taper, but the 50% that successfully got off their medication still suffered extreme withdrawal side effects. More... 4. Drug Side Effects This chapter lists many possible side effects experienced from either taking these drugs, or when trying to withdraw from them. If you, or anyone you know, are taking any of these drugs the “real you” could well be buried under some of the following symptoms. But rest assured, no one has all of these side effects, and no single drug or combination of these drugs can produce all the side effects listed here. More... 5. Things to Be Aware of THERE ARE SEVERAL medical situations you need to be aware of before you start this program. First let me repeat, check with your doctor before starting this program. Medically and physically, do this for your health and safety as you travel through this process. More... 6. General Pre-Tapering and Taper Instructions As you start your road back, I want your journey to be as successful and as smooth as possible. Therefore, I repeat; you cannot simply quit your prescription medications cold turkey. The illegal use of prescription drugs are the most abused drugs by young adults and teens at this time, and that may present a little difficulty with tapering off of psychoactive medications slowly for you, if you are using the drug without a prescription. You still need to taper the drugs to help prevent the psychotic episodes associated with an abrupt withdrawal. Go to the chapter of this book that details how to reduce the medication and follow the instructions as closely as possible. More... 7. Daily Journal 8. Graph Your Success It will greatly help you track your progress and allow you to look back at how far you have come by using a graph for each symptom you are rating each day. More... 9. Antianxiety, Anticonvulsants, Benzodiazepine, and Sleep Medication Pre- Taper This pre-taper addresses several types of medication, as indicated in the chapter title. For the rest of this chapter, the word “benzodiazepine” is used alone to encompass all of the medications included in the chapter title (Benzodiazepine, Antianxiety, Anticonvulsant and Sleep Medication). More... 10. Time Release Antidepressant Pre-Taper Please Note: This pre-taper is for individuals taking a time-release antidepressant. Your brand may be called; extended release sustained release or any other name that means the antidepressant will metabolize slowly, over an extended period of time. More.... 11. Antidepressant 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. It does not matter if you are taking one of the old types of antidepressants or the newer SSRI’s, relief is possible and the symptoms can be reversed quickly. More... 12. Antipsychotic Medication Pre-Taper Antipsychotics disrupt additional balances within the body and the drug created conditions need to be addressed. In the past years, antipsychotics were only prescribed for schizophrenia, bipolar, psychosis and extreme mental disturbances, but that is no longer the case. This edition of the book includes the recent breakthroughs that dramatically reduce the side effects and major symptoms associated with antipsychotic medication as well as the normal mental symptoms people may be experiencing that might prompt a physician to prescribe this class of medication initially. More... 13. ADD, ADHD Medication and Stimulants Pre-Taper The authors are assuming you were prescribed this class of medication for Attention Deficit Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The pre- taper and the supplements used in this program will not only help eliminate withdrawal, but will probably give your body some basic nutrients it was lacking before the diagnosis and are probably one of the root causes of the symptoms you experienced. More... 14. How to Taper Antianxiety, Anticonvulsants, Benzodiazepines, and Sleep Medication Reduce the medication gradually and if side effects begin that are too severe, go back to the last dosage you were doing fine with, get stable again and then reduce the medication again, but this time at a slower reduction amount. More... 15. How to Taper Antidepressants THE FDA HAS published approved guidelines for tapering off these medications. Those guidelines are what the authors published a decade ago and this approach is as effective now as it was in 1999. The American Medical Association published a report in 2010 acknowledging at least 10% of the population will not be able to get off their antidepressant because of the withdrawal side effects. One particular side effect associated with antidepressant withdrawal is the “brain zaps.” This is an electrical jolt that runs from the base of the neck to the base of the skull and the jolt can happen several times a day or non-stop. More... 16. How to Taper Antipsychotic Medication THE FDA HAS published approved guidelines for tapering off these medications. Those guidelines are what the authors published a decade ago and this approach is as effective now as it was in 1999. More... 17. How to Taper ADD, ADHD Medication and Stimulant Medication Reducing the Medication Reduce the medication gradually and if side effects begin that are too severe, go back to the last dosage you were doing fine with, get stable again and then reduce the medication again, but this time at a slower reduction amount. More... 18. How to Taper Multiple Medications With our breakthroughs this past year, people are now able to taper off more than one medication at a time. The JNK Formula Complete, Neuro Day, Neuro Night have made this possible and this new breakthrough cuts the time it takes a person to be medication free dramatically. There are still some things that need to be watched when reducing more than one medication at a time. More... 19. What to Do If You Are Already in Withdrawal or Quit Your Medication Cold Turkey The key to handling withdrawal side effects when you begin to reduce the medication is: Put Control Back in the Process Again. Roughly 80% of the people who begin The Road Back Program have already started to taper off their medication or have gone off their medication abruptly and are experiencing withdrawal side effects. The recommendations or suggestions offered in this chapter come from years of experience assisting these individuals. More... 20. Once Off All Medication C ON G R A T U L A T I ON S ! If anyone ever deserved a celebration party for an accomplishment , it is you. You not only made it off your medication, but a l s o adhered to a schedule most other people have never had to confront. Only you can know what I mean. More... 21. What Can be Done If You Have Never Taken Psychoactive Medication If you are suffering from anxiety, stress that does not seem to end, fatigue or a host of symptoms, you absolutely have an alternative to p s y c h o ac t i v e medication. First: Get a complete physical and have the physician rule out all d i s e a s e or i ll n e ss . There can be life events that were the direct cause of depression, anxiety, stress, fatigue and more. Usually, these feelings go away on their own in a matter of days or weeks without you doing anything other than letting s o m e time p a ss . More... 22. Frequently Asked Questions THIS CHAPTER MAINLY addresses questions about the supplements used on the program. Reducing the medication is fairly straightforward. You reduce the drug slowly and if side effects become too unbearable, go back to the last dosage you were doing fine with, get stable and the next time you reduce the drug, reduce it slower. More... 23. The Science Statements of fact: All psychoactive medications metabolize through specific pathways. All psychoactive medications alter the Hypothalamus Pituitary-Adrenal Axis to some degree. To some extent, you can predict the duration before drug- adverse reactions begin with most psychoactive drugs; if the patient's P450 (CYP) enzymes have been screened. More... References Copyright and Patent Information