How I Got Off Anti-Depressants and What to Expect - Part Two

I first wrote about getting off anti-depressants in August. It is my most-read article on Ezine and people seem to want more information so here it is. I'm now completely off of Celexa and feeling great - it's like I have awakened from a terrible dream and I'm now living life in vivid color! Here's what you can expect and a list of resources I used to help me with this journey. I hope you find it useful.

The First Three Months
For the first three months, I had a lot of energy and didn't sleep well. Amazingly for me, I felt very positive, but I also needed to deal with issues as they came up with people quickly. I also got rid of a lot of the negative people and things in my life. You will soon learn that once you are not over-medicated that your decision making ability is very clear. It's like I thought about things for years while I was on Celexa, but I didn't have the energy or desire to do anything - all that changed for me almost overnight.
As I said in my previous article, I used the book "How to Get Off Celexa" and bought the "Starter Kit" of supplements recommended by James Harper on his web site "The Road Back." Google it and it will come up with complete instructions. I highly recommend reading the book; preparing by buying the supplements; and doing the full "Pre-Taper" regiment of supplements to prepare your body for the tapering process. I didn't do this and it was scary at first. If I had it to all over again, I would definitely use the "Pre-Taper" program. The book includes a journal and I used the journal to help me keep track of what supplements I was taking and when. If you cut your dosage by 2.5 (Harper recommends compounding it to 10 percent, but this was not feasible for me) every 21 days, the side effects are tolerable.

Side Effects
The hardest part as I mentioned earlier is that you won't sleep well and your emotions will be raw at times and this can be scary, but I was so ready to start living again, so I was determined to move forward. It's hard to describe the emotions - as I said - everything seems to be in vivid color. No more grays - no more living in neutral. You will talk a lot! The best way I can describe it is that my emotions were held in check for so long that when I began to decrease the medication, the floodgates opened and everything spilled out at once. I didn't have any lows or any depression; I did experience more anxiety about having real emotions again. This gets better as time goes on - it's been four months now and I'm still adjusting to feeling again - it is very strange and hard to explain unless you experience it for yourself.

The other main side effect is I didn't have much of an appetite. My taste buds were off and food did not have much flavor, this passes, but it took me about two months and I'm still don't eat as many sugary foods as I used to while on Celexa. This is because anti-depressants make you crave sugar and that may explain why the average person gains 30 to 40 pounds when taking an anti-depressant! I gained 12, but I exercise and eat well, yet to date, I have lost eight of those 12 pounds and it feels great.

Other Medical Problems
You may also experience yeast infections. This was a short-term problem for me and that is why James Harper recommends taking Probiotics. Your body has also lost its PH balance while on anti-depressants so you will need to use a PH balancing supplement. The best one that I found is a product called AlkaLime by Young Living. A PH imbalance can cause all types of problems including irritable bladder and acid reflux. It took me about a month to figure out what was going on, so I highly suggest starting this product or one like it when you start the "Pre-Taper" program. This is not mentioned in Harper's book.

Moving forward with Supplements
I still take two of the supplements from The Road Back web site called "Body Calm" and CalAbsorption, I found that these worked well for me. I also now use Kava Kava to help calm me throughout the day; Kava Kava comes with a FDA warning about dosage but two tablets three times a day is not only safe - you would have to take massive amounts of Kava Kava before it is unsafe! I also still take a prescription sleep medication when I need it but a supplement called "Night Rest" by Source Naturals that contains melatonin helps with sleep. As we age our melatonin levels drop so it is a good supplement to have on hand if you have sleep problems.

Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy
I also use natural bio-identical hormonal therapy in pellet form. Two pellets (one is testosterone and the other is estrogen) are implanted in my hip every four to five months. I also use bio-identical progesterone cream at bedtime. This therapy is successful in both men and women. Yes, men have hormone imbalances too! I credit natural bio-identical hormone replacement therapy with making me feel so good that getting off Celexa was a logical next step. Once I began bio-identical hormone replacement therapy, it became clear to me that I didn't need this drug because it was making me feel worse rather than better. Suzanne Somers was the first one to write about bio-identical therapy and a good book to read about it is "The Miracle of Bio-Identical Hormones" by Michael E. Platt, M.D. It is considered the definitive guide for bio-identical therapy today. There are many doctors now using bio-identical hormone replacement therapy in communities across the nation.

Positive Changes
As I said before, positive changes will occur quickly as you began to taper off an anti-depressant. My creative juices are flowing again; my husband and I are enjoying a "second honeymoon." We are very excited about this, and I actually want to socialize and be around other people. Many new people have come into my life and I am networking more with business associates and just more engaged and excited about life.

I have also found that I experience things as they need to be experienced, if I see a sad story on TV or read about something troubling I get upset and that is normal, it passes and I put it in perspective. I felt little to nothing on Celexa and it almost ruined my life. I would never go back. I'm happy to have this second chance and I appreciate every day.