4. My Seroplex, SSRI Antidepressant Weaning Programme to Download

When I suddenly decided to stop taking my Seroplex after a year of being on them, I found myself having bizarre and alarming physical symptoms, along with disturbing nightmares. What I was experiencing was a well documented condition known as SSRI Discontinuation Syndrome. It occurs between one day and one week after reducing or completely discontinuing an SSRI Antidepressant. 

The patient information leaflet which comes with every box of SSRI's acknowledges the possibility of "intolerable" reactions upon discontinuation of the treatment and advises  gradual weaning under careful surveillance over a period of several months. Unfortunately it seems it isn't uncommon for Family Doctors (G.P's) to have little or no knowledge of the debilitating and unpleasant symptoms associated with the discontinuation of treatment, so is often poorly managed. In my own case my G.P virtually dismissed their existence altogether. 

Without the support of my Doctor I was going to have to deal with this problem on my own, so I set about trying to find out how to avoid recurrence of the symptoms once my current box of tablets ran out. An afternoon searching the Internet revealed to my dismay that SSRI Discontinuation is such a common and poorly managed problem that there are actually people out there who are cashing in on it by selling antidepressant weaning plans. There are even books written by Doctors of all people about how to safely quit taking them. I find this quite shocking, and it is for this reason I have felt compelled to help by sharing and publishing my own experience of coming off them. I have scanned and uploaded my weaning plan originals, and a blank version to be filled in. Getting off Seroplex wasn't easy, it took me about a year to come off them completely, but I am off them now and have been for 15 months.

All the help and information I was able to get stressed that antidepressants shouldn't be reduced by more than 5% per week but this was difficult to follow as I was taking Seroplex in 10mg tablet form. I bought a pill cutter from the pharmacy but found I was able to cut the tablets more accurately with a small vegetable knife. The 10mg tablet was split into 4 to give me 4 pieces of 2.5mgs. Later on I added 5mg tablets which gave me 4 pieces of 1.25mgs so that I could continue weaning as slowly as possible. Sometimes the tablets cut into different sized pieces, so I always took the larger piece so that I didn't reduce my dose too drastically. 


My first attempt failed as I tried to wean myself off over a period of just 2 months which now I realise was unrealistic, so I went back onto 10mgs per day for a couple of weeks then started from the beginning again, only much more slowly this time.

I also found it useful to keep a very simple diary - just very short notes scribbled onto bits of paper if I experienced any significant symptoms or changes in behaviour. At the end of each week I could then look back at my notes and see whether I was weaning too quickly or too slowly or needed to modify my plan. I also noted when I had been especially busy at work as I found the symptoms were more severe the more I dashed around. Sometimes the brain zaps came back, especially following a reduction in dose. Mostly they were tolerable and I'd try and ride them out, but on the days when I'd just had enough of them I'd simply up the dose and try again a few days later.


My mood swings came back with the reduction in dose and were both unpredictable and annoying; sometimes I wondered if it was the return of my depression and I had my doubts whether I'd ever get off these blessed things. Although there were good days, most of the time I felt slightly out of sync but couldn't pinpoint the reason - a bit like when you move the furniture round in your house - things just don't feel quite right for a day or two. There was never anything I could do about the dreams - all I can say is once I was off the medication the nightmares thankfully finally went away. 


Sitting here today, content and enjoying my life I have every reason to extol the virtues of antidepressants, but I also have sufficient bad memories of a long, difficult and unpleasant experience getting off them. So, if God forbid the situation should ever arise again, would the person I become who needs these drugs have the wherewithal to face it all again? I doubt it very much and I should find that pretty worrying, but for various reasons I don't If I'm honest. Perhaps that's something I can talk about another time.

Here's a link to the scanned copies of the plan I worked out and followed:

My Seroplex Weaning Plans

This second link is to a blank version that can be printed off and filled in:

Blank Weaning Plan

This is not an academic paper, therefore I haven't cited any references to support my statements. It is simply a personal account of my experience of starting antidepressants in October 2008 to finally coming off them for good in February 2011.