[ComfortablyNumb5]

I'm on seroquel, geodon, lamictal and Wellbutrin. Do any of these cause physical dependence? I have a history of substance abuse and have been dependent before and I never want to go through that again. I already suspect my geodon because I've had days where I forget to take it and the next day I have symptoms of WD that only go away once I take my geodon.

[Alokin]

I think all of them, but you do not get high off them. Benzos would be the only psych drug I would worry about. Does your doc know your history? Did you bring these concerns up to them?

[ComfortablyNumb5]

Originally Posted by Alokin

I think all of them, but you do not get high off them. Benzos would be the only psych drug I would worry about. Does your doc know your history? Did you bring these concerns up to them?

Yes I do have a script for benzos and I've heard horrible stories about WD so I only take them like once a week. My history is all in my file but because of my insurance, I have to see a resident and I get a new one seriously about 5 times a year. It's so frustrating. And they don't even care enough to glance at my history. They just write that script and on my way I go. I'm very embarrassed about my addictions and the things I've done and the people I've lost and I get uncomfortable talking about it. My T doesn't even know! But yea if any of these dr's would just take a look at my dam file they'd know. It takes me awhile to develop trust and I really don't like my pdoc this time. So please people... throw a new resident at me already! Lol

[Leia78]

Seroquel is a nightmare to get off of. The withdrawal from seroquel is horrible. I tapered slowly but felt like I had the flu for months. I don't know about the potential for abuse from it but your body definitely gets dependent upon it. I went on it a 2nd time only for about a month and had withdrawal symptoms for almost a month after taking it the second time. It's rough.

[Sunflower123]

I've either been on or still am on the 4 medications you listed. I've never had WD from any of them and some were cold turkey. Geodon is what I take each night to sleep and when I don't take it I feel pretty rough the next day from lack of sleep.

[Moose72]

When I was tapering off zyprexa I mistakenly didn't put any pills in the second pill box/week. I felt horrible! I had to go back up on the dose and within a day or two I felt normal again. Coincidence? I think not! Now I'm back to the lower dose I was supposed to be on before and I feel fine.

[wiretwister]

I had a lot of issues with Geodon ... it tapered ok but I went very slow ... may have just been me ... I use xanex and yes you do need to be careful ... I only take it for sleep and when nothing else cuts it ... be safe ... use um if you need um ... but try not to need them "too" much ...

[ComfortablyNumb5]

Originally Posted by wiretwister

I had a lot of issues with Geodon ... it tapered ok but I went very slow ... may have just been me ... I use xanex and yes you do need to be careful ... I only take it for sleep and when nothing else cuts it ... be safe ... use um if you need um ... but try not to need them "too" much ...

Yea I'm on 80mg of geodon twice a day. I think I want to start tapering down to at least 60mg twice a day. I know that's what's causing my WD symptoms because once it kicks in I feel so much better. I was so sick and so cold that it hurt.

[Jenna120]

There's a difference between "dependence" and "addiction". All psych meds cause some manner of dependence, the anti-psychotics are real nasty on your ability to sleep. The dependence is that they're pushing on our brain chemicals to try and make life livable for us and when you stop the medicine, all that tweaking of the brain chemicals vanish. For example, more serotonin is great if you don't have enough and then to lose that which keeps it around longer is not going to feel good.

But since the medicines are not addictive, your history of substance abuse is not an issue. They don't trick the pleasure center of your brain so there's no drive to obtain the medicines, and the physical dependence is fairly easy to get over if tapered down appropriately. Basically the tapering allows the brain to adjust to less and less tweaking over time so the brain has time to compensate. Think of it as the difference between stopping insulin suddenly or skipping insulin for a day or two vs lowering the insulin slowly under a doctor's care as exercising and weight loss makes the blood sugar more stable.

[Wander]

With some meds there is 'discontinuation syndrome' which is different from actual withdrawals. Still, it means you have to slowly taper off to allow your body to adjust to not having the med or you may experience horrible symptoms. The only med I have taken that you mentioned is Lamictal and I came off that easily, from about 150mg, over a week. Apparently, that is dangerous due to the risk of SJS rash but I wanted off of it fast as it was not working.

Benzo's on the other hand produce serious dependence and coming off them is like coming off heroin. It is hell. I have done it before and plan to do it once I stabilise (sometime in the magical future...). Keeping it to once a week is a great idea. You should be ok.

Can you talk to your pdoc about your concerns? Are your current meds working for you?

[bioChE]

The meds you list are not a concern for abuse or physical dependence. They need to be tapered if you're changing doses or discontinuing, but you shouldn't have to worry about abuse. If you're only taking your benzodiazepine once a week, there's no worry of dependence or discontinuation/withdrawal from that either.

I think you're safe, no need to worry.

[xRavenx]

Although Lamictal isn't a drug that gets abused, and it isn't an addictive drug, it causes a physical dependence where if you discontinue without tapering, it can be dangerous without medical attention and instructions to do it safely.

[still_crazy]

with psych drugs, I'd mostly be worried about benzodiazepines, z-hypnotics, and the stimulants.

Psych drugs alter brain chemistry, so reducing the dose, missing a dose, etc. can cause some "issues." Over time, the brain can change to the point that dosages have to be increased or the drug has to be switched out for something else to get the same or similar effect. Also, sometimes a drug has to be added to "augment" an under-performing psych drug. Happens.

Oddly enough, I found stopping prescription amphetamines easy(ish). They're in Schedule II, so you'd think (according to the DEA...) that I'd be freaking out and all. Not so. Now, the benzodiazepines...that was hell on earth. And they're in Schedule IV, which is ludicrous (to me).