Chapter Ten

Pre-Taper For Antidepressants, Anti-Psychotics,
and ADHD Medication

(Abilify, Adderall, Anafranil, Adapin, Celexa, Concerta, Cymbalta, Effexor, Elavil, Haldol, Lexapro, Luvox, Paxil, Prozac, Remeron, Risperdal, Ritalin, Seroquel, Serzone, Strattera, Thorazine, Wellbutrin, Zoloft, Zyprexa etc.)

"I am doing great on the Taper Program.  I have successfully gotten off Elavil.  I had been on it for about 10 years.  I have tried in the past to go off cold turkey and I got so sick each time that I had to go back to it.  I finally realized it wasn't the new medications making me sick. It was withdrawal from Elavil. (No doctor recognized my symptoms as withdrawal and I went to 3 different ones trying to get off of it and onto something with fewer side effects.)  I have followed the program as indicated and have had no withdrawal effects.  I am amazed.  I have been completely off for 10 days now.  Thank you for making this solution known to the general public."

"I made the mistake and quit my antidepressant cold turkey. The side effects were nausea, constant headache, anxiety, no sleep, that brain zap and a whirling in my head. James, your assistance, and guiding me through the first days has made all the difference. Nausea is gone, headache is gone, brain zaps quit within one hour like you said, and the remaining side effects are so small I can deal with them. I do not know how I can ever repay you for saving my life. Unless someone has been through this, they may not know what I am talking about."

"I am like many others. I decided to come off Prozac by myself in one week. Long story short, you saved my life. Deepest gratitude."

"I am officially off of all SSRIs. I have been "drug free" since Saturday and so far I feel great. This is the longest I have gone without taking either Paxil or Celexa in about four years and I have no regrets!" 

If you have not read the entire chapter, General Pre-Tapering and Tapering Instructions, please do so before continuing with this chapter. Reading and understanding the chapter, General Pre-Tapering and Tapering Instructions is vital before starting the pre-taper.

Starting Your Pre-Taper

This pre-taper  is divided into two separate pre-taper programs to accommodate the side effects you currently experience.

• If you are suffering from anxiety and insomnia, use the
  Anxiety Insomnia Pre-taper.

• If you do not have anxiety and insomnia, move to the section in this chapter, Fatigue Pre-taper.

• If you feel like you have anxiety, insomnia and fatigue, use the anxiety pre-taper.

• If you do not have anxiety, insomnia or fatigue, use the
  Fatigue Pre-taper.

PRE-TAPER PROGRAM IF YOU HAVE DAYTIME ANXIETY, AGITATION OR INSOMNIA

As you are experiencing either anxiety during the day and/or insomnia at night as side effects, your pre-taper will include Body Calm, Body Calm Supreme, Omega 3 Supreme and vitamin E; products specifically used to help relieve these symptoms as well as unwanted head symptoms common with antidepressant withdrawal.

With either anxiety or insomnia present, there are sure to be other symptoms being caused by the daily anxiety and lack of sleep at night. The pre-taper is designed to address the other side effects as well.

Remember, as soon as you start the pre-taper, you will simultaneously start keeping track of your days in the Daily Journal.

Make sure to note when existing side effects stop or when there is a major improvement. This is very important.

You will then know which supplement turns off which side effect(s) or caused the major improvement. You will need to know this in order to complete both the pre-taper and the full taper successfully. The pre-taper is designed to address the normal cycle of anxiety/insomnia/anxiety that takes place.

Anxiety first thing in the morning and a return of the anxiety in the afternoon are both very common side effects.

If you are also experiencing some degree of depression, do not be surprised if it goes away during the pre-taper, as your ability to sleep improves or the daytime anxiety abates. But, as you start to experience relief from your symptoms, do not change anything; just continue with the program. There are still many, many gains to be had as you move through to full completion of the program.

If you have tried to taper off an antidepressant in the past and experienced head symptoms, which may have included a feeling of an electrical jolt running from the base of the neck to the base of your skull, the omega 3 fish oil should handle that symptom if it is present now and eliminate it from starting during the pre-taper.

If you have nausea or flu-like symptoms, try drinking a few cups of ginger tea each day. Drinking the ginger tea usually helps rather quickly.

Goal:

• Improved sleep.

• A vast reduction or elimination of anxiety and insomnia.

• A lessening or elimination of other medication induced side effects.

Supplements you will take:

• Body Calm.

• Body Calm Supreme.

• Omega 3 Supreme

• Vitamin E

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 1 being the worst and number 10 being no side effect or symptom remaining.

Take: Body Calm Supreme capsule: 1 capsule.

Time: At bedtime.

If you take medication right at bedtime, take the Body Calm Supreme 1 hour before the medication.

Day Two, Three, Four:

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 1 being the worst and number 10 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 your medication first thing in the morning, take the medication as normal and 1 hour later take the morning supplements.

Morning Supplements:

• Body Calm: 1 capsule.

• Omega 3 Supreme: 2 softgels

• Vitamin E: 1 softgel

Throughout the rest of the day, take 1 Body Calm capsule every 2 to 4 hours. You will need to adjust the Body Calm to the amount that fits your needs. Some people do fine with 1 capsule every 4 hours for daytime anxiety, while others may need 1 capsule every 2 hours. You can also take 2 capsules of Body Calm at the same time for the desired effect if needed.

Usually, the anxiety will come and go at the same time of the day. If anxiety usually returns or increases at noon, take the Body Calm at 11:30 am each day or if the anxiety always comes back stronger at 1 pm, make sure to take the Body Calm at noon each day. You can adjust when and how much Body Calm you take according to the time and severity of the anxiety.

Some people will respond better to the Body Calm Supreme during the daytime. You can try alternating the Body Calm and Body Calm Supreme every 2 to 4 hours. A few people may respond best with only Body Calm Supreme during the daytime.

Use the pre-taper to find what works best for you with the Body Calm and Body Calm Supreme.

Noon Supplements:

Omega 3 Supreme: 2 softgels

Bedtime:

Body Calm Supreme: 1 capsule

Adjustments you can make with the Body Calm and Body Calm  Supreme:

• You can replace the Body Calm with the Body Calm Supreme during the daytime if you need further help with daytime anxiety.

• You can increase the Body Calm Supreme to 3 capsules at bedtime if needed.

Day Five, Six, Seven:

Increase the morning and noon Omega 3 Supreme up to 3 softgels.

Antipsychotic Medications

If you were diagnosed as bi-polar or schizophrenic, you may want to include the supplement ASEA with the pre-taper and continue taking it during the taper process. ASEA is scientifically proven to reduce oxidative stress. If you are bi-polar or schizophrenic one thing is certain, you will have oxidative stress and oxidative stress may be playing a partial role with your current symptoms.

One drink of ASEA will probably let you know what positive changes are possible.

After 7 full days of the pre-taper, you are ready to move to the tapering portion of the program. Proceed to the chapter How to Taper Off Antidepressants, Antipsychotics and ADHD Medication.

PRE-TAPER PROGRAM IF YOU HAVE FATIGUE and DO NOT HAVE ANXIETY OR INSOMNIA

Supplements you will take:

• Power Barley Formula

• Omega 3 Supreme

• Vitamin E

Special Note: You will be increasing the Power Barley Formula slowly over a number of days. The word Power in the name is intentional. This barley formula is powerful and unlike any other barley product.

At any time during the pre-taper, when you feel increased energy, a new brightness about yourself, an overall good feeling, DO NOT INCREASE THE POWER BARLEY FORMULA FURTHER.

Day One:

Action:

Rate fatigue, anxiety, sleep and all side effects. Use the Daily Journal and rate your fatigue, mood, anxiety, sleep and other additional symptoms you may be experiencing from 1 to 10. Rate with number 1 being the worst and number 10 being no side effect or symptom remaining.

If you take medication first thing in the morning, take the medication as usual, wait 1 hour and then take the morning supplements.

Morning supplements:

• Power Barley Formula: 1 scoop mixed in water

• Omega 3 Supreme: 3 softgels

• Vitamin E: 1 softgel

Noon supplements:

• Power Barley Formula: 1 scoop mixed in water

• Omega 3 Supreme: 3 softgels

Take 1 additional scoop of Power Barley Formula if additional energy is needed later in the day but do not take the Power Barley Formula after 6 pm.

If the noon barley is too much for you, skip the noon barley and try taking your second scoop of the day later in the afternoon.

How to Increase the Power Barley Formula:

You can increase the Power Barley Formula by 1 teaspoon with each serving until you feel your energy increase. It is very important you do not increase the Power Barley Formula more once you feel the first positive change with your fatigue. If you increase it too much you may experience headaches or other detoxification effects. If this happens, just reduce the barley back to the amount you were taking and all symptoms should go away.

You may need to increase the Power Barley Formula up to 1 tablespoon with each serving to handle the fatigue. If so, once the fatigue lifts for 3 full days, try reducing the barley back down again.

Head Symptoms

Many of you starting this program have already reduced your medication or abruptly stopped taking your medication and side effects in the head are severe. If taking 3 of the omega 3 fish oil in the morning and noon did not give you relief, increase the omega 3 fish oil to 4 softgels in the morning and 4 softgels at noon, 5 of the omega's may be required though. Fish oil should be the supplement that is able to give you the relief from head symptoms.

If you have insisted on taking a brand of omega 3, other than Omega 3 Supreme from TRB Health, it is time for you to make the change.

After you have been on the pre-taper for seven full days, you are ready to taper the medication. Proceed to the chapter How to Taper off Antidepressants, Antipsychotics and ADHD Medications.