Guest guest Posted May 6, 2008 Report Share Posted May 6, 2008 Hi all,new to group.I have been on Paxil & Xanax for about 5 years and want to get off,I have tried to ween myself off several times and it's funny how after a long time after my last use I think Im good and it's out of my system and all of a sudden it's like a bomb drops,severe withdrawal symptoms.In my case it's intense anger & insomnia.I want to rough it out this time and my question is,when these withdrawal sympoms start (and I know they will)can acupunture help me with the with the withdrawal? Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 9, 2008 Report Share Posted May 9, 2008 Hi Sam, I haven't treated withdrawal from antidepressants per se, but I have treated withdrawal from (prescription) narcotics in chronic pain patients. In their case anxiety, anger, and insomnia was common. The acupuncture did help. Just as importantly, there are a few studies that have shown the benefits of acupuncture for depression in the first place, so that might be something to consider too. I myself favor the use of herbs and depending on your presentation (tongue, pulse, etc...) there are a few formulas that may apply to your background situation that can help keep you calm during this change in your life. Someone who does Chinese internal medicine can direct you in this regard. Best of luck to you on this! -al. On Tue, May 6, 2008 at 8:50 AM, sammy62521 <sammy62521 wrote: > Hi all,new to group.I have been on Paxil & Xanax for about 5 years and > want to get off,I have tried to ween myself off several times and it's > funny how after a long time after my last use I think Im good and it's > out of my system and all of a sudden it's like a bomb drops,severe > withdrawal symptoms.In my case it's intense anger & insomnia.I want to > rough it out this time and my question is,when these withdrawal sympoms > start (and I know they will)can acupunture help me with the with the > withdrawal? > > Sam > _._,___ > -- , DAOM Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 13, 2008 Report Share Posted July 13, 2008 Hi Sam I used acupuncture and Chinese herbs to assist me as I went through withdrawal and detox from Parnate (MAOI antidepressant) and Neurontin in. I was on Parnate for 15 years and Neurontin for 3 years. This weekend is the 2nd anniversary for being Parnate free. Yes, acupuncture helped modulate the withdrawal symptoms. Parnate has an extra long half life (10 days compared to Paxil's +/-3 days) so it took me about six months after the last dose to finally stop getting hit with withdrawal symptoms and another six months for my brain to learn to function without the drugs messing things up. Don't wait for symptoms to start before you get a treatment. Regular treatments I'm thrilled to be able to say with conviction that it can be done. You can help yourself get through the rough withdrawal by setting up a good emotional support system while you reclaim your life. I surrounded myself with people who supported me in the decision to stop psychotropic drugs. They didn't confuse drug withdrawal with the symptoms that led me to take the drugs in the first place. You may know this already but do not attempt to withdraw from two drugs at once. It's harder and may be dangerous. Complete one drug withdrawal and detox, wait until you balance out, then start reducing the next one. And don't try to stop coffee and nicotine all at the same time. A drug reduction shouldn't be more than 10% of the amount you are taking at any given time time. Yes it will take a little longer but you won't be tempted to go back up on the dosage which will make withdrawal all the more intolerable. Again, this is a safety issue. See Peter Breggin's book " Your Drug Might Be Your Problem " for information about individual psychotropic drugs. I couldn't have succeeded in the drug withdrawal without the two pronged approach: Five Elements and the emotional support. Good luck Diana Chinese Traditional Medicine , " sammy62521 " <sammy62521 wrote: > > Hi all,new to group.I have been on Paxil & Xanax for about 5 years and > want to get off,I have tried to ween myself off several times and it's > funny how after a long time after my last use I think Im good and it's > out of my system and all of a sudden it's like a bomb drops,severe > withdrawal symptoms.In my case it's intense anger & insomnia.I want to > rough it out this time and my question is,when these withdrawal sympoms > start (and I know they will)can acupunture help me with the with the > withdrawal? > > Sam > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 13, 2008 Report Share Posted July 13, 2008 sure you can. I just came home from Vietnam, was there on practice for my acupuncture education. They treat withdrawal from drugs (like heroin) quite successful. Only in 10 days most of the addicts are drug free and are allowed to go home, and then do follow up treatments. Just treat the underlaying pattern and the symptoms. Preferrably use electric stimulation and dispersion on points. What you tell as symptoms, points to deficiency of blood in the Liver with anger and raising Liver yang/fire giving insomnia. But of cause it is hard to make an diagnosis on just anger and insomnia. Try get a proper diagnosi and treat it every day and this would give you relive. Regards Peter Chinese Traditional Medicine , " sammy62521 " <sammy62521 wrote: > > Hi all,new to group.I have been on Paxil & Xanax for about 5 years and > want to get off,I have tried to ween myself off several times and it's > funny how after a long time after my last use I think Im good and it's > out of my system and all of a sudden it's like a bomb drops,severe > withdrawal symptoms.In my case it's intense anger & insomnia.I want to > rough it out this time and my question is,when these withdrawal sympoms > start (and I know they will)can acupunture help me with the with the > withdrawal? > > Sam > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 13, 2008 Report Share Posted July 13, 2008 Hi Peter, I wonder if you can share some of your observations of the typical syndromes that arose during the detox period in Vietnam? I would think that each class of drug would produce different withdrawal issues. Was there like a single issue with multiple causes, say " irritability " that in some cases were deemed Liver Fire, and in others " Kidney and Heart not communicating " ? Also, what was the patient population like there, younger kids with too much money and not enough brains? Older adults who were trying to dull the pain of their existence? Elderly who had followed the Chinese into opium use? All of the above, none of the above? Thanks. -al. -- , DAOM Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 14, 2008 Report Share Posted July 14, 2008 Hi al. Now the drug department was only a quick stop. We had to visit 4 departments in 4 weeks and the drug department was only one hour visit when we were at the closest department. We had a lecture about it, I can go through my notes to give more details, but there is not only different drugs, but each person show different syndromes of the same drug. Mostly heroin. so what is treated is Kidney deficiency, Spleen deficiency etc. Often there is a mix of different patterns. They combine elektro-acupuncture with pharmacopuncture where they inject vitamins into points, both for tonification and for heat dispersion. Often utilized points is Spleen 6, Tai Yang, Du 20, Large intestine 5. Peter Chinese Traditional Medicine , " Al Stone " <al wrote: > > Hi Peter, > > I wonder if you can share some of your observations of the typical syndromes > that arose during the detox period in Vietnam? > > I would think that each class of drug would produce different withdrawal > issues. > > Was there like a single issue with multiple causes, say " irritability " that > in some cases were deemed Liver Fire, and in others " Kidney and Heart not > communicating " ? > > Also, what was the patient population like there, younger kids with too much > money and not enough brains? Older adults who were trying to dull the pain > of their existence? Elderly who had followed the Chinese into opium use? All > of the above, none of the above? > > Thanks. > -al. > > -- > , DAOM > Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 14, 2008 Report Share Posted July 14, 2008 Just my 2 cents worth. I had years of addiction and although acupuncture helped a great deal in the withdrawal period ( NADA - 2 to 4 weeks) it was a 12 Step fellowship that made all the difference. I am now over 15 years clean and sober and love my own 5 Element acupuncture practice. As I said, just my experience, Gye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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