Amanda

Tapering off Lexapro since 2023. Spreading awareness of SSRI risks and withdrawal.

[Amanda @functionalnurse]

Go on an SSRI, they said. It’ll be totally fine, they said… #ssri #taper #withdrawal

[Amanda @functionalnurse]

@AndrewZywiecMD I feel like this is sadly pretty common these days

[Laura Delano @LauraDelano]

The world’s leading experts on *safe* SSRI tapering are those of us who’ve taken/come off these drugs, ourselves.

This shouldn’t be seen as a threat— the word ‘expert’, after all, comes from the Latin word for “tried, proved, known thru experience”—but as an invitation. 🕊️🕊️🕊️

[Laura Delano @LauraDelano]

For decades, those of us speaking about the harms caused by taking and coming off psychiatric drugs have been ignored, denied or dismissed.

I’ve been labeled everything from “antipsychiatry,” “anti-science,” and “Scientologist,” to “right-wing fascist” and “anti-vax,” to simply “too mentally ill” to understand what was happening to me.

Now the APA’s own annual meeting is full of panels on deprescribing, overmedication, withdrawal, and psychiatrists openly admitting they regret not helping patients come off these drugs sooner.

The hundreds of thousands of personal stories of psychiatric iatrogenesis have become impossible to keep waving away as meaningless anecdotes.

I have deep compassion for how hard it must be to face the possibility that you’ve been inadvertently causing harm to patients you’ve been trying to help.

But fear is the master distorter of truth, and the only way out is through.

We are eager to build a big-tent coalition to begin work on these changes we all know are necessary. I hope you’ll join us.

[Amanda @functionalnurse]

@ChrisPalmerMD 👏👏👏

[Chris Palmer, MD @ChrisPalmerMD]

Can antidepressants work? Yes.

Can antidepressants fail to work? Yes.

Can antidepressants harm? Yes.

All of these can be true.

[Amanda @functionalnurse]

@taperingtay Getting destroyed left and right in comment sections and DMs but we KEEP GOING! You got this Tay!!!! ❤️🫶

[Taylor 🌞 @taperingtay]

Been on X for only 24hrs and got a d*ath threat for sharing my story about antidepressant withdrawal.

A few years ago, I might’ve deleted this account. But if you saw the messages I get from people suffering through withdrawal—the desperation, the pain—you’d keep talking too.

So I'll see you guys again tomorrow 🙂

[Amanda @functionalnurse]

@taperingtay @markhoro 😂

[Mark Horowitz @markhoro.bsky.social @markhoro]

It really shouldn't need to be said but here is @taperingtay in possession of a bleeding lefty heart but also a brain susceptible to the principle of homeostasis in response to exposure to psychotropic drugs re-iterating that this is not a partisan issue but a public health issue that needs to be addressed.

[Amanda @functionalnurse]

@RobSchneider @hanna_pssd 100+ physical withdrawal symptoms since starting my lexapro taper. I’m a nurse and had no idea this could ever happen to me. People have no idea

[Rob Schneider 🇺🇸 @RobSchneider]

THESE
DANGEROUS
ANTI-DEPRESSION
DRUGS
ARE
NOT
SAFE
AND
THERE
IS
ZERO
SCIENCE
BEHIND
THEM!
Yet, 26% of American women now take at least one SSRI drug.

[Suneel Dhand MD @DrSuneelDhand]

We need to normalize not being on any medications as the default of human existence

[Amanda @functionalnurse]

@verysickyvicky You seem really angry. I hope you heal ❤️

[Amanda @functionalnurse]

I always hear “I love my SSRI it helps me so much I’m so happy” - that’s exactly what I thought the first 2 years of taking it. Felt like superwoman. Until it gradually morphed me into someone I did not recognize and I started losing my memory at 28 years old.

[Amanda @functionalnurse]

@iamlisakirk Everyone everywhere are on these drugs

[Amanda @functionalnurse]

@thecomebac6529 💔💔💔 I am so sorry 😔

[Amanda @functionalnurse]

The only memories I have for what I was like in my 20s are from photos. I’m 31 and pretty much do not remember any of my 20s due to an #ssri (lexapro) completely blunting my emotions, preventing me from forming/keeping relationships, and causing cognitive issues.

[Amanda @functionalnurse]

@verysickyvicky You seem really angry. I hope you heal ❤️

[Amanda @functionalnurse]

@MargaritaDwjak Agreed!

[Amanda @functionalnurse]

Today a mother of a 16 year old girl told me that the doctor prescribed her daughter 20 mg of Lexapro last year for depression. Here is the kicker: Her vitamin D was 18. 18!!!!!

Why not treat the vitamin D instead of immediately giving a brain altering drug? MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.

[Daniel Owens @dsowens17]

Now who is fearmongering?

I’ve seen multiple large accounts, including clinicians, amplifying claims that RFK Jr. is planning to “ban SSRIs.”

But where is the evidence for that?

The official HHS statements released Monday said nothing about banning antidepressants. In fact, RFK Jr. explicitly stated:

“If you are taking psychiatric medication, we are not telling you to stop.”

What we actually have is a Reuters report citing anonymous sources claiming some restrictions were “discussed”, without even specifying which drugs or what “restriction” means.

That’s a very different claim from “SSRIs are going to be banned.”

Spreading these kind of sensationalist narratives could cause real harm:

• vulnerable patients panicking and abruptly stopping medication
• stockpiling and early refill requests
• medication hoarding and local shortages
• people seeking black market or unregulated overseas sources
• overwhelmed clinicians fielding panic calls about forced tapering

Policy focused debates on overprescribing, informed consent, withdrawal, and deprescribing support are to be welcomed.

But turning vague anonymous claims into “SSRIs are being banned” headlines is deeply irresponsible and the clinicians who are doing it really should know better….

[Amanda @functionalnurse]

@Maximus_8796 @outrohealth People tend to do better from dropping from the higher doses. Once you get to the lower doses, it gets much harder. People think it gets easier, because the dose is smaller. I recommend checking out @markhoro and his work, and SERT occupancy as well as hyperbolic tapering.

[Amanda @functionalnurse]

@SagittariusRae I know

[Amanda @functionalnurse]

People act like the pharmaceutical companies and lobbyists would let anyone ban SSRIs 😂 Let’s be real here, guys. That would never happen. It makes them way too much money. Let’s use our brains!