Special Note Re: Trintellix Withdrawal
Trintellix is a relatively new antidepressant that has been on the market since 2013. That may leave some prescribers unfamiliar with the drug and with Trintellix withdrawal symptoms. Additionally, for those persons considering Trintellix withdrawal, prescribers may not be able to easily distinguish between the clinical features of Trintellix discontinuation syndrome and the profile of Trintellix side effects.9,22,27
A prescriber or medical professional who is familiar with Trintellix pros and cons can help you decide on your next mental health improvement strategy.
Trintellix withdrawal symptoms can be wide ranging, and include both physical and psychiatric. These are described in a single sentence on the drug label, which provides incomplete information at best.22 Therefore, GPs and other prescribers may mistakenly misdiagnose the situation as a relapse, not recognizing exactly what the patient is experiencing. This can result in further difficulties. Both you and your prescriber should be fully informed so this does not happen to you. Please consider sharing the information below with your caregivers if you feel it is needed.3
To gain a better understanding of Trintellix withdrawal symptoms and how to recognize them, you can find further clinical guidance here: antidepressant withdrawal.
What is Trintellix?
Trintellix© is a relatively new serotonergic antidepressant that was approved in 2013 for the treatment of adult major depression disorder. As Trintellix’s functional profile and mechanism of action are still unknown, the WHO classified it as an “other,” “novel,” or “atypical” antidepressant, while the FDA opted to classify Trintellix as an SSRI.1,2 There are both similarities and differences between Trintellix and other depression medicines classified as SSRIs.
Is Trintellix (vortioxetine) hard to get off of?
Symptoms of Trintellix withdrawal will vary from person to person, but a number of common Trintellix withdrawal symptoms have been observed. They can be found described in detail in the section below entitled “What do Trintellix Withdrawal Symptoms Feel Like?” Generally, symptoms of Trintellix withdrawal will begin to appear as early as one day after a missed dose, or up to seven days past, and the withdrawal symptoms will likely be more difficult if the drug was used long-term and at high dosages.2
Abrupt withdrawal from Trintellix or other medications is generally more intensely experienced compared to gradual reduction of dosage over time. Antidepressants manipulate the way certain neurochemicals function or stop functioning over time, and a gradual reduction allows the CNS to gradually adjust back to natural function.3 The process of Trintellix withdrawal can be greatly softened with the additional use of therapeutic aids such as those listed in the section below entitled “Can Trintellix Withdrawal Symptoms be Reduced?” Without helpful therapeutics and gradual Trintellix tapering methods, antidepressant withdrawal syndrome can persist for weeks, months, or even years.4,5
How Long does Trintellix Withdrawal Last?
The time of tapering from Trintellix will vary from person to person. Several key factors will influence the length of time it may take to safely withdraw from Trintellix.
Some examples of factors which can determine the length of Trintellix withdrawal can include these:
- Overall health
- Dosage being taken
- Duration of time Trintellix was taken
- Age can necessitate a gentler rate of tapering for some
- Whether multiple medications are also taken
Factors such as the above will influence each individual’s optimum rate of reduction. The rate of reduction can also be variable as the taper progresses, according to the person’s tolerance and what withdrawal effects present during the process.
What are the Benefits of Trintellix Withdrawal?
The benefits of stopping Trintellix include fewer side effects, improved clarity, and emotional stability. By discontinuing antidepressant medication, one can avoid the potential risks associated with SSRI use.
Prior to Trintellix withdrawal, users often experience nausea, headaches, and other treatment-emergent side effects. These and other rarer side effects such as serotonin syndrome can also be avoided by discontinuing SSRI medications. Serotonin syndrome causes high fever, involuntary muscle spasms, paralysis, tremors, cognitive disorientation, and other reactions. Serotonin syndrome is considered life-threatening and requires immediate ICU or emergency level treatment to save the patient’s life.23
During and especially after Trintellix withdrawal, Trintellix side effects will lessen and likely disappear once the drug cessation is complete, or soon after.
There are safe holistic remedies for symptoms that antidepressants are selected to treat, but many find that their original symptoms were not satisfactorily eliminated with drug treatment. After Trintellix tapering is completed one can safely explore alternative, holistic treatments to ease whatever symptoms remain, such as those that led to the prescription in the first place. The benefits include not having to deal with drug side effects while on the journey to wellness and improved mental health.
What Do Trintellix Withdrawal Symptoms Feel Like?
It is advisable to familiarize oneself with possible Trintellix withdrawal manifestations so these don’t lead one to mistakenly assume that they are experiencing recurring mental illness when it is more likely that the reduction is faster than the CNS can keep up with.8 In this case, one should speak to their prescriber about slowing the rate of reduction, or resuming an earlier (higher) dosage until stabilized, and then slowly resuming the tapering process from there.
Trintellix withdrawal symptoms can manifest in a very wide range of physical and mental phenomena.3,6,7,9,22,24 Some examples follow:
- Suicidal ideation (especially when starting or stopping)
- Brain zaps
- Vertigo or dizziness
- Changes in appetite
- Fatigue, lethargy
- Headaches
- Loss of balance, unsteady gait
- Insomnia, nightmares, vivid dreams
- Sudden emotional lability, extreme mood shifts, such as sudden outbursts of anger, tearfulness
- Tremors, shaking, shivering
- Muscle pain, muscle tension, weakness
- Anxiety
- Nervousness, agitation
- Irritability, hostility
- Aggressive, impulsive behavior
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Hallucinations, visual perception changes/distortions
- Concentration deficits
- Runny nose
Can Trintellix Withdrawal Symptoms be Reduced?
There are several strategies that are effective for reducing intense withdrawal reactions, according to medical consensus. In extreme cases such as abruptly stopping Trintellix, or where dose reduction was too great, it may be wise to reinstate the medication to stabilize for a time and then begin or resume a more gradual step-down tapering approach. The tapering schedule can be modified to each individual to ensure progress at a comfortable rate.
Bridge medications and cross-over tapering are two of many possible approaches that may be of benefit to overcome a particularly rough patch more comfortably.
All tapering methods should include gradual reduction, and can benefit from holistic supports to ease the process, provide holistic pain relief, reduce stress and tension. Additionally, non-pharmaceutical approaches for improving quality of sleep, along with an enriched diet can provide the raw materials for restoring gut health and neurotransmitter health.
Addressing Neurotoxin Exposures for Successful Trintellix Withdrawal
Combining tapering methods with neurotoxin removal is also recommended, done in a supervised setting. As toxins tend to accumulate in adipose (fatty) tissue, toxins that were found via lab testing can be purged from the body in safe and natural ways that do not compromise the kidneys or other internal organs.10 Often, it is toxic exposure to elements such as mercury, lead, cadmium and others, that mimics mental illness.20,21,25 Unfortunately, patients are often misdiagnosed as suffering psychiatric symptoms when they are actually manifesting toxic exposures. Testing can dispel any such mystery.
Orthomolecular medicine, environmental medicine, nebulized glutathione, mineral baths, and many other therapeutic supports can help to restore balance to the body before, during and after completing Trintellix withdrawal, especially when blended with neurotoxin removal.
Nutrition, Gut Health, and Lifestyle Factors in Recovery
Modern medicine has made great strides towards improving mental health without relying on prescription drugs alone. Some of the most powerful approaches to recovery are found in the fields of nutrition, gut health and lifestyle factors.
Nutrition delivers a powerhouse of healing potential. For example, research has documented great promise in alleviating symptoms of depression and other mental health issues, without prescription drugs. These holistic therapeutics are finding an important place in mental health treatment today. Two of these, in particular, hypericum and saffron, have had their antidepressant effects proven in several controlled, randomized trials.19
Correction of diet, including properly targeted supplementation, is another important fundamental to Trintellix withdrawal. Nutritional psychiatry is a field of medicine that has seen skyrocketing interest in recent years. One of the basic tenets of this fascinating subject is the well-researched intimate relationship between diet, gut microbial health and a person’s mood, including depression, fatigue, sleep irregularities, cognitive deficits, or other symptoms of psychological distress. Additionally, some research has begun on the microbe-killing effects of prescription medications, similar to the effects of antibiotics on the gut flora. Thankfully, prescription drug damage to the very important gut microbiota can be repaired. Maintaining healthy gut flora is essential to both physical and mental health, and this area of health can greatly benefit treatment.11-17
In European and other centers of medical research, exercise has been found to equal or exceed the efficacy of antidepressant medications. Researchers found that physical exercise and physical activity have a stimulating effect on biochemical pathways in the body, and this lifestyle change can create a beneficial effect on the neuronal disturbances that are associated with depression.18
Addressing Root Causes of Mental Health Symptoms
In functional medicine, nutritional psychiatry, orthomolecular medicine, and other modern genres of medical treatment, looking for root causes of symptoms has taken center stage. 26
This is a thorough and highly individualized approach that enables a person to discover what actually needs to be handled to eradicate unwanted mental health symptoms without a lot of guesswork or experimenting with one medication after another, sometimes being left feeling there is no hope at all.
For example, dysfunctional gut microbiota cannot support mental wellness. Neither can a body that has suffered neurotoxin exposure, or long periods of poor diet that cannot regulate sleep, energy or provide the raw materials for recovery of CNS and neuronal function. These and many other areas can be assessed and treated for full recovery.
Trintellix Withdrawal: Moving Toward Recovery at Alternative to Meds Center
Alternative to Meds Center has been a proponent of what we like to call natural mental health for more than 15 years. Trintellix side effects can play a significant role in deciding whether or not to continue taking antidepressants. The number of prescriptions that are written every day is of great concern since the focus of the medical industry has become obsessively fixated on drug therapy as the first-line treatment given to the vast majority of patients seeking help. For many who find themselves considering Trintellix withdrawal, one of the main reasons for seeking other types of treatment is that the prescription drug did not alleviate their original symptoms. Typically a prescription is written after a brief visit to a doctor, who is rushed, and under time constraints. Certainly, medication has an appropriate place in maintaining physical health.
One of our greatest aims is to educate the field which we do in professional training events, where we invite medical doctors of all disciplines to come and learn about alternative mental health treatment options applicable to many of their patients’ needs.
This is why we dedicate an entire program segment to deep cleaning the body of toxic accumulations. The cleansing segment of the program is highly popular with our clients who report dramatic relief of original symptoms as well as comfortably easing the overall tapering process.
Our day-to-day aim is to help our clients in a nurturing, in-patient setting to regain mental wellness and experience new energy and joie de vivre by using non-pharmacological treatments to resolve issues that result in authentic, sustainable good health. Education is also a fundamental component of our treatment programs so our clients can continue to enjoy their newfound wellness after leaving the program. Truly, knowledge is empowering.
Other treatments offered during Trintellix withdrawal at the center also include:
You can gather more information about the services at the center on our services overview page. Alternative to Meds Center stands apart as a world-class facility using multiple medical and therapeutic disciplines for regaining natural mental health. The center is fully accredited and offers insurance coverage from most major providers. We invite you to contact us today for more information about our exceptional Trintellix withdrawal program.
