coming off Dosulepin (previously called dothiepin)

[pollyanna]

My husband, age 66, has been taking dosulepin 150mg every evening for 2.5 yrs, for depression caused by severe tinnitus (he cannot take SSRIs)

Until a few months ago he was also taking diazepam and 15mg zopiclone, but has recently has managed to come off the diazepam and has very gradually reduced the zopiclone down to 3.75mg. He is keen to get off all drugs as he is coping better now, and also suspects they effect his memory & alertness

question 1 - is it best for him to try and come off the zopiclone entirely before he tries to reduce dosulepin?

question 2 - can you recommend a regime/timetable for him to come off the dosulepin? On one occasion our gp took him off dosulepin in order to give him another drug (sudafed for his sinuses) but this had a terrible effect: he became extremely agitated & his mood plummeted. It took a long time for him to recover the ground he had made. The gp said it should be ok to stop the dosulepin quite suddenly, or over a period of about a week, but he is nervous about this happening again & would rather have a slow, planned reduction

Many thanks

[Annette Boden - Counsellor]

Hello Pollyanna
I would recommend discussing coming off the Zopilcone with your GP and also the issues from coming off the Dosulepin too quickly last time and see if you can work out a suitable regime with the GP that is more gradual.