> [Decreasing SSRI dose] It takes time to adapt to decreasing those drugs, keeping [[sugar]] up and [[inflammation]] down, including bag breathing, should help. Starting with a little, a sixth or fourth of a tablet, of cynoplus in the evening would be the best way to try it. > [Weaning off anti-depressants] Keeping the metabolic rate and cholesterol up is important, so that repair and adaptation will be quick. [[Progesterone]] reduces pain and anxiety, and [[pregnenolone]] would be the most convenient supplement for men, but it's hard to find products without allergens. Combining [[progesterone]] and [[DHEA]] or [[testosterone]] can produce the stabilizing effect without suppressing the libido. Benadryl and [[cyproheptadine]] are probably both helpful. Withdrawal from morphine and SSRIs and migraine involve some similar processes. [(Reference)](https://archive.ph/o/OJZkW/https://raypeatforum.com/community/threads/ray-peat-email-advice-depository.1035/page-5%23post-24432) > [continued] It depends on how much [[pregnenolone]] you can assimilate. People would use [[progesterone]] in amounts needed to stop the withdrawal symptoms, but [[pregnenolone]] doesn't have the powerful effects of [[progesterone]], even in multi-gram quantities, so it's just a matter of seeing what it can do. As I understand the mechanism (migraine, withdrawal, etc.), estrogen-histamine-[[serotonin]] rise on a background of hypothyroid liver malfunction, cytomel (and/or [[sugar]], selenium, B vitamins) allows the liver and other detoxifying systems to lower them, and the lower they are, the less [[progesterone]] or [[pregnenolone]] it takes to block the symptoms. > [Long-term antidepressant use: Permanent damage to the [[brain]]?] [Peat sent this [reference](https://archive.ph/o/OJZkW/https://raypeatforum.com/community/threads/ray-peat-email-advice-depository.1035/page-6%23post-24452): "exposure to inescapable stress, but not escapable stress, caused a decrease in T(3) levels"]