apollo556: Surviving Prozac withdrawal

[apollo556]

4 years ago i was hospitalized multiple times for klonopin tolerance/withdrawl. my doc helped me reach stability using a mind-numbing combo of zyprexa and prozac. after gaining 60 lbs(!!!) on that combo for a year, i successfully tapered off zyprexa over a period of 2 years. seems like that was easier than what i'm going through now regarding prozac. ealier this year, my doc agreed to a prozac taper with a 10mg reduction every 3 months. i had been at 40mg for the last 4 years. so in February i went to 30mg without a hitch,  then to 20mg in May with no issues, then to 10mg in August with no problems, and 8 days ago i discontinued it altogether. it hit me hard on the 4th day off....panic attacks, feelings of doom, ringing ears, flinching at every sound, stiff neck, vertigo, and nausea. episodes come and go but panic and unease are ever present. i went through far worse with klonopin, but this is bringing up those bad memories. i'm scared.

 

is prozac really easier than others to withdrawl from due to long half-life?  many times in the past few days i feel i can beat this but then an episode knocks me down feeling hopeless. 

 

so sick of this crap. i need hope this will pass and i really hope it doesn't get any worse. i'm giving myself 2 choices: prozac for life or pull through this. because i'm not reinstating it just so i can go through withdrawl again at another time. 

 

thank you brave people

 

-greg

 

[Gridley]

Hello, Apollo556, and welcome to survivingantidepressants.org.  I'm glad you found your way here.  

 

I'm sorry you're having these symptoms but they are a common result of tapering too fast.   SA recommends tapering by 10% of your current dose with a hold of at least 4 weeks before your next decrease. the 10% taper method is a harm reduction approach to going off psychiatric drugs. While your taper from 40 mg to 30 mg and 30 to 20 fell roughly into the 10% per month parameters, there was no hold period after either drop to let your central nervous system recalibrate itself into homeostasis.   Your final drop, from 10 to zero was far faster than 10%, and at the lower dosages it is important to slow down.  Things you might've "gotten away with" at higher dosages can catch you at the low doses.  In sum, what you are experiencing now is likely delayed withdrawal from the earlier drops (WD catching up with you) as well as withdrawal from your most recent drop.  The following link gives further information about the 10% per month taper:   

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage? 

 

Can I ask you to fill out your signature so that we have access to a brief version of your drug history whenever you post.  Please put the dates and dosages of each of your reductions.

Please put your withdrawal history in your signature

 

I know you said you didn't want to reinstate, but what I am suggesting is not your full former dose but rather a tiny amount, perhaps between 1 mg and 5 mg.  At this time, reinstatement of a very small dose of the original drug is the only known way to help alleviate withdrawal syndrome.  The only other alternative is to try and wait out the symptoms and manage as best you can until your central nervous system returns to homeostasis.  Unfortunately no one can give you an exact timeline as to when you will start feeling better and while some do recover relatively easily, for others it can take many months to many years.    

 

Reinstatement is best done immediately upon appearance of withdrawal symptoms. The more time that passes, the less likely it is to work. The length of this window of opportunity varies according to the individual.  You are only eight days out, which is to your advantage.  If reinstatement is something you want to consider, please complete your signature so we know what dosages we are dealing with, and we will suggest a reinstatement dose.
 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms  

 

Here are some links other which may be helpful to you. 

 

What is withdrawal syndrome?

The Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

Brain Remodelling

 

Regarding Prozac being easier, Google "survivingantidepressants.org is Prozac easier" and you will find a number of posts about the relative ease of tapering Prozac.  Of course, as your know, there is no free ride with any of these drugs.

 

Please feel free to write whenever you want. This is your thread to journal progress and ask questions.

 

 

[apollo556]

thanks Gridley! good information to ponder this weekend while i monitor my symptoms outside of the work environment. i would not be so opposed to a lower dose reinstatement which i guess would have to be a liquid form of prozac. if i don't make tolerable improvement by 12/8 (1-month clean mark) or if withdrawl gets too intense before then i will reinstate to 5 mgs or less. since writing my introduction (very therapeutic in itself), today feels tolerable, but i'm well aware of ups and downs. my zyprexa taper was so utterly successful that i thought prozac would be a breeze til the last pill. wish i had stumbled upon this group long ago. 

[Gridley]

Apollo556,

 

Sounds good--and thanks for doing your signature.  If you do decide to reinstate, please let us know so we can suggest a dosage.

 

Best,

Gridley

[apollo556]

quick question: if need be, would taking a 10mg pill of prozac every other day be the equivalent of taking 5mg per day? 

[AliG]

Hi Apollo. We definitely do not recommend taking your medication every other day to taper. The half-lives of almost all psychiatric drugs are too short for this to make sense. It causes the amount of the medication in your bloodstream to go up and down, battering your nervous system, and makes withdrawal worse.

 

Your brain likes stability, to be treated gently. Alternating doses is the equivalent of playing ping pong with your brain.

 

When reinstating it is better to start off at a very low dose as there is less risk to an already sensitized nervous system. You might try 1 mg  to start with. It takes at least 4 days for the drug to become steady state in the blood and up to 10 days to achieve stability so you really need to give it some time.These drugs are strong and 5 mg may be too much for your CNS to start with. You can always titrate up slowly if needed.

 

Ali

[apollo556]

you all are awesome! 

 

i left some information out of my introduction because i didn't know how to process it until now: i may have stopped prozac on 11/9 but the initial change i made was 8 days earlier on 11/1, when i started taking my 10mg dose every other day under my doc's guidance. the reason i took my last dose on 11/8 was because i had an unforgiving "attack" like none other over the last 4 years. now i know the reason why...thanks for the info, AliG. funny how taking it every other day felt much worse than not taking it at all. 

[apollo556]

please, i need advice. good morning. today would be day 11 off prozac. unfortunately muscle trembles, brain zaps, nausea, and anxiety are quickly on the rise. i don't feel it's right for me to continue this cold turkey approach. all i have are my 10mg pills. could it be adviseable to take it again at 10mg/day til i re-stabilize, then request liquid prozac at my next psych appt so i can do a safer, well-planned taper? waiting to see my doc again may be more damaging, and that's assuming he's willing to help me taper further. damn prozac capsules...i haven't researched yet, but can i titrate them or must i get a liquid version if i wish to start back at a lower dose? though i must say i'm actually cool going back to 10mg so long as it doesn't tailspin me. 10 days off ain't too risky to do that, right?

[AliG]

Apollo. It's best to start low and see how your CNS reacts. You might want to try 2.5 mg which is a quarter pill. The other alternative is to make your own liquid but you may want to leave that for a little while until you're feeling more stable although it is quite simple. The choice is yours.

 

For very gradual tapering, for example, you can dissolve a 10mg capsule in 10mL of water to make a solution with 1mg Prozac in 1mg of water. To take 1mg Prozac, use an oral syringe to take out 1mL.

 

This thread explains in more detail the options for tapering;

http://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/759-tips-for-tapering-off-prozac-fluoxetine/ 

[apollo556]

thank you, i was just reading that link. i think i like your 2.5 suggestion. if it suffices my taper schedule would be several months less 😊. i can't decide whether to divide the contents of the pill into 4 semi-equal parts or make a solution. i'll decide that in a bit. i'll need to buy an oral syringe to make the solution if i go that route. does Walgreens sell this? i'm already feeling an inner peace i haven't had in days just from the thought of being in control again. 

[apollo556]

it's day 13 off prozac. i have an appointment with my doctor in 6 days to discuss my progress. i have the means to restart my own taper if necessary. i'm aiming to wait til my appointment to discuss my future treatment (drug or drug-free) so long as i remain comfortable enough until then. 

 

the last 13 days have been really crappy but so far it's nowhere close to the suffering i had with Klonopin withdrawal. my only concern is that symptoms have the potential to worsen. at this point i know i'm in the midst of withdrawal but have no idea if it gets better or worse from here. 

 

my withdrawal symptoms are many. they rotate and vary in intensity throughout the day: anxiety, body ache, tinnitus, rapid heart rate, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, weakness in legs, noise sensitivity, electric current like jolts travelling through my body, obnoxious songs playing like loud broken records in my head all day, and depression.  today was the first day that depression showed up and it thankfully only lasted a few minutes. oh yeah, and there's some good 'ole insomnia. i'm waking up every hour. i'm so restless but tired at the same time. 

 

surprising to myself, i've been able to make it to work each day but it's been extremely difficult to manage. thankfully i'm able to freely vent about my condition to my buddies at work. symptoms are usually greater in the morning and let up in the evening but not always. yesterday was miraculously close to symptom-free but was followed by a 2am heart racing from hell. and get this...i was half-asleep! never knew my heart could beat that fast or strong. how could i have a near perfect day in the middle of this storm? today was back to awful. wish i knew where i am on the spectrum to recovery. some hours feel like i'm slipping and some feel like i'm on the right course. i surely had about 30 brain zaps and more noise flinches than i could count in the time it took me to write this. 

[AliG]

Hi Apollo. Did you reinstate or have you been off Prozac completely for 13 days ?

[ChessieCat]

Hi Apollo,

 

Altostrata is Surviving Antidepressants' founder.  She discusses brain zaps in this video at the 4.19 mark.  I suggest you check it out.

 

Video:  Alto Strata's Paxil Prolonged Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome (8 minutes)

[apollo556]

hi. i did not reinstate....yet. though i'm certain if i had seen my doc anytime in the last few days i would have jumped on it. except for being a little shaky and fatigued this morning, i had an almost trouble free day. still, i know a lot of nasty surprises could be in my future. at this point, i'm equally prepared to stay the course or reinstate, whichever is best when i see the doc in 5 days. 

[Krasiyan]

Serotonin affects emotions, sleep, and a few other things I forgot. When there's a sudden drop it ruins the balance in your body, and it causes problems. The logical thing to do is to reinstate so you can regulate the level. When the imbalance is corrected again, and everything is stable you can continue with your taper.

 

Also, this is purely my own personal opinion I'm not a doctor.

[apollo556]

the knowledge i've gained on this website is powerful ammunition. so much so that knowing i can be in control of this process has alleviated much anxiety in itself. 

 

instead of waking up every hour last night as usual, i woke up every 2 hours, woohoo, lol. the undertones of anxiety are there, but not as pronounced as earlier this week. i think the day will be manageable. 

 

there is a ton of information online that discusses connections between gut health and mental health. i'm living proof of this. when my gut is in good shape, i'm mentally so much better. i'd bet a lot of people that get on antidepressants had done so because they stumbled into their doc's office for other reasons than mental health. suffice to say i long ago integrated a probiotic to my treatment and i believe it has been crucial to the smoothness of my taper over the last 10 months, final dose withdrawal excluded. 

 

i hope you all had a non-stressful Thanksgiving. i expected the holiday pressure to sink me but it seems to have been a good distraction from my thoughts. i shared my struggles of withdrawal with my immediate family. it was a mixed response. 1/2 encouraged the end of my prozac journey. the other 1/2 wanted me to accept prozac as a "partner" for the rest of my life. omg!...i'm like, "if you think it's so great, you take this mind-altering substance forever!" some people just don't get my need to be free. i want to feeeeeel again, both good and bad, come what may. i want to feel like i was born to. 

 

i almost forgot to share this little tidbit... so the last 2 weeks of prozac withdrawal have really sucked but i swear 2 chronic conditions vanished soon after not ingesting the toxin...3-year battle with athlete's foot and 2-years of unexplained burning urination. i don't know the science behind it, i just know...

[apollo556]

just to be clear to any reader embarking on a safe and comfortable taper...whether i reinstate next week or not, i regret not tapering my 10mg dose of prozac further as i should have 2 weeks ago. 

[AliG]

Hi Apollo. If you are going to wait until you see your doctor, please be aware that most doctors know very little about withdrawal/ tapering/ or even the very strong effect that these drugs can have, generally. In effect, this is the reason this site exists and unfortunately, why we are all here.

 

Your doctor may recommend a larger dose than we have suggested. If that is the case, it would be preferable to check in here first before starting on a higher dose or adding any other drugs into the mix.

 

The discussions linked below will be helpful to read before you see your doctor.

What should I expect from my doctor about withdrawal symptoms?

How do you talk to a doctor about tapering and withdrawal?

[apollo556]

thankfully i'm well-informed because of this site. while me and the doc had talked about reducing my meds gradually, we never discussed withdrawal symptoms that may happen. my gut feeling is he would be open to a lower starting dose since we have a great rapport and he's pretty flexible. if i reinstate, it will be at less than 10mg even if i have to use my kitchen as a chemistry lab, lol. 

 

the reason i didn't jump at reinstatement last week wasnbecuase i was fearful of how my body would react to reintroduction and because i also wanted to see if by chance i might be one of the lucky ones that moves on with little to no discomfort. my anxiety for the past 2 days has been present but hasn't interrupted my functioning. my withdrawal symptoms are like a slow burning ember that appears to be dying but sometimes glows if blown on. i made it through 2 family gatherings, one of which i was the host. 

 

i hope the next 4 days shed more light on the direction i need to take with this. nausea and dizziness are gone and other symptoms are slightly less frequent. 

 

a must share: today i had a real cry for the fiirst since being doped up 4 years ago...and it felt great!

[ChessieCat]

If it was me I would reinstate 5mg or less.

[apollo556]

thanks, ChessieCat!

 

it's day 16 prozac free and i just woke up after a record 4 hours of straight sleep. the last time that happened was when my dose was 20mg. so far i don't feel much else other than a desire to get a couple more hours of sleep (it's 4am).  the noise of my spouse's snoring jolts my senses sometimes but that's about it. 

 

 

 

 

 

[apollo556]

day 17. if yesterday was a window, it was a huge one lasting the entire day. 

 

sleep was once again 4 hours straight. 

 

and then there's this morning with elevated heart rate, inner trembling, and some anxious thoughts. it's hard to go from feeling great back to feelings of unease. hopefully this is not a setback and i'll very soon have another good run.  though uncomfortable, it still seems better than how i felt during the 2nd week of withdrawal. 

[Krasiyan]

Because your taper wasn't as fast as mine, and Pozac has a long half life you should be fine, don't worry. You should live your life as normally as you can, and your body will tell you if theres something wrong without you having to focus on it and get anxious. If it happens make a note of it, and if it continues, or becomes a pattern you can decide what to do, but don't do the same mistake a I did and make withdrawal the main focus of your day.

[AliG]

This is very early days , which is what we keep trying to tell you ~ if you reinstate a small amount in  the realm of 1-5 mg , then you may be able to take the edge off withdrawal symptoms : if you don't and your doctor advises a higher amount or a different drug to counter- act the effects of the first drug ~ then , that may be far too much!

 

Can I tell you that I went 9 months without a problem before protracted withdrawal hit? I felt euphoric, too. Now, it's nearly 4 years later!

[Krasiyan]

2 minutes ago, AliG said:

Can I tell you that I went 9 months without a problem before protracted withdrawal hit? I felt euphoric, too. Now, it's nearly 4 years later!

 

Yeah I agree with you Ali, was just trying to give my 2 cents, but it seems I have alot to learn. So yeah Apollo you should listen to the mods they know their stuff. A small reinstatment in the early days would be a great idea especially when it sounds like your sleep has taken a hit.

[AliG]

It's really not a problem, Krasiyan. I understand and thank you very much for your input.

 

Apollo. You have the information ~ now it's up to you to decide what route to take. I would read the links supplied above, very carefully, so as to make an informed decision.

[apollo556]

Kraysian, i do appreciate the input. i know i will make it through withdrawal. i will beat this! just need to decide if it's going to be speedy with some discomfort or with a slow, low-risk taper. soon enough i will be able to focus on a world without prozac. i know my friends and family would like that. i've been talking their heads off, haha. 

 

AliG, my doctor may try and push higher doses and even a new drug but he will be wasting his time. history will not be repeated . my head is clear with a determination greater than ever. 

 

 

the information in the links is engrained in my mind. the lessons/stories from other members have also been great reads. though not always specific to prozac, the experiences shared from others was invaluable to helping me not feel like a single, hopeless case. i was encouraged to learn that i was already using the ssri that so many people cross over to. today i learned the term "ear worms". when i told my doctor last year about the repititious songs playing i my head, i was clueless at the time and sadly he was too. this morning on the brainwaves is Smooth Operator by Sade.

 

day 17 - update

after waking up to 4am anxiety, i went back to sleep for 2 hours. the tension was mostly gone upon waking. seems like in addition to having long-lasting windows, the time i need to recover after an anxiety spell is of shorter duration. 

[apollo556]

learned the hard way today that carbs/sugars are not my friends in this process. i think they are anxiety triggers. could this be true?

[Gridley]

I don't have much trouble with carbs but any kind of sugar triggers anxiety, even a sip of orange juice.

[apollo556]

must have been the pancakes soaked with syrup, lol. cuz i feel like crap. stiff neck, headache, tight chest, and fatigue...nap time!

[apollo556]

here i am on day 18 and i'm back to work and functioning well. i swear i have an "every-other-day" pattern. yesterday was the pitts. 

 

tomorrow is my doc appt. if i continue to feel fine with my progress by tomorrow, i will choose not to re-instate. it kind of feels good not looking at that Rx bottle daily. i'd rather if i fail that it be on my instinct alone. and i'm not to keen on chancing future withdrawls again if i'm on the right path now. 

[apollo556]

day 19

 

today i feel pretty good. so far nothing that a few deep breaths won't cure. seems like another window to me. i was sad that yesterday wasn't so great. i'm impatient by nature so this process of taking it day by day is a struggle but i have mostly positive thoughts regarding my steady progress. i have many people in my life congratulating me saying it will all be good from here. i'm not ready for that much positivity so i shrug and dismiss. i've been through plenty of disappointment and suffering that lingers like PTSD. 

[apollo556]

he said i should be fine from here on out as long as i don't get ridiculously stressed. he also said by now i would have nothing close to a clinical amount of prozac in me. i knew that but i also know withdrawal isn't that cut and dry, otherwise we'd all be recovered within weeks. day by day.....

[apollo556]

day 20

 

pretty much anxiety free throughout the morning. some stress at work but finally without chest tightness and rapid heart rate. became very irritable by the end of the workday probably because i need more sleep. i can sleep 4 to 5 hours straight now but i don't sleep much after waking up around 3am. today i made a symbolic move and removed the bottle of prozac from my man-bag. 

[apollo556]

reading my posts today i realized i never started at the true beginning. from 2006-2011 i took xanax regularly and eventually became dependent on it to sleep every night. stupidly i also took temazepam here and there too. i began to have withdrawal symptoms by the end of 2010. not knowing any better i abruptly stopped taking xanax and suffered for well over a year with dizziness, nausea, insomnia, and severe digestive problems. luckily i had no mental symptoms after going cold turkey. 

 

life was good for a couple years. but then in 2013 i checked myself into the ER for vertigo that i believe a supplement contributed to. for whatever reason they gave me Valium and sent me home with a prescription for it. i took it here and there after being discharged. honestly the high it gave me felt great but i did not plan on staying on it long because of my history with xanax withdrawal. well, at the time i was beginning an adventure into herbal medicine and i decided to start detoxing my body. i'll never forget 10/22/13...before bed i drank a liquid concoction of psyllium fiber and bentonite clay. within minutes the room was spinning, electric shocks were frying my brain, my skin felt on fire, and i nearly jumped out my 2nd story apartment window except i blacked out. in the morning i woke up to a body and mind that wan't mine. shaking uncontrollably, skin crawling, dizzy, and anxiety through the roof. bentonite clay absorbs everything and i think it stripped the valium out of my body causing instantaneous withdrawal. anyway, that led to a mental hospital admission which led to xanax in my life again, then klonopin and buspar, and finally to prozac and zyprexa. there was and maybe still is extreme guilt that i alone had a hand in the last 4 years of suffering and madness. that i can't change. i'm sharing so that somebody might learn from my mistakes. the body has it's own pace which should be honored. 

 

[apollo556]

day 21

 

omg! i've made it 3 weeks off prozac. i had almost 6 hours of sleep which is a new record. i can tell i feel a bit off this morning though like irritable with faster than normal heartbeat, stiff neck, and a sprinkle of depression. depression is the most infrequent symptom i have so it's uncomfortably noticeable when it happens. usually i can conquer it simply with a little time and happy thoughts so we shall see. i am grateful i just rode a window that lasted like 2 days. i've only been awake for 30 minutes and mornings are usually the toughest so there's still plenty of opportunity to improve.

 

seems like my weight is dropping or at least i can consume more without immediate gain. 3 years ago on my max doses of prozac and zyprexa my weight rose to a high of 199. i'd like to get back to the 150-155 range i was at before my prescription merry go round. well, i'm 165 now so being fit again is within reach. 

 

i've slammed my psych meds many times throughout my online journal of healing here at SA, so i just wanted to say something in closing about them. they were the reason for many years of hell, but a different set of meds were the answer to getting me out of hell. though having to taper over a 3 year period was slow and frustrating, the combo of prozac/zyprexa saved my life from the downward spiral benzos put me in. i'm never going back but i respect how that combo used and tapered correctly is why i'm here today. because frankly suicide was my only wish to end the nightmare before my doctor rescued me. i had what was probably my last appointment with him 2 days ago and i'm thinking i really need to send him a gift basket or something 😋.

 

Edited March 17, 2018 by ChessieCat
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