curiouschimp: Can this really be withdrawing from fluoxetine / Prozac?

[curiouschimp]

 

Had a breakdown when I was in my mid 20s following a culmination of childhood trauma and my coping strategy of abusing alcohol, ecstasy, weed etc etc. Was going through a period of extreme anxiety and insomnia and was feeling incredibly depressed, probably the lowest i'd ever felt. Decided to try meds for the first time and was put on 20mg Fluoxetine (Prozac) and it was amazing. I felt absolutely fantastic very quickly. It lasted a long time and I was over the moon. 

I was on Prozac for around 8 years before finally deciding I didn't need it anymore and stopped cold turkey. Then within around 2-4 weeks my anxiety increased and I was lost again. Then insomnia kicked back in, which I managed as best I could for a month before being forced to admit defeat and go back on meds. My sleep returned within around a week or so and felt great. 
 

A few years later having quit alcohol, smoking, drugs and lots of other stuff I decided to taper. I went from 40mg to 20mg which was ok, then 20mg to 10mg and I thought I was ok but the negative feelings slowly but surely came flooding back. Then the dreaded insomnia kicked in again and I've been struggling with it this time for 2 1/2 months so far. It just doesn't seem to be shifting. This time I have gritted my teeth and tried riding it out but i'm struggling. I have therapy sessions much more often too and trying to do things right but it's really tough. 
 

So does this seem like withdrawal? I find i'm just very sensitive to things, my brain is going 100mph and when I go to bed I can't seem to switch off. It feels like I have electric shocks in my brain. I've been trying to cope on very little sleep. Some nights I get nothing and some nights I get a full night sleep and it comes very easily. Sleep is increasing now compared to the beginning and my anxiety is much lower. I'm no longer breaking down in tears everyday. I just need to know there's light at the end of the tunnel. I really don't want to go back on meds... I want to get off them!!!!

 

I just need to know that this is normal and I can expect it to abate. 

 

Any help or advice anyone can give would be very well appreciated. 

 

Thank you for reading

 

 

[Shep]

Hi, Curiouschimp. Welcome to Surviving Antidepressants. 

 

Yes, what you're describing sounds like withdrawal. The fact that every time you've gone back on Prozac your symptoms resolved is a clear sign that your body had developed dependency on this drug and resuming it resolved the symptoms. 

 

Here is information on tapering Prozac. Please note we recommend tapering no faster than 10% per month based on the prior month's dose (not the original dose). 

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

Tips for tapering off Prozac (fluoxetine)

 

The Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

 

How psychiatric drugs remodel your brain

 

Insomnia is a very common withdrawal symptom. You may find room darkening shades or a sleep mask to help. Here are more tips:

 

Tips to help sleep: so many of us have that awful withdrawal insomnia

 

Please set up a signature with your drug history. Your signature will show up beneath each post and will let us know your drug history at a glance. The first post in this thread explains what we need: 

 

How to Summarize Your Drug History in Your Signature

 

A direct link to your signature is here:

 

Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature

 

Please continue to use this thread to document your taper and to ask questions. It's possible you may benefit from an updose depending on when you made your last reduction. Once we have a timeline of your drug changes, we can help you set up a game plan for stabilizing and tapering. 

[curiouschimp]

Thank you for approving my post and also thank you for the information. 

 

I think I'm going to stay on 10mg for a while until these symptoms subside. then pop in to the doctors and request liquid Prozac (if they do it). 

 

I managed to get a few nights sleep, which means I've been blessed with a window of feeling normal before the next wave of insomnia kicks in. The clarity sleep has given me made me realise I had my timeline wrong. I dropped down to 10mg around 6 months ago. My symptoms very slowly increased over the first 3 months then around month 3 my sleep just disappeared. I then went through 3 months of sleep torture. I've been reading this forum and I noticed it mentioned a symptom of withdrawal can be extremes of emotion... for me I had this crushing feeling that I was a burden on everyone and I was letting everyone down. I kept crying all the time (very unusual for me) and all my deepest fears were amplified 100x. It seemed like the ideal time to go into therapy and I think I've managed to use this insight to resolve a lot of the things that were down deep.

 

I've started to see this whole process as a gift. I have been feeling tortured up until now, but I have had to learn to keep going with two young kids and being the main breadwinner in the house while completely falling apart. It has taught me that it's safe to share this stuff with people, that as a man it's not shameful to cry, and I am lucky enough to have support. I have also learned that I'm very resilient and on zero sleep for a number of days I can get **** done.  This whole process of complete pain has shown me what's important in life. In one way I wish I never took antidepressants  but in another I am glad I was forced to face the possibility of ultimate destruction and continue to push through no matter what. I had an existential crisis and I kept on going. It feels pretty good.

 

Other than the sleeplessness I think I'm through the worst of the symptoms. The extremes of emotion have abated for now, hopefully they don't come back. 

 

I just don't understand why I had such a strong reaction to Prozac. My doctor told me that Prozac was easy to come off. When I asked for 10mg she told  me that I could just stop from 20mg as that's the lowest (starter) dose they usually give. I requested 10mg anyway as I knew I'd had a bad reaction when I tried stopping last time. Getting a liquid version from them is going to be tough, not sure how i'm going to do that. I wonder if I can just dilute the contents of a 10mg pill and do it myself.

 

 

[ChessieCat]

Please follow these instructions and create your drug signature.  This is different from the information you provided when you joined SA which is confidential and only visible to staff.  The drug signature will appear below every post you make and allows us to see your drug history at a glance.  Thank you.

 

Instructions:  Withdrawal History Signature

[curiouschimp]

Hey ChessieCat, Sig now updated

 

[Shep]

2 hours ago, curiouschimp said:

I think I'm going to stay on 10mg for a while until these symptoms subside. then pop in to the doctors and request liquid Prozac (if they do it). 

 

This sounds like a good plan. Since you've been at 10 mg since October 2021, increasing the dose is unlikely to help and may cause your nervous system to hyper-react since it's been used to that dose for 8 months. So you're wise to want to continue holding. From your earlier post, you're already on a healing trajectory. 

 

Here is a post you may find helpful in determining when it's a good idea to start tapering:

 

WD Normal

 

 

2 hours ago, curiouschimp said:

I've started to see this whole process as a gift. I have been feeling tortured up until now, but I have had to learn to keep going with two young kids and being the main breadwinner in the house while completely falling apart. It has taught me that it's safe to share this stuff with people, that as a man it's not shameful to cry, and I am lucky enough to have support. I have also learned that I'm very resilient and on zero sleep for a number of days I can get **** done.  This whole process of complete pain has shown me what's important in life. In one way I wish I never took antidepressants  but in another I am glad I was forced to face the possibility of ultimate destruction and continue to push through no matter what. I had an existential crisis and I kept on going. It feels pretty good.

 

 

Tremendous insight, curiouschimp. This is so true. Our vulnerabilities can lead us to our greatest strengths. Thanks for posting this. 

 

I've always felt that our waves are opportunities to practice non-drug coping skills so we become stronger than ever by the time we heal from withdrawal. If you haven't already seen this thread, you may find it helpful:

 

Non-drug techniques to cope with emotional symptoms

 

 

2 hours ago, curiouschimp said:

I just don't understand why I had such a strong reaction to Prozac. My doctor told me that Prozac was easy to come off. When I asked for 10mg she told  me that I could just stop from 20mg as that's the lowest (starter) dose they usually give. I requested 10mg anyway as I knew I'd had a bad reaction when I tried stopping last time. Getting a liquid version from them is going to be tough, not sure how i'm going to do that. I wonder if I can just dilute the contents of a 10mg pill and do it myself.

 

We have a number of members struggling to come off of Prozac. A lot of doctors think Prozac is easy to taper because it has a very long half-life, so it slowly works it's way out compared to drugs with shorter half lives. But many people still find there are withdrawal symptoms. Because of the long half life, it can take longer for symptoms to appear. The longer withdrawal symptoms appear after coming off a drug, the more likely the doctor is to say it's a recurrence of the original problem such as depression that caused you to take the drug in the first place. So it's hard to get the message of withdrawal out to the medical community. 

 

Here is some information you may find helpful in messaging withdrawal to your doctor and to family and friends:

 

CEPUK - Major milestone: Royal College releases new guidance on stopping antidepressants

 

Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management video (54 minutes)

 

Yes, you can dilute the pill and make your own liquid. In the first post of this thread, scroll down to the section titled "Making your own fluoxetine liquid" and you'll have the instructions for a do-it-yourself liquid: 

 

Tips for tapering off Prozac (fluoxetine)

[curiouschimp]

Hi Shep,

 

Thank you very much for taking the time to write such a detailed response. 

 

I managed to have 5 nights sleep in a row. Then night before last my sleep was anxiety fuelled, then last night I just simply couldn't sleep no matter what I tried. Gone from being very easy to sleep to impossible. This seems to fit the Window/Wave cycle well as nothing externally has changed. I'm feeling properly tired today, but experience has shown me that insomnia periods are never one night, they usually last 4-5 nights so will see what happens. 

 

Knowing that this is a normal way that your brain re-arranges itself is very handy.  I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to help me get sleep on the Wave days.

 

[Shep]

11 hours ago, curiouschimp said:

I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to help me get sleep on the Wave days.

 

Please see:

 

Tips to help sleep: so many of us have that awful withdrawal insomnia

 

Room darkening shades or wearing a sleep mask can help. Listening to soft music or guided meditations. Avoiding computer screens and cell phones in the evening before bed. 

 

We don't recommend a lot of supplements, as many members report their nervous systems are simply too fragile to handle them. However, magnesium and fish oil tend to be calming to the nervous system and many people report they do help. Please only add in one supplement at a time and at a small dose to see if your nervous system can tolerate it. For more, please see:

 

 King of supplements: Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil)

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker

 

Another thing some people find helpful is melatonin. The first post in this thread explains the best way to take it during withdrawal:

 

Melatonin for sleep

 

I know I've thrown out a lot of things, but please note the golden rule of "only one change at a time." Please see:

 

The rule of 3KIS: Keep it simple. Keep it slow. Keep it stable.

 

Please read over the links and see what you think might work best and then give it a try. If you try one of the supplements, start low. You can always increase. And only one change at a time. 

 

Please let us know how you're doing over the coming days.