CookiePretzel- hi! Prozac Withdrawal Introduction

[CookiePretzel]

I just wanted to share a little trick that helped my insomnia. I know no one reads here but just in case:

 

envision yourself walking through a grocery store. Your shopping list is the alphabet and you need to think of an item for each letter. I did two items. It worked really well for me. I kept nodding off and forgetting what letter I was on. Eventually I did brand names, mall stores or stuff you could find at a mall, come up with brands of soda, chips, cookies. Nice little distraction. 
 

I feel better since getting so sleep, but so exhausted today. Maybe from being so wired and anxious for the past couple days? Also hearing is slightly less sensitive. 

[CookiePretzel]

@Gridley sorry to tag you, I was curious if you had any insight for me. I was plugging along ok and now I’ve been in bed for a week. It’s truly scary as I don’t feel like I really did anything to rock the boat outside of errands l, chores and managing my kids. No exercise, typical stuff. 

[Gridley]

2 minutes ago, CookiePretzel said:

It’s truly scary as I don’t feel like I really did anything to rock the boat outside of errands l, chores and managing my kids. No exercise, typical stuff. 

Sorry you're going through this, CookiePretzel.  I would say it's garden-variety windows and waves.  A wave can come on you out of the blue with no apparent cause.  It's just the nervous system healing.  The following is a good analogy:

 

   On 12/3/2015 at 10:41 AM,  apace41 said: 

Basically- you have a building where the MAJOR steel structures are trying to be rebuilt at different times - ALL while people are coming and going in the building and attempting to work.

It would be like if the World Trade Center Towers hadn't completely fallen - but had crumbled inside in different places.. Imagine if you were trying to rebuild the tower - WHILE people were coming and going and trying to work in the building!  You'd have to set up a temporary elevator - but when you needed to fix part of that area, you'd have to tear down that elevator and set up a temporary elevator somewhere else. And so on. You'd have to build, work around, then tear down, then build again, then work around, then build... ALL while people are coming and going, ALL while the furniture is being replaced, ALL while the walls are getting repainted... ALL while life is going on INSIDE the building. No doubt it would be chaotic. That is EXACTLY what is happening with windows and waves.  The windows are where the body has "got it right" for a day or so - but then the building shifts and the brain works on something else - and it's chaos again while another temporary pathway is set up to reroute function until repairs are made.  

 

 

[CookiePretzel]

Thank you so much @Gridley, that makes a lot of sense. 
 

any concern for the fact that at 6 months off I seem to be able to do less and less? I don’t like windows and waves but I will weather them, but I’m floored but the recent upsurge in physical symptoms I haven’t dealt with before (dizzy, lack of appetite, muscle tension, heart palps, body temp issues, blood sugar etc). I assumed these would be worse closer to when I first jumped my dose. With all this in mind, if these symptoms ever do go away I’m extremely worried about going about my day again. I never want to feel this way bedridden again. 

[Gridley]

4 minutes ago, CookiePretzel said:

 

any concern for the fact that at 6 months off I seem to be able to do less and less?

I don't have an answer.  Six months in isn't really that long a time (sorry to say), and physical symptoms can replace other types and back again.  The symptoms you describe do sound like typical physical WD symptoms.

 

You could check things out with a medical doctor if you feel the cause is something other than WD.

 

6 minutes ago, CookiePretzel said:

I’m extremely worried about going about my day again. I never want to feel this way bedridden again. 

I understand.  Once you get clear of WD--and it will happen--you'll be able to slowly regain your life, little by little as your confidence grows.  

[CookiePretzel]

@Gridley I truly appreciate this chat. I can’t tell you how hard it is to talk to anyone about this, so I just don’t. I plan to stay on bed rest for about a month and see how it goes. Thank you for chatting and I hope you’re feeling ok today. 

[CookiePretzel]

It’s been a week since I put myself on bed rest because mild/ moderate physical activity (errands and caring for kids) gave me some intense physical symptoms and waves. It was like a week couldn’t go by before I did something that brought on more symptoms. 
 

There has been decent improvement. A week ago I had a revved up/ charged feeling in my arms, poor vision, the sweats and chills/ shakes, shortness of breath, muscle tension, weak bladder, heart palps, lump in throat, no appetite, muscle tension in belly, shaky hands and feet when reaching or stepping, sensations or buzzing in head, twitching all over, sensitive hearing, tinnitus, tachycardia in the middle of the night and reduced sleep. And of course panic, depression and anxiety. 

A full week of bedrest, I never spent more than an hour or two total out of bed. Now the only symptoms I have are:

Poor sleep (getting slightly better, I fall asleep easily but only sleep 1.5-2.5 hours at a time

elevated HR when waking but not tachycardia

Shaky feet when walking

occasional muscle tension

Occasional sensitive hearing

tinnitus (but I’ve had this for a year and a half)

muscle tension in belly (bizarre feeling)

poor appetite (used to not be able to eat until late in the day, today food sounded ok around 1pm)

So far I’m pleased with the results. I don’t think I can prevent withdrawal completely (I had a terrible wave yesterday), but I plan to bed rest for another week and see how I’m doing next Sunday.
 

The hardest part is that I’m not particularly fatigued or tired, I’m just trying to prevent the stacking up of physical symptoms that keeps happening to me.

[Kostas]

Hi,

 

Glad you are feeling improved with the bedrest, and giving the opportunity to your nervous system to calm down. 

 

However my advice is not to overdo it with the bedrest, since your your body could be accustomed to it ,and will become more difficult to return in a more functional level. 

 

Also your muscles will become weaker in time if you continue this way for long..

Regards 

Edited May 12, 2023 by Altostrata
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[Walleebug]

@CookiePretzelHi.  I wanted to let you know that I'm also 6 months off antidepressants and 10 months off benzos and going through the same thing.  In fact yesterday I started to get very depressed wondering if this is just the new me.  Reading your story helps me realize that it is withdrawl.   Our timelines are so similar.   My last dose was october 31st and I got hit by a hard wave in the middle of January that I feel I haven't recovered completely from.  I've had a lot of ok days and a few really good days but in general I just feel yuck.  

[CookiePretzel]

@Kostas hi! Thank you for the advice. I will be honest, I have no idea what I’m doing or if it is working. I didn’t even have a plan for how long to bed rest for. I definitely agree with you that the longer I rest, the more difficulty I will have in reengaging in every day life. 
 

My biggest challenge was that I was having set backs constantly from just running errands! Like if I walked around a store too much or did too many chores at home. My very average days were giving me intense physical symptoms. It is so frustrating. Especially like I mentioned, I have the energy, but I can’t use it or it will put me in a wave. 
 

so thank you for the advice. I have a 2 year old and 4 year old, and it is very hard in my husband when I try to rest so much. 

[CookiePretzel]

Hi @Walleebug! I just read your whole thread. Wow we have so much in common! How are you doing now? Can I DM you?

[Walleebug]

@cookiepretzel I'm doing OK.  Mentally, I haven't been having any extreme or severe symptoms.  It just feels like I'm constantly walking a tight rope and I could fall and crash any minute. Physically I'm having a lot of tremors, vibrations and muscle twitching.   I also have a new fear of chocolate and caffeine.   I found it very interesting that you feel the same way.  I have also added alcohol to that list after a cooking fiasco.  I'm slowly realizing that all sugar is too stimulating lately.  It seems to be getting worse instead of better.  You can definitely DM me.

[CookiePretzel]

Yesterday I reached 2 weeks of bed rest (6.5 months off Prozac). It's so hard when I don't see progress day to day, but I'm a lot better than my update a week ago.

 

Today is day 16 of bed rest. This past week I got up and did a bit more than the week before. 
My appetite is back and I don't feel like I have blood sugar issues

My vision is mostly fine

Sleep is still pretty poor, max 2 hours at a time

Sensitive hearing is gone

I'm not shaky when I briefly walk or stand, but if I overdo it then I do get a bit shaky.

I don't wake up to hot flashes anymore, but I do still feel overly warm upon waking

Still have increased HR once a night

 

I was feeling so good that on Saturday we had neighbors stop by and I stood on the porch and chatted w them for 40 minutes. By the end I was pretty shaky and had to go lay down. 24 hours later (that's when symptoms seem to strikes day later) I had bad insomnia, some minor head pressure and twitching. Not too bad though compared to how I was feeling a couple weeks ago, and hopefully this minor setback will only last a day or two.

 

I had a 3 day wave that ended 9 days ago and I haven't been in a perfect window since then, but I haven't had another bad wave either, just one day of feeling pretty down. My days are good, fine or meh. I don't have the epic GREAT days, but I also don't seem to be having the horrible, panic-inducing days either. It's only been a week but that's nice. 

[CookiePretzel]

7 months off Prozac today

I got things so wrong last month it’s not even funny. I got this idea to go on bed rest to prevent setbacks. But all it did was kill my appetite and metabolism to the point that I was only eating 800 calories a day. So I started reverse dieting to make sure I get 2,000 calories a day. It was hard at first but it’s getting easier. 

 

Still afraid to exercise but I can go on short walks. I go to the store to shop for things so that tells me I can survive a walk. My windows and waves have drastically shortened which is disappointing. 

 

Right now I’m dealing with 

fear of raising my heart rate

Insomnia (magnesium helps but still such broken sleep)

Digestion issues (takes so long to process food)

Shaky legs and hands (just when I’m taking a step or reaching for something)

A jittery nervous feeling in my belly that’s pretty constant and distracting. It feels like weak core muscles. 

On and off head pressure

Occasional anhedonia in waves

And of course depression and anxiety

 

I did a bunch of things last weekend, including a day with high social interaction at a birthday party and multiple walks. Another day with a lot of errands with my 2 year old in tow. This was all Friday-Monday during my period and I did have a terrible Tuesday with bad anxiety, but today I actually feel ok. So I’m curious to know if my period or all the activity is responsible for the bad day, but at least it was only 1 day. 

 

Just hoping for some encouragement. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. 

[CookiePretzel]

I’m incredibly fearful today. Scared and anxious, shaky and I have this nervous, jittery feeling in my stomach that is so disconcerting. I haven’t felt this anxious in a wave before. 
 

can anyone comment on what seems like atypical progress? When withdrawal first hit me it wasn’t very acute, I just had windows and waves. Now I’m getting a lot of physical symptoms and smaller windows. Is it common to get worse at 7 months off? @Gridley @Altostrata ? I’d love any reassurance, I’m so scared things are getting out of control quick. Too many symptoms, too much panic 

[FeelingBased]

hi @CookiePretzel my symptoms got worse 7 months off, so I can relate to that. Both physical and anxiety symptoms improved when I started taking Omega 3 and magnesium, then followed a strict diet and  noticed more improvements. I take lemon balm for anxiety when needed.  I hope this give you an encouragement. 

[Altostrata]

Hello, @CookiePretzel

 

I've just caught up with your topic. I'm sorry you're having such a difficult time.

 

I would say since you had such a rough time going off lorazepam and then a failed Prozac taper (alternating doses is especially perilous), your nervous system might have been sensitized when you finally did go off Prozac. Then you got covid, which added its own complications. 

 

We've found covid to be a major confounder. We cannot tell symptoms of long covid from protracted withdrawal. It could be that your nervous system was sensitized both by going on and off psychiatric drugs and then covid, but held together pretty well for a number of months before the sensitization produced that adverse reaction to caffeine.

 

It's understandable that you were feeling well and thought you could resume caffeine and your normal high physical activity, unaware that you were still in a post-withdrawal vulnerable period.

 

It appears you are in a stabilization pattern with waves and windows now. If I were you, I'd get at least 1/2 hour of gentle exercise, such as walking, each day, to build up physical stamina again without overdoing it. Strengthening your sleep can help, too, see 

 

 

What is the sleep cycle?

 

Waking with panic or anxiety -- managing the morning cortisol spike

 

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

 

Path to Better Sleep FREE online for everyone from the US Veterans Administration

 

Music for self-care: Calms hyperalertness, anxiety, aids relaxation and sleep

 

White noise devices for sleep

 

Melatonin for sleep: Many people find it helpful

 

TV or computer use in evening can disrupt sleep: Bright light signals the brain that it's daytime

 

Many people find these to be helpful:

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker 

Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) 

 

You might try a low dose of one at a time to see what it does for you. 

 

The sleep cycle explains your early morning waking. At that time, you pass from a deeper phase of sleep to a lighter sleep in preparation for waking, but your hypersensitivity is causing you to wake up when the normal daytime cortisol cycle is rising. This should smooth out.

 

Please let us know how you're doing.

[CookiePretzel]

@FeelingBased thank you for responding! I’m sorry to hear everything you’re going through. It’s strange because it seems like everyone has a hard time in the beginning, but you and I experienced a worsening of symptoms when we’re hoping to get better. 
 

have you reached a turning point of improvement at all? Or still just steadily struggling?

[CookiePretzel]

@Altostrata hi! Thank you for reading my entire feed. This has all been so horrific. I didn’t even consider Covid affecting my nervous system. That definitely adds to my worries. I started magnesium May 1st and slept well that night. Since then it’s been hit or miss. I started with a half teaspoon, then upped to a teaspoon, and then again to 1.5 (a serving is 2tsp). I believe it’s been making me panic this week. If I don’t need to taper, I plan to stop the magnesium tonight. Is that a good idea?

 

Also I have a cortisol rush 2-3 times a night when I wake up. Sometimes as early as 11pm. That doesn’t seem normal; many people seem to just be woken once around 3-5am. 
 

I am also struggling so much with my digestion. It has been getting worse over the past 2 months, and now it’s still bad but not worsening. I was barely eating last month so I started taking in more calories, this had helped stop some physical symptoms like shaky legs sometimes. But I don’t feel like I have normal hungry or full cues anymore, I just feel kind of empty and eating doesn’t fill me up until I drink a bunch of water. I’m constipated which the mag was actually helping with. But everything just sits in my stomach all day. Can anything help this?

 

thank you for all you do!

[FeelingBased]

@CookiePretzel I know it’s very strange and unpredictable, I was functioning the first 6 months (except month 1, I had Covid). I too have digestive issues and taking supplements for that. I saw major improvements in some symptoms around month 10 and 11, the rest are slowly getting better. Wishing us hope and healing.

[Addax]

23 hours ago, CookiePretzel said:

I’d love any reassurance, I’m so scared things are getting out of control quick. Too many symptoms, too much panic 

Withdrawal symptoms are so scary… the whole experience is scary. I don’t know if it’s reassuring, but your symptoms are typical of withdrawal, even waking multiple times a night beyond the oft reported 3 AM and 5 AM cortisol facilitate wakings. And I think I know the weird sensation you have in your stomach, well. I actually just started having it (again). I find it hard to describe so I kind of think of it as stomach akathisia.  And digestion… yeah. Elevated cortisol can muck up our stomachs and digestion. It really mucks things up all over the place.  I wish I had an answer for how to make it better. Unfortunately, I don’t know enough about foods, pre- or  probiotics, or those kinds of things to make a recommendation. For some reason I’m drawn to bread and fats (non-animal), and bananas when my stomach is WD wonky, and those things seem to help. But I have no idea why.  Of course, anything that lowers cortisol can be helpful, with magnesium being one of those things (just not too much). Anything that reduces stress will, in affect, reduce cortisol. Sleep being a major one… but we know how that goes.  So yoga, meditation, some of those calming apps. 

I have recently found that watching a movie I have seen several times and know very well, has been helpful. It’s  the oddest thing. But then I heard that it makes sense, because it’s predictable so stress free, and entertaining enough to draw attention away from other stuff in our heads. I had a bad spell recently and put on the movie I’ve probably seen a dozen times to help me fall asleep. It worked. Then when I had an episode of being jolted awake, I flipped it back on (if it had ended), and again - distracted enough that my mind settled, I could close my eyes because I knew what was happening in the movie, and back to sleep I went. It’s not perfect, but it did help calm my anxiousness. If you try it, just make sure there are no loud bursts of sound in the movie. I tried it with a different movie, forgetting there were gunshots toward the end… so it worked right up until the gunshots.  
 

Things will get better. Sometimes it’s hard to tell when they’ve already started getting better because we kind of get consumed by how terrible it feels and the loop of anxiety or depression producing thoughts.

 

[CookiePretzel]

@Addax thank you so much for the thoughtful message! It means a lot that you took the time to type all that up for me. It’s weird, it’s like every 2 months I need to re-accept what I’m going through. And I think that’s happening now. 
 

I feel like my body is releasing cortisol nonstop! I try to frequently meditate, breathe and watch comedians/ look at memes on IG, but I just can’t control the cortisol dump that happens when I’m asleep. Part of me is scared because I’ve only had the “belly akathisia” for a month so I’m worried I’m just getting worse. There’s a big friends and family trip to Disney World in November and I so badly want to take my daughters. I feel there’s too much to overcome before then. 
 

That's a good tip about watching movies! Something nice and comforting. I frequently sing old sitcom theme songs in my head when I’m trying to fall back asleep. Something I know that’s safe. 
 

How are you doing?

[Altostrata]

Quote

I started with a half teaspoon, then upped to a teaspoon, and then again to 1.5 (a serving is 2tsp).

 

Magnesium is best taken in small amounts throughout the day.

[Chompoo]

On 2/23/2023 at 8:59 PM, CookiePretzel said:

That was also the case in the benzo community, even though everyone was different many people saw improvement or symptoms peak around 6-7 months, and then the intensity very slowly faded after that.

 
I suspect you're in the 6-7 month wave that many people spoke about. Once you're out of it, you might see the intensity of your symptoms fade out after that.

[Altostrata]

Sorry, there is no 6-7 month wave. There are no particular waves. What happens is that people start feeling better, their waves are less frequent, they start to do more and that triggers a wave.

[CookiePretzel]

@Altostrata may I PM you regarding a topic I don’t feel comfortable asking on my thread?

[Altostrata]

Please use site search to find prior discussion of just about any problem. Thanks.

[CookiePretzel]

8 Months Off Prozac

 

The biggest news is that I have had 2 amazing nights of sleep just this week. Didn’t wake up hungry, shaky or to use the bathroom, and if I did wake up I was sleepy and calm. 10pm-7am. My heart did beat a little quick but a couple deep breaths calmed it down. The next day I had sushi and it must have had MSG or something in it, because I didn’t sleep that night. I’d nod off once an hour for a few min and then get jolted awake w tachycardia. But then last night I had another calm, perfect night of sleep, 10pm-9:30am. Good sleep is progress right? 
 

Current Symptoms 

Increased HR- my resting heart rate has gone up by about 20BPM. This really worries me. It’s been this way about 2 weeks now. I have been checked out by a doctor twice and my blood work looks totally normal. 

Muscle twitches- these are easy for me to ignore

 

Hair loss- going on 4 or so months now

 

Stomach issues- I don’t feel hungry or full, which is just stressful because I want to make sure I eat enough so much body has nutrients to heal

 

Shakiness- My blood sugar sensitivity (at least I believe that’s what’s going on?) leaves me shaky if I’m sugar deprived. 
 

and then on and off I’ve had frequent urination, eye pressure, eye floaters, a spacy head feeling, muscle tension, locking knees, sensitive hearing, PGAD, weak voice, dry mouth, cortisol rush, bad gas, and of course anxiety and depression. 
 

Overall I just seem incredibly sensitive right now to everything. Even rolling over in bed sends my HR up a bit. Highly sensitive to noise and touch which I dealt with briefly months ago. 

 

This last month was a long, confusing one. By mid May I was eating well, digestion issues were straightening out and I was walking daily. I had a glorious 10 day window. I still had some physical symptoms but I was just so happy and felt normal. 
 

Things slowly went down the drain around my ovulation, and then didn’t bounce back after. I just felt down and my symptoms backslid. This lasted through my period and then finally, a couple days after my period ended, my physical progress returned to about where I was a month ago. How does anyone make progress when we’re so sensitive to hormonal shifts?

 

Here’s the crazy part- I started eating more and more and I believe I accidentally ramped up my metabolism. It felt like no matter what I ate my stomach was empty and I was having 3 bowel movements a day. This is also when I started having increased HR. It all came to a head this past Sunday when I got really sick and threw up. My heart rate was stuck at 144, so I went to the ER. They kept me for the night with no findings- blood work looked great, heart beating well, no blood clots. Sent me home but that night I woke at 1am to the worst tachycardia I’ve ever had- 165BPM. I thought I was dying. I went to the ER, they did blood work and EKG, sent me home. So now I’m just here, and I’m worried all the overeating and fast metabolism has overwhelmed my system somehow. It has since calmed down, I eat 2,500 cal/ day which has me maintaining my weight, and back to one bowel movement a day, but the HR is still higher than normal. 
 

I’ve also mentioned having a weird, distracting belly pain/weakness, and it’s been gone for 3 weeks. It did come back for a day or two this past week but it was incredibly mild and has since left. It happens to coincide with my PGAD, don’t know if that means anything. 
 

I haven’t had a window since that glorious week long window a month ago. That’s really frustrating. I also feel like I won’t get one soon because I ovulate next week. 
 

In short, I’m 8 months into withdrawal, I’m glad I’m sleeping better and eating is a bit easier, but worried about my HR and all my physical symptoms. 
 

I’d love any encouragement, I feel like I’m not making any progress. 

[Altostrata]

17 hours ago, CookiePretzel said:

This last month was a long, confusing one. By mid May I was eating well, digestion issues were straightening out and I was walking daily. I had a glorious 10 day window. I still had some physical symptoms but I was just so happy and felt normal. 

 

It's a good sign that you're sleeping and having longer windows, with improvement in some symptoms.

 

When we say The Windows and Waves Pattern is slow and frustrating, those ups and downs are exactly what we mean!

 

[CookiePretzel]

Thank you @Altostrata! Because I reported a lot of negativity, I want to also post some good:

I slept well again last night. I still woke up a few times but went back to sleep easily. 
 

My heart rate is slowly going back down. It’s back in the high 70s. 
 

I feel a little less fragile overall but will still take it easy. 
 

Has anyone ever watched YouTube videos by Lovely Grind? He’s a SSRI survivor and so calm and reassuring. I now get his daily email and love it. 

[Altostrata]

You're on your way, @CookiePretzel

[Patient2022]

Just came across your journey when looking for others tapering off fluoxetine. I’m currently in a very slow taper. Whenever I’ve tried to taper too fast/cold turkey, in, I always felt ok in the beginning and emotional symptoms would appear months later. The physical would appear very soon after such as brain zaps etc. 

 

It is literally trial and error, taking one day at a time. Just wanted to wish you well as I passed by. 

[Adeeva78]

Hi I also stopped Prozac of march this year. I have also had sleep issues, brain zaps, depression and some Pgad symptoms. I just had a window of 10 days and today I have some symptoms of Pgad again. It’s so hard when you have a window and then get hit again. But as the moderators say it’s a good sign the windows are happening!! Just want you to know you’re not alone! 💚

[CookiePretzel]

@Patient2022 thanks for dropping by! You’re wise to taper; I tapered over 4-5 months but truly didn’t know what I was doing. Things are slowly improving but I’m in a wave right now so it’s hard to see the progress! Good luck with your taper!

[CookiePretzel]

@Adeeva78  thanks for keeping me company on this “ride”! It’s just so miserable. It looks like you weren’t on Prozac too long, I’m so hopeful you won’t be affected for the long haul!

[Adeeva78]

40 minutes ago, CookiePretzel said:

@Adeeva78  thanks for keeping me company on this “ride”! It’s just so miserable. It looks like you weren’t on Prozac too long, I’m so hopeful you won’t be affected for the long haul!

We are definitely on this ride together! I’m still struggling and it seems some urinary symptoms are returning though not as strong as before. I am so over this and do t know how I’ve made it but I keep hoping tomorrow is better ❤️