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berrybloxinator - Tapering off of fluoxetine and caffeine


berrybloxinator

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About 2-3 weeks ago I tried to go from 10mg of fluoxetine to 5mg. I am taking capsules so I went from taking 1 10mg capsule daily to 1 10mg capsule every other day. I also foolishly tried to taper off of caffeine at the same time. About a week ago I started experiencing disturbances to my sleep. It started by waking up in the middle of the night feeling awful and taking too long to get back to sleep. Last night was the worst so far. My brain felt incredibly wired and wouldn't turn off. I wasn't able to get to sleep until about 4 am when usually I get to bed by about 11 pm. Originally I thought it was because I went off caffeine too quickly, but I have reinstated caffeine a few days ago and it didn't help anything. I'm thinking it's probably because I went down too fast on the prozac. Which is frustrating because I went from 20mg to 10mg pretty easily. I understand that I shouldn't have tried to go down on caffeine and prozac at the same time. I have reinstated 10mg daily prozac. I am planning on letting my sleep stabilize and then move on to tapering the caffeine before I tackle the prozac. At this point I am unable to tell a good dose to start with on the caffeine and I probably won't know until the prozac stabilizes again. So I'm going to stay within the 50-100mg range. I think it's also important to say that I became sick a few days ago. Sickness really messes with my head, so it just added to the confusion. My whole goal in the next week or two is to find a baseline again and go from there.

DISCONTINUED

Citalopram, Sertraline, Clomipramine, Fluvoxamine

Tried the above drugs in order one by one for varying lengths of time.

 

September 2022 Escitalopram. Tried for about 2 months then discontinued. Starting dose 5mg, highest dose 10mg.

 

CURRENT

March 2021 Fluoxetine. Reinstated 10mg daily on 2/26/23 after trying to taper to 5mg 2-3 weeks prior.

October 2021 Propranolol. Using as needed for anxiety. 10-20mg.

 

Supplements: Vitamin D 1000IU 2000IU daily, Melatonin 3mg <0.5mg as needed.

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  • Moderator Emeritus

Welcome to SA @berrybloxinator

 

I’m sorry your withdrawals are so bad at the moment. Dropping from 10mg to 5mg was way too big a drop as you now know. The other thing is, you need to take the exact same dose every day. You can’t have days off in between taking medication. It totally destabilises your brain when you take a dose one day, but don’t take anything the next day. Before I came on this site I thought of doing the same thing, skipping doses in between. I did it one day, but I got bad symptoms straight away the following day, so I never did it again. 
 

Once you reach your baseline again please don’t skip any days. The more you mess around with these meds the more your brain gets destabilised and the worse it becomes to taper. 
 

Wish you all the best, sending hugs🤗

Seroquel. 2019:➡️ From 7.25mg to 5.80mg. 2020➡️5.60 to 4.80. 2021➡️4.60 to 4.0.  2022➡️3.95 to 3.55. 2023➡️ From 3.50 to 3.25.  2024➡️Jan15=3.20✔️ Feb19=3.15✔️ March26=3.10✔️May1=3.0✔️ June7=3mg✔️ July 15= 2.95✔️ This is NOT medical advice.Consult your doctor.

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Thanks for the reply!

 

I was under the impression that because of prozacs long half life I could take it every other day. 

DISCONTINUED

Citalopram, Sertraline, Clomipramine, Fluvoxamine

Tried the above drugs in order one by one for varying lengths of time.

 

September 2022 Escitalopram. Tried for about 2 months then discontinued. Starting dose 5mg, highest dose 10mg.

 

CURRENT

March 2021 Fluoxetine. Reinstated 10mg daily on 2/26/23 after trying to taper to 5mg 2-3 weeks prior.

October 2021 Propranolol. Using as needed for anxiety. 10-20mg.

 

Supplements: Vitamin D 1000IU 2000IU daily, Melatonin 3mg <0.5mg as needed.

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  • Administrator

Welcome, @berrybloxinator

 

You have discovered empirically that at lower doses, skipping dose of Prozac to taper off does not work. We know this. We do not recommend skipping doses of Prozac to taper.

 

Suggest you stabilize on 10mg for a good while before tapering more slowly with this method Tips for tapering off fluoxetine (Prozac)

 

Were you taking caffeine tablets?

 

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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I am not taking caffeine tablets. Up until recently I was drinking coffee. I am now drinking tea.

DISCONTINUED

Citalopram, Sertraline, Clomipramine, Fluvoxamine

Tried the above drugs in order one by one for varying lengths of time.

 

September 2022 Escitalopram. Tried for about 2 months then discontinued. Starting dose 5mg, highest dose 10mg.

 

CURRENT

March 2021 Fluoxetine. Reinstated 10mg daily on 2/26/23 after trying to taper to 5mg 2-3 weeks prior.

October 2021 Propranolol. Using as needed for anxiety. 10-20mg.

 

Supplements: Vitamin D 1000IU 2000IU daily, Melatonin 3mg <0.5mg as needed.

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After reinstating 10mg prozac my sleep has improved immensely. I got to sleep at 12 am last night and didn't wake up in the middle of the night. Shouldn't be too long before my sleep is back to normal.

DISCONTINUED

Citalopram, Sertraline, Clomipramine, Fluvoxamine

Tried the above drugs in order one by one for varying lengths of time.

 

September 2022 Escitalopram. Tried for about 2 months then discontinued. Starting dose 5mg, highest dose 10mg.

 

CURRENT

March 2021 Fluoxetine. Reinstated 10mg daily on 2/26/23 after trying to taper to 5mg 2-3 weeks prior.

October 2021 Propranolol. Using as needed for anxiety. 10-20mg.

 

Supplements: Vitamin D 1000IU 2000IU daily, Melatonin 3mg <0.5mg as needed.

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