Yichin Posted April 28 Author Share Posted April 28 @onmyway thank you for responding about egg retrieval. My progress: 17 months post rapid taper of 40 mg Prozac, 12 months from hell and resinstatement of 20 mg ( didn’t know any better) I am now finally functional after not working for 1 year but am still utterly exhausted by end of week. Palpitations stopped, shaking at night stopped, severe acne improved. Since working though, I’ve had to decrease exercise other than walking because I’m still so tired 1 year out. Estrogen levels low. Menses still with very short intervals (21 days) I tried first cut from 20 mg to 19.5 mg ( 2.5 percent) by combining 10 mg tablet with liquid. Two weeks later extreme fatigue, chest pain and shaking at night. No increase in anxiety yet. I hope you can help me. Questions: 1. Did I cut too soon? 2. does this mean it will take me 10 years or more to wean or worse? Or will I be able to cut more later as original withdrawal improves 3. I was planning on embryo freezing not egg freezing but now I’m totally afraid of the hormone induction plus anesthesia for egg harvesting. Can my body handle while in withdrawal? What are your thoughts? 4 I may need hormone replacement since my estrogen low and may be going into full ovarian failure. What happens to withdrawal if you add hormones? 5. Mark Hurowitz book on Deprescribing talks about decreasing dosage based on SERT occupancy instead of flat 5-10 percent per month. Is this newer information or is it a disagreement from this site? 6. I don’t know if low estrogen is from withdrawal or from the drug itself but I’m guessing it’s withdrawal since withdrawal caused extremely severe acne. What are your thoughts? 7. If I need anesthesia, do the dosage of drugs change or are there certain drugs that are better tolerated? my plan is to hold this dose now for several months but maybe I should go back up to 20. What are your thoughts? So grateful for you. I take nothing else- no caffeine, no alcohol. Nothing. 2014 -2022 Prozac 40mg intermittently x3 2022 Aug- Nov three month taper to 0 2023 April severe withdrawal 2023 May 5 doses of Ativan over two weeks 2023 May reinstate 20 mg prozac 2024 April 20 mg to 19.5 mg back to 20 mg Link to comment
Moderator Onmyway Posted April 29 Moderator Share Posted April 29 (edited) 6 hours ago, Yichin said: @onmyway thank you for responding about egg retrieval. My progress: 17 months post rapid taper of 40 mg Prozac, 12 months from hell and resinstatement of 20 mg ( didn’t know any better) I am now finally functional after not working for 1 year but am still utterly exhausted by end of week. Palpitations stopped, shaking at night stopped, severe acne improved. Since working though, I’ve had to decrease exercise other than walking because I’m still so tired 1 year out. Estrogen levels low. Menses still with very short intervals (21 days) Yinchin, I don't know your age but menstrual cycles also change before perimenopause. May be worth checking with your doctor. How do you know your estrogen levels are low? 6 hours ago, Yichin said: 1. Did I cut too soon? It was worth a try. Tapering will likely still cause problems but as long as the problems are not overwhelming, you can cut. See how you do with this one and if it is too hard, wait another few months. 2. does this mean it will take me 10 years or more to wean or worse? Or will I be able to cut more later as original withdrawal improves Unsure what you can tolerate. I have been able to tolerate very little so am still at 0.3mg but have been able to have a fairly normal life. 6 hours ago, Yichin said: 3. I was planning on embryo freezing not egg freezing but now I’m totally afraid of the hormone induction plus anesthesia for egg harvesting. Can my body handle while in withdrawal? What are your thoughts? In my experience you can ask that a benzo like midazolam not be used in your procedure. Propofol seems safe in withdrawal. 6 hours ago, Yichin said: 4 I may need hormone replacement since my estrogen low and may be going into full ovarian failure. What happens to withdrawal if you add hormones? You need to talk to your reproductive endocrinologist about this. Edited April 29 by Onmyway "Nothing so small as a moment is insurmountable, and moments are all that we have. You have survived every trial and tribulation that life has thrown at you up until this very instant. When future troubles come—and they will come—a version of you will be born into that moment that can conquer them, too." - Kevin Koenig I am not a doctor and this should not be considered medical advice. You can use the information and recommendations provided in whatever way you want and all decisions on your treatment are yours. In the next few weeks I do not have a lot of capacity to respond to questions. If you need a quick answer pls tag or ask other moderators who may want to be tagged. Aug 2000 - July 2003 (ct, 4-6 wk wd) , citalopram 20 mg, xanax prn, wellbutrin for a few months, trazodone prn Dec 2004 - July 2018 citalopram 20 mg, xanax prn (rarely used) Aug 2018 - citalopram 40 mg (self titrated up) September 2018 - January 2019 tapered citalopram - 40/30/20/10/5 no issues until a week after reaching 0 Feb 2019 0.25 xanax - 0.5/day (3 weeks) over to klonopin 0.25 once a day to manage severe wd March 6, reinstated citalopram 2.5 mg (liquid), klonopin 0.25 mg for sleep 2-3 times a week Apr 1st citalopram 2.0 mg (liquid), klonopin 0.25 once a week (off by 4/14/19- no tapering) citalopram (liquid) 4/14/19 -1.8 mg, 5/8/19 - 1.6 mg, 7/27/19 -1.5 mg, 8/15/19 - 1.35, 2/21/21 - 1.1 (smaller drops in between), 6/20/21 - 1.03 mg, 8/7/21- 1.025, 8/11/21 - 1.02, 8/15/21 - 1.015, 9/3/21 - 0.925 (fingers crossed!), 10/8/21 - 0.9, 10/18/21 - 0.875, 12/31/21 - 0.85, 1/7/22 - 0.825, 1/14/22 - 0.8, 1/22/22 - 0.785, 8/18/22 - 0.59, 12/15/2022 - 0.48, 2/15/22 - 0.43, 25/07/23 - 0.25 (mistake), 6/08/23 - 0.33mg Supplements: magnesium citrate and bi-glycinate Link to comment
Moderator Onmyway Posted April 29 Moderator Share Posted April 29 6 hours ago, Yichin said: 5. Mark Hurowitz book on Deprescribing talks about decreasing dosage based on SERT occupancy instead of flat 5-10 percent per month. Is this newer information or is it a disagreement from this site? Our method here is more gentle. His is a bit faster but potentially with more symptoms. 6. I don’t know if low estrogen is from withdrawal or from the drug itself but I’m guessing it’s withdrawal since withdrawal caused extremely severe acne. What are your thoughts? No idea. 6 hours ago, Yichin said: 7. If I need anesthesia, do the dosage of drugs change or are there certain drugs that are better tolerated? my plan is to hold this dose now for several months but maybe I should go back up to 20. What are your thoughts? So grateful for you. I take nothing else- no caffeine, no alcohol. Nothing. I discourage yo-yo-ing with dosages. Your nervous system craves stability right now. Movement in either direction is not helpful. "Nothing so small as a moment is insurmountable, and moments are all that we have. You have survived every trial and tribulation that life has thrown at you up until this very instant. When future troubles come—and they will come—a version of you will be born into that moment that can conquer them, too." - Kevin Koenig I am not a doctor and this should not be considered medical advice. You can use the information and recommendations provided in whatever way you want and all decisions on your treatment are yours. In the next few weeks I do not have a lot of capacity to respond to questions. If you need a quick answer pls tag or ask other moderators who may want to be tagged. Aug 2000 - July 2003 (ct, 4-6 wk wd) , citalopram 20 mg, xanax prn, wellbutrin for a few months, trazodone prn Dec 2004 - July 2018 citalopram 20 mg, xanax prn (rarely used) Aug 2018 - citalopram 40 mg (self titrated up) September 2018 - January 2019 tapered citalopram - 40/30/20/10/5 no issues until a week after reaching 0 Feb 2019 0.25 xanax - 0.5/day (3 weeks) over to klonopin 0.25 once a day to manage severe wd March 6, reinstated citalopram 2.5 mg (liquid), klonopin 0.25 mg for sleep 2-3 times a week Apr 1st citalopram 2.0 mg (liquid), klonopin 0.25 once a week (off by 4/14/19- no tapering) citalopram (liquid) 4/14/19 -1.8 mg, 5/8/19 - 1.6 mg, 7/27/19 -1.5 mg, 8/15/19 - 1.35, 2/21/21 - 1.1 (smaller drops in between), 6/20/21 - 1.03 mg, 8/7/21- 1.025, 8/11/21 - 1.02, 8/15/21 - 1.015, 9/3/21 - 0.925 (fingers crossed!), 10/8/21 - 0.9, 10/18/21 - 0.875, 12/31/21 - 0.85, 1/7/22 - 0.825, 1/14/22 - 0.8, 1/22/22 - 0.785, 8/18/22 - 0.59, 12/15/2022 - 0.48, 2/15/22 - 0.43, 25/07/23 - 0.25 (mistake), 6/08/23 - 0.33mg Supplements: magnesium citrate and bi-glycinate Link to comment
Yichin Posted April 29 Author Share Posted April 29 @Onmyway thank you for response! I am a young woman ie not perimenopausal. My blood levels of estrogen are low. I can talk to the endocrinologist about hormone replacement given during withdrawal but of course he/she will not know anything about that. Really appreciate your help. 2014 -2022 Prozac 40mg intermittently x3 2022 Aug- Nov three month taper to 0 2023 April severe withdrawal 2023 May 5 doses of Ativan over two weeks 2023 May reinstate 20 mg prozac 2024 April 20 mg to 19.5 mg back to 20 mg Link to comment
Moderator Onmyway Posted April 29 Moderator Share Posted April 29 Hi @Yichin if your low estrogen is caused by withdrawal then like everything else it will rebalance itself. I think I had some irregular cycles in the beginning of WD but that got better. Stress can affect menstrual cycles as well. You will not need hormone replacement unless you have severe symptoms like hot flashes. Variations in hormones is not necessary. If you are in your 20s, I would also not worry about egg/embryo freezing at this time esp in withdrawal. You may have gotten hyperfocused to the idea - in WD we all get these those ideas (I have had a few) but there is no reason to not wait a year or so until you feel better. Reproductive hormones are regulated by the HPG axis - similar to the HPA axis that is responsible for the stress hormones. The HP stands for hypothalamus - pituitary (gland) - if the latter is influenced because of withdrawal no reason to expect that the former wouldn't be. I'd focus on healing as calmly as possible at this time. You can come back to this in a few months and by then things may have changed with your cycles as well. That's my opinion so you don't have to take is guidance but that's what I would do. OMW "Nothing so small as a moment is insurmountable, and moments are all that we have. You have survived every trial and tribulation that life has thrown at you up until this very instant. When future troubles come—and they will come—a version of you will be born into that moment that can conquer them, too." - Kevin Koenig I am not a doctor and this should not be considered medical advice. You can use the information and recommendations provided in whatever way you want and all decisions on your treatment are yours. In the next few weeks I do not have a lot of capacity to respond to questions. If you need a quick answer pls tag or ask other moderators who may want to be tagged. Aug 2000 - July 2003 (ct, 4-6 wk wd) , citalopram 20 mg, xanax prn, wellbutrin for a few months, trazodone prn Dec 2004 - July 2018 citalopram 20 mg, xanax prn (rarely used) Aug 2018 - citalopram 40 mg (self titrated up) September 2018 - January 2019 tapered citalopram - 40/30/20/10/5 no issues until a week after reaching 0 Feb 2019 0.25 xanax - 0.5/day (3 weeks) over to klonopin 0.25 once a day to manage severe wd March 6, reinstated citalopram 2.5 mg (liquid), klonopin 0.25 mg for sleep 2-3 times a week Apr 1st citalopram 2.0 mg (liquid), klonopin 0.25 once a week (off by 4/14/19- no tapering) citalopram (liquid) 4/14/19 -1.8 mg, 5/8/19 - 1.6 mg, 7/27/19 -1.5 mg, 8/15/19 - 1.35, 2/21/21 - 1.1 (smaller drops in between), 6/20/21 - 1.03 mg, 8/7/21- 1.025, 8/11/21 - 1.02, 8/15/21 - 1.015, 9/3/21 - 0.925 (fingers crossed!), 10/8/21 - 0.9, 10/18/21 - 0.875, 12/31/21 - 0.85, 1/7/22 - 0.825, 1/14/22 - 0.8, 1/22/22 - 0.785, 8/18/22 - 0.59, 12/15/2022 - 0.48, 2/15/22 - 0.43, 25/07/23 - 0.25 (mistake), 6/08/23 - 0.33mg Supplements: magnesium citrate and bi-glycinate Link to comment
Yichin Posted May 1 Author Share Posted May 1 @onmyway thank you so much. I couldn’t take it. I went back to 20 mg and felt immediate relief. There must be a big difference between pills and liquid. I’m wondering if when I try again I need to actually increase the dose a little when changing to liquid. Do you ever recommend that? When can I try again? Should first drop be 1 percent? So discouraging 2014 -2022 Prozac 40mg intermittently x3 2022 Aug- Nov three month taper to 0 2023 April severe withdrawal 2023 May 5 doses of Ativan over two weeks 2023 May reinstate 20 mg prozac 2024 April 20 mg to 19.5 mg back to 20 mg Link to comment
Yichin Posted May 3 Author Share Posted May 3 @Onmyway mistake to have dropped the dose and change to liquid at the same time. Mistake to have gone back to 20 mg. Sheer exhaustion. Can’t work. Chest pain. Staying at this dosage for 1 year. I’ve been poisoned. For people out there who may think that this is relapse or that I’m stressed about something. Think again. The only thing stressful in my life is the withdrawal. Everything thing else is as perfect as it gets. @Onmyway I am very grateful for the help you’ve given me and really hope you will be able to come off all the way. 2014 -2022 Prozac 40mg intermittently x3 2022 Aug- Nov three month taper to 0 2023 April severe withdrawal 2023 May 5 doses of Ativan over two weeks 2023 May reinstate 20 mg prozac 2024 April 20 mg to 19.5 mg back to 20 mg Link to comment
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