Killerqueenx: Withdrawal 10mg Prozac stopping cold turkey - what now?

[Killerqueenx]

I was on Zoloft for 6 months. I gained too much weight. I switched to Prozac and have been on it for over a year. I have been only on 10mg. My psychiatrist recommended quitting cold turkey. I had no withdrawal symptoms until about 3.5 weeks.
 

I started to get extreme nausea and very hungry. If I skip a meal, I feel like I am going to pass out. I start sweating  and everything is spinning. I am tired all the time. I feel better after I work out, but crash after. If I keep eating on time and get full sleep (been taking NyQuil to pass out), I feel relatively okay. I can’t deviate from a very set schedule though. 
 

I have been having symptoms for about a week now. It’s slowly gotten less bad. My mood is 100% better without it. Mentally, I never want to go on again. 

 

Should I take a small dosage or just push through? I have no idea what to do. My doctor gave me a liquid prescription for 5mg. 

Edited October 17, 2024 by Emonda
Name to title

[Emonda]

Welcome @Killerqueenx

 

So the moderators can best help you, please complete your drug signature by following these instructions. Adding a signature ensures your drug history appears at the bottom of every post, making it more efficient for those trying to assist. This link should go directly to your own signature: Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature

 

5 hours ago, Killerqueenx said:

My psychiatrist recommended quitting cold turkey.

 

Wow! Here is the approach taken by many here:

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage? The reductions should get smaller and smaller each month, for example: 10mg, 9mg, 8.1mg, 7.3mg etc. This process involves a degree of trial and error, as there is no way of predicting how an individual will respond. Importantly, if you develop unpleasant side effects from tapering, halt the taper, give yourself time to settle, and once stable, taper more slowly and by smaller amounts moving forward. The experience of others suggests that the lower you go in dose, the slower you need to go with tapering.

 

5 hours ago, Killerqueenx said:

I had no withdrawal symptoms until about 3.5 weeks.

 

WD symptoms kicking in around week 3 or 4 for this AD sounds typical.

 

5 hours ago, Killerqueenx said:

I have been having symptoms for about a week now.

 

Can you relate to this WD list: Daily Checklist of Antidepressant Withdrawal Symptoms (PDF) 

 

5 hours ago, Killerqueenx said:

It’s slowly gotten less bad. My mood is 100% better without it.

 

Recovery from ADs and tapering is not linear. There are good days and not-so-good days/weeks/months. This is referred to as the Windows and waves pattern of stabilization.

 

5 hours ago, Killerqueenx said:

Should I take a small dosage or just push through?

 

WD can get quite difficult and last for quite some time. I'd read these two links:

About Reinstating and Stabilizing to Reduce Withdrawal Symptoms

Kindling

 

Once you add you signature, someone will comment further.

Regards, Emonda

 

[Killerqueenx]

I added my signature. Yes, I can relate to the withdrawal - primarily the digestive symptoms, fatigue, and entirely feeling like I’m about to pass out 

[Emonda]

Thanks for adding the details.

 

Have you read the links about reinstatement? If not, please read those. If this is something you are considering, less is best.

 

At five weeks off, maybe 1mg if you jumped of at 10mg...but it is just a best guess. Everyone responds differently. I've read of plenty that have reinstated too high, and they end up experiencing kindling.

[Killerqueenx]

I met with my psychiatrist today. She said she has never had a patient with such withdrawals symptoms. She wants me to go see a PCP and an endocrinologist. She reviewed my fasting glucose/ fasting insulin and she said it looks like I’m overproducing insulin. She said she will do more research to see if Prozac works on these pathways but she wants me to stay off of it. One of the reason I got off was I began having visual hallucinations when I was eating anything too sweet. Given this info, I am going to stay off it and try to ride it out. She isn’t certain Prozac wasn’t already giving me side effects related to my glucose / insulin and it’s safer to not reinstate it. She wants me seeing a specialist that understands these pathways better.