bluebell Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Hello, I have been taking antidepressants for so long now, can't actually remember my exact age. Anyway what I can tell you is for about the past 4 years have been taking 40 mg prozac a day as prescribed by my GP. I came across some information online and have been tapering since last October 2012. I am now on 34 mg per day. My GP refuses to prescribe me the fluoxetine liquid so I use jewellery scales to measure the contents of the prozac capsule. It is difficult for me to say really how I am but lately I have been suffering from really bad headaches and feeling sad. I am concerned that I have tapered too quickly but feel so down about my current symptoms and all the stuff I have learned about antidepressants that I feel very loathe to go back up and increase my daily dosage. I am not even tapering by as much as 10 % each time. I feel terribly insecure alot of the time and need to read about how other people are dealing with this situation. I look forward to getting to know everyone Lots of love Bluebell Prozac 40 mg prescribed for the past few years. started tapering october 2012 by 1 mg each taper. currently on 34 mg daily My GP refuses to prescribe Fluoxetine liquid so I use jewellery scales to weigh the capsule contents Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted March 19, 2013 Administrator Share Posted March 19, 2013 Welcome, bluebell. You have other options for tapering. See http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/759-tips-for-tapering-off-prozac-fluoxetine/ What you might want to do right now is hold for a bit and let your nervous system accommodate to the reduction so far, then do what we call a "micro-taper," reducing by a very small amount every xx days, depending on your symptoms. The amount might be as small as 0.10mg at a time. 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. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Jemima Posted March 19, 2013 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted March 19, 2013 Welcome to the forum, bluebell. You've been very wise to take your time tapering off Prozac and are probably going through a period of temporary instability. Hang in there, listen to your body, and take good care of yourself. Do you have any idea why you were put on 40 mg. of Prozac? That's about twice the usual dose. I won't be surprised if your doctor didn't explain anything to you, but just kept upping the dose whenever you had a symptom or even a side effect. Very few doctors have any familiarity with antidepressant withdrawal syndrome! Psychotropic drug history: Pristiq 50 mg. (mid-September 2010 through February 2011), Remeron (mid-September 2010 through January 2011), Lexapro 10 mg. (mid-February 2011 through mid-December 2011), Lorazepam (Ativan) 1 mg. as needed mid-September 2010 through early March 2012"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." -Hanlon's RazorIntroduction: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1588-introducing-jemima/ Success Story: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6263-success-jemima-survives-lexapro-and-dr-dickhead-too/Please note that I am not a medical professional and my advice is based on personal experience, reading, and anecdotal information posted by other sufferers. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus tezza Posted March 19, 2013 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted March 19, 2013 Hi bluebell, I just want to welcome you here. This is a very supportive group! You will find lots of helpful information and great advice. When you get a chance please add your history by following instructions here: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/893-please-put-your-withdrawal-history-in-your-signature/ It will be helpful to those offering support and advice. Thanks, Tezza http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1644-tezza-risperdal-withdrawal/ Seroquel and Mirtazipine Link to comment
bluebell Posted March 20, 2013 Author Share Posted March 20, 2013 Hi bluebell, I just want to welcome you here. This is a very supportive group! You will find lots of helpful information and great advice. When you get a chance please add your history by following instructions here: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/893-please-put-your-withdrawal-history-in-your-signature/ It will be helpful to those offering support and advice. Thanks, Tezza Thanks but I have done this already, Kind Regards Bluebell Prozac 40 mg prescribed for the past few years. started tapering october 2012 by 1 mg each taper. currently on 34 mg daily My GP refuses to prescribe Fluoxetine liquid so I use jewellery scales to weigh the capsule contents Link to comment
bluebell Posted March 21, 2013 Author Share Posted March 21, 2013 Welcome, bluebell. You have other options for tapering. See http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/759-tips-for-tapering-off-prozac-fluoxetine/ What you might want to do right now is hold for a bit and let your nervous system accommodate to the reduction so far, then do what we call a "micro-taper," reducing by a very small amount every xx days, depending on your symptoms. The amount might be as small as 0.10mg at a time. Thanks for that advice, I will do what you are suggestingThank you Bluebell Prozac 40 mg prescribed for the past few years. started tapering october 2012 by 1 mg each taper. currently on 34 mg daily My GP refuses to prescribe Fluoxetine liquid so I use jewellery scales to weigh the capsule contents Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus strawberry17 Posted March 21, 2013 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted March 21, 2013 Welcome Bluebell (you know me from elsewhere ) *** Please note this is not medical advice,discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner***http://prozacwithdrawal.blogspot.com/ Original drug was sertraline/Zoloft, switched to Prozac in 2007. Tapering from 5mls liquid prozac since Feb 2008, got down to 0.85ml 23/09/2012, reinstated back to 1ml(4mg) 07/11/2012, didn't appear to work, upped to 1.05ml 17/11/2012, back down to 1ml 12/12/2012 didn't work, up to 1.30ml 16/3/2013 didn't work, bumped up to 2ml (8mg) 4/4/2013 didn't work, in July 2013 I reinstated Sertraline (Zoloft) 50mg, feeling better now. A few months down the line I switched to 5ml liquid Prozac and tapered down to a compromise dose of 3ml liquid Prozac and have stayed there ever since, no withdrawals and no emotional blunting/loss of libido. Link to comment
bluebell Posted March 25, 2013 Author Share Posted March 25, 2013 Welcome, bluebell. You have other options for tapering. See http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/759-tips-for-tapering-off-prozac-fluoxetine/ What you might want to do right now is hold for a bit and let your nervous system accommodate to the reduction so far, then do what we call a "micro-taper," reducing by a very small amount every xx days, depending on your symptoms. The amount might be as small as 0.10mg at a time. Hi Alto, I am really struggling from bad headaches. As my GP won't prescribe me the liquid Prozac I have to use jewellery scales. so I take one 20 mg capsule, then break open the contents of another 20 mg capsule, and weigh out 0.145/0.146/ 0.147/0.148/0.149. I don't really bother with the last number as long as it's 0.14 something I figure out it is the equivalent of 14 mg. so 20 +14 = 34 mg. I will not now taper down to 33 mg for a good few months and hope the headaches go.You suggested I do a micro taper in the future. what would I measure out then? I am feeling really anxious about all this especially as it's now the third week I have been getting bad headaches and I am sick of them. Prozac 40 mg prescribed for the past few years. started tapering october 2012 by 1 mg each taper. currently on 34 mg daily My GP refuses to prescribe Fluoxetine liquid so I use jewellery scales to weigh the capsule contents Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted March 25, 2013 Administrator Share Posted March 25, 2013 You can make your own liquid from Prozac, that might be easier for you to measure. See http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/759-tips-for-tapering-off-prozac-fluoxetine/ Are you taking magnesium? That can help with the headaches. See http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1300-magnesium-natures-calcium-channel-blocker/ 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. Link to comment
bluebell Posted March 26, 2013 Author Share Posted March 26, 2013 Thanks for your reply. I have read somewhere that the Prozac granules can cause stomach upset??? is this correct? If I were to make my own solution, then I would be worried that the granules would cause gastric irritation if they weren't kept in their capsules. Kind regards Bluebell Prozac 40 mg prescribed for the past few years. started tapering october 2012 by 1 mg each taper. currently on 34 mg daily My GP refuses to prescribe Fluoxetine liquid so I use jewellery scales to weigh the capsule contents Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted March 26, 2013 Administrator Share Posted March 26, 2013 Nobody has complained of that that I know of. But if you're worried about it, take it with food. 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. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus basildev Posted March 27, 2013 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted March 27, 2013 HI Bluebell, I just wanted to drop by and say welcome. You've done really well getting down to your current dose. As Alto suggests you might want to hold for a while to give your nervous system a chance to settle down. Sometimes after tapering for a while it kind of catches up with you. It's important to go slow and trust your own instincts. Don't be discouraged about having to updose if that's what your body needs. Many people here including myself have been in the same boat. I wish you luck. July 2001 prescribed 20mg citalopram for depression;On and off meds from 2003-2006.February 2006 back on 20mg citalopram and stayed on it until my last attempt at tapering in September 2011.By far the worst withdrawal symptoms ever. Reinstated to 20mg citalopramOctober 2012 - found this forum!Nov 2012 to Feb 2013 did 10% taper, got doen to 11mg - was going great until stressful situation. Cortisol levels hit the roof, hideous insomnia forced me to updose to 20mg.March 2016 - close to 100% back to normal!****** I am not a medical practitioner, any advice I give comes from my own experience or reading and is only my perspective ****** Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus peggy Posted March 27, 2013 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted March 27, 2013 Hi blue bell, I think you may have made an error.... Did you empty and weigh the contents of a capsule? From your explanation you are just weighing out 14 mg- it is very likely that a capsule is heavier than that because of the filler weight inside. You may have inadvertently tapered a lot more than just 6 mg. that could explain your headaches and general sadness. Started in 2000 - On 150mg most of the time, (but up to 225mg at highest dose for 6 months in the beginning)Reduced off easily first time - but got depressed (not too much anxiety) 6 months laterBack on effexor for another 9 months.Reduced off again with no immediate w/d - suddenly got depressed and anxious ++ again 3 or 4 months later.Back on effexor - this time for 3 yearsReduced off over a month - 6 weeks later terrible anxiety - back on.Rinse and repeat 4 more times - each time the period before the anxiety comes back got shorter and shorterJan - July 2012 75mg down to 37.5mg;, 8/3/12 - 35mg. 8/25/12 - 32mg. 9/11- 28mg, 10/2 - 25mg, 10/29 - 22mg, 11/19 - 19.8mg; 12/11 - 17m,1/1- 15.5mg; 1/22 -14mg, 2/7 14.9mg, 2/18 - 17.8mg - crashed big time: back to 75mg where i sat for 2 years.... 4th March 2015 - 67.5mg; 31st March - 60mg; 24th April - 53mg; 13th May - 48mg; 26th May - 45mg; 9th June - 41mg; 1 July- 37.5mg; 20 July - 34mg; 11 August - 31mg; 1st Sept - 28mg; 1st Dec - 25.8mg; 28th Dec - 23.2mg; 23rd Jan-21.9mg; Feb 7th- 21mg; March 1st - 20.1mg, March 30th - 18mg Link to comment
bluebell Posted March 27, 2013 Author Share Posted March 27, 2013 Hi blue bell, I think you may have made an error.... Did you empty and weigh the contents of a capsule? From your explanation you are just weighing out 14 mg- it is very likely that a capsule is heavier than that because of the filler weight inside. You may have inadvertently tapered a lot more than just 6 mg. that could explain your headaches and general sadness. Hi Peggy, Unfortunately I do not fully understand your explanation. Please can you tell me in more simpler words what you mean. I empty the granules of the Prozac capsule onto my jewellery scale, then take some granules off using some tweezers. I pour what weighs 0.14 back into the capsule before taking it. do you know what I mean? I feel abit anxious now and need to know what you are talking about. Please get back to me on thisLove Bluebell Prozac 40 mg prescribed for the past few years. started tapering october 2012 by 1 mg each taper. currently on 34 mg daily My GP refuses to prescribe Fluoxetine liquid so I use jewellery scales to weigh the capsule contents Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus peggy Posted March 28, 2013 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted March 28, 2013 sorry to confuse you bluebell.. i would suggest you empty an entire capsule of prozac onto your scale to see how much it actually weighs. It will probably weigh more than 20mg. 20mg is the weight of the actual drug. you need to find out the weight of the whole capsule to determine how much 14mg of prozac will be. Started in 2000 - On 150mg most of the time, (but up to 225mg at highest dose for 6 months in the beginning)Reduced off easily first time - but got depressed (not too much anxiety) 6 months laterBack on effexor for another 9 months.Reduced off again with no immediate w/d - suddenly got depressed and anxious ++ again 3 or 4 months later.Back on effexor - this time for 3 yearsReduced off over a month - 6 weeks later terrible anxiety - back on.Rinse and repeat 4 more times - each time the period before the anxiety comes back got shorter and shorterJan - July 2012 75mg down to 37.5mg;, 8/3/12 - 35mg. 8/25/12 - 32mg. 9/11- 28mg, 10/2 - 25mg, 10/29 - 22mg, 11/19 - 19.8mg; 12/11 - 17m,1/1- 15.5mg; 1/22 -14mg, 2/7 14.9mg, 2/18 - 17.8mg - crashed big time: back to 75mg where i sat for 2 years.... 4th March 2015 - 67.5mg; 31st March - 60mg; 24th April - 53mg; 13th May - 48mg; 26th May - 45mg; 9th June - 41mg; 1 July- 37.5mg; 20 July - 34mg; 11 August - 31mg; 1st Sept - 28mg; 1st Dec - 25.8mg; 28th Dec - 23.2mg; 23rd Jan-21.9mg; Feb 7th- 21mg; March 1st - 20.1mg, March 30th - 18mg Link to comment
bluebell Posted April 13, 2013 Author Share Posted April 13, 2013 Dear Alto, I am having serious problems having to get up out of bed several times ( about 9 times ) overnight to pass urine. I am tapering down from Prozac 40 mg, am currently on 34.5 mg. Do you think this is a symptom of tapering? Kind Regards Bluebell PS if so when is it going to settle? Prozac 40 mg prescribed for the past few years. started tapering october 2012 by 1 mg each taper. currently on 34 mg daily My GP refuses to prescribe Fluoxetine liquid so I use jewellery scales to weigh the capsule contents Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Jemima Posted April 13, 2013 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted April 13, 2013 Dear Alto, I am having serious problems having to get up out of bed several times ( about 9 times ) overnight to pass urine. I am tapering down from Prozac 40 mg, am currently on 34.5 mg. Do you think this is a symptom of tapering? Kind Regards Bluebell PS if so when is it going to settle? There's a very good chance that having to use the bathroom throughout the night is related to withdrawal, which may mean that you're tapering too fast. Here's a topic under 'Symptoms and self-care' regarding this annoying condition: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1969-embarrassed-urination/page__p__19231__hl__nocturia__fromsearch__1#entry19231 To my knowledge, no one has any absolute answers to your questions, especially about how long it will last. I'm not sure if a small updose would help with this or not. I hope someone with better knowledge will come along to advise you. BTW, I merged your two topics because only one Intro topic is allowed per member. Psychotropic drug history: Pristiq 50 mg. (mid-September 2010 through February 2011), Remeron (mid-September 2010 through January 2011), Lexapro 10 mg. (mid-February 2011 through mid-December 2011), Lorazepam (Ativan) 1 mg. as needed mid-September 2010 through early March 2012"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." -Hanlon's RazorIntroduction: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1588-introducing-jemima/ Success Story: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6263-success-jemima-survives-lexapro-and-dr-dickhead-too/Please note that I am not a medical professional and my advice is based on personal experience, reading, and anecdotal information posted by other sufferers. Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted April 13, 2013 Administrator Share Posted April 13, 2013 Yes, it can be a withdrawal symptom. Other than the urinating, how are you sleeping? 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. Link to comment
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