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Hi--I'm so glad this site exists. I took my last dose of Prozac on December 15, 2018. 3 days later, what I call the Horror, began. I had been on ssri's for over 20 years during which time I had become constantly sick. It never occurred to any doctor that my illnesses were medication related. Eventually I began to link studies of the ssri's to my problems. I tapered over a 6 month span, and now realize with the discovery of SA that it was probably too quick. I'm frightened because I still don't sleep well, suffer from akinesia, bone-crunching depression, suicidal ideation, especially in the night and mornings, tinnitus, extreme weight loss, blurred vision, and obsessive ruminations. This mental state is a million times worse than anything I experienced before starting on Zoloft. At that time, my husband had been diagnosed with Huntington's Disease, and during the first 2 years Zoloft did seem to help me cope. After that, it never worked the same, though the dose was consistently increased. Eventually my doctor had read that Zoloft was associated with an increased risk of stroke in those over 60, and he switched me to Prozac. Over these years I lost my hair, had an oophorectomy for cysts on my ovaries, had appendix removed, two heart attacks, and was put on Enalapril for HBP, Metformin for diabetes. I always had digestive problems during this time--including hiccups! And terrible sweating-- Three days after my last dose of Prozac, I was admitted to ER with BP of 250/150ish. Administered clonidine. Back to ER again about a week later with same high BP which had never gone down. My urine was pink. My body and mind could barely function. I was given a diagnosis of Serotonin Syndrome by the ER toxicologist. Since then I have tapered off the Ace inhibitor in 2019, and Metformin, the last dose being in March 2020. About 8 months in, it seemed I might be improving somewhat, but the final withdrawal from Metformin has set me back again. A couple of months ago, the mental nightmare had become so unrelenting I considered reinstating, but haven't. I still can't watch movies, read novels, or enjoy music the way I did. But the good news is that my blood pressure is now normal. This month I've slowly returned to my job part time after nearly a year away. Thank you for all that you all contribute here. I hope I can offer support as well. Your journeys mean a ton to me--life rafts, in fact. Zoloft: 1995 - 2015 Prozac: 2015 - 2018 (tapered from July to December) Gabapentin: 2016 to 2019 Enalapril: 2010 - 2019 Lipitor: 2017 -2017 Metformin: 2000 - 2020 Liothyronine: 2007 - 2019 Levothyroxine: 2000 - Happy to be here, Arbor

ADMIN NOTE Please note that SurvivingAntidepressants is a site for tapering and recovery from withdrawal syndrome. While we see PSSD sometimes as an aspect of withdrawal syndrome (and we see gradual recovery from it as well as withdrawal syndrome), this site is not specifically for discussion of treatment of PSSD or its neurological origins (which at this time are highly speculative). See journal articles about PSSD in Papers about Post-SSRI Sexual Disorder (PSSD) If you wish to discuss symptoms, theories, and treatment of PSSD, please go to these sites: PSSD Network pssdnetwork.org PSSDforum https://pssdforum.org/ Yahoo group SSRIsex (log in to http://Yahoo.com to join) Facebook group (log into Facebook.com to join) Various pages on Rxisk.org Please note the following:

I started taking lexapro about 5 years ago was on 20mg. I tapered off over the course of 9 weeks by 10mg each. I've been off for 12 days. I've been feeling the brain zaps which I expected, I was tired and irritable which I expected. One night I woke up in a dead slee with pgad symptoms. Who would have thought that an anti depressant withdrawal would have caused this? I do not have it as bad as what I read but it is there. Im also feeling itchyness all over my body. Tingling everywhere, did anyone have pgad from withdrawal? Did it go away? How long did it take? I came off the lexapro to try and have a baby with my husband. Iam now devastated. Please give me some positivity! (mod note: Original title: Pgad help! Does it ever go away!)

Hi, I started reducing my 10 mg of prozac on 1/1. My doctor recommended going down to 7.5 mg. I have been taking it consistently in the evening to no initial side effects for the first week, but today (about 8 days in) I am feeling the effects of the taper. Was 7.5 too much, too fast? Should I go back up to 10 mg and then wait for it to level out and then reduce it by 10% (per the guidance here)? Thanks all, Erin

tried tapering Pristiq, too tough, looking to try tapering Wellbutrin next Hello all! It has been so helpful to read through this wonderful community, and it’s giving me more hope than I’ve had in a long time. When I was a troubled teen, my parents put me on Prozac, said it made me too angry, and started switching it up and I was on a cocktail before graduation. Been on one ever since, I can’t even remember the chronology of what was taken when, though perhaps I should sit down and try to figure it out. This year, I tapered down Buspar and successfully got off of it. Anxiety went up a bit, but I took more Gabapentin and was fine. Recently, partly due to Kaiser not being able to fill it, I tried tapering down on Pristiq. Since I’m on the lowest possible dose, and it’s time release, I’m having a rough time figuring this out. I read that the maker recommends taking it every other day, then less, but that seems like a real ping-pong for the ole brain. Cutting it to lower the dose was a terrible plan, I spiked in anxiety then crashed for the rest of the day. Since I felt so terrible with lowered Pristiq, it made me wonder if that’s working and I should leave it alone for now. I’ve been on Wellbutrin for longer, so maybe that’s a good one to let go of. I was considering switching to the non-time-release version, but remembered that made me feel suicidal in the past, which got better when I switched back to the same dose of Wellbutrin SR. I’ve also had trouble finding doctors who can/will help. Everyone has told me that since I’ve been on meds since I was young, I’m stuck. Or that it would require more therapy than my insurance company/provider Kaiser is able to provide. For years now, every time I ask about lowering a dose or being on less meds, I walk out of there having gotten a hard sell to increase or add another one. It’s maddening! Finally tapered down on the Buspar on my own, since I couldn’t find anyone to help. With lots of coping skills and self-soothing, it was all right. The problem for me now is this time release mess and being on the lowest doses! I’ll keep diving into what other people have done and see what options might work. Hoping that one day I can find a doctor willing to help me lower, not increase, the meds. I had a family member of kidney failure caused by a mental health med, so being on these for the rest of my life (and potentially shortening it in the process) sounds like a bad plan. Still, figuring this all out is tough! Grateful to find this resource, and learn ways to safely decrease with the goal of getting off some or all meds. Thank you all, and I hope you’re all doing well!

I started taking 20mg of Latuda near the end of May 2022 for treatment-resistant depression and anxiety. I started taking the drug as recommended, with at least 350 calories of food, until sometime in July where I got annoyed with feeling exhausted after dinner and started taking it right before bed without food. I did not realize that this meant I probably only absorbed 50-75% of those doses. By early to mid August, I began experiencing withdrawal symptoms (unbeknownst to me) including severe anxiety, racing thoughts, SI, fast heart beat, and a lack of appetite. I spoke to my psych about what was happening but she could not determine whether my symptoms were from the drug itself or a withdrawal but later suggested that I "taper" off of the medication. I started taking 10mg of Latuda, with food, from September 19th to September 26th and then went cold turkey. Since I have stopped the Latuda, my anxiety is seemingly getting worse, I have bouts of insomnia, I still have no appetite, my heart rate is regularly raised, and have had some GI concerns as well. I am 2 1/2 weeks off of Latuda and wondering if I should re-instate and, if so, at what dose? Have I passed the point of no return? My psych does not believe that what I am experiencing is withdrawal but rather a return of symptoms and wants me to try another anti-psychotic. I have an appointment with a different psych on Tuesday to discuss. I have been out of work on FMLA to handle the anxiety from this and terrified that I am months away from being anywhere close to who I was before this all started.

Hi Everyone, I am just going to jump right into this. I developed anxiety 4 years ago after having several life crisis in a months time. My mom was diagnosed w Dementia. My little sister was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer. I was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma.A childhood friend died in his sleep from heart failure. I tipped over from the stress. I went to my GP and she started throwing AD's at me to help silence the anxiety. The AD's only made me worse. I went to the ER one night after experiencing my first panic attack The ER Dr gave me a script for Ativan. I took it for four weeks and then stopped because I was feeling much better. A few days later my world turned on it's axis. I didn't know what was happening. My anxiety was worse, I was pacing, heart racing, Panic attacks daily.... I went to my GP and she said I needed to see a Psychiatrist. To get in to see anyone was 3 months. I started to spiral. I had no idea I was in withdrawal! I ended up in the hospital to get help for my anxiety. I was put on Effexor (75mg)and Klonopin (.25mg). I stabilized and was sent home. I did really well on Effexor. After 4 months on Klonopin I started to slowly taper off. I tapered over 3 months. The taper went pretty well. I was cutting and weighing my pills. 8 months after that I felt good and talked to my Psychiatrist about tapering off of the Effexor. She strongly recommended to go slow and we did. I tapered for almost 7 months. To be honest, the Klonopin was easier to come off of than the Effexor. She put me on Prozac before my last cut of Effexor. Tapered off of the Prozac over 3/ months. I still had some anxiety but it was tolerable. It felt AMAZING to be free of AD'S and the Benzo....then COVID hit and my mom passed away. Anxiety came back w a vengeance. I ended up back in the hospital after a very bad reaction to Zoloft. My new psychiatrist kept telling me to "push through," the first 3 months. I was back on Klonopin but now it was.50mg twice a day.The hospital took me cold turkey off of Zoloft and started me on Remeron and Trazadone. The next day they added clonidine. The klonodine didn't agree w my system at all and I was taken off of that in two days. They released me from the hospital 5 days later. I lasted two weeks on Remeron. I was so disoriented, confused, high anxiety and felt like I could become violent on them so they weaned me off of that over 4 days and put me back on Prozac. Prozac didn't help my anxiety, I had constant headaches for months! I did get an MRI and it was normal. I started to feel more and more depressed on it. I was on Prozac for maybe two months when my psychiatrist took me off of that (tapered over 6 weeks) and put me on Lexapro. I had to have back surgery during this. I did NOT take a single pain med out of fear of making my WD worse. At first I thought the Lexapro was helping? I was still having breakthrough anxiety so he bumped it up. My Psychiatrist retired and a new woman came in to take his place until they could find a new one. She bumped my Lexapro up to 25mg when I told her I was having major anxiety rushes, my face would get bright red, I wasn't sleeping very well. That increased dosage was the worst! I was like a zombie but w heightened anxiety. I couldn't work, I would sit at my desk and space off for hours! I felt awful. So, she told me to start tapering off of the Lexapro (4 weeks total! I knew better...) and she wanted to cross taper me onto Effexor. I started that and boy....the depression was BRUTAL! I was not sleeping well, could hardly focus, anxiety was high, my legs felt like jelly, my head would burn, I felt my brain tingle all the time... I was nearing the end of my rope. I was desperate for a Psychiatrist that CARED. The interim Psych left and a new one came in. She wanted me off of the Effexor because she felt it was too hard to come off of and if it didn't work for me, I would be in for hell. I told her I was scared to switch AGAIN and she assured me that switching to Duoloxetine was it's "sister drug," and I shouldn't have an issue. I trusted her. The last 3 months have been.... (How do describe this hell?!) a daily battle to push through hell on earth. I am still working, I can still function, I take care of myself, my home, my dog. I am a divorced woman with a 22 year old son. I live by myself with my Rottweiler. Life is so friggin' hard when you are trying to get thorough this mess. I now have a WONDERFUL and caring Psychiatric nurse practitioner who truly cares. She is holding me on the last 10mg of Lexapro until the Effexor/Lexapro WD calms down...IF it calms down. I should tell you that I can't believe I have pushed through the last year. My symptoms have been Burning in my head, headaches, tingling in my head, mood fluctuations, burning on my skin, bloodshot eyes, pressure on my chest, sensitivity to heat, depression, sweat easily, joint pain, ringing in my ears, no motivation, grinding my teeth, feeling mentally off at times, at the beginning I couldn't sit still, short tempered, at times in the beginning of the Lexapro taper, I didn't want to talk at times...like I almost couldn't, buzzing in my body, feel like I'm going crazy sometimes, anxiety rushes...etc I am interested in this group for support and the combined knowledge from it's members. I know that NO ONE can tell me when this is going to end. What I am hoping is that someone can tell me what I am going through is normal for all of the med changes? I am honestly concerned if I am still having problems because of the Duoloxetine? My anxiety IS better since I have been on it. I get 8 hours of sleep. I don't drink. I don't use illegal drugs, don't smoke. I eat pretty healthy. I don't exercise. It's tough to get out for walks when you feel like hell and I guess I save my mental energy to work. I know I have rambled on. My mind feels like it's in a vice and also these drugs affect how well I put my thoughts into words. For the most part I am a happy and well adjusted person. I feel like the last few years have been stolen from me because I faithfully followed Dr's instructions and thought they knew best...I was so wrong. Thank you for your time. Blessings to all of you.

Hi all, Newbie alert 🚨 I have lurked around this forum for well over a year, looking for advise and understanding. Today on my millionth AD tapering journey i’ve decided to register and introduce myself. A lot of the times I just want to ask “has anyone else experienced this?”, “how did it go for you”. Because the truth is, the doctors look at us as robots, or they just don’t understand and it becomes increasingly frustrating when you’re patronised - you know the ringing in my ear since tapering has nothing to do with that but rather “you’re not becoming any younger…with ageing a lot of things happen”. While yes that may be so, please don’t tell me you know my body better than me. Otherwise my doctor is quite ok. Most recently I asked him for liquid fluoxetine so I could taper slowly. He’s been with me a while and so knows that tapering fast is not for me. So I’m grateful he’s prescribed it. I saw another doctor just a week ago and she told me “you’re already taking 20mg fluoxetine every other day so you’re ready to just stop now”. Obviously I know better and on her part it has to be ignorance. Anyhow digress… I have been on and off AD since 2015 when at the age of 27, I was divorced, homeless and a single mother with my family having just moved away. That’s putting it in a concise and pretty way but I won’t get into the ugly…As the years have gone on I’ve made so much progress and so many changes in the way I think and approach things. So I must remember to give myself credit. However the times I decided to come off AD, the advise of the doctors was not great and I always rushed or went cold turkey. The problem was, I felt great the month or 2 after stopping. It’s about 5 months down the line when I either crash and feel extremely low or my emotions just scatter, so many feelings flood me. I have had counselling but I realise the latter, was probably due to issues not being addressed and the AD numbing those very real emotions. So this time, I’ve decided to move with patience. Go slow. Most recently I’ve taken the lower dose of 20mg fluoxetine from july2021 to Dec2021- this was after stopping cold turkey a few months before (when I was on 40mg). Since the new year I’m on 20mg every other day. I have the liquid which will be taken @ 10mg every other day. I haven’t yet started that dose as I still feel my body is still getting familiar with the 20mg every other day. One of the most annoying new symptoms of tapering is this ear ringing/vibrating. It feels very weird. I’ve never had it before in my ears but over the years experienced similar vibrations and spasms in my jaw so I guess it’s just different this time. It’s been about 5/6weeks since lowering 20mg every other day and I’ve just started feeling very tired, under the weather like I’m coming down with something. Not sure if that bit is related but we’ll see. Lastly the dreams! Omg the dreams, im having soo many very odd and random dreams. Didn’t think it was a thing when tapering because I always have the dreams when starting an AD. Weird stuff. If anyone can make it make sense, I’m happy for your input 😊 Any support, advise, words of encouragement, sharing experiences etc all welcome 🤗 Patient2022 x

Hello, My name is Leyla, I'm a 27 year old from Saudi Arabia. When I was 20 I went through a depressive anxious period during college and I started therapy then was referred to psychiatrist and started Lexapro. At the time, it helped me very overcome the crippling anxiety and at a point I was taking 20 mg which made me overly sleepy and low energy ,but also less anxious so I was happy with the result. 7 years went by and I was unaware that I have become fully dependent on the medication I forgot how it feels not to be on it. I decreased my dose gradually to 5 mg and was continuously advised not to quit whenever I tried because of how withdrawal was so bad it felt like a relapse. My doctor advised me in November 2022 to cross taper to 20 mg Prozac since it has a longer half life and so I did. I really want to quit medication and start following a holistic approach in dealing with anxiety and so I started taking the 20 mg dose every other day this month April 2023. So far my withdrawal symptoms are headaches, anxiety and seeing weird dreams. I am tapering on my own as my psychiatrist thinks that 20 mg Prozac is so low I can just stop taking it overnight, but I don't want to risk it so i reduced it by taking it every other day as I don't have access to 10 mg or liquid form where I live. I read some forums here that 10% taper is the safest way to quit, should I invest in a scale and start measuring the powder in capsules or would my current approach of gradually spacing my doses work? Also if you know any trustworthy psychiatrists I could contact online or any resources that could support me during my journey that would help. thank you,

Been on and off antidepressants for the last ten years. Prescribed amiltriptalian 2012 to relief arthritis pain. CT as requested by surgeon pre operation 2013.. PTSD diagnosed by dr after surgery prescribed Dosulapin 2013. Was swapped to another antidepressant after a couple of years think it was duloxetine. CT. Cant remember year swapped to gaberpectin to help with OA!!! CTed. Eventually another antidepressant after a couple of years think it was fluroxetine?? No taper. Tried to come of but didn't understand taper diagnosed paroxetine 2019 30mg also given amiltriptalian to help with sleep again but luckily didn't use it. Been reducing current meds since 2021. Now doing ten percent taper every 4 weeks. Ups and downs!!!! use breathing teckniques, mindfullness,graditude diary,crafting , nature, essential oils, baths, books,support services such as berevement phone line, samartians, therapy of NHS for free or cheep charity counsellors but essentially do it all alone, no support from family limited support from friends

Hello, my name is Jami. I am new to this forum and need some support and advice on a taper. I haven't started the Prozac taper yet but i have been injured by the medical field for the past four years. I have come off five diff phyc med drugs given to me for one wd for the next. It has been a brutal couple of years. I was given the wrong advice and Poly drugged because no dr or phyc dr. understood what i was going through. I searched for help and came across a benzo forum and found out what i was going through was benzo wds. and then i was told to come off lexipro . I was on that for 16 years, and it wasn't even being given to me by a phyc dr. I didn't ever struggle with depression or anything. I had an acute situation 16 years ago and just stayed on the Lexapro with no one tell me it is doing more harm than anything? i tapered 20 mlg for 8 months and when i got down from 5mlg to 2.5 something unimaginable happened. I had severe pacing akathisia and verbal aka. I paced for 5 months. I went to ers hospitals, phyc hospitals everywhere, and they all said i had anxiety! I had flu symptoms, chills, burning skin, insomnia, shakes, pgad, muscle pains, joints, agoraphobia, sweats, paranoid, angry etc. and it wouldn't stop? I had full on ssri discontinuation syndrome. No one was able to help me. I was told by a phyc dr that that cannot happen when i did my own research and it can and did. I was then put on Zyprexa with Prozac. 20 mlg Prozac, and 5 mlg of Zyprexa. I decided i didn't want to stay on the Zyprexa so i lowered it right away to 2.5 and then began to taper it by liquid for 14 months. I also was put back on a benzo that i had to taper another benzo liquid for 12 months. I was also having wds from baclofen was given to me again with no clue that was so addictive, and I even was put on suboxone for pain that I had to come off and went through severe wds from. It's been an absolute terrifying nightmare. for me and my family and loss of job and life. I am now 5 weeks off Zyprexa and having horrific wds. and am just taking the Prozac 20 mlg and I feel like when i now take the Prozac my now sensitive brain cant even handle that? I want to come off it but i am scared that i will have aka again like last time. I don't know if the Prozac is an entirely diff drug then the Lexapro now being out of my system for almost 3 years. Can i taper while i am in Zyprexa wd??? and still 6 months now off this valume? I also can't find much literature on Zyprexa wds ? I have all the aches pains anxiety tremors insomnia joints ache teeth hurt eyes blurry. its getting a little better but still very much there. I have spent over 100,000 on tests and treatments being told i have Lyme again and this and that. had major Lyme treatments. nothing worked. Because it's been one drug wd after the next and there is no information out there? These drs don't have a clue??? Its not my Lyme its classic brain injury. I am wondering if anyone has any advice or help for me to get through the rest of this nightmare. Thank you. I cannot even type the major harm and trauma that has been done to me with this, its hard to fathom this can happen to people.

Just came across this site, wish I saw it sooner! My primary care doctor put me on celexa 20 mg in 2012 for some mood issues. Started seeing a psychiatrist in 2016 who then put me on 40 mg celexa. Switched to effexor, not sure about dose in 2018, then switched to 10 mg prozac in 2020. Tried coming off cold turkey in 2022, was fine for 3 months then withdrawal hit, psychiatrist had me reinstate to 10mg and I stabilized. April 2023 psych had me drop 1 mg every 1 months until I got to 1 mg in December 2023. January 2024 went down to 0.5 mg then February 2024 went down to 0.3 mg. The crash came at the end of February 2024. Psych had me updose to 3 mg which I've been on for 8 days now. Thought I felt some improvement with the updose but still having periods of severe anxiety every other day. My question is should I stay on 3mg for a few weeks and see if I stabilize? Thanks for any input.

Hello I am a new member on this website, but I have learned a lot here last 2 years finding lots of answers to my questions. Until now I could do without personal advice. But I am having some specific questions now. Hope you can help me. And also hoping I can help others as well with everything I learned by now. First my background: In 1993 at the age of 34, I had a very heavy burnout, which changed my life completely over the following years. In those days it wasn’t sure that it was a burnout (there was not so much known about that as nowadays). It all started with glandular fever and I was extremely tired. The extreme tiredness did not go away and I was becoming somewhat depressed. I visited a psychiatrist for the first time in my life. He said the cause was from my traumatic childhood. He gave me Anafranil (Clomipramine) as an antidepressant and we talked every 2 weeks. The Anafranil was terrible. It did not do anything good for me and the side effects were terrible. So I stopped. Then he gave me Paxil. That was shortly on the market in Holland then. I used it for a few months, and again the side effects were terrible and no positive effects at all. I decided to stop the medication and I got severe discontinuation effects. My psychiatrist said that was not possible and it would be an illusion between my ears he said. Shortly after the psychiatrist died suddenly and I went from one psychiatrist to another. I did not take any medication anymore. Only talking therapy, which did not bring anything when I look back. I started to find relief on the spiritual and alternative path and that helped me much better than the medical path. Although my burnout problems stayed (extremely tired / lack of energy and somewhat light depressed feelings and anxiety now and then). In 2004 I became a father of a beautiful daughter, but the relationship with her mother was very bad unfortunately. I decided to stay in this relationship because I was afraid of hurting my daughter emotionally when we would split up. Later I learned that this was not the best decision. In 2006 I could not handle the stressful situation at home anymore and I started to develop severe panic attacks. Again I wanted to protect my daughter emotionally and I went again to another psychiatrist who was very specialized in medication. During a period of 6-12 months I was given all kinds of SSRI’s. On nearly all I reacted very badly with severe side effects and hardly or no good results. Then I was given Lexapro (escitalopram) which helped nearly instantly on my panic attacks. The psychiatrist told me that Lexapro would hardly give any side effects and that stopping the medication in future would not give serious problems. I was so happy that the panic attacks were under control and that I could handle the situation at home better then. But I became even more tired than before, because a side effect of Lexapro. Also my sexual life went almost to zero because of this SSRI. Then the psychiatrist came up with Wellbutrin (bupropion). That could give me more energy and might also solve the sexual problems. The combination of Escitalopram (10mg) and Wellbutrin XR (150 mg) would do the trick, he thought. I was not keen on taking more than 1 medication, but he convinced me that I could stop any moment with Wellbutrin and that it would not give any problem to discontinue. I believed him (unfortunately) After a while I went from 10mg to 5mg Lexapro, which still did the trick, but without less tiredness. After using this combination for 1½ until 2 years, I wanted to quit. I was doing quite OK and did not wanted to use such medication for an extreme long period of time. This is where the roller coaster started….. By then (end of 2009) without having the information I have now about quitting these drugs, unfortunately. I started to have strange feelings and my psychiatrist let me go up and down with dosages of Lexapro between 5 and 10mg, to see what the results would be. Also, he put me on and off the Wellbutrin to see what worked (that was not a problem I was told, since no continuation problems…) End of 2009 I quit completely (Lexapro in some small steps to zero over several weeks and Wellbutrin cold turkey (both according to advice psychiatrist). It went well, but after 3 months I was feeling worse than ever. Panic attacks and terrible feelings that made me wanting to die! My psychiatrist and house doctor both said that I obviously needed the medication and that I should start it again. Which I believed and did. Real relief wasn’t there for a long period. I could not find the balance again. My psychiatrist let me change doses of both drugs to find a new balance. Spring 2011 After nearly 1 year looking for the right dosage I found some balance again. Which resulted in 5mg Lexapro and 150 mg Wellbutrin XR. Spring 2012 – end of 2013 I tried again to quit medications. This time taking 18 months to quit the 5mg Lexapro in small steps. Later in year decreasing Wellbutrin 150mg every other day (as I was advised….!) and end of 2013 cold turkey with the Wellbutrin (since I was still believing that was without any risk as I was told…) Spring/summer 2014 I felt OK for several months without medication and I got suddenly more energy. I woke up much earlier automatically. I really thought I was OK now and also totally off the medication. But suddenly I hardly could not sleep again. Slowly I was feeling worse and worse. And then I developed psychoses at night (which I never had before in my life). My life became a hell! I did not want to start medication again, but my doctor told me I really had to start again. I was feeling so terrible and I was not myself anymore in any way… I had to fight against unknown forces in me that wanted me death. So I started again on medication. First only with Lexapro. Which did not do the trick then and later also Wellbutrin. Very slowly I started to feel better with some ups and more downs. Again it took nearly a year before I really felt better and more or less stable (summer 2015). I was taking 5 mg Lexapro and 150 mg Wellbutrin XR then. Beginning of 2016 I decreased doses Lexapro from 5 to 2,5mg. Which went well. Stayed on 150mg Wellbutrin per day November 2016 Went down to 1 pill of Wellbutrin XR 150mg every other day. Stayed on Lexapro 2,5 mg. Went well also. July 2017 I went to 1 pill of Wellbutrin XR 150mg every 3 days. After a week or so I got the alarming feelings again of waking up early with a lot of energy! To stabilize I went back to 1 Wellbutrin per day (not clever with the knowledge that I have now….) IMPORTANT: This is where I got for the first time the idea that Wellbutrin might play an important role in the discontinuation effects. Until here I really was convinced (told) that Wellbutrin could not give discontinuation problems. November 2017 – February 2018 I decreased the dosage of Lexapro in small steps from 2,5 to 0,6mg. And in the same period I went down with Wellbutrin from 150mg to 66mg. All with little discontinuation problems (or they came months later again perhaps, as often happened when I look back with the knowledge I have now). A problem with weaning off Wellbutrin is that in Europe ONLY the 150mg is on the market. And it is said that these should not be cut. I started to do my own research then as I learned that taking Wellbutrin on alternating days is asking for trouble. I found out that cutting the Wellbutrin XR just changes it to instant release. So I bought myself a scale that can weigh milligrams. I divided my daily dose of Wellbutrin over 4 parts. And that worked. April 2018 I went down from 66 to 56 mg Wellbutrin and shortly after I got discontinuation effects. I was advised by one of the “best” professors in Psychiatry in The Netherlands that it might be better to get away from the Wellbutrin first. And to leave the 0,6mg Lexapro during that weaning off. Which I did. Still thinking that getting off Wellbutrin should not be so difficult (when taking a smaller dose daily instead of alternating days), I went down in small steps of maximum 10% as of here. April – August 2018 I went down in small steps from 56 mg to 37,5mg Wellbutrin. All the time staying on Lexapro 0,6mg. The steps were never more then 10%. Mostly 1 step down every 3-5 weeks. I had sometimes heavy discontinuation effects which lasted most of the times 2-4 weeks. Getting under 50mg Wellbutrin per day, the negative effects became worse and worse and were also taking more time to disappear again. After reaching the 37,5mg I had reached a point where I really could not go further down again. I was feeling so terrible. I was extremely tired, depressed, anxious, negative thoughts (also thoughts of suicide), forgetting things, making lots of mistakes, concentration problems, irritated, no appetite, nausea, hart beating, feeling of burning on the inside skin, blurred vision. This situation remained more or less until March 2019 with several rebounds, so until 7 months after the last dosage change. March 2019 – May 2019 I decided now to try to wean of the Lexapro first. So before stopping Wellbutrin. Since stopping Wellbutrin became more and more difficult I went down in small steps from 0,6mg to 0,3mg Lexapro. I also went down in several small steps with Wellbutrin from 37,5 to 35,3mg (with knowledge of now not clever to do both in same period…) But still it was only 6% down divided over several steps and months… After reaching the 0,3mg level of Lexapro it went wrong again. Extreme problems with sleeping. Comparable with the crisis I had in 2014 where I had the psychoses several times at night. May 2019-December 2019 I learned about the Prozac switch. I discussed it with my doctor and he thought it might be a good idea. So I did. Eventually the problems became worse and worse. I do not know for sure if it had to do with reaching almost the zero point for Lexapro or if it had to do with the small dosage change of Wellbutrin. I guess it had to do with reaching the zero point of Lexapro and then stopping Lexapro completely after the Prozac switch… So maybe it was a sort of “cold turkey” effect om the Lexapro (although only 0,3mg and although the Prozac switch). The sleeping problems were so extreme that I felt that psychoses could come any moment. I tried several sleeping medication, but none helped. In the end I was given Seroquel which helped, at only 12mg per night. I used it only for 4 weeks and weaned it off to zero in another 2 weeks. In the meanwhile I had gone up with the dose of Prozac from 0,6mg (equivalent of 0,3 mg Lexapro when doing the Prozac switch) to 1,2mg Prozac and still 35,3 mg Wellbutrin IMPORTANT: I found information that Wellbutrin slows down the metabolism of SSRI’s. Which means that going down in doses Wellbutrin speeds up the metabolism of the SSRI, which probably has the same effect as lowering the dose of the SSRI. So even if one does not lower the dose of a SSRI, the effect is felt as such after lowering the dose of Wellbutrin….! December 2019 – February 2020 I was having a lot of discontinuation problems from December until February 2020. First With lots of rebounds. Slowly some windows were coming, slowly getting longer and more often. End of February I was feeling better again. February - April 2020 Decreased Prozac from 1,2 mg to 1,05 mg over several small steps. I thought that after being almost 1 year stable on Wellbutrin I could go down there as well (not clever again…). So I went down from 35,3mg to 34,3mg (just 3%). And some weeks later from 34,3 to 33,3mg. That is where it went probably wrong again… About 10 day after the last dosage lowering of Wellbutrin, I started to feel again effects that almost certainly have to do with the Wellbutrin. But still not fully sure since I am also still on a very low dose of Prozac. That might have effects as well. And then there are the possible effects between both drugs… August 31, 2020 Anyhow, It is now 5 months after the last (small) dosage change of Wellbutrin. Still having rebounds from that. I decided that I will remain on the level of the last doses change, i.e. 33,3mg, until I am completely off the Prozac In the meanwhile, I went down extremely slow with the Prozac from 1,05 mg to 0,83mg in steps of only 2-3%. In this current tempo, going down to zero with Prozac, will certainly take me another 6-8 months. If I make that in such a period….. I am dividing 1 pill of 20 mg in 24 daily dosages. One would think that one could stop by at this low dosage, but I am really afraid of doing so, because all my earlier experiences. Plan and Questions OK, this is a very long background story. But I hope it helps with the advice I am looking for. My plan is to leave the dosage of Wellbutrin on 33,3mg as long as I am taking only the smallest dosage of Prozac. This because I have found that Wellbutrin is influencing the metabolism of Prozac. And I have read more then once that stopping Wellbutrin can be very difficult when also taking a SSRI. Hopefully it will be easier (as some say) to quit Wellbutrin after having stopped Prozac. After fully stopping Prozac I want to wait for at least 3 months before doing a dosage lowering of Wellbutrin. This because of possible rebounds after stopping Prozac. When I remain stable, I plan to lower the dose of Wellbutrin with only 3%. Then wait for 4 weeks and then another 3%. If that works out OK, maybe a step of 5% and so on. Questions: 1) What do the moderators think of my plan? Any advice or recommendations? 2) At which dosage level would it be safe to stop completely with Prozac? I was thinking about going down to 0,15mg which is only 1/70 of 1 pill (so 1 pill divided over more then 2 months). But still then I am not sure if that is safe to stop. 3) Is there any experience if it is true that stopping Wellbutrin is easier when one is not taking a SSRI anymore next to it? I hope so, because getting of Wellbutrin seems to be getting more and more difficult at this dosage level I am. And every small step down asks for a heavy recovering period of about 8 months now… Some additive information: I take daily: high doses Fish Oil (3000mg) Magnesium 100 mg Sometimes 2 drops of Lavender Oil when feeling anxiety Sometimes 50mg of L-Theanine when having severe discontinuation effects probably caused by Wellbutrin Fish oil, magnesium , lavender oil

Hi all , I have heard about this site for awhile and have been struggling this past year with my prozac medication. I was originally prescribed it for very bad anxiety episodes after my mother's passing in 2015. Last year I had decided to come off completely but apparently went off way to quick. I reinstated my prozac soon as per my doctor but did not receive much relief, if at all . I was still experiencing what people refer to here as "windows and waves"..... I had really wanted to stick it out but after almost 8 months after reinstating I am not sure what to do. I am afraid of touching any other medication but at the same time these waves feel absolutely awful. A local support group I was attending had someone going through something similar and they had mentioned this site among a few others. I watched a documentary featuring the creator of this site and she seemed very knowledgeable about the subject and I had wanted to ask for some kind of take on my situation. Is this a common occurence to reinstate the drug but it having little to no effect? I'm really at a loss right now, any response would be greatly appreciated! I want to get through this for my cat and two beautiful nieces

Hello everyone, My name is Franck and I am French. I started Deroxat 20 MG in 01/2008 for anxiety disorders...Since then I have never been able to get rid of it despite several reduction attempts, admittedly too rapid, by my doctor. 2023 has been a dramatic year for me and I'm heading into 2024 with a new antidepressant. I have many side effects: memory loss, intense fatigue, irritability, insomnia... I stopped deroxat 20mg in 08/2008 as planned by my doctor, reducing it in less than a month... in 01/2009 I fell into severe depression and lost 25 kg before the doctor didn't realize I had Crohn's disease. I took deroxat again in 07/2009 but still with a lot of fatigue, 0 emotions, 0 libido, irritability, non-restorative sleep... We tried again to stop deroxat 20MG in 03/2014 while reducing the dose by 1/4 every 15 days... in 05/2014 it's hell.... My last stop took place on 11/2022 when I suddenly stopped taking deroxat in the middle of Covid, a month and a half with very good windows and some side effects... Mid-January 2023, impossible to get out of bed, feed myself, wash myself... my doctor decided to reintroduce 10 mg until March 2023... without effect... he then changed to Effexor 75MG then 150 MG...it got me out of bed but the sensations aren't great... In November 2023, effexor no longer works... I sleep 20 hours a day, I no longer eat, I no longer drink, a real zombie... they change my treatment and put me on Prozac 20MG in the morning and Diazepam 30MG in three doses. Today I am very slowly stopping the diazepam. 2 mg in the morning and 10 mg in the evening remain manageable. What do you advise me based on my experience, I would like to try magnesium and reduce this Prozac when the time comes but with a real withdrawal protocol... Thank you in advance for your answers and support.

Hello SA Community, I am new to the site, but have been reading a lot of info here over the past 2 1/2 years. I am in a bad place... I was on 20 mg Prozac for many years, and was told by a Dr. in Feb 2018 that I could just "stop it". Well... I crashed bad. I didn't know what was happening, and over the next year and half, I was given over 22 different meds (including back on Prozac and numerous AD's, benzos, sleeping pills, BP meds, mood stabilizers, and lastly, an antipsychotic). I deteriorated more and more and finally decided to get off everything. I am down to my last 5 mg of Prozac. I have suffered very much - my biggest symptoms have been horrible insomnia, dark depression, intense anxiety among others. I haven't had but a couple of days of windows in the past year. I am just losing hope. Will I get better? I am holding at 5 mg for a long time (just reduced 2 weeks ago). I think I did EVERYTHING wrong.... Thank you.

Hi Everyone, First of all I want to thank each person who will take the time to read my story and answer me This is my story and I could write a book.. I am a 33 years old French man I started PAROXETINE when I was 16 years old ( 18 years of treatment ) 2006 I Started PAROXETINE at 20mg by my family doctor following a huge panic attack triggered by a bad trip to Canabis (heavy consumption the same day) in high school, with a suddenly effects of DP/ DR tenfold, symptom accompanied by period of black out.. I was not a regular consumer just a young person with bad attendance and very impressionable who wanted to try. At this point I did not know what DPDR was and no doctor explained to me the why of the how. For me it was a reaction of cannabis. The years have passed I have not had any particular psychological or psychiatric follow-up. DPDR it is installed then it is attenuated until disappearing, I remember having occasional panic attacks that manifested by a DPDR and then went away.. Terrible teen that I was it was not my lesson, DPDR resurfaced on a Christmas night or I re-smoked cannabis with a bad trip that manifested as the first time with blackout periods The years have passed. I tried to stop treatment with my doctor several times. The instructions of my first weaning were to take 1 pills per day then every other day then every other day etc... The symptoms of physical withdrawal brain zap often made me stop attempts to stop treatment because unbearable with reintroduction of the dose at 20mg each time. I had to stay at least 8-10 years at 20mg I felt normal. 2015-2016 During these years I always wanted deep down to stop this treatment because I did not want to be dependent on a drug and for me everything was fine but I began to be afraid of the long-term effect on my memory, An example in a discussion with friends when I was asked, you remember when we did this on that day or you remember this movie… and I had trouble remembering each time… (I still have this problem to this day 18 years later) So I started looking on the internet for a way to stop this treatment that for me was the cause of this loss of memory and that would make me lose my mind in the long term.. I do not have a great memory but I found this forum in 2015 or I found info that explained that during a withdrawal it was especially important not to jump dose and that it was necessary to gradually decrease the doses by taking it all the days I started to cut the tablet from 20mg in 2 from 20mg to 10mg I stayed for a long time at month 2-3 years at this dose trying later to cut it again in 2 and passing to 5mg It should be noted that during all these years I have always been someone very anxious who constantly wonders about the why of the like, life, existence, a terrible anguish by death with occasional anxiety attack and panic attack that manifested through a DP/DR and then passed and I became normal again without being blocked in the DP/DR (I still don’t know what DP/DR was in those 2015-16 years) 2020 My wife gets pregnant, upheaval in our life, during pregnancy questions begin to settle, life, life existence, aging etc… We go on holiday in the USA in the family of my wife For 3 weeks I drink alcohol because the family there party and drink alcohol, almost every day, (but usually I do not drink alcohol I drink some beer from time to time but no more...) At this time (and even before these holidays ) I regularly drank lots of coffee like any normal person. Coffee has always tended to make my heart beat We come back from vacation the same evening I lie next to my wife and a big palpitation happen, I put the hand of my wife on my heart I’m afraid, I have the impression of having a heart attack, but it is a panic attack. I ended up falling asleep.. The next day, everything got weird I’m not myself the DPDR came back knocking and settles and gets worse by the day The loop settles, existential questions turn in loop, the birth of my future child, the fear of growing up, aging and death, it turns in loop, all the days. I’m not hungry anymore. This time it’s about I’m going crazy, I literally think I’m going schizophrenic. (I still don’t know what DPDR is at that time) I decide to make an appointment with a psychiatrist explaining the situation, at that time I was at 10mg PAROXETINE, he tells me that 10mg is not a therapeutic dose it is necessary to go up to 20mg to feel effects I go up to 20mg of PAROXETINE but nothing always passes this weird feeling of being foreign to myself. I take an other appointment with him and he tell me to go up to 40mg of PAROXETINE and prescribe TRANXENE(Clorazépate) to take punctually I try some day I take a TRANXENE my condition worsens.. I continue it’s even worse I decide to go down to 20mg of PARXOETINE it’s still not okay but I continue and stabilize to 20mg of PAROXETINE I am afraid, I take refuge on the internet, what happens to me? I search : "Weird sensation of not being yourself" I discover the word Depersonalization and Déréalization DP/DR I search and search and read lots of forums in French, English, YouTube etc… , I’m a little reassured because I’m not alone in having this but I’m still with this DP/DR symptoms I come across a video the guy explains that : "it’s a weird sensation, its strange but not dangerous… quick tips put sunglasses!" , I do it immediately it calms down a little and I come across a site that catches my attention: "the guide to overcome dpdr" of Shaun O Connor I read it and learn what is really the DPDR, its a symptom of Aniety, then i applied to the letter the steps of the guide. Time passes I get back to the gym, I discover breathing, cardiac coherence, I go see a Psychologist expert in EFT technique to manage my emotions, DP/DR still does not pass I continue to look, I go to see a neuropsychologist I make a brain x-ray for me I have a tumor but results... no, nothing i am normal. The sessions pass, I hang up during this period to snort a paper soaked with lavender because I read that it calms the stress, my state improves only a little I hold the blow, I occupy my mind, I work, my daughter is finally born, I listen to music all day, music is my life. I’m a drummer. I put into practice what I learn in the guide! I stop eating too much candy of all kinds during this period and especially I stop coffee because I learn that it triggers anxiety in my case, I tell myself that’s it, I drink up to 4-5 coffee a day, I put my finger on the cause I drink too much coffee and too much caffeine = palpitation = it triggers my screams of anxiety why I didn’t think about it earlier… For me I found the solution: I stop coffee = I wouldn’t have panic attacks I stop my antidepressant = I am cured no more memory problem. Life goes on DPRDR fades and DPDR disappears without I really realize when 2021 My daughter grew up, she is already 1 year old and I no longer have an anxiety attack, I really feel normal The Covid lockdown is coming and I stay at home I see my daughter growing, stressed of this strange period but no anxiety attack, because for me I put my finger on the problem, no more panic attack as long as I will not drink coffee I will not have any anxiety attack. I start to look to now deal with this PAROXETINE treatment. I read and read on the internet I learn that PAROXETINE has a very short half-life that must be reduced by 10% increments otherwise the side effects happen very quickly. I learn that PAROXETINE exists in liquid version so i begin it. 2022-2023 I do an excel sheet with calculations and final dates, end of year I am free of this poison that for me makes me lose memory and that is finally can be also potentially trigger Anxiety DP/DR I start the liquid version I go down from 20mg to 10mg of PAROXETINE, everything is fine I stabilize at 10mg and I continue by lowering 1mg by 1mg Every month so : 9mg - 8mg -7mg - 6mg...until 0 I arrive at 2 mg of PAROXETINE i do not have any withdrawal symptom but onyl light brain zap, but problem, the bottle is empty I go to the pharmacy as usual to take my treatment but the pharmacist told me that the liquid version is stopped in France for an indeterminate duration.. I drive until 2 hours to take the last stock of pharmacies nearby I go down to 1.5mg of PAROXETINE, I’m almost there, I’m at the end but I have no more PAROXETINE in the bottle... what do I do? I go on internet I search that I could make switches on PROZAC/FLUOXETINE which is also in liquid. I don’t have time, I don’t have anything left in the bottle just enough to switch gradually to PROZAC. I change my excel table with the dose and date calculation for the switch and let’s go. Meanwhile I move, I buy a house and begins heavy renovation work, lots of stress.. I debute a cross switch I lower the PAROXETINE : 1,5mg - 1 - 0,5 - 0 and rise to 5mg of PROZAC and stabilize during 4 week of PROZAC Brain zaps are hard but I’m finally going to be free… I’m holding on I’m almost there.. The days pass and suddenly DPDR arrives from nowhere and settles down and no longer me, what happens to me I thought I was done? I don’t drink coffee anymore how is that possible? This time it’s the right one my brain is screwed. My condition degrades very quickly I put my sunglasses I take out my lavender paper back.. The loop resets day after day with the fear of being afraid… , severe depression, severe anxiety, morning diarrhea, awakening with palpitation great sadness, uncontrolled crying, impulse phobia I am afraid of hurting myself I am afraid of committing suicide, I’m doing work in the bathroom upstairs I look at the window I’m afraid of losing control and jumping.. MARCH 2023 I can’t stay like this… I have a home business if I don’t work I don’t make money… I take refuge on the internet and I search: Best psychiatrist DP/DR specialist I search and I search I find a 400km a specialized hospital that speaks of DPDR the psychiatrist seems to know what she speaks and recognized in the environment I take appointment I melt in tears I’m at the bottom of the hole.. She told me that the dose are too low and prescribed me 20mg of PROZAC and ATARAX(Hydroxyzine) to take punctually 2 weeks pass I retake an appointment with her it goes very slightly better so I continue at 20mg 4 weeks pass it worse, I have the impression that the PROZAC is too strong and it is what induces and persists DP/DR I ask him to lower to 10mg I ask her if she knows a therapist because I would like to take things in hand and start a CBT , She gives me the name of a colleague she works with I take 1 session then 2,3,4 until 8, i hang on that, I speak to her, it does me good I wait for each session as a deliverance, It costs me a lot of money but I have no choice. At the same time the DPDR persists I am still not myself sudden mood changes, sudden big sadness, uncontrolled crying, morning diarrhea, my libido collapses.. My wife is aware of my PAROXETINE treatment we have been together for 18 years , she has always suffered my mood change and do not understand I look good outside... but I in my head it is hell She often asks me "what you look like you’re depressed ?" My 3-year-old daughter also often asks me: "Dad, why are you making that face" , "Dad, why are you sad?" I’m having a hard time playing and taking care of her.. My anxiety is too present it always turns in loop in my head. All awakenings are accompanied with palpitations and a new symptoms in the morning of the awakening are random words and phrases that pass at full speed in my head like when you have a music stuck in your head What happens to me? I go crazy ? I have random words in my head i talk to myself ? this time it’s sure for me I am becoming schizophrenic... (but my Psychiatrist told me : I promise you are not schizophrenic, its all about anxiety..) SEPTEMBER 2023 4 months pass the sessions of CBT help me a little, I space the sessions them more and more because too expensive, the DPDR is always present for me I am still not normal I am always disconnected I continue to occupy my mind every minute, I continue the renovation of my house all the days even the week-end, first minute of each day I put my earphones I have to occupy my mind, I listen to podcasts until the evening everything is good so that I avoid thinking about DP/DR and looping on the existential thoughts it tired me but I have no other solution.. OCTOBER 2023 A rather exceptional event manifests itself on a Sunday, by sudden brain zap, vertigo.. , I wonder what happens to me, big palpitation I have the impression that I will have a heart attack, I am at 2 finger to call the emergency, I decide to go to the "Emergency Pharmacy" because all our pharmacy are closed on Sunday in France, I take my prescription with me, I tell myself that the box of prozac has a defect and that suddenly I have brain zap I do not understand.. To my surprise and as the pharmacist informs me: "Sir it’s normal, have a look, they were wrong at your last prescription, they gave you PAROXETINE instead of PROZAC, I look at the prescription and it is well marked : PAROXETINE delivery. I cry, its a nightmare.. Its actually been 1 month that I had switch without knowing 10mg of PROZAC to 10mg of PAROXETINE. Unfortunately, I did not notice this mistake cause I usually put the box of medicine in my bag by taking it in the morning in a hurry before work without my daughter seeing me take it, I did not check the box, it has become so automatic... I blamed myself terribly, what a nightmare, the last switch PAROXETINE —> PROZAC had been so hard and horrible that I had gone back to square one… 1ST DECEMBER 2023 My condition is horrible, my brother-in-law’s father died suddenly, I put myself in his place , its loop in my head, I’m afraid, I cry, I transpose all the faces of my family on the body, I decide to go back to 20mg of PROZAC I have no other solution on hand.. The next day on December 2nd it is already better, i am quite surprised because the PROZAC has a very long half life.. 14 DECEMBER 2023 Debut of new unpleasant symptom random tingling sensation throughout the body, adrenaline discharge sensation with sudden tingling, I become very sensitive to the slightest sound , TV, light, it triggers me this weird symptoms 16 December 20233 I go from 20mg to 10mg of PROZAC to try to alleviate the new symptoms because for me the PROZAC does not suit me or the dose is not good, (for me the PROZAC was always something that did not suit me and made me feel weird) i don't know.. 2024 So actually, 2 months later, I am still at 10 mg of PROZAC, I decided to stabilize myself at this dose even if i am not feeling normal, cause as you can see there were a lot of changes in the dose of PROZAC. I still do not feel myself, always this feeling of DR of unreality of the world, depression, with moments where my face freezes without emotion… and loss/supression of my libido like I’ve never had. I don’t know what’s happening to me. According to my research on the forum and the article of Altostrata on PUBMED I explain what happened to me with the sudden arrival of a big anxiety and DP/ DR during the switch last year is that I was in the post withdrawal phase of PAROXETINE and that the sudden loss of libido would be PSSD ?, I am not yet very familiar with all these terms but I think I put my finger on the why of the how, tell me if I am wrong. My current dilemma: Is it better not to be dependent and not to take an antidepressant but to risk being bad and "look like sh*t" all my life with this depression, DP/DR or is it better to take an antidepressant (PAROXETINE) all my life but to feel good. I am currently thinking of 2 solutions because I want to get out of it, 1) Doing a gradual withdrawal of PROZAC knowing that I am stabilizing at 10mg, and try to live without antidepressant (I do not know what it is to live without this antidepressant I do not remember because I started it when I was 16) OR 2) Take the PAROXETINE back to 10mg and take it all my life, because it is very hard stopped with its very short half-life. In fact i think, i am not a specialist but its easier to stop a long half life antidepressant than a short half life one. I ask to you all, because my psychiatrist clearly told me that PAROXETINE was not possible that it was not a stable molecule and that if we had to change antidepressant we would go from PROZAC to SERTRALINE Please, I am very lost and look for any help, Thanks again for everyone who came this far Have an excellent day

Hello, I was hoping someone could give me some advice about some severe symptoms I've been experiencing since switching from Lexapro to Prozac and back again. Here is my story: Diagnosed with OCD and depression at 18. Prescribed 60 mg Prozac which I eventually manage to reduce to 30 mg. Continue taking this dose of Prozac for about 20 years. At the end of last year Prozac seems to have lost its effectiveness so I speak to my doctor about switching to Lexapro which I've heard has less side effects. As instructed by my doctor I reduce my Prozac dose to 20 mg for two weeks, wait 5 days without medication, and then start on 10 mg Lexapro. Soon after starting Lexapro I develop some very unpleasant side-effects, most notably heart palpitations and tinnitus. I speak with the doctor who tells me not to be concerned because the side effects are caused by "anxiety". Against my better judgment I continue taking the Lexapro for a total of 25 days. At this point the palpitations are so bad I have to stop taking the Lexapro immediately. I wait two days and then reinstate the Prozac at 40 mg. Things seem to be reasonably okay for about 3 weeks before all hell breaks loose. I wake up in the middle of the night with such extreme palpitations and dizziness that I end up in ER. However, the doctors find nothing wrong with my heart, conclude its anxiety and send me home. Two hellish weeks of palpitation induced insomnia and intermittent akathesia follow. During this time I have a number of medical tests but nothing abnormal shows up in the results. The palpitations are worse when I lie down and though they cause some anxiety I am convinced they are not caused by anxiety. It feels like the part of my nervous system responsible for controlling my heart has been physically damaged in some way. When I try to explain this to my psychiatrist and cardiologist they don't understand. The psychiatrist gives me Valium and the cardiologist gives me a beta blocker. None of these seem to make much difference so I'm given some Ambien to help me sleep. I take the Ambien for about 5 nights before I decide I'd rather deal with the insomnia. Eventually I get some kind of sleep, but it is still very fragmented and the palpitations persist. My chest feels really tight as if my heart is being pushed up against my chest bone and the palpitations are worsened by lying down, eating or feeling cold. I lose my appetite and drop from 78 to 69 kgs in weight. I start filming my sleep so that I can show my doctor what happens. The footage shows me suffering from hypnic jerks and muscle twitching. These jerks are accompanied by electric shock like sensations that wake me up. During the day I am still tortured by this uncomfortable feeling in my chest and the ongoing palpitations. It feels like my heart has a mind of its own and has been knocked out of sync with the rest of my body. The tinnitus (a loud, high-pitched ringing) also continues. After 18 years at the same company I have to take sick leave for the first time. I have been off work for a month now and have no idea when I'll be able to go back. I continue to take 30 mg Prozac because I feel things would be even worse without it. During the day I walk because this seems to help with the palpitations. I've started taking Magnesium L Threonate and krill oil supplements. I desperately want my life back.

I was on antidepressants for 16 years - mostly SSRIs and Wellbutrin. Today I am celebrating being off of them for 5 years. It was a very difficult road, but I am, for all intents and purposes, recovered. My life is normal now. What few symptoms I have are almost nonexistent, brief and passing, bearable. So many times through the dark tunnel to today I thought I was damned forever, but I made it out. My first answers came from this site, and I am thankful. If you are in that horrible dark tunnel, hang on. Know that even if you don't see the light now, it will come. Keep walking.

Hi all, I have been meaning to update here for some time now. I was thinking recently about my very early cold-turkey withdrawal and how I would read and re-read recovery stories or hunt for sun symbols within member's journals for hours because I was so desperate for any accounts of improvement and healing. I hope this gives people who are having a very difficult time a bit of hope. I stopped Paroxetine cold-turkey while on holiday in Rome in 2015 - I was feeling fatigued all of the time, having long naps everyday. I felt my emotional responses were blunted but I also had a strange edgy feeling much of the time - something felt 'off' and I had a sense it was the tablets so I naively just stopped taking them. About five days or so later withdrawal symptoms set in and I was very unwell, I ended up in A&E with heart irregularities. Predictably I was prescribed more medications (including diazepam) and I think people around me assumed I was having some kind of breakdown and the symptoms with my heart were the result of panic attacks. I felt conflicted because what I was experiencing - the combination of physical and mental symptoms were so bizarre and far reaching. So I started researching and found myself here - thank goodness for this forum and for the hard work Alto and the moderators put into it. It was such a lifeline. But coming to understand the phenomenon of withdrawal, the uncertainty of a recovery time frame and how dismissive health professionals are was devastating. I spent a great deal of wasted time trying to figure out a way to 'fix it'. I went to see Dr David Healy in Wales and his main advice was to exercise - which I did do and I found it helped me but I know that isn't the case for everyone. I experienced depersonalisation, an impact on my ability to sleep, neuro emotions, intrusive thoughts, physical jerks. heart irregularities, weight loss, issues with my skin and severe brain fog/memory issues. The early part of my withdrawal is somewhat haunting and blurry at the same time, it was incredibly difficult and I felt a need to contain everything because I was so worried people thought I was coconuts. I had graduated from uni a year previously and was having a break because I had been battling with anorexia for years and wanted to focus on overcoming that, so I didn't have a job to get to, I didn't have children to look after. Hats off to anyone who has to navigate these things in the throes of withdrawal. I spent a lot of time reading. It had always been something I retreated to and my mind would race and I would keep forgetting what I had read but I would just keep returning to it, it was almost like a meditative practice. I also tried to do crosswords and codebreakers and exercised, I spent a lot of time with my parent's dogs. Withdrawal pulled me out of my eating disorder. I was already underweight and lost more and more to the point where people stared at me when I went out. Having these symptoms thrust upon me made starving myself seem so ridiculous. Over time symptoms peeled away, withdrawal felt less and less like an enormous shadow looming over me. I had and still have some anxiety about how I am not the same post-withdrawal in various ways and I am not as capable etc etc. I still struggle with brain fog at times and I still have memory issues which at times can be incredibly frustrating and embarrassing. But the whole experience demanded strength and perseverance and patience and it's given me such a sense of resilience. So trust that it gets better, much better. I am hopeful my remaining issues will eventually improve. Hang in there. Sadie.

I'm ******. My signature pretty much sums things up, but leaves out the In-depth details of the journey with this drug. My biggest fear is that I began taking the med as a teenager and while my brain was still developing. I can't help but wonder about the impact Prozac had on my neuro- development and what that means for me now and in the futures he last time I kicked the Prozac habit it lasted 4 months before I finally gave in to the withdrawal symptoms and resumed taking Prozac again. It's so hard to describe how bad it was and what it felt like. The physical symptoms alone were unbelievable. I honestly wasn't sure I'd survive it. Right now there are periods of anxiety and fatigue and irritability, but they are tolerable and slowly abating. When they do I will decrease my dosage again. That's how I'm playing it this time. Decrease, survive withdrawal symptoms till they [mostly] abate, then decrease again... Then on like that. I don't ever want to experience what I did the last time.

Hi , I was on Prozac 10 mg for about 25 years for mild anxiety. In 2018 decided to get off. My dr prescribed the liquid version and I titrated down 1/5 of a mg every 2 to 4 weeks. When I got down to 4.25 mg all hell broke loose, I got severely depressed and tired and drained but didn’t know about or understand withdrawals and what was happening to me . So I went to dr and he put me back on original dose of 10mg which made things worse after 5 days being on it he then switched me to trintellix which I took for 1 week with no relief . I was so depressed that I ended up in pysc ward for 2 weeks at which they took me off of trintellix and put me back on Prozac 10mg and 2 days later upped it to 20mg. Now I was not only severely depressed but felt extremely over medicated and tired and drained so they added ability 2mg to my Prozac. By this time I couldn’t function so they lowered my Prozac back to 10 and released me. After approximately 3weeks being on Prozac and ability I wasn’t any better and was extremely dizzy so my pysc took me off of ability and added 75 mg Wellbutrin which made me physically I’ll after 2 weeks I was switched to 25 mg pamelor with 10 mg Prozac. I stayed on that for 3 months but felt like a zombie so I was taken off of pamelor and stayed on Prozac 10mg for 8 weeks but couldn’t function so I was put on 20mg Prozac for another 8 weeks and couldn’t function. I was then put on 30mg Prozac and was a zombie. I switched pysc and I am now on pristiq (originally 25 mg) was too strong. I told my dr NO MORE! I want off of medications! So she tapered me from 25mg to 20 mg which I was pressured to taper down again after 4 months to now 18 mg which I have been on for 3 months. I am extremely horribly depressed and tired and drained and can’t function all day but miraculously it lifts around 4pm every evening, does anyone experience this phenomenon, I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t get these windows every evening , it’s been 2 years since I stabilized, will I ever? Need encouragement please 😞

Hi sorry for my poor english i'am suffering from nerve pain after I CT prozac and abilify I took them for almost 3,5 weeks I was on ativan from 9-11 2023 0.5-1mg Clonazepam 11-1 0.5mg tappering for 0.25 for month and i am on 0,25 from 2 month olanzapine 10m g 2 weeks in 12 2023 then abilify 10 days 10 mg 7 days ablifiy 5 mg and stopped at 13/12/2023 beacuse TD started Prozac 20 for 3.5 weeks and ct in 16/12 /2023 mild withdrawal then In 2/2 2024 My body started tingiling only when move then day after day pain is increased now it like fire ants 24/7 is it from prozac, abilify or clonazepam i was on 0.25 clonazepam for 3 weeks before it started and there was no thing

I am tapering venlaflaxine at 5% monthly and I am at 17.50mg now. Been on antidepressant for 30 years

Hi all, I have come to this website fairly late (I hope) in my journey with psych meds. I no longer take anything, but 9 weeks from my last dose of Fluoxetine I am still suffering bad waves/windows. Until May of this year, I was still suffering badly with waves/windows from Diazepam withdrawal, which began properly in June 2022. I have been off work pretty much since then. Things got a good bit better between May and August, more like a higher baseline of anxiety/vulnerability to stress, rather than the waves/windows pattern. During this time, I was doing Neurofeedback and the ketogenic diet (thanks to Dr Chris Palmer's excellent book). I was able to do a speech at a family gathering, which feels unthinkable now. In June, I started tapering from Fluoxetine, 20mg (my history with which you can see in my signature), using the liquid solution, reducing by 2mg every 3 weeks. I now realise that was too fast. In mid-August I started getting waves again. I had not done nearly as much reading into SSRI withdrawals as I had with benzos, so I assumed it was the Diazepam waves coming back (which Ashton says can happen), but then at the end of August I got one of my worst waves ever for about 4 days: suicidal depression, 0hr sleep (even during worst of benzo withdrawal I could get 2-3 hours a night), tremors, agitation. At the time, I believed that was because I was given a different brand of the liquid solution - I thought maybe more of the active ingredient was getting into my system somehow, causing serotonin syndrome (because of the tremors). But now having read about the dangers of linear tapering I am guessing that it was withdrawal from Fluoxetine, and my cliff edge was around 10mg, made worse as I was/am not yet fully recovered from the Diazepam withdrawal. However, at that stage I decided to just to jump from 10mg, partly influenced by doctors who said that would be fine. I have now read about the need to do hyperbolic tapering, but I am where I am - 9 weeks off and I do not really wish to reinstate. I am having waves/windows every 3 days, which is very different from Diazepam - that was more like 3 week waves, 1 week windows - but they do seem to be just as severe, particularly the depression. I realise that I am perhaps lucky that I was on Fluoxetine rather than another SSRI (I am well over a year out from stopping Mirtazapine, so I don't think that is likely to be playing a role still). I am interested to hear any indications/opinions from folks on here as to how long it may be before the waves disappear and I return to my previous level of function. I am encouraged by the fact that although they are regular/severe, the waves do seem to have identifiable triggers rather than totally random. This is embarrassing, but I have found that one definite trigger is orgasm/ejaculation. In that process, there is a huge release of dopamine, followed by a decrease but also an increase of a hormone called prolactin which at a high enough level can cause psychosis. I am thinking my dopamine levels/receptors are just too low, because dopamine restrains prolactin production. You may ask, why not abstain? But another clear symptom of my withdrawal is uncontrollable nocturnal emissions, which I didn't even have in my teenage years - roughly once a week, followed by a 3-day wave. I did not have obvious sexual dysfunction while on Fluoxetine, but I am thinking that this symptom is some kind of rebound hypersexuality. Finally, the other clear triggers for symptoms are sweet foods and stress. Thanks for reading - I wish you all continued, and quick, healing.