OreElect Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Hello. New her and was referred to this site from Patient Betsey0603. Thank you. I am in the process of switching over from Celexa to fluoxetine in the last couple months. I have been on 20mg of each of those for the last 5 weeks trying to get through the holidays. Was suppose to go from 40mg celexa to 20, with 20mg of fluoxetine then drop to 10mg celexa to 40mg fluoxetine. I went for 1 night with that and was a nightmare. So Ive stayed on the 20mg of each up until yesterday where i dropped the celexa down to 10mg, 20mg fluoxetine. Instructed after 1 week to drop the celexa and up the fluoxetine to 40mg. The last few weeks have been bad. Heart pressure, sweating, brain out of it and so on, etc. I am a TBI survivor from 2012 who also takes Tegretol XR 500mg morning, 600mg at night for seizures and clonazepam 1 mg at night to sleep. So sick of meds and am afraid to even talk to my neuroligist and physciatrist in fear they will add something or change in the future. Im just throwing this out there as my first post. Anyone made the switch from celexa to fluoxetine? Thank you Celexa 20mg after mental breakdown following a major trauma 1996. 5 year span of deep depression that switched into pacnic attacks. Celexa 40 mg from 1996 until 2010 and remained on 20mg where i was stable from 2001 til 2012. Tramatic Brain injury 2012. Seizures began 5 months after injury and began Keppra then to Tegretol XR. Clonazepam to shut mind off to sleep at night. Battling seizures and then another major trauma`s in the last 1.5 years. Physiciatrist upped my celexa to 60mg. Feeling of being numb and still Panic attack until currently Dec 2015. New Phychiatrist going for a change from Celexa to Prozac. Dropped 20 mg Celexa and added 20 Mg of Prozac. Stuck with that for the holidays to be over. Currently 10mg Celexa and 20mg prozac.Next week dropping the Celexa to 0. Dr says up the prozac to 40mg. Im thinking I dont want to do this.. I have a fear of going on the Prozac 40 mg to not have to deal with WD later after going through what the Celexa has been. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Fresh Posted January 1, 2016 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted January 1, 2016 Hi OreElect , welcome to the site. You'll find loads of information here , and with suggestions from the moderators can make a plan for yourself without your doctors. It sounds like you've been having w/d symptoms since dropping celexa from 40mg to 20mg. For the moment , could you put all the drugs you're taking into the interactionchecker at www.drugs.com ? And it would be great if you could do a signature summarizing all recent changes , instructions are here Please put your withdrawal history in your signature Best wishes , Fresh 1987-1997 pertofran , prothiaden , Prozac 1997-2002 Zoloft 2002-2004 effexor 2004-2010 Lexapro 40mg 2010-2012Cymbalta 120mg Sept. 2012 -decreased 90mg in 6months. Care taken over by Dr Lucire in March 2013 , decreased last 30mg at 2mg per week over 3 months. July 21 , 2013- last dose of Cymbalta Protracted withdrawal syndrome kicked in badly Jan.2014 Unrelenting akathisia until May 2014. Voluntary hosp. admission. Cocktail of Seroquel, Ativan and mirtazapine and I was well enough to go home after 14 days. Stopped all hosp. meds in next few months. July 2014 felt v.depressed - couldn't stop crying. Started pristiq 50mg. Felt improvement within days and continued to improve, so stayed on 50mg for 8 months. Began taper 28 Feb. 2015. Pristiq 50mg down to 45mg. Had one month of w/d symptoms. Started CES therapy in March. No w/d symptoms down to 30mg. October 2015 , taking 25mg Pristiq. Capsules compounded with slow-release additive. March 2016 , 21mg Link to comment
nz11 Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Hi Oreelect...welcome. Thanks for joining and i am sorry to read of your health issues. I didnt do the prozac switch so i cant talk about that but i shall follow your progress with interest. Best wishes So glad you joined sa. nz11 Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing. http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651 Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos. Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you Recovering paxil addict None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped." Dr Mosher. Me too! Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015 I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015 Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017 Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Petunia Posted January 1, 2016 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted January 1, 2016 Welcome OreElect, I'm glad you found us, sorry you have been struggling with symptoms since trying to switch to fluoxetine. It sounds like you may have been on both drugs for too long and now have become adapted to both drugs. When trying to switch to Prozac, for tapering purposes, the longest time we recommend for being on both drugs is 2 weeks. See: The Prozac switch or "bridging" with Prozac I'm assuming you are switching to fluoxetine for easier tapering, but I may be wrong. Why did your doctor decide to switch you to fluoxetine? We are a site for helping people safely taper off medications and don't offer advice about switching to new drugs, unless its for tapering purposes, so if you would clarify that, it would be helpful. Petunia. I'm not a doctor. My comments are not medical advise. These are my opinions based on my own experience and what I've learned. Please discuss your situation with a medical practitioner who has knowledge of tapering and withdrawal...if you are lucky enough to find one. My Introduction Thread Full Drug and Withdrawal History Brief Summary Several SSRIs for 13 years starting 1997 (for mild to moderate partly situational anxiety) Xanax PRN ~ Various other drugs over the years for side effects 2 month 'taper' off Lexapro 2010 Short acute withdrawal, followed by 2 -3 months of improvement then delayed protracted withdrawal DX ADHD followed by several years of stimulants and other drugs trying to manage increasing symptoms Failed reinstatement of Lexapro and trial of Prozac (became suicidal) May 2013 Found SA, learned about withdrawal, stopped taking drugs...healing begins. Protracted withdrawal, with a very sensitized nervous system, slowly recovering as time passes Supplements which have helped: Vitamin C, Magnesium, Taurine Bad reactions: Many supplements but mostly fish oil and Vitamin D June 2016 - Started daily juicing, mostly vegetables and lots of greens. Aug 2016 - Oct 2016 Best window ever, felt almost completely recovered Oct 2016 -Symptoms returned - bad days and less bad days. April 2018 - No windows, but significant improvement, it feels like permanent full recovery is close. VIDEO: Where did the chemical imbalance theory come from? VIDEO: How are psychiatric diagnoses made? VIDEO: Why do psychiatric drugs have withdrawal syndromes? VIDEO: Can psychiatric drugs cause long-lasting negative effects? VIDEO: Dr. Claire Weekes Link to comment
OreElect Posted December 28, 2017 Author Share Posted December 28, 2017 Great post. Thank you for all. Currently tapering Klonopin and fluoxetine at 2% every 2-4+ week's. Started 6-7 months ago with 1mg Klonopin and down to .5mg. I added the 20 mg fluoxetine to the tapering also at 2%. Celexa 20mg after mental breakdown following a major trauma 1996. 5 year span of deep depression that switched into pacnic attacks. Celexa 40 mg from 1996 until 2010 and remained on 20mg where i was stable from 2001 til 2012. Tramatic Brain injury 2012. Seizures began 5 months after injury and began Keppra then to Tegretol XR. Clonazepam to shut mind off to sleep at night. Battling seizures and then another major trauma`s in the last 1.5 years. Physiciatrist upped my celexa to 60mg. Feeling of being numb and still Panic attack until currently Dec 2015. New Phychiatrist going for a change from Celexa to Prozac. Dropped 20 mg Celexa and added 20 Mg of Prozac. Stuck with that for the holidays to be over. Currently 10mg Celexa and 20mg prozac.Next week dropping the Celexa to 0. Dr says up the prozac to 40mg. Im thinking I dont want to do this.. I have a fear of going on the Prozac 40 mg to not have to deal with WD later after going through what the Celexa has been. Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted December 28, 2017 Administrator Share Posted December 28, 2017 Hello, OreElect. How is your tapering going? Do you have any symptoms? When did you start tapering fluoxetine? 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
OreElect Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share Posted June 29, 2021 Hello. It's been a while. I finished tapering off klonopin after a 33 month taper last year. I continue with Fluoxetine coming up on 4 year's tapering. My taper rate has stayed no more than 2% every 4+ week's. In the beginning, all kinds of symptoms but keeping it slow, minimal if any. Memory and clarity getting better each day off the benzo.. I made 2 videos how I've done my Fluoxetine capsule taper and benzo taper below. Hope it helps. 3 Celexa 20mg after mental breakdown following a major trauma 1996. 5 year span of deep depression that switched into pacnic attacks. Celexa 40 mg from 1996 until 2010 and remained on 20mg where i was stable from 2001 til 2012. Tramatic Brain injury 2012. Seizures began 5 months after injury and began Keppra then to Tegretol XR. Clonazepam to shut mind off to sleep at night. Battling seizures and then another major trauma`s in the last 1.5 years. Physiciatrist upped my celexa to 60mg. Feeling of being numb and still Panic attack until currently Dec 2015. New Phychiatrist going for a change from Celexa to Prozac. Dropped 20 mg Celexa and added 20 Mg of Prozac. Stuck with that for the holidays to be over. Currently 10mg Celexa and 20mg prozac.Next week dropping the Celexa to 0. Dr says up the prozac to 40mg. Im thinking I dont want to do this.. I have a fear of going on the Prozac 40 mg to not have to deal with WD later after going through what the Celexa has been. Link to comment
OreElect Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share Posted June 29, 2021 Sorry I didn't see the replies from years past. I did not click follow topic. Celexa 20mg after mental breakdown following a major trauma 1996. 5 year span of deep depression that switched into pacnic attacks. Celexa 40 mg from 1996 until 2010 and remained on 20mg where i was stable from 2001 til 2012. Tramatic Brain injury 2012. Seizures began 5 months after injury and began Keppra then to Tegretol XR. Clonazepam to shut mind off to sleep at night. Battling seizures and then another major trauma`s in the last 1.5 years. Physiciatrist upped my celexa to 60mg. Feeling of being numb and still Panic attack until currently Dec 2015. New Phychiatrist going for a change from Celexa to Prozac. Dropped 20 mg Celexa and added 20 Mg of Prozac. Stuck with that for the holidays to be over. Currently 10mg Celexa and 20mg prozac.Next week dropping the Celexa to 0. Dr says up the prozac to 40mg. Im thinking I dont want to do this.. I have a fear of going on the Prozac 40 mg to not have to deal with WD later after going through what the Celexa has been. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus getofflex Posted June 29, 2021 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted June 29, 2021 @OreElectI want to congratulate you on getting off of klonopin. Great job on doing a very gradual and careful taper. Thanks for the videos, they are well done. It's great to hear that you memory and clarity are improving. I hope that your prozac taper goes as well. Could you please update your drug signature with dates and doses of your drugs for the past 18 to 24 months? That would help us because it would automatically be included in each of your posts. Thanks. Please do not private message me. Only tag me for urgent questions about tapering and reinstating - thank you. ***Please note this is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a doctor who understands psych meds and how to withdraw from them, if you can find one. Lexapro Started Apr 15 2010 - 10 mg; started taper August 2017, recent taper info: Apr 2 '20 0.18 mg; Jul 16 0.17 mg, Aug 23 0.16 mg, Oct 7 0.15 mg, Nov 8 - 0.14, Jan 16 '21 - 0.13, Feb 7 - 0.12, Feb 22 - 0.11, Mar 26 - 0.10, May 21 - 0.09, June 15 - 0.08 Aug 16 - 0.07, Oct 6 - 0.06, Nov 21 0.05, Dec. 17 0.04, Jan 14 '22 0.03, Feb 19 0.02, Apr 18 0.01, May 15 0.005, Jul 8, 0.00. Psych Drug Free as of July 8, 2022!! Woohoo!!! other meds: Levothyroxine 75 mg magnesium in small amounts at 4 AM, before bed suppl AM: fish oil, flax oil, vit C, vit E, multivitamin, zinc suppl 8 PM: magnesium 350 mg, extended release vitamin C, melatonin 2 mg Paxil 2002 - 2010, switched to Lexapro 2010 Trazodone 50 mg. 2002 - 2019, fast tapered in 2019 Xanax 0.5 mg as needed 2002 - 2019, up to 3x weekly Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus getofflex Posted June 29, 2021 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted June 29, 2021 @OreElectthis video would be really helpful to our other members. Would you mind posting your first video, on tapering clonazepam, into this thread? Using a digital scale to measure doses Thank you! Please do not private message me. Only tag me for urgent questions about tapering and reinstating - thank you. ***Please note this is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a doctor who understands psych meds and how to withdraw from them, if you can find one. Lexapro Started Apr 15 2010 - 10 mg; started taper August 2017, recent taper info: Apr 2 '20 0.18 mg; Jul 16 0.17 mg, Aug 23 0.16 mg, Oct 7 0.15 mg, Nov 8 - 0.14, Jan 16 '21 - 0.13, Feb 7 - 0.12, Feb 22 - 0.11, Mar 26 - 0.10, May 21 - 0.09, June 15 - 0.08 Aug 16 - 0.07, Oct 6 - 0.06, Nov 21 0.05, Dec. 17 0.04, Jan 14 '22 0.03, Feb 19 0.02, Apr 18 0.01, May 15 0.005, Jul 8, 0.00. Psych Drug Free as of July 8, 2022!! Woohoo!!! other meds: Levothyroxine 75 mg magnesium in small amounts at 4 AM, before bed suppl AM: fish oil, flax oil, vit C, vit E, multivitamin, zinc suppl 8 PM: magnesium 350 mg, extended release vitamin C, melatonin 2 mg Paxil 2002 - 2010, switched to Lexapro 2010 Trazodone 50 mg. 2002 - 2019, fast tapered in 2019 Xanax 0.5 mg as needed 2002 - 2019, up to 3x weekly Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Shep Posted July 21, 2021 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted July 21, 2021 On 6/29/2021 at 12:42 AM, OreElect said: I made 2 videos how I've done my Fluoxetine capsule taper and benzo taper below. Thank you for these videos, OreElct. Please note I've linked them at the top of the Using a scale thread for members to easily find. Feel free to also make a post in that thread with your videos, especially if you have any more information you'd like to share. Thank you for making them! Link to comment
OreElect Posted July 24, 2021 Author Share Posted July 24, 2021 On 6/29/2021 at 12:25 PM, getofflex said: @OreElectI want to congratulate you on getting off of klonopin. Great job on doing a very gradual and careful taper. Thanks for the videos, they are well done. It's great to hear that you memory and clarity are improving. I hope that your prozac taper goes as well. Could you please update your drug signature with dates and doses of your drugs for the past 18 to 24 months? That would help us because it would automatically be included in each of your posts. Thanks. I'll try. Appreciate your reply. Celexa 20mg after mental breakdown following a major trauma 1996. 5 year span of deep depression that switched into pacnic attacks. Celexa 40 mg from 1996 until 2010 and remained on 20mg where i was stable from 2001 til 2012. Tramatic Brain injury 2012. Seizures began 5 months after injury and began Keppra then to Tegretol XR. Clonazepam to shut mind off to sleep at night. Battling seizures and then another major trauma`s in the last 1.5 years. Physiciatrist upped my celexa to 60mg. Feeling of being numb and still Panic attack until currently Dec 2015. New Phychiatrist going for a change from Celexa to Prozac. Dropped 20 mg Celexa and added 20 Mg of Prozac. Stuck with that for the holidays to be over. Currently 10mg Celexa and 20mg prozac.Next week dropping the Celexa to 0. Dr says up the prozac to 40mg. Im thinking I dont want to do this.. I have a fear of going on the Prozac 40 mg to not have to deal with WD later after going through what the Celexa has been. Link to comment
OreElect Posted September 16, 2021 Author Share Posted September 16, 2021 On 6/28/2021 at 9:42 PM, OreElect said: Hello. It's been a while. I finished tapering off klonopin after a 33 month taper last year. I continue with Fluoxetine coming up on 4 year's tapering. My taper rate has stayed no more than 2% every 4+ week's. In the beginning, all kinds of symptoms but keeping it slow, minimal if any. Memory and clarity getting better each day off the benzo.. I made 2 videos how I've done my Fluoxetine capsule taper and benzo taper below. Hope it helps. Almost 6 year's since my last update. I eventually became stable on the Fluoxetine after a very rough 8 months of withdrawals from the Celexa. I began tapering together the klonopin and Fluoxetine at no more than 2.5% each. I held 2 week's for the klonopin and 4+ for the Fluoxetine. I finished the klonopin in July 2020. I'm still Tapering the Fluoxetine and right around 11mg. Tapering at 1% every 2 week's. I tapered the tegretol from 1200mg down to 200mg. I feel the best that I have been in close to 9 years. Better clarity and cognition. Energy, motivation, interest, feelings, patience, agitation has been a huge improvement. I have a long way to go to taper the last 11mg but happy to be able to control my tapering at my own pace and confident with knowing what to do and how to avoid WDs. 1996- 1998 Zoloft 200mg 1998-2006 40mg Celexa 2006 30mg Celexa 2008 20mg Celexa 2012 40mg Celexa, 3000mg Keppra 2014 60mg Celexa, 1200 mg Switched from Keppra to Tegretol XR, 1mg Klonopin 2020 Completed Klonopin 2021 11mg Celexa, 200mg tegretol 1 Celexa 20mg after mental breakdown following a major trauma 1996. 5 year span of deep depression that switched into pacnic attacks. Celexa 40 mg from 1996 until 2010 and remained on 20mg where i was stable from 2001 til 2012. Tramatic Brain injury 2012. Seizures began 5 months after injury and began Keppra then to Tegretol XR. Clonazepam to shut mind off to sleep at night. Battling seizures and then another major trauma`s in the last 1.5 years. Physiciatrist upped my celexa to 60mg. Feeling of being numb and still Panic attack until currently Dec 2015. New Phychiatrist going for a change from Celexa to Prozac. Dropped 20 mg Celexa and added 20 Mg of Prozac. Stuck with that for the holidays to be over. Currently 10mg Celexa and 20mg prozac.Next week dropping the Celexa to 0. Dr says up the prozac to 40mg. Im thinking I dont want to do this.. I have a fear of going on the Prozac 40 mg to not have to deal with WD later after going through what the Celexa has been. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus getofflex Posted September 16, 2021 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted September 16, 2021 7 hours ago, OreElect said: I feel the best that I have been in close to 9 years. Better clarity and cognition. Energy, motivation, interest, feelings, patience, agitation has been a huge improvement This is wonderful! I'm so glad to hear this. It goes to show what a very careful and slow taper can do to get off these drugs. 1 Please do not private message me. Only tag me for urgent questions about tapering and reinstating - thank you. ***Please note this is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a doctor who understands psych meds and how to withdraw from them, if you can find one. Lexapro Started Apr 15 2010 - 10 mg; started taper August 2017, recent taper info: Apr 2 '20 0.18 mg; Jul 16 0.17 mg, Aug 23 0.16 mg, Oct 7 0.15 mg, Nov 8 - 0.14, Jan 16 '21 - 0.13, Feb 7 - 0.12, Feb 22 - 0.11, Mar 26 - 0.10, May 21 - 0.09, June 15 - 0.08 Aug 16 - 0.07, Oct 6 - 0.06, Nov 21 0.05, Dec. 17 0.04, Jan 14 '22 0.03, Feb 19 0.02, Apr 18 0.01, May 15 0.005, Jul 8, 0.00. Psych Drug Free as of July 8, 2022!! Woohoo!!! other meds: Levothyroxine 75 mg magnesium in small amounts at 4 AM, before bed suppl AM: fish oil, flax oil, vit C, vit E, multivitamin, zinc suppl 8 PM: magnesium 350 mg, extended release vitamin C, melatonin 2 mg Paxil 2002 - 2010, switched to Lexapro 2010 Trazodone 50 mg. 2002 - 2019, fast tapered in 2019 Xanax 0.5 mg as needed 2002 - 2019, up to 3x weekly Link to comment
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