Notbroken40: First time prescribed Prozac. Cold turkey and it's killing me!

[Notbroken40]

Ok due to my divorce and a lot of pain watching my ex tear my daughters through way to much info to hurt me I became "depressed" my Doc prescribed me Prozac Sept. 2016 it upped to 40 mg by Jan. 2017. I HAVE NOT BEEN MYSELF SINCE THE PRESCRIPTION!!!

 

So I decided to Coldturkey 8 days ago!!! OMG! I've never researched a thing about CT off Prozac. I'm a 22 year recovering Opiate addict so I'm familiar to Opiate WD...

 

This!!! Prozac withdrawal Coldturkey is unmanageable! So Day 1 I quit Norco, Prozac, and adderall. I'm tired of taking pills. I'm not the same person I used to be! Ok within 48 hours vomiting comes for 2 days almost non stop! Day 3 I'm rushed to ER to get fluids for dehydration. I was released and sent home. Still throwing up. Day 4 still throwing up. But extremely tired and sleepy, days 5 and 6 sleepy and tired feel like I'm dying. Cannot eat.

- Today = Day 9... nothing tastes right but I'm starving, food goes right thru me and I have not slept in 2 days! I'm freezing cold in 90 degree weather!

- But my head is clear, I'm calm, feel smart, my Precious GF notices a miraculous difference she can feel. But I'm literally wore out tired. And cannot sleep! And the freezing cold thing is miserable. My legs hurt. I cannot get comfortable anywhere.

 

-- WHY!!!! ??? Is Prozac withdrawal harder, worse and longer than Opiate, or Amphetamines???? I don't get it!!

This is the worse medication that I've ever experienced. And it never helped me! It made me worse with cloudy judgement and Chemical Imbalance!

 

-- I want it over is it possible????

[Brandy]

Welcome, Notbroken40. I am so sorry to hear what a hard time you are going through. Although many people can stop taking psychotropic meds like prozac relatively uneventfully, too many people (I am one) can experience very severe symptoms including those you describe, and the best solution to that is reinstate at least a small dose, stabilize at that dose, then do the kind of very slow taper this site has found is safest and allows for best quality of life while the body heals from the changes in receptor sites the med has made. Please be assured that one can and will experience healing. But there are ways to work in harmony with that healing process, and cold turkey can be brutal and cause needless and often prolonged suffering.

 

My withdrawals were c/t's (cold turkeys) or "virtual c/t's) (much too fast to support the healing process that is really what withdrawal from these meds is about. So although I have participated in w/d (withdrawal) groups for about ten years, I believe it is, there are others who can give you better advice specific to your case. I knew nothing about slow tapering when I went off meds too many times. I really urge you to try the slower tapering; in my many years on withdrawal groups I've seen it can make a huge difference and even faster healing, because you taper in tiny increments that coordinate with your body's healing abilities, rather than the shock of too-fast tapers (or c/t's) that can overwhelm and impair the body's natural healing abilities.

 

Yes, prozac w/d is almost invariably harder, worse and longer than opiate/amphetamine w/d. I say that on the basis of many people's accounts on this and (in the past) other w/d groups who have been through w/d from opioids etc. and said psychotropic med w/d has been far harder. It is fortunate that you sought help here this soon after c/t'g. The sooner one reinstates the more likely one is to be successful with it.

 

I understand that you did not do well on prozac. Many people who did not like how they felt on meds are, understandably, very reluctant to reinstate even a tiny amount. But w/d symptoms can be far more severe than medication side-effects, and it actually is advised that you reinstate only a tiny amount - maybe one or two mg, not the dose you had been taking. (Others here are more knowledgeable about how to do this and can advise you more specifically.) Many people have said that even a tiny dose reinstatement helped manage the w/d symptoms enough for them to (once stabilized) do a proper slow taper and have quality of life. Others who found they could tolerate the small RI dose found they needed to slowly increase it in tiny increments, but usually to a dose that was much lower than what they had been taking. Again, others with more knowledge about this will advise you further, but I wanted you to know it is possible to recover from these meds with quality of life and ability to function. If you still have some prozac left, be sure not to discard it; people will advise you on suggesed reinstatement dose and how to measure tiny doses accurately.

 

Also, please create a "signature" that summarizes all meds and other drugs - dates and doses - that you've taken, especially in the last year or two. This will make for much better and personalized advice for your situation. Here's a link on how to do it: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/12364-please-put-your-withdrawal-history-in-your-signature/ Also, bookmark this page because one's introductory thread also serves as an ongoing "journal" and space for questions and answers about your recovery process over time. All but broadly general questions should be asked in this thread so people responding can read and refer to your previous posts and give the most appropriate and safest advice for your particular situation.

 

You will get excellent and understanding advice here. Moderators and others will respond soon with links to relevant information on this site and personalized advice. Your symptoms are not unusual for someone who c/t'd, and there is help and caring here.

[ShakeyJerr]

Hi NotBroken - 

 

Yes, you are in withdrawal. And yes, it is hard. But seeing as you went cold turkey just 8 days ago, you are in a position to reinstate and do a slow taper.

 

A moderator will be by shortly to give you links and advice on doing that.

 

In the meanwhile, practice mindful breathing to help keep yourself calm and oxygenated. The key is to breath deeply and exhale completely. You want to put your hand on your belly and breath in through your nose slowly. Let your belly expand, not your chest. Then exhale slowly out through your mouth.

 

You are not alone in this. You have a community here that understands what you are going through.

 

I'll be praying for you.

 

SJ

[ChessieCat]

Hi NB and welcome to SA,

 

So you quit Norco, Prozac, and adderall all at once?

 

So that we can offer suggestions we will need to know more about your drug history.

 

Please create a drug signature Create Your Signature.  Phone Instructions:  Withdrawal History Signature

• Please include details for the last 12-18 months of  all drugs, dates, doses and discontinuations & reinstatements.  If you can't remember dates, please write it as "early March" or "mid-August".
• Please provide a summary of any drugs prior to that which can just be listed with start and stop years.
• Please include all prescription, non-prescription drugs and supplements you are currently taking.
• Please also remember to update it with date and dose whenever make a change so that it remains current. Thank you.

Antidepressants change the brain.  It is a physiological dependence, not a physical dependence.  Reducing the drug by tapering allows the brain to adapt to not getting as much of the drug.  These helped me to understand this:

 

Brain Remodelling

Video:  Healing From Antidepressants - Patterns of Recovery

 

Here are some link for you to check out:

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

Dr Joseph Glenmullen's WD Symptoms Checklist

 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

Tips for tapering off Prozac (fluoxetine)

 

Tips for tapering off amphetamine/dextroamphetamine (Adderall)

 

We don't have a specific tips for tapering topic for Norco but I did a search and found these:

 

vicodin-taper-plan

 

tapering-off-vicodin-after-longterm-psych-meds

 

This is your own Intro topic where you can ask questions and journal your progress.  If you click "Follow" top right you will be notified when someone responds.

[scallywag]

Notbroken40 -- Welcome to Surviving Antidepressants (SA)
 

... So Day 1 I quit Norco, Prozac, and adderall. I'm tired of taking pills. ...

You are dealing with more than fluoxetine (Prozac) withdrawal. You are dealing with withdrawal from an opiate (Norco contains hydrocodone), a combination of amphetamine and dextroamphetamine (Adderall), and Prozac. Opiates (as you know) and amphetamines are both known to  be addictive and both require thoughtful, gradual discontinuation.

 

Please post more information about your history with Norco and Adderall -- when did you start each and what were your doses when you stopped taking them 9 days ago.

 

Quitting 3 neuroactive medications at once is a HUGE disruption of your CNS (central nervous system). No wonder you have severe symptoms. I'm sorry you are having to deal with this on top of the sadness and upset that started your taking Prozac.
 
Once we have your recent doses we *may be able* to make some suggestions for you to consider.
.note: REPORT 1185

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A tip: you may want to follow this topic so that you get notifications when someone posts in your thread.  Click the gray "Follow this topic" button. A dialog box appears:  select one of the notify options, then click follow this topic in the dialog box. Edited June 5, 2017 by scallywag
note: R#1185

[Altostrata]

Welcome, Notbroken.

 

I agree with all the above. For reinstatement, you have to start somewhere. If I were you, I'd take 5mg Prozac right away.

 

See Tips for tapering off Prozac (fluoxetine) for instructions about taking a small dose.

 

Please let us know how you're doing.