jw63 need to taper prozac and focalin xr

[jw63]

Hello,

I have taken prozac for years on and off (now on 20mg), different ADD meds. for years (now on 30 mg focalin xr), took 900 mg gabapentin this past year---foolishly stopped taking it fairly upbruptly a few months ago. I am on 60mg armour thyroid since about a year ago. take skelaxin (muscle relaxant) on occasion.

 

health history: suffered major depression in early 20's (now 48 yrs. old), struggle with depression/low motivation/focus/energy, symptoms really bad during my pms week. 2 years ago my appendix burst and i spent 11 days in the hospital, almost died, abdomen was filled with infection/inflammation. 9 days on several antibiotics around the clock, perk drain in abdomen for 3 weeks draining out infectious guck. never fully recovered from that--i ended up with fibromyalgia (chronic fatigue and chronic pain--gabapentin helped with the nerve pain). for the last year, i have been seeing a chiropractor who does nutritional response testing on me---telling me what foods to stay away from and dosing me with whole food supplements to support the healing of my body.

 

my goal is to get off all the drugs and my chiropractor said that i have to be very careful to slowly wean of the drugs or else i will have withdrawal symptoms. she thinks part my fibromyalgia symptoms stem from poor nutrtion, but also from withdrawal symptoms from the drugs that i would go on and off again. So, here I am trying to figure out where to start?? Do I wean off one at a time or do i work on both the prozac and the focalin? I have cut down the focalin from 40mg to 30mg about 3 months ago.

[Altostrata]

Hello, jw63. Welcome to our community.

 

I don't know much about Focalin, but like all psychiatric drugs, you would be wise to taper it slowly.

 

Did you have any withdrawal symptoms when you reduced it before?

 

It's a good idea to taper drugs one at time, so you know what's causing any withdrawal symptoms. We have a topic about tapering Prozac here.

 

There's a possibility of a drug-drug interaction between Prozac and Focalin, see http://www.drugs.com/drug-interactions/focalin-with-prozac-836-426-1115-648.html

MONITOR: The coadministration with methylphenidate may increase the plasma concentrations of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). According to the manufacturer, human pharmacologic studies have shown that methylphenidate may inhibit the metabolism of SSRIs, and there have been reports that methylphenidate augments the clinical response to SSRIs.

 

MANAGEMENT: Pharmacologic response to SSRIs should be monitored more closely whenever methylphenidate (racemic) or dexmethylphenidate (the more pharmacologically active d-enantiomer) is added to or withdrawn from therapy, and the SSRI dosage adjusted as necessary.

This indicates Focalin may be raising the level of Prozac in your system. If I were you, I would very gradually taper off Prozac first, as tapering off Focalin first is more likely to increase your reaction to Prozac.

[jw63]

thank you alto,

how can i tell if my issues are due to withdrawal symptoms or due to depression returning?

[Altostrata]

Generally, a decrease in medications causes withdrawal symptoms. It is unlikely that after 24 years you would get a fast relapse of depression, your brain has been changed extensively by the drugs.

 

See Important topics about symptoms, including sleep problems

[jw63]

thank you,

I am going to thoroughly read the tapering from prozac and the other link you sent me. with the help of this forum and my chiropractor, i am ready to reclaim my brain from these psych. drugs.