Tarheel109: another fluoxetine adventure

[Tarheel109]

Hello all,

 

I cannot believe it’s almost been a full month so I will check in. I’m preparing to do my next drop after two months holding at 36 mg. I took out my little scale and have divvied up the daily allotments into 00-sized capsules and will begin taking them next Saturday.

 

I truly wish there were a simpler way for incremental decreases (such as pharma cos. making available smaller doses) but if these are the steps I must take to avoid a complete meltdown, I’m willing to measure.

 

I must admit that I don’t have the patience for exact precision; this drop is supposed to be 32.4 mg from 36 mg. On some days I get 32.1 mg, on others I get 32.6 mg and on others I get 32.4 mg. This hasn’t affected me yet, as the doses are still pretty high (I did the same thing with 36 mg where it would some days be off by a few tenths of a milligram) and the fact that Prozac/Fluoxetine has a longer half life; but am I making a mistake?

 

I am certainly planning to be more exact once I get into the low twenties and teens (next year most likely), as at that point the differences make up a greater percentage of the overall dose.

 

Thanks all for reading!

[Carmie]

Hi Tarheel, 

 

It certainly is a lot of work tapering. I have never used a scale. I started by just tapering them to the next smallest dose I could get them down too n then I crushed tablets n did water titration. Water titration lets me titrate smaller doses. 

 

Im going to use a compounded capsule next n water titration as I can make the doses tiny. I’m down to 7.5mg n I’m getting a capsule in that amount as the smallest tablet of seroquel is 25mg. 

 

It’s good that the slight discrepancies in your measurements aren’t affecting you, but as you said they probably will as you get down to smaller doses. 

 

Wishing you all the best with your tapering💚🐢

 

 

[Tarheel109]

Wow! It’s been a while since I’ve posted... For the most part, things are going well. I definitely notice a marked change in mood/demeanor about one/two weeks after making my drops. I wouldn’t call them full-blown “waves,” as I’m still able to go to work and be reasonably social, but I definitely recognize unproductive thought patterns.

 

I suppose it’s unavoidable, as my brain is trying to stabilize and no matter how small the decrease, I’m still taking away a part of the “trellis.”

 

It’s crazy to me to look at how far I’ve come, but frustrating that I still have a long way to go. I started at 60 mg and have weaned myself down to 30 mg over the past six months. Have I made mistakes? You bet!

 

I’m truly grateful to this website, moderators and individual contributors. Thank you all so much.

[ChessieCat]

Please update your drug signature, please include the dates and the doses of your reductions - thank you:  Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature

 

Sounds like you are doing well.  Understanding how we need to sneak the drug away helps us to stay patient.

 

It can be disappointing when looking at how far we still have to go.  I find it better to remind myself of how much I've got off.  Any amount of reduction is good.  And tapering does fade into the background, and when that happens I find that I am surprised that it's time to reduce again.  In  fact there have been a couple of times that I've almost missed reducing because the time went so fast.

 

6 hours ago, Tarheel109 said:

Have I made mistakes?

 

Me too.  I got my capsule bottles mixed up (used the 0.5mg instead of 5mg, and the dose is written in huge numbers on the bottles and lids in marker pen!).  I was supposed to reduce from 9.5mg to 9mg but ended up taking 4.5mg for 5 days.  At the same time another member accidentally doubled their dose.  And recently a member forgot to take her tablets in her back during a flight and missed a dose.

[Songbird]

15 hours ago, Tarheel109 said:

I definitely notice a marked change in mood/demeanor about one/two weeks after making my drops. I wouldn’t call them full-blown “waves,” as I’m still able to go to work and be reasonably social, but I definitely recognize unproductive thought patterns.

 

This is quite normal after a drop.  If you're able to continue living a fairly normal life, that indicates that your drops are not too much.

 

15 hours ago, Tarheel109 said:

I started at 60 mg and have weaned myself down to 30 mg over the past six months.

 

That's a great achievement - congratulations!

[Carmie]

Hi Tarheel 

 

I’m so glad you’re doing so well Tarheel, and as ChessieCat said it’s better to look at how far you’ve come, instead of how far you still have to go. You’ve done amazing!

 

So glad your withdrawals symptoms aren’t too bad. 

 

Take care💚

[Carmie]

Hi Tarheel, 

 

Thanks for dropping by my thread. Are you still doing well?

 

Sending hugs🤗

[Carmie]

Hi Tarheel, 

 

Me again😂. Just popping by to see how you’re doing. Hope your doing okay.💚

[Tarheel109]

Hello all!

 

Im doing well. I made a bit of a misstep with my most recent decrease and decreased to 20 from 25 (a 20% decrease). So far, I am doing well. It has been almost two weeks since the drop and I have not experienced any major incidents with regards to my mood.

 

I am being cautiously optimistic for now but plan on holding at this dose for another month in order to ensure that I stabilize properly before my next decrease.

 

Thank you for reading!

[ChessieCat]

7 minutes ago, Tarheel109 said:

I am being cautiously optimistic for now but plan on holding at this dose for another month in order to ensure that I stabilize properly before my next decrease.

 

Good idea.  I was going to suggest a longer hold.

[Carmie]

Hi Tarheel, 

 

How are you doing with stabilising?💚

[Tarheel109]

I’ve held at 20 mg since January, mostly due to laziness (I hate measuring and weighing capsules). However, I’m thinking that it’s time to decrease again.

 

I’m planning on decreasing by 10% (which is 18 mg). Unfortunately, every single capsule contains a different amount. Quite frankly, I’m skeptical that even the pills that I receive from my pharmacy are accurate. It’s frightening how variable the weights are.

 

I really wish that these manufacturers would create smaller doses/make it easier to get off these medications.

[brassmonkey]

How are you measuring your new dose? By weight or counting beads?

[Tarheel109]

I weigh the content of each pill, multiply that by 0.9 then remove pill powder from the scale until the number matches the one on my calculator... It’s quite annoying because 10mg pills can vary as much as a full milligram in the amount of fillers/active ingredient so I’m afraid to just use the same measurement.

 

This month I did not make the full 10% drop, but I will try to do so next month.

 

I’m not sure if I have mentioned this earlier, but I’ve been taking 100 mg of 5HTP in addition to a vegetarian omega blend for about six months. I have not experienced any issues, however everyone’s body is different. Just because it works for me does not mean I am encouraging anyone else to do the same.

 

So far, I’m feeling great though. I have ups and downs (like everyone) but am so thrilled to have come this far. I’m fully looking forward to a day when I am no longer reliant on fluoxetine.

[ChessieCat]

2 hours ago, Tarheel109 said:

I’ve been taking 100 mg of 5HTP

 

The only supplements which SA recommends are Magnesium and Omega-3 Fish Oil  

 

5-htp-5-hydroxytryptophan-and-l-tryptophan