natlondon: introduction

[eymen23]

Natalie,

 

I’m sorry you find yourself struggling so much, but if you are under the care of a psychiatrist and are willing to trial drug treatments to control your symptoms, I feel it would be wrong of us to suggest alternatives in regards to your drugs and dosages. 

 

Although we often make suggestions to members here, we usually do so in the knowledge that the member does not wish to follow the guidance of their psychiatrist and is instead willing to trial the harm reduction methods we document here. 

 

The important point to note is that we have seen many members go through extremely difficult periods and get out of the other side feeling much better. I’m hopeful you will do the same one day. 

[natlondon]

Thank you for your reply Eymen23.

 

I thought I was doing the right thing making these changes - dropping the Vortioxetine and adding a small amount of Fluoxetine 😕

 

It’s my only hope of stabilisation and what I said to my psychiatrist I wanted to do. 

 

I do want to be on no anti-depressants - why I came off of 60mg Prozac I and got to 0, before finding this forum.

 

I have just been honest. I apologise if I have written inappropriately. I really am walking in the dark. 

 

I have heard what you have said.

 

I will go away and think about everything. And again about what you wrote. 

 

I know I have to make decisions about what to do and I don’t want to repeat what happened with my fast taper from Prozac. 

 

I will have a think about everything and you are right - I can’t fix the withdrawal / destabilisation with more drugs. I genuinely thought it was progress to drop the Vortioxetine to 10mg and add a small amount of Prozac then taper the 10mg Vortioxetine ridiculously slowly when stabilised. 

 

I need to think about everything and I do trust people on here as I’ve had the same experiences as them. Maybe I need to listen more and not try and take control and get quick fixes exactly like you’ve said. 

 

I will have a think / reflect / process.

 

Sorry for panic mode and I only continue to be grateful for your courtesy and diligence.

 

natalie 

 

 

[eymen23]

Natalie,

 

There is no need to apologise. You are navigating through an incredibly difficult process and you have to choose a step forward that feels right for you, there is truly no right or wrong answer here. 

 

However, when it comes to the staff here and how we support members, we can only provide specific suggestions when it’s clear the member is willing to use our harm reduction methods for the purpose of long term stabilisation or tapering their drugs. It is very rare for staff here to recommend adding drugs or making drastic changes in dosage (unless within 4 weeks of starting or updosing a drug). 

 

Your main concern right now seems to be treating PMDD as it is causing so much destabilisation. As non-medical professionals we can not in good conscience advise members on how to treat medical conditions such as PMDD, depression, panic disorder etc. 

 

To be more helpful, I will share some of our more general guidance:

 

We only ever recommend reducing a drug by a maximum of 10% per month, except when a member has started the drug or updosed within the last four weeks.

 

In these scenarios, we sometimes suggest members drop the dosage more quickly, especially when they are having an adverse reaction. It must be noted that the further along in time since the addition of the drug or the updose, the greater the risk of withdrawal symptoms when making the fast reductions. A 50% drug reduction will always be risky, especially when a number of weeks has passed. 

 

We do occasionally suggest that members consider a cross-taper onto Prozac. However, this is a risky procedure and it is only suggested where a member is having extreme difficulty in tapering another antidepressant with a short half-life. Prozac’s long half-life can sometimes make it easier to taper. In your case, Vortioxetine has a 66 hour half-life and so this is very unlikely to ever be suggested or to be of any assistance. 

 

We do recommend low dosage reinstatements for members experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms. If the reinstatement is well tolerated but the effect is minimal, we may suggest slowly increasing the dosage. Where possible, we also suggest the member reinstate the drug they originally used. 

 

I really hope you find stability after making the next series of changes. Please remember that time is often the greatest healer, more so than the specific drugs or the dosages. 

Edited July 5, 2019 by eymen23

[Tom37]

Hi Nat,

 

I know your in a difficult place and trying to do something is often the first thought when we are struggling. All I can say is once you made a decision on what to do then sticking to the same dose everyday is the key to stability unless of course it’s side effects or an adverse reaction which are another issue. I’m still waiting for it myself but have seen significant improvements since I started holding. Still think I have a way to go but key thing is I’m getting slowly better.

 

Im sure once you get on a stable dose and commit to it you will slowly seen improvement. It will test your patience and won’t be easy with waves and windows but you can do it. Try not to put a time frame on stability either as we are all different and at the end if the day it takes whatever amount of time it will take. 

 

Take care.

[Dejavu]

I second Tom's statement. I am the poster child for what not to do. After reinstatement, I kept changing my dose up and down trying to "fix" myself. All I suceeded in doing was prolonging my misery and preventing stabilization. Tom and I crashed at approximately the same time 7 months ago. I monkeyed around with my dose; he did not. Tom has had numerous windows and is well on his way to stabilization. I have had only 3 short ones so far. All of them have happened only after I got smart, picked a dose and stayed on it. If I had it to do over again, can you guess what I'd do?

[natlondon]

Hi guys, 

 

Thank you so much for your posts.

 

So I decided to drop the Vortioxetine from 20mg to 10mg for two days then add in 10mg liquid Fluoxetine. Was scared beyond belief but I felt the Vortioxetine was way too high at 20mg and making me so agitated and jacked up so I did it. Had been on 20mg up from 10mg for three weeks and 4 days. I know a risky drop from 20mg to 10mg but I presume I’m stabilised on 10mg now having done a total of ten days on 10mg. Quite gobsmacked but I feel better than I’ve felt for the past 1 year and 4 months. I’m now on day 8 of doing 10mg Vortioxetine with 10mg Fluoxetine.

 

It makes me think that my body was purely in some kind of protracted withdrawal from Fluoxetine as I felt better the minute I put the 10mg Fluoxetine into me. No adverse effects at all from adding the Fluoxetine. Just feeling of more calm and suicidal thoughts gone. Completely different to when I started Vortioxetine and with each dose increase where I felt my body, brain and nervous system react aggressively to it in a horrible way.

 

When I’m sure I am stabilised I plan to taper the Vortioxetine but do it as outlined on here - max 10% drop a month.

 

Still trying to get my head around all of this - how adding 10mg Fluoxetine has had such a massive effect. Could this really still have been protracted withdrawal a year and 4 months with the drug out of my body? It would make sense why the Vortioxetine wasn’t doing anything? My body wanted and needed the Fluoxetine to stabilise? 

[RichT]

Great news Nat! So glad you’re feeling better. 

 

Could it be the drop in the vortioxetine that has made the difference? I’m not an expert so I can’t pronounce on that!

 

warmest wishes,

 

Rich

[eymen23]

36 minutes ago, natlondon said:

Still trying to get my head around all of this - how adding 10mg Fluoxetine has had such a massive effect. Could this really still have been protracted withdrawal a year and 4 months with the drug out of my body? It would make sense why the Vortioxetine wasn’t doing anything? My body wanted and needed the Fluoxetine to stabilise? 

 

Hi Natalie,

 

I’m pleased to hear such a positive update in regards to your symptoms. 

 

I do not want to burst your bubble or be pessimistic, but you are ten days into the drop of Vortioxetine and eight days into the Prozac reinstatement, and that is a very small period of time when we talk about nervous system stability. 

 

We can only hope that your nervous system better tolerates the new combination of drugs/dosages and I really do want this to continue for you, but I must caution you that ‘honeymoon periods’ after making large drug/dosage changes are not uncommon. Members will report a complete resolution or significant improvement of symptoms for 2-3 months, followed by a sudden ‘crash’. 

 

These ‘honeymoon periods’ are why most doctors and/or psychiatrists believe a patient has had relapse of their depression or anxiety after stopping a drug or dropping the dose, because the symptoms can appear many weeks or months after the change and do not appear to be related to the drug or dosages. 

 

The fact you have not had an immediate adverse reaction to the addition of Prozac is positive, and it’s likely that Prozac is better tolerated in your case. However, I would not consider yourself stabilised or ‘out of the woods’ until you’ve experienced several weeks (and even months) of consistently trialling this new drug regimen. Only then would it be wise to make an honest assessment of how you are tolerating the change. 

 

Please don’t take this post as meaning you are heading for more suffering. Try to be aware of what has happened to many members here in the past and if you do notice any resurfacing of difficult symptoms, please know that it is not uncommon. 

[natlondon]

Thank you for letting me know this Eymen23. So I assume wait 3 months on this combination before tapering the Vortioxetine? Or what would you suggest? 

 

Thank you,

 

Natalie

[eymen23]

20 minutes ago, natlondon said:

Thank you for letting me know this Eymen23. So I assume wait 3 months on this combination before tapering the Vortioxetine? Or what would you suggest? 

 

Thank you,

 

Natalie

 

Yes, I would wait at least 3 months before trialling a reduction of the Vortioxetine. Perhaps 4-6 months to be on the safe side.

 

If you do have a resurfacing of difficult symptoms or a wave, it may well be much longer. 

[India]

On 6/22/2019 at 10:22 PM, natlondon said:

Literally crawling around the floor back and forth saying ‘help me’, ‘help me’, screaming and clutching my head.

I had all of this.. It’s the WD. It has you on your knees. Horrendous and terrifying. I often use the phrase, “I don’t know how I am still here”. Also identify with sentiments about motherhood etc. My symptoms are more bearable now, though who doesn’t want to return to full health. My previous pre drug emotional difficulties pale in comparison. 

The worst is over , is a good reassuring concept I use.

[India]

On 6/8/2018 at 10:21 PM, natlondon said:

don't know if this is withdrawals

It’s my belief it is withdrawal. Since so many of us report the same pattern of symptoms ( for me, previously never experienced). Plus, thrashing the brain with these drugs for years surely causes a depletion. Lots of alcoholics report severe depression in first year of sobriety ..

[India]

On 6/22/2019 at 11:54 PM, eymen23 said:

Part of allowing the nervous system to heal, involves keeping drugs and dosages as consistent as possible, and minimising external stress. 

Key advice! 

[natlondon]

Thanks for what you have said India - it has helped me make sense of this all and not being the only one who has gone through this.

 

Am on 3 weeks and 2 days of 10mg Vortioxetine with 10mg Fluoxetine. Most stable I’ve been in a year and half since withdrawing from 60mg Fluoxetine. 

 

Planning to hold with this for 3 months then try and taper the Vortioxetine down to 9mg. 

 

I still get brain zaps every day and have done since starting on Vortioxetine. Don’t know why this is. I never got brain zaps when on Fluoxetine for 6 years, only when I came off of it then my brain went completely and utterly crazy and wrong like I never knew was possible with brain zaps and what felt like sketching over parts of my brain (only way I can describe it). 

 

The thing that bothers me the most at the moment is the constant involuntary muscle movements in my legs and arms. Like muscle twitching and just random movements. I had this on Fluoxetine in just my legs when I was on it previously and when I stopped I had the most horrific akathisia in my legs. The psychiatrists for whatever reason would not entertain the idea that I was experiencing akathisia from anti-depressant withdrawal. I don’t know why. Unless I got it wrong but I had to pace the house and move my legs constantly - like they were burning. Like nothing I had ever experienced or knew was possible. 

 

I’m so scared every time I have an involuntary movement in my leg or arm as it reminds me I’m on these drugs and do I have akathisia to come again when I try and taper again? Makes sense that the involuntary movements must be linked to a build up of the drug (?) so coming off the drug creates some kind of reverse effect in the limbs and akathisia kicks in in the parts of the body where the involuntary movements were happening (?).

 

I only hope that if one tapers really slow at max 10% a month this risk of akathisia can be mitigated?

 

Do find it so depressing whenever I remember I am on these stupid drugs still. I feel angry. And like I just want to get off of them and deal with it but know it’s going to have to be done over long, long term. 

 

I am worried I have permanent brain damage from these drugs and will I ever be able to be on nothing and not go back into depression /  rebound depression by not being on them?

 

Any experiences / knowledge would be gratefully received.

 

Natalie 

[ChessieCat]

4 hours ago, natlondon said:

Am on 3 weeks and 2 days of 10mg Vortioxetine with 10mg Fluoxetine. Most stable I’ve been in a year and half since withdrawing from 60mg Fluoxetine. 

 

Planning to hold with this for 3 months then try and taper the Vortioxetine down to 9mg. 

 

I still get brain zaps every day and have done since starting on Vortioxetine. Don’t know why this is. I never got brain zaps when on Fluoxetine for 6 years

 

 

From Drug Interactions Checker

Interactions between your drugs

Major

FLUoxetine vortioxetine

Applies to: Prozac (fluoxetine), vortioxetine

FLUoxetine may increase the blood levels and effects of vortioxetine. You may be more likely to experience side effects, including a rare but serious condition called the serotonin syndrome, which may include symptoms such as confusion, hallucination, seizure, extreme changes in blood pressure, increased heart rate, fever, excessive sweating, shivering or shaking, blurred vision, muscle spasm or stiffness, tremor, incoordination, stomach cramp, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Severe cases may result in coma and even death. Contact your doctor if you experience increased side effects or your condition changes during treatment with these medications. You may need a dose adjustment or more frequent monitoring by your doctor to safely use both medications. It is important to tell your doctor about all other medications you use, including vitamins and herbs. Do not stop using any medications without first talking to your doctor.

[ChessieCat]

And from https://reference.medscape.com/drug-interactionchecker

 

Serious - Use Alternative

• fluoxetine + vortioxetine

  fluoxetine increases toxicity of vortioxetine by serotonin levels. Avoid or Use Alternate Drug.

• fluoxetine + vortioxetine

  fluoxetine increases levels of vortioxetine by affecting hepatic enzyme CYP2D6 metabolism. Avoid or Use Alternate Drug. Decrease vortioxetine dose by 50% when coadministered with strong CYP2D6 inhibitors.

[natlondon]

Thanks ChessieCat - I’m so impressed by the knowledge and professionalism of this forum. I did know that an interaction existed between Vortioxetine and Fluoxetine. I wasn’t stabilising on 10mg Vortioxetine despite giving it a good ten months so went with my Dad to my Psychiatrist as I couldn’t do nothing. I told him I wanted to add Fluoxetine to try and stabilise (my Dad was literally keeping me alive every day) and he said no as there was the interaction above. He said I was suffering from a major depressive episode and was no longer in Fluoxetine withdrawal so he said to exhaust Vortioxetine and go straight to 20mg for 6 weeks. I told him I would do so to prove to him it wasn’t going to work for stabilising me. Desperate at this stage and not stabilising on Vortioxetine at all. I got to 4 weeks and ended up at his office with my parents basically destroyed. So he agreed to add 10mg Fluoxetine with 10mg Vortioxetine despite the risk. It has stabilised me. I should have just put 10mg Fluoxetine back into my system after 4 months on nothing as this site says - reinstate the same drug. 

 

The brain zaps and sketching in my brain has been solely from the Vortioxetine and has happened every day since I started taking it eleven months ago. It hasn’t just happened since adding the Fluoxetine. I’ve had no bad effects whatsoever from adding the Fluoxetine, just stabilisation which is all I wanted and I swear to God I persevere and waited patiently for ten months on 10mg Vortioxetine and wasn’t stabilising.

 

I plan to taper the Vortioxetine as outlined on this site in 2 months, making liquid form and going from 10mg to 9mg and holding the Fluoxetine at 10mg. The plan is to come off of the Vortioxetine but give it as much time as that will need - I'm prepared for years. Then try a very, very, very slow taper of the Fluoxetine after this. Unless this isn’t seen as a good plan of action? Advice greatly appreciated.

[eymen23]

21 minutes ago, natlondon said:

Then try a very, very, very slow taper of the Fluoxetine after this. Unless this isn’t seen as a good plan of action? Advice greatly appreciated.

 

Natalie,

 

Very glad to see you’re still feeling stable, I really hope this continues. It may well be the case that Fluoxetine was the only way to stabilise from the original Fluoxetine withdrawal. As you noted, we are always keen to recommend members reinstate the same drug and for this reason. 

 

Your plan to taper Vortioxetine and much later down the line slowly taper Fluoxetine sounds sensible. In real terms, it will all depends on how your nervous system takes to the tapering when you are up to it. Loose planning and direction tends to be helpful, but listening to feedback from one’s body and symptoms is invaluable.

 

If you are feeling that much more stable now, I would strongly consider holding for as long as six months. You went through a very difficult and traumatic experience for a prolonged period of time. Rebuilding your confidence and resources, whilst giving your nervous system a well needed break would be wise. Tapering can be taxing, so please make sure you’re ready and well clear of any potential waves. 

 

Please take care.

[natlondon]

Thank you so much for what you said Eymen23 - I spoke to my Dad and he agreed 6 months holding - minimum. I bought some jewellery scales that go to 0.001g so I will use those to taper the Vortioxetine when the time is ready which I am in no rush to do so whatsoever... What you have said is invaluable and I’m so **** scared of tapering I’m heeding the advice, experience and suggestions on this website like gospel. The more I reflect on my experience and even what my psychiatrist has said it is glaringly apparent to me that people on here know the reality of these drugs and tapering. 

 

Eymen23 you were right again:

On 7/10/2019 at 7:51 PM, eymen23 said:

Members will report a complete resolution or significant improvement of symptoms for 2-3 months, followed by a sudden ‘crash’. 

 

2 months to the day today going from 20mg Vortioxetine to 10mg Vortioxetine with 10mg Fluoxetine and I’ve hit a low / depression. Felt absolutely amazing for about 5 weeks. Not as bad a crash as when I came off of 60mg Fluoxetine 18 months ago at the 3 month mark off of it when I crashed badly but a negative shift. I am under no circumstances going to increase the Vortioxetine - I’m assuming you’d agree with this? Just ride it out? Keep everything the same? 10mg Vortioxetine and 10mg Fluoxetine? 

 

Is this a wave i’m experiencing? And do waves and windows still happen when you have re-instated?

 

I do think will I ever be able to get off of these drugs? It’s so hard to navigate - knowing what is the harm done by them or being done by them or are they actually keeping depression at bay? Everywhere I read coming off of them causes re-bound depression, I am just in so much admiration of anyone who has managed to get off of them. And I question if the drugs actually ruin your natural serotonin receptors? Do they ever go back to normal? 

 

Also I told my psychiatrist about the brain zaps I was getting daily and he said it’s like caused by anxiety. This made me mad - unless I’ve got it wrong? I presumed it was physiological and happened without relevance to a persons level of anxiety? 

 

Also hating the involuntary leg and arm movements I get and have done always when I’ve been on SSRI’s it reminds me of the akathisia I had in my legs and arms when I came off of 60mg Fluoxetine. If one tapers ridiculously slowly over years do they mitigate akathisia happening again? 

 

So grateful for anyone’s guidance / suggestions.

 

Natalie 

[ChessieCat]

1 hour ago, natlondon said:

2 months to the day today going from 20mg Vortioxetine to 10mg Vortioxetine with 10mg Fluoxetine and I’ve hit a low / depression. Felt absolutely amazing for about 5 weeks.

 

1 hour ago, natlondon said:

Is this a wave i’m experiencing?

 

It could be delayed withdrawal symptoms from reducing the vortioxetine from 20mg to 10mg.

 

Please update your drug signature.  This is the preferred format which makes it easier to see your history at a glance.  I suggest you copy and paste the current signature into a post and then create a simplified one. 

 

Keep it simple.  NO diagnoses or symptoms please - thank you.

• details for last 2 years - dates, ALL drugs, doses
• summary for older than 2 years - just years and drug/s

Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature

 

 

Edited September 1, 2019 by ChessieCat

[eymen23]

Hi Natalie,

 

I’m sorry to hear that things have dipped again, especially after a prolonged period of feeling so much better. 

 

Unfortunately, these kinds of ‘honeymoon periods’ are common. I have actually experienced a more minor version of this. I once made a dosage reduction whilst in a wave, as I was still new to tapering and was worried the symptoms were due to adverse reactions I was getting from Escitalopram. I felt great for a week or two, before entering the worst wave I’ve had since starting the drug last November.

 

That’s when I truly realised the importance of being stable and not playing around with dosages until the nervous system has stopped adjusting. If you imagine the pendulum of grandfather clock swinging from side to side, that is very much how my nervous system feels during tapering. Some days I’m on edge, wound up and tearful. Somedays I’m super calm and blissful. But what we are really waiting for is the in between, where symptoms are more consistent and tolerable, and this is when the pendulum stops swinging. Every time you make a drug change before the pendulum stops swinging, you increase the power of the swings and prolong the period of time until it stops again. 

 

Of course I am not a doctor, but I think it’s fair that you have experimented to the point to say that to keep adjusting, will likely just prolong the period of time that you will need to hold, and that the pendulum will take to stop swinging (if you wish to use that analogy). 

 

Usually, we would suggest slightly upping the dosage of the drug that was reduced. However, because you simultaneously added in another SSRI and there is a risk of negative interaction, I wouldn’t feel comfortable making any suggestion to up the dose of Vortioxetine.

 

I think the experimentation has proved one thing and one thing only, that you were badly destabilised by tapering quickly from Prozac and that there is likely very little you can do to hurry your nervous system along in finding stability. Observation would suggest that the safest option is to hold everything until you find some form of stability, whether that be a matter of months or even years.

 

To answer your question, yes, windows and waves can happen during reinstatement. In fact, they can happen after any adjustment in drugs or dosages; up or down. 

 

In regards to your concerns about being able to cope without drugs, it will require you to develop non-drug coping techniques and to identify the areas of your life that cause distress. Therapy can be very helpful in assessing what triggers symptoms and how to self-soothe. 

 

All the best. 

[Altostrata]

@natlondon, how are you doing?

[natlondon]

Hi Altostrata,

 

I’m doing ok. Fully tapered off of Vortioxetine now and haven’t taken any for two months. Tapered using as is suggested on here. I did 10% dose reductions every 4-6 weeks minimum wait time for further reduction I used a jewellery weighing scale and a pill cutter. Did it over 12 months? Dropped the Vortioxetine initially from 20mg to 10mg after about 3 weeks of being on the 20mg dose it as it was making me a billion times worse. Did have a few times when I had to go up to previous taper dose but finally I am off of the Vortioxetine. 
 

Currently just on 10mg Fluoxetine a day. Increasing to 20mg Fluoxetine for 5 days before my period for PMDD. Not sure how I am going to taper the Fluoxetine given how badly I suffer with PMDD and how the Fluoxetine seems to help. Planning somehow to get down to 0mg Fluoxetine a day increasing to 10mg just before period then try and reduce that over time. I know it seems harsh given up and down doses and you may comment negatively about this but I’m a work in progress and am navigating as best I can given my unique biology and the PMDD.
 

Do feel a bit stuck as I suffer so badly with PMDD and the treatment options are anti-depressants or the contraceptive pill.
 

I continue to make lifestyle changes and am having a lot of therapy so just have to keep navigating. 
 

All in all the constant suicidal depression is no longer a constant and has gone. The akathesia has gone. My sleep is fine. My anxiety is gone / is normal anxiety for someone who is a naturally anxious person. No waking up every morning with panic attacks. No panic attacks for a year. 
 

I do get headaches now and then and my head does still feel a bit locked into a heavy rock kind of place and I do still find mornings the hardest but usually once I am up and out the house and doing stuff I am ok.

 

Very open to any suggestions especially with the Fluoxetine and PMDD. I have been doing my own extensive research and I’m stuck in a contradiction of wanting to be fully off of anti-depressants and needing some kind of treatment for the PMDD 😕 hopefully I will find a way to navigate through and be fully off of Fluoxetine - I do think it is possible.

 

Thanks for checking in on me,

 

Natalie

[TryingtohaveHope]

On 9/2/2020 at 4:33 AM, natlondon said:

Hi Altostrata,

 

I’m doing ok. Fully tapered off of Vortioxetine now and haven’t taken any for two months. Tapered using as is suggested on here. I did 10% dose reductions every 4-6 weeks minimum wait time for further reduction I used a jewellery weighing scale and a pill cutter. Did it over 12 months? Dropped the Vortioxetine initially from 20mg to 10mg after about 3 weeks of being on the 20mg dose it as it was making me a billion times worse. Did have a few times when I had to go up to previous taper dose but finally I am off of the Vortioxetine. 
 

Currently just on 10mg Fluoxetine a day. Increasing to 20mg Fluoxetine for 5 days before my period for PMDD. Not sure how I am going to taper the Fluoxetine given how badly I suffer with PMDD and how the Fluoxetine seems to help. Planning somehow to get down to 0mg Fluoxetine a day increasing to 10mg just before period then try and reduce that over time. I know it seems harsh given up and down doses and you may comment negatively about this but I’m a work in progress and am navigating as best I can given my unique biology and the PMDD.
 

Do feel a bit stuck as I suffer so badly with PMDD and the treatment options are anti-depressants or the contraceptive pill.
 

I continue to make lifestyle changes and am having a lot of therapy so just have to keep navigating. 
 

All in all the constant suicidal depression is no longer a constant and has gone. The akathesia has gone. My sleep is fine. My anxiety is gone / is normal anxiety for someone who is a naturally anxious person. No waking up every morning with panic attacks. No panic attacks for a year. 
 

I do get headaches now and then and my head does still feel a bit locked into a heavy rock kind of place and I do still find mornings the hardest but usually once I am up and out the house and doing stuff I am ok.

 

Very open to any suggestions especially with the Fluoxetine and PMDD. I have been doing my own extensive research and I’m stuck in a contradiction of wanting to be fully off of anti-depressants and needing some kind of treatment for the PMDD 😕 hopefully I will find a way to navigate through and be fully off of Fluoxetine - I do think it is possible.

 

Thanks for checking in on me,

 

Natalie

 

Hi Natalie! I just posted something on birth control and pmdd but didn't get a response. PMDD stuff is so difficult. So, I was doing some research and look into DIM and the supplement HUM has I think chaste berry or something in it that is supposed to help with PMDD. And then really regulating your hormones even with food and like maintaining your blood sugar. This is what I am seeing..

[natlondon]

Hi TryingtohaveHope,

 

Thank you so much for your reply. Yeah it’s so frustrating that the first line treatment they say for PMDD is anti-depressants. I have thought about tapering off the Prozac fully and trying the contraceptive pill but then that is more artificial stuff going into my body. I have been on DIM for a year and many other supplements they suggest - calcium, b6, folate, b12, starflower oil. Feel a bit stuck but continue researching.

 

Do let me know if you come across anyone / anything in relation to this.

 

Thank you again,

 

Natalie