LoveMissesG Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 I was initially placed on antidepressants at age 13 because I was being bullied in school and had no idea how to cope with it. If I knew then what I know now I would've never placed that one pill of poison (Paxil) on the tip of my tongue. I am 24 years old, suffering physically, emotionally and dependent on family members. I want my life back. I was a vibrant child. I had tons of energy. I played the violin, danced for ten years and had friends. I wasnt the most outgoing, but I did what I could to make MOST people like me & succeeded. I was a 1/2 way decent student, but suffered with an undiagnosed learning disability. Since I have been on antidepressants my life has not been the same in the following ways -I've developed agoraphobia. I can go for days without leaving my house. I am terrified in grocery stores, shopping malls, coffee shops etc. -Ive recently graduated with my bachelors but have never held down a real job. -I have no friends. I cut people off because I'm scared to do many things that twenty-something's do. -I have trouble with my eyes. I believe medications over the years have caused this problem & may contribute to my ongoing agoraphobia. -I never had a problem with weight in my life. At my heaviest I had gained 50 pounds. -My vitamin levels are very low. Just recently I had eleven tubes of blood taken from me. -I have tried various SSRI's SNRI's, one anti-psychotic, various stimulants & tranquilizers yet I have suffered for years on end. I am here for one reason & one reasons only : TO WEAN OFF OF PROZAC. I WANT MY LIFE BACK. I WANT TO KNOW WHO I AM. Diagnosed With Depression, Social Anxiety Disorder & Agoraphobia. Also NLD (Non Verbal Learning Disorder) Meds I've Taken Since The Age of 13: Paxil, Prozac, Effexor, Cymbalta, Vyvanse, Concerta, Intuniv, Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin, Valium, Abilify, Lithium. These meds were never consistent & I was constantly switching on & off due to psychiatrists treating what I now know were side effects. Currently Taking: Prozac 7.5 mg (Weaning off) Valium 2 mg Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted February 20, 2012 Administrator Share Posted February 20, 2012 Welcome, LoveMissesG. Thanks for joining our community. Your story is heartbreaking. Have you seen Tips for tapering off Prozac (fluoxetine)? Prozac, at least, comes in liquid form for tapering. How much are you taking? 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
LoveMissesG Posted February 20, 2012 Author Share Posted February 20, 2012 Thanks Alto. I was on 10mg & I'm weaning down very slowly using liquid but still having horrible withdrawal symptoms. Whoever said coming off of Prozac was easy lied. It's painful emotionally & especially physically. Diagnosed With Depression, Social Anxiety Disorder & Agoraphobia. Also NLD (Non Verbal Learning Disorder) Meds I've Taken Since The Age of 13: Paxil, Prozac, Effexor, Cymbalta, Vyvanse, Concerta, Intuniv, Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin, Valium, Abilify, Lithium. These meds were never consistent & I was constantly switching on & off due to psychiatrists treating what I now know were side effects. Currently Taking: Prozac 7.5 mg (Weaning off) Valium 2 mg Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted February 20, 2012 Administrator Share Posted February 20, 2012 Oh, no, Prozac can be as difficult as any other drug to taper. How far down have you tapered? 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
Claudius Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 Hi LoveMisses, I can relate to your story, I have been bullied too and luckily in that time, in the early 80's, there were no SSRI's. But it did undermine my self esteem and brought me finally to the damned little pills. I do not understand why you mention Paxil in your first post and talk about weaning of Prozac later, did you do the Proxal switch? This seems to be helpful to some people but unfortunately not for everyone. I am still coping with my bullying past, now about 25 years ago, and still suffering from w/d but I tend to believe that is IS possible to survove this, heal from this psysically, neurologically and emotionally but it is a hard and tedious road. Please hang on and it seems you still have a chance to taper properly. I am convinced you will be able to live a new life one day within the next few years. 10 mg Paxil/Seroxat since 2002 several attempts to quit since 2004 Quit c/t again Oktober 2007, in protracted w/d since then after 3.5 years slight improvement but still on the road after 6 years pretty much recovered but still some nasty residual sypmtons after 8.5 years working again on a 90% base and basically functioning normally again! Link to comment
LoveMissesG Posted February 20, 2012 Author Share Posted February 20, 2012 Oh, no, Prozac can be as difficult as any other drug to taper. How far down have you tapered? I was told by my shrink that in Prozac liquid 2 Ml is 8 MG. I'm two lines beneath 2Ml so I'm not exactly sure Lol Diagnosed With Depression, Social Anxiety Disorder & Agoraphobia. Also NLD (Non Verbal Learning Disorder) Meds I've Taken Since The Age of 13: Paxil, Prozac, Effexor, Cymbalta, Vyvanse, Concerta, Intuniv, Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin, Valium, Abilify, Lithium. These meds were never consistent & I was constantly switching on & off due to psychiatrists treating what I now know were side effects. Currently Taking: Prozac 7.5 mg (Weaning off) Valium 2 mg Link to comment
LoveMissesG Posted February 20, 2012 Author Share Posted February 20, 2012 Hi LoveMisses, I can relate to your story, I have been bullied too and luckily in that time, in the early 80's, there were no SSRI's. But it did undermine my self esteem and brought me finally to the damned little pills. I do not understand why you mention Paxil in your first post and talk about weaning of Prozac later, did you do the Proxal switch? This seems to be helpful to some people but unfortunately not for everyone. I am still coping with my bullying past, now about 25 years ago, and still suffering from w/d but I tend to believe that is IS possible to survove this, heal from this psysically, neurologically and emotionally but it is a hard and tedious road. Please hang on and it seems you still have a chance to taper properly. I am convinced you will be able to live a new life one day within the next few years. Thanks Claudius! I mentioned Paxil because that was the first mind altering drug that was prescribed to me. As far as antidepressants I've taken damn near everything but Prozac (I pray) will be my last. Diagnosed With Depression, Social Anxiety Disorder & Agoraphobia. Also NLD (Non Verbal Learning Disorder) Meds I've Taken Since The Age of 13: Paxil, Prozac, Effexor, Cymbalta, Vyvanse, Concerta, Intuniv, Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin, Valium, Abilify, Lithium. These meds were never consistent & I was constantly switching on & off due to psychiatrists treating what I now know were side effects. Currently Taking: Prozac 7.5 mg (Weaning off) Valium 2 mg Link to comment
Administrator Altostrata Posted February 21, 2012 Administrator Share Posted February 21, 2012 LoveM, is your liquid 20mg fluoxetine in 5mL? That would be 4mg in 1mL or 8mg in 2mL. Not sure what you mean by lines. If you're having bad withdrawal symptoms, you may want to taper by smaller amounts. You can get a 5mL oral syringe, which may be marked in tenths of a mL. A 1mL oral syringe would be marked in hundreds of a mL. One-tenth of a mL of Prozac liquid would be .4mg of Prozac. If you're taking 8mg now, and you want to taper by 10%, you'd want to take 7.2mg or 1.8mL. Information about oral syringes here: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/235-tapering-techniques/page__p__2284__hl__%2Boral+%2Bsyringe__fromsearch__1#entry2284 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
Shanti Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 I'm tapering off of Prozac too. I switched from Paxil to Prozac to see if the Prozac was easier to taper off of than the Paxil. For me it is easier, but I know we're all different. I am still having some w/d symptoms but not as bad as they were. Reading your story makes me so glad that I pulled my 12 year old daughter out of school when she was having trouble. They labeled her a problem child and were wanting her to get "help". I just pulled her out and homeschooled her and now she's doing great at 18 yrs old. I saw the problem was the school, not my daughter, and this was totally verified by how well she did after pulling her out. It makes me so sad to see kids and teens put on these meds, angry actually. I often go to Yahoo Answers to search the ones out that are posting questions about whether they should take antidepressants. I just can't believe how many young people are put on things like Paxil still! I feel good that I am able to warn some of them and grateful that they thought to post the question at Yahoo. You will get your life back, just hang in there. Keeping you in my positive affirmations and thoughts. Taper from Cymbalta, Paxil, Prozac & Antipsychotics finished June 2012. Xanax 5% Taper - (8/12 - .5 mg) - (9/12 - .45) - (10/12 - .43) - (11/12 - .41) - (12/12 - .38) My Paxil Website My Intro Link to comment
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