Momof31979: suffering from Prozac withdrawal

[Momof31979]

Hello, I am new to the board. I am a 39 year old female, about a month completely off Prozac after taking 20 mg off and on (mostly on) for 20 years. I tapered at the advice of my doctor way too quickly (know that now, wish I knew it then!) over a 2 month period and have been suffering myraid symptoms over the past month that come and go:

 

- headache

- dizziness/lightheadedness

- brain fog/memory issues

- blurred vision

- fatigue

- irritability/mood swings

 

I am taking Omega-3 and b-complex vitamins, also started using a CES machine this week, which I definitely feel like has helped with the emotional symptoms and maybe even some of the physical symptoms.

 

The symptoms that are really persisting and making it difficult to function at work and home is the dizziness, headache and brain fog. I am even considering reinstating a small dose of prozac (say, 5 mg?) and tapering super slowly off that (5-10% every 4-6 weeks) as long as it takes to do it and allow my brain to adjust without all these terrible symptoms. 

 

Does anyone have any suggestions or words of advice? Would you recommend reinstatement or should I tough it out cause I have gotten this far? I know reinstatement doesn't work for everyone too, which makes me nervous. 

 

Thank you so much for your help!

Edited April 27, 2019 by Shep
added new username to title

[Carmie]

Hi Momof3, 

 

Welcome to SA. I’m sorry you’re going withdrawals. Yes, tapering 20mg over 2 months is certainly too quick. 

 

The last time you were on 20mg of Prozac, when did you start it again? Did you start it at 20mg?

 

What date did you come off the Prozac recently?

 

Could you please go to the Read This First forum and to the “ Please Put Your Withdrawal History In Your Signature” thread and fill out your signature. Thanks a lot.

 

I see you’re on B vitamins. It’s not really advisable to take B vitamins when going through withdrawals, they can stimulate your system. 

 

Once you’ve answered the above questions I’ll see what the other mods think about the amount best to reinstate, if you decide to do so. 

 

What would you like your username on your page to be?

 

Please let let us know how you’re doing, sending hugs🤗

 

 

Edited April 26, 2019 by ChessieCat
changed member name

[Momof31979]

Hi, thank you! you can make my username Momof31979 - is that ok?

 

Last time I went on Prozac was 5 years ago after being off for about 3 months and yes, I went right back on 20 mg.

 

I actually caved and took 5 mg last night, I couldn't take it anymore. Do you think 5 mg is enough to ease the withdrawal symptoms and stabilize me so I can start tapering very slowly in a month or two or would I be better off at 10 mg since it has only been a month since I was off it? At this point I am willing to try anything (even going all the way back up to 20 mg if I have to) in order to be able to do a super slow taper like I should have in the first place.

 

Thank you so much for your help! I will go fill out my signature now.

[Momof31979]

Sorry last time I was off it was for about 5 months, not 3 months. My signature should be as accurate as I can get it, thank you.

[Songbird]

22 hours ago, Momof31979 said:

I actually caved and took 5 mg last night, I couldn't take it anymore. Do you think 5 mg is enough to ease the withdrawal symptoms and stabilize me so I can start tapering very slowly in a month or two or would I be better off at 10 mg since it has only been a month since I was off it? At this point I am willing to try anything (even going all the way back up to 20 mg if I have to) in order to be able to do a super slow taper like I should have in the first place.

 

Choosing a reinstatement dose can be tricky, as some people find it doesn't work the same as before, or have adverse reactions.  Starting with a smaller dose can help to reduce the risk of adverse reaction.  If you've already reinstated 5mg, I wouldn't take any more than that for now.  How did your system react to the 5mg dose? Please have a good read of our reinstatement topic, especially the top post: About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms.

 

[Momof31979]

I have been doing a lot of reading on supplements to assist with withdrawals and feeling confused. I read the information here too. I am currently taking omega-3 which seems to be consistently recommended but also b-complex was recommended online and someone here said that can be bad and make withdrawal symptoms worse. The others I have wondered about are GABA and l-theanine. Some say these are great to use while tapering to help with withdrawal and others say no. 

 

Does anyone have any good advice? I just reinstated after tapering too quickly to 0 and hoping to do a very very slow taper from here but also want to be ready for symptoms while I taper by supporting my nervous system and brain as best as possible. 

 

Thank you!

[DogLover]

From what I gather, supplements are a mixed bag. For each and every one some people say they help, some say they get bad reactions.  The only ones that SA specifically recommends are fish oil and magnesium. You may find it helpful to insert the name of an individual supplement into the search function and click "titles only." Just about every supplement has it's own thread that you can follow and get plenty of anecdotal reactions.

 

Personally, I've tried l-theanine and GABA and can't say it made a lick of difference.

[ChessieCat]

There are many existing topics on this site.  You can use the site search function or, which I prefer, use google and add survivingantidepressants.org to the search term.

 

I suggest you look for SA topics about each individual supplement.  Taking a complex means that it if you experience a worsening you won't know what caused it.  Many members find B6 activating.

 

Suggested search terms:

 

survivingantidepressants.org vitamins

survivingantidepressants.org GABA

survivingantidepressants.org theanine

 

It's also best to only make one change at a time:  Keep it Simple, Slow and Stable

 

As DogLover has mentioned SA only recommends two supplements:

 

Magnesium
Omega-3 Fish Oil

[Momof31979]

Thank you. Which magnesium is best and what dosage? 

[Carmie]

Hi Momof31979, 

 

Just press on the magnesium link ChessieCat gave you. It mentions the different types of magnesium, and the best dosages to use. Magnesium glycinate seems to be quite absorbable. As mentioned in that link start off with a small dose of about 25mg and work your way up. 

 

I myself couldn’t tolerate magnesium, but a lot of people on here have found it beneficial. I haven’t tried magnesium oil or Epsom salts as yet though. I may one day, not sure as yet. 

 

Take care, sending hugs🤗

[Momof31979]

I reinstated last Thursday and feeling better overall but still have a lingering headache that seems to surge within a couple hours of taking my dose in the morning and taper off throughout the day. wondering if it is because I am still adjusting to having the drug in my system again. Has anyone had better luck taking their dose at night? And if I decide to do this, how do I make the switch? I assume I skip tomorrow mornings dose and take it tomorrow night instead? Thanks.

[Momof31979]

I reinstated last Thursday, 4/25 at 10 mg after being off 20 mg for about a month. Most side effects went away except for bad, bad headache and a little dizziness. I decided to switch to taking it in the evening to see if that helped with side effects which were affecting my work and ability to take care of my kids so I skipped my morning dose today at 6 am with plans to take it this evening at 8pm. The thing is - I feel amazing! No headache, no dizziness, I feel like my old self for the first time in a long time.

 

Do you think this could mean that I reinstated at too high a dose? Should I try to go down to 5 mg when I take it tonight? Or take 10 tonight and see if I feel bad tomorrow and then I know and can go down to 5 tomorrow night? I hate to bounce around on dosage and nervous to change anything but I just can't help but feel so optimistic that I feel so good today and the only thing that has changed is that I didn't take the medication this morning. Since Prozac has a long half life, I assume there is less in my system today but not enough to cause withdrawals and could that mean I would tolerate a lower dosage better?

 

Thank you for your help, I am freaking out because I so want to feel better and I don't want this feeling to go away!!!

[Momof31979]

I also tried magnesium oil topically for the first time last night - is there any chance that is what helped? I am still going strong with almost no symptoms and it's almost noon. I can't believe it. I haven't been symptom free this long in a long time.

[JB1234]

On 5/1/2019 at 6:40 AM, Momof31979 said:

I reinstated last Thursday, 4/25 at 10 mg after being off 20 mg for about a month. Most side effects went away except for bad, bad headache and a little dizziness. I decided to switch to taking it in the evening to see if that helped with side effects which were affecting my work and ability to take care of my kids so I skipped my morning dose today at 6 am with plans to take it this evening at 8pm. The thing is - I feel amazing! No headache, no dizziness, I feel like my old self for the first time in a long time.

 

Do you think this could mean that I reinstated at too high a dose? Should I try to go down to 5 mg when I take it tonight? Or take 10 tonight and see if I feel bad tomorrow and then I know and can go down to 5 tomorrow night? I hate to bounce around on dosage and nervous to change anything but I just can't help but feel so optimistic that I feel so good today and the only thing that has changed is that I didn't take the medication this morning. Since Prozac has a long half life, I assume there is less in my system today but not enough to cause withdrawals and could that mean I would tolerate a lower dosage better?

 

Thank you for your help, I am freaking out because I so want to feel better and I don't want this feeling to go away!!!

I have similar questions about reinstatement 

[Altostrata]

On 5/1/2019 at 6:40 AM, Momof31979 said:

I reinstated last Thursday, 4/25 at 10 mg after being off 20 mg for about a month. Most side effects went away except for bad, bad headache and a little dizziness. I decided to switch to taking it in the evening to see if that helped with side effects which were affecting my work and ability to take care of my kids so I skipped my morning dose today at 6 am with plans to take it this evening at 8pm. The thing is - I feel amazing! No headache, no dizziness, I feel like my old self for the first time in a long time.

 

Do you think this could mean that I reinstated at too high a dose? Should I try to go down to 5 mg when I take it tonight? Or take 10 tonight and see if I feel bad tomorrow and then I know and can go down to 5 tomorrow night? I hate to bounce around on dosage and nervous to change anything but I just can't help but feel so optimistic that I feel so good today and the only thing that has changed is that I didn't take the medication this morning. Since Prozac has a long half life, I assume there is less in my system today but not enough to cause withdrawals and could that mean I would tolerate a lower dosage better?

 

Thank you for your help, I am freaking out because I so want to feel better and I don't want this feeling to go away!!!

 

How do you feel today, Mom?

 

Please put your updates and questions in this topic, they can be overlooked in the other forums.

[Songbird]

On 4/27/2019 at 12:20 AM, Momof31979 said:

I actually caved and took 5 mg last night, I couldn't take it anymore.

 

On 5/2/2019 at 1:40 AM, Momof31979 said:

I reinstated last Thursday, 4/25 at 10 mg after being off 20 mg for about a month.

 

I'm confused - your previous posts say you reinstated at 5mg, now you're saying it was actually 10mg?