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Normalhuman: complicated Prozac withdrawal symptoms


normalhuman

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I was treated with various anti-depressants for Panic Disorder & Depression as a teenager for about 25 years. Most antidepressants pooped out over time, or had bad side effects so I would be put on a different med, or add another one to try and address the side effects. First withdrawal issues were fairly short lived but I recall getting brain zaps going off Effexor in my 20’s.  By my mid 30’s I was sick of not feeling like myself, chasing side effects with more meds, the failed trials & cocktails, & not knowing what was causing what vs where my underlying original issues stood. 

 

I was in a stable place in my life & I did a lot of work on therapy, mindfulness, diet, & exercise to prepare with any potential underlying issues. So in 2017 with my Dr I decided to try and see what my baseline was to do a trial off medications & that started my descent.  Unfortunately my Dr didn’t know about tapering beyond a few weeks, I was never warned about symptoms after stopping, & she gave me a lot of bad advice along the way like: “Prozac is self tapering,”  “Discontinuation symptoms are rare and self-limiting, it will only last about 2 weeks.”

 

Since 2017 this is my 3rd acute withdrawal experience but I’ve basically been in lesser versions that were more tolerable in between holding/ recovering as I reduced various medications the entire last several years with good days/weeks/months, and bad days/weeks/months.  

 

I will post a timeline so it’s easier to see any pattern but to have it make sense with my question for what to do with medication here’s a rundown. I apologize for it being long but the timeline alone can’t explain the whole conundrum. I also tried to read all the rules but please let me know if I’m communicating something wrong.  In 2020 I tapered Prozac 10mg to 0, from late Feb to Nov and for several of those months (May-Sept) I felt better than I had in years; what I’ve read now can be a “honeymoon period” with Prozac discontinuation/ withdrawal. I had real emotions again, no side effects, and even some motivation so I thought I was on the right track to keep going. 

 

In June I noticed some brief thumb pain but I chalked it up to overuse, although I thought it was weird it was the same joint that hurt for a while when I lowered Prozac from 20 to 10mg & one of the exact spots I got itchy burning hives on during my 2017 withdrawal.  I started to get some pangs of anxiety & was sleeping less but it wasn’t too bad so I kept tapering.  I also started LDN in July and it lifted my brain fog I had for years that started after the first withdrawal but it gave me some insomnia from vivid dreams & some anxiety. I continued it though because it was worth the trade off for being able to think & speak clearly again. Now looking back the increasing insomnia should have been a clue to withdrawal but I attributed it only to LDN. I’m also unsure if LDN could have worsened things in general.  

 

I noticed as I tapered, more burning pain in my thumb off and on getting more frequent but I thought it was tendinitis/ overuse again, and then when I tried going down to 0mg in Nov, a week later my big toe got swollen & red for a few days but again, I thought it was unrelated and my Dr said it was probably gout.  I tried reinstating a fraction of the dose because my anxiety spiked too and a had some nausea, and it seemed to help for a week or so but then, in mid-Dec I crashed into acute withdrawal, so I reinstated 2mg after lower doses didn’t help.  

 

I had a constant feeling of dread, palpitations, panic attacks, anxiety/intrusive thoughts/depression (neuro emotions), palpitations, sweating, insomnia, nausea, diarrhea, shaking, fluctuating body temperature, freezing feet/hands, hypnic jerks, full body zaps, both thumbs started to burn then both big toes, then both pinkie fingers, and I got flu-like aches & pains, in my neck and back as well as sciatica. I got sensitive to most supplements, so I stopped many. I’m unsure if the 2mg kindled me or not but by late Feb much of the worst symptoms of horrible depression/anxiety/insomnia/intrusive thoughts were getting slightly better, or only in waves at night and early morning, but on the other hand the physical/allergic side just continued to get worse, and I developed more food sensitivities, low blood pressure with palpitations, rashes, and the burning joint pain only got more intense & spread to more joints in my hands and feet and now most recently in March it’s in my palm joints, foot joints, and my right ankle started to hurt as well. 

 

Sometimes I would also wake up with numb fingers or toes, and get little pin-prick sensations on my joints and skin as well.  I tried Zyrtec the last few weeks and much of the numbness, food reactions and brain fog have died down but not gone away completely. The joint pain is slightly less intense too after Zyrtec but continues to spread to new joints to the point I’m basically disabled because when I use them (ie move much) it flares them up. I know some of these can be some common symptoms in withdrawal but I haven’t seen anybody that had progressive/additive symmetrical joint pain like this and I’d like to know if anyone else has.  It seems like I’m 70% over the horrific acute mental anguish but am now physically really struggling and depressed because of this to the point I’m actually disabled after all these years of fighting to get off meds because I’m stuck in bed, in really bad pain off and on all day.  

 

My GP & Rheumatologist did a ton of blood tests to rule out Lyme, viruses, bacteria, etc, which were all normal besides a slightly low C4 complement (but normal C3), which she said could possibly indicate urticarial vasculitis or some other type of allergic syndrome & she has no idea how Prozac could be related or why it would have helped my condition in the past, & is sending me to an Allergist next month. She also mentioned small fiber neuropathy as a differential diagnosis and does not think it’s Lupus, RA or a typical autoimmune arthritis.  Either way she doesn’t know an actual diagnosis that would explain things since even if I do have urticarial vasculitis or small fiber neuropathy, those aren’t an illness in an of themselves.

 

A psychiatrist I consulted thinks I should discontinue the Prozac right away and that 3mg couldn’t possibly be helping me, and there’s a small chance it could be causing the joint pain and my allergic symptoms if I developed an allergy to it.  I doubt this thought because in the past I used Prozac as a bridge to stop the allergic MCAS-type symptoms (albeit without joint pain) that came with prior withdrawals. She’s never heard of anyone having a hard time with stopping it and thinks my symptoms are unrelated & I have an underlying condition.  As an aside, I’m a “intermediate metabolizer” which says I can have much higher blood levels so lower doses may be required, which is why I believe I probably did well only on 10mg but also why the side effects were probably also more prominent. 

 

So as of now, I’m unsure if I should hold the dose at 3.2 mg, updose, or try to taper. I also know ultimately this is my decision but I just need some guidance on what the best bet might be and whether or not anything like this has been seen since I've scoured the website and not seen much on what's advised in this situation.

 

"You have a chemical imbalance & we can fix it with these"

1995-2004: Varying time on Zoloft / Lexapro / Effexor (minor withdrawals).

2004-2009: Wellbutrin & Prozac, then added Neurontin & Abilify.

2009-2016: Wellbutrin, Prozac, Neurontin, Abilify, & Cytomel. Adderal & Oxazepam as needed. Failed trials of Ritalin / Viibryd / Brintellex / Lamictal (short or cross tapers).

2016-2017: Wellbutrin, Prozac, Cytomel. Dropped Abilify, Neurontin & Cytomel. Oxazepam as needed. Failed trial of Topamax & Enlyte (short or cross tapers). Failed trial on Cymbalta (1 year on, 2 month taper, 3+ months of acute withdrawals. Used Prozac bridge, Hydroxyzine, Benadryl, Quercetin, & Zyrtec). Thought was stabilized.

Nov 2017-Sept 2019: Tapered 2 months off Wellbutrin 75mg & crashed (4-9+ months of acute withdrawals after reinstated Prozac 20mg & Wellbutrin 75mg. Used Propranolol, Hydroxyzine, Lorazepam, Clonazepam, Quercetin).  Successfully tapered Prozac 20mg to 10mg over 3 months (down to 10mg Prozac at 3/25/19, minor withdrawals).  Successfully tapered Wellbutrin over 6 months (OFF Wellbutrin 10/19/19, minor withdrawals). 5 month hold only on Prozac 10mg. 

Mar-July 2020: Tapered Prozac 10mg to 2.5mg over 5 months (minor withdrawals), started LDN 1mg July. 

July-Nov 2020: Tapered Prozac 2.5mg to 0.5mg (minor withdrawals).

Dec 2020- Current: Crashed in Dec.  Reinstated Prozac 2mg, dropped LDN. (Acute withdrawals. Using Hydroxyzine, Quercetin, briefly used Propranolol), . Updose to 3mg Feb. Updose 3.2mg March (added Zyrtec, Celadrin, & Boswellia). Mental symptoms much better after 6 mo, physical symptoms that developed during withdrawal / pain, very slowly improving for the most part with more  good days than bad days now. 

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Older Withdrawal Timeline 2017-19, just putting on here in case seeing withdrawal symptoms helps with what to do for current situation. Feel free to skip.

 

-Background: Mainly on Prozac & Wellbutrin since 2004, tried quite a few other drugs for anxiety/depression from 2009-2016 with bad side effects or adverse reactions. Genes: Serotonin Transporter: Intermediate Risk (Use caution with SSRI’s) & CYP450 Drug Metabolism: Intermediate metabolizer  (increased risk for adverse events or poor response to SSRI’s [Prozac] serum levels may be increased, reduced dose may be required). MTHFR intermediate activity. Many HNMT mutations (risk for histamine intolerance). No history, or family history of autoimmune problems.

 

2017:

-May 2017: Stopped Prozac & tried Cymbalta (while still on Wellbutrin) for a year; had extreme lethargy & hunger, weight gain, felt run down & didn’t seem to do much for anxiety or depression. Fed up with trials etc, so wanted off medications to see where baseline was.  

-July 2017: Antidepressant withdrawal after 1 month taper. Symptoms were fever, pressure headaches, nausea, diarrhea, aches/pains, petechial rash after going in sun, dizziness/light-headed after eating, symmetrical itching on joints, symmetrical hives on joints that were hot & sometimes stung, tingled or burned the skin (elbows, knees, ankles, knuckles, finger joints). 

-Used: Prozac 10mg “bridge,” Benadryl, Hydroxyzine, Zyrtec & Quercetin. Most acute emotional rebound symptoms as well as flu-like ones lasted for about a month after starting Prozac then faded, but I continued to have on and off high histamine symptoms of bright red sometimes painful skin if I leaned on things, occasional hives pop up from new things I was never sensitive to like bandaids & perfumes, or if things were too tight or cold (pressure/cold urticaria), or if I ate things high in histamine like Kombucha or pizza. Was able to stop Benadryl, Hydroxyzine, Zyrtec & only take Quercetin & eat low histamine, no dairy/gluten/nightshade foods eventually to manage remaining symptoms. No history hives, rashes before this withdrawal. Felt stabilized.

-Late Sept 2017: Went off Prozac 10mg bridge that I was told “self tapers” & did fine a couple months, started to taper Wellbutrin because the Dr thought I was stabilized.  I also didn’t know (nor did Dr) that Prozac has such a long lag time for me, & I was probably still dealing with the previous Prozac/Cymbalta/Prozac withdrawal, or that it would be dangerous to try another taper another med that quickly.

-Mid Dec 2017: Noticed some insomnia, heart palpitations and some mild anxiety. Prescribed Propranolol. Continued Wellbutrin taper.

 

2018

-Jan 2018: Crashed into more severe antidepressant withdrawal, with constant panic attacks, physical dread, intrusive thoughts, fixed thoughts/fears, suicidal ideation, fever off and on, aches/pains, profuse sweating, shaking, muscle spasms/jerks, insomnia, palpitations, runny nose, stiff neck/back, couldn’t hold down food - nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, perioral dermatitis, sensitivity to smells & noises, had to try to sleep sitting up or heart would beat out of chest, dizzy/clumsy ran into things, blurry vision, high & low BP, sensitivities to supplements & foods I had been doing ok with again for a while. Lost 25 lbs. 

-Used: Reinstated Wellbutrin 75 mg & Prozac 20mg immediately once acute symptoms started in Jan, additionally used Propranolol, Hydroxyzine, Lorazepam then Clonazepam, & Quercetin. Looking back I wonder if reinstating caused kindling because I seemed to get worse before I got better after reinstatement, or it could have just been the course of the withdrawal. Eventually though, I did get better from many acute hellish symptoms after about 3-4 months in windows and waves pattern (worse at night and morning). Mostly better by June but still had brain fog, food sensitivities, high histamine symptoms, some anxiety and occasional panic, and no motivation. Stabilized somewhat back on Prozac, Wellbutrin, Quercetin & a low histamine diet. Food & supplement sensitivities, histamine issues, got slowly better over time but not back to normal 100%. 

-Late June, 2018- Tried to reduce Prozac 20mg to 10mg (was told it’s self-tapering), minor withdrawal 12 days later got petechial rash for several days after going in sun for afternoon all over but mostly thighs and trunk, small “bug bite-like” hives that burned/stung, diarrhea. Went mostly away with short course of Benadryl.

-Aug 2018 Started Wellbutrin taper 50mg while also tapering Prozac (now know shouldn’t have). Noticed hive on elbow but mostly tolerable symptoms. 1 month after that, got red hive on right thumb knuckle, with edema in ankles.

-Sept 2018 Taper Wellbutrin to 37.5mg. Notice hive on right thumb knuckle that came back (17th). A week later, tight throat in the mornings, worse neck and shoulder pain/stiffness, & thumb joint itching with persistent hive there that have had at least a week, wrist feels inflamed, stiff neck, imprinting wrinkles from clothing, high histamine symptoms. 

-Oct 2018: Woke up with red dots (hives) on all finger joints. More brain fog, joint pain. Reinstated Prozac 20mg Oct 22nd & symptoms slowly got better. Stabilized 2 months. Continued to slowly reduce Wellbutrin every couple weeks unless noticed symptoms.

 

2019

-Jan-Mar 25 2019- Reduced Prozac slower over 3 months 20 to 10mg, while also tapering Wellbutrin slowly. (Prozac 10mg 3/25/19).  Got fine red rash & sciatic pain. 

-Mid-April 2019- had headache and thumb pain for several days off and on but went away eventually. 

-May 2019- slight nausea, migraine, anxiety but was manageable.

-June 2019- Down to 4mg Wellbutrin

-July 20190.2mg Wellbutrin. Hives on elbows, some panic attacks, nightmares, bad perioral dermatitis but manageable.

Sept 19, 2019- Stopped Wellbutrin, slowly improved on most physical symptoms (which were prob also from Prozac since now know takes months to show many wd symptoms) only had a few food sensitivities and remained on Quercetin & fairly low histamine diet. Was able to exercise, hike, and get stronger but had lethargy, anxiety, brain fog, not much motivation and emotional blunting, so wanted to taper Prozac next. Dr thought it wasn’t doing anything at such a low dose and I could quickly taper because it was assumed the difficulty was with the Wellbutrin in 2018, even though I now believe it was also from Prozac and Cymbalta before that.  So I thought holding 5 months only on Prozac, and then doing a 9 month taper was very conservative & my Dr thought I was neurotic for extending it out so long because it's "self-tapering" and not known to cause withdrawal problems. I want to acknowledge how much more I know now after reading various stories and proper taper timelines; I still can't believe my Dr's continue to give me bad advice.

"You have a chemical imbalance & we can fix it with these"

1995-2004: Varying time on Zoloft / Lexapro / Effexor (minor withdrawals).

2004-2009: Wellbutrin & Prozac, then added Neurontin & Abilify.

2009-2016: Wellbutrin, Prozac, Neurontin, Abilify, & Cytomel. Adderal & Oxazepam as needed. Failed trials of Ritalin / Viibryd / Brintellex / Lamictal (short or cross tapers).

2016-2017: Wellbutrin, Prozac, Cytomel. Dropped Abilify, Neurontin & Cytomel. Oxazepam as needed. Failed trial of Topamax & Enlyte (short or cross tapers). Failed trial on Cymbalta (1 year on, 2 month taper, 3+ months of acute withdrawals. Used Prozac bridge, Hydroxyzine, Benadryl, Quercetin, & Zyrtec). Thought was stabilized.

Nov 2017-Sept 2019: Tapered 2 months off Wellbutrin 75mg & crashed (4-9+ months of acute withdrawals after reinstated Prozac 20mg & Wellbutrin 75mg. Used Propranolol, Hydroxyzine, Lorazepam, Clonazepam, Quercetin).  Successfully tapered Prozac 20mg to 10mg over 3 months (down to 10mg Prozac at 3/25/19, minor withdrawals).  Successfully tapered Wellbutrin over 6 months (OFF Wellbutrin 10/19/19, minor withdrawals). 5 month hold only on Prozac 10mg. 

Mar-July 2020: Tapered Prozac 10mg to 2.5mg over 5 months (minor withdrawals), started LDN 1mg July. 

July-Nov 2020: Tapered Prozac 2.5mg to 0.5mg (minor withdrawals).

Dec 2020- Current: Crashed in Dec.  Reinstated Prozac 2mg, dropped LDN. (Acute withdrawals. Using Hydroxyzine, Quercetin, briefly used Propranolol), . Updose to 3mg Feb. Updose 3.2mg March (added Zyrtec, Celadrin, & Boswellia). Mental symptoms much better after 6 mo, physical symptoms that developed during withdrawal / pain, very slowly improving for the most part with more  good days than bad days now. 

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Current Withdrawal Timeline - 2020:

 

**FEBRUARY 2020**

-On Prozac 10mg for 10 months (Prozac only for 5 of those months). Eventually almost no real physical issues or bad food sensitivities left from prior withdrawals but still had brain fog, bad PMS and apathy/numbness.

-Feb 26- Decrease Prozac to 9mg, started new liquid formula

 

**MARCH 2020**

-March 15- Decrease Prozac 5mg

-March 18-28- Fever/sore throat/ flu-like symptoms, thought could be Covid but didn’t have any breathing/lung issues.

-March 28- Decrease Prozac 4mg. 

 

**APRIL 2020**

-Late March/April- Noticed some discomfort/ sharp pain in thumbs after I downloaded and played a video game for several weeks, stopped because of this but thought it was unusual because I didn’t play it all that much compared to a lot of people, especially for how sharp pain was. Hiking /active feel good otherwise.

-April 4- Crying a little easily, some diarrhea, slight nausea (manageable)

-April 15- Decrease Prozac 3mg

-April 26- Decrease Prozac 2mg

 

**MAY 2020**

-May 17- Started feeling run down and anxious/irritable, slightly nauseas, got nightmares (like minor withdrawal symptoms). Startle reflex high. (intermittent)

-May 21st- Noticed sore on top of head & thought might have a tick bite from hike in woods so went to Dr & she said was too late for antibiotics and didn’t look like tick bite (tested negative for Lyme).

-May 22nd- Stiff upper neck/back, headache (intermittent)

-May 26- Brain fog, lethargy, aches/pains, nightmares (intermittent)

 

**JUNE 2020**

-June 4- Right thumb joint hurts again, brain fog, felt run down/lethargic, achy, headache, & started getting insomnia

-June 18- Decrease Prozac 1mg. Feeling good, hiking, exercising, etc

 

**JULY 2020**

-July 20th- Started Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) & Iron supplement. Noticed first couple nights taking it I woke up from a nightmare with burning joints that slowly dissipated after I woke up, and had an uptick in anxiety & insomnia. But started Melatonin & reduced dose to 1.25mg. Noticed sore joints happened a couple nights on higher dose and LDN but seemed to clear brain fog I had for years within a month or so, so I continued at low dose even though caused some vivid dreams mild anxiety.

-July 30th- Felt feverish, run down, slightly anxious, Updosed Prozac to 2.4mg. Tested covid negative. Had been active other than this much of summer feeling really good.

 

**AUGUST 2020**

-Aug 12th & 26th- Noticed thumb hurt again after kayaking, 2nd time couldn’t even hardly use it on the way back but thought was from texting too much in summer with friends.

 

**SEPTEMBER 2020**

-Sept 11th- Decreased Prozac to 0.8mg

-Sept 16th –Took Advil for thumb pain which has been more occasional, noticed hips sore when try to walk longer distances (2-7 miles), & took longer time for it to go away. Still active, feel good.

 

**OCTOBER 2020**

-Oct 1-8- Stopped Prozac but felt very nauseas, sick with bad back pain, and anxious by 8th day.

-Oct 9- Restart Prozac 0.4mg

-Oct 11- Had dinner at friends parents house and ate salmon, cake (gluten) white & red wine. Rarely eat gluten, never red wine.

-Oct 12- Went for long walk, ate hamburgers & fries with friend. Also literally never eat that type of food hardly at all but did because I figured I already had gluten the day before so I could re-start diet next day.

-Oct 13- Right toe hurt really bad all day but thought it was from long walk day before with shoe that was a little tight.

-Oct 14- Woke up to excruciating pain in right toe with swelling and redness (looked like gout). Hurt to walk, or for it to touch anything. I had a bunch of food I don’t normally eat & I had started an iron supplement a few months before so Dr thought it was gout. But UA was 3.2 (normal 2.2-7.7) so I didn’t take the medication for it. Swelling/redness went down after a few days. 

-Oct 15th- Thumb pain came back which had mostly gone away for a while. Notice thumb and toe pain is usually worse week before my period starts

-Oct 19- Using thumb splint, toe fine except when squeeze hurts. Anxiety starting to ramp up off and on but manageable assuming it’s a passing wave in withdrawal process as have had before.

-Oct 30- Starting to get some food sensitivities back haven’t had in long time. Nausea, anxiety (intermittent), insomnia most nights wake up several times

 

**NOVEMBER 2020**

-Nov 8- Thumb joint hurts off on for next week, right toe still hurts a tiny bit of walk more than a mile.

-Nov 7- Slight Fever 100.2, feel like crap flu-like, back aches, thumb hurts

-Nov 17-23:  Stopped Prozac 2nd time but by day 8 felt sick, had panic attack

-Nov 26- Panic attack, nausea, almost threw up, bad anxiety/dread (withdrawal-ish)

-Nov 27- Thumb better but colon/bladder pain (ended up passing kidney stone Nov 30) Noticed slightly more sensitive to some foods again.

 

**DECEMBER 2020**

-Dec 1- Thumb pain mild much better overall, slight nausea

-Dec 4- Slight nausea, spaciness, anxiety, palpitations, try Hydroxyzine which helps

-Dec 12- Morning feel ok, Evening start FULL WITHDRAWAL, anxious, panic attacks, sweating, insomnia, palpitations, nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, neck pain/stiffness, aches, shaking/tremmors

-Dec 13- Reinstate Prozac 2mg, START WINDOW/WAVES PATTERN. Used Propranolol (have used off/on for years), more reg use Hydroxyzine 30mg. Window 11am-3pm feel normal

(Dec 13-17 Period)

-Dec 15- Searing neck/back pain, palpitations withdrawal symptoms every day

-Dec 24- Tried Claratin. Anxiety/shaking/feel freezing/ anxious/ palpitations/ insomnia. Sensitivity to many supplements normally wouldn’t be.

-Dec 30- Last few days feel like no window, just awful all the time

-Dec 31- Very tired, try to nap but keep waking with full body zap, jolting me awake. Averaging 1-2 hours sleep/night.

"You have a chemical imbalance & we can fix it with these"

1995-2004: Varying time on Zoloft / Lexapro / Effexor (minor withdrawals).

2004-2009: Wellbutrin & Prozac, then added Neurontin & Abilify.

2009-2016: Wellbutrin, Prozac, Neurontin, Abilify, & Cytomel. Adderal & Oxazepam as needed. Failed trials of Ritalin / Viibryd / Brintellex / Lamictal (short or cross tapers).

2016-2017: Wellbutrin, Prozac, Cytomel. Dropped Abilify, Neurontin & Cytomel. Oxazepam as needed. Failed trial of Topamax & Enlyte (short or cross tapers). Failed trial on Cymbalta (1 year on, 2 month taper, 3+ months of acute withdrawals. Used Prozac bridge, Hydroxyzine, Benadryl, Quercetin, & Zyrtec). Thought was stabilized.

Nov 2017-Sept 2019: Tapered 2 months off Wellbutrin 75mg & crashed (4-9+ months of acute withdrawals after reinstated Prozac 20mg & Wellbutrin 75mg. Used Propranolol, Hydroxyzine, Lorazepam, Clonazepam, Quercetin).  Successfully tapered Prozac 20mg to 10mg over 3 months (down to 10mg Prozac at 3/25/19, minor withdrawals).  Successfully tapered Wellbutrin over 6 months (OFF Wellbutrin 10/19/19, minor withdrawals). 5 month hold only on Prozac 10mg. 

Mar-July 2020: Tapered Prozac 10mg to 2.5mg over 5 months (minor withdrawals), started LDN 1mg July. 

July-Nov 2020: Tapered Prozac 2.5mg to 0.5mg (minor withdrawals).

Dec 2020- Current: Crashed in Dec.  Reinstated Prozac 2mg, dropped LDN. (Acute withdrawals. Using Hydroxyzine, Quercetin, briefly used Propranolol), . Updose to 3mg Feb. Updose 3.2mg March (added Zyrtec, Celadrin, & Boswellia). Mental symptoms much better after 6 mo, physical symptoms that developed during withdrawal / pain, very slowly improving for the most part with more  good days than bad days now. 

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Current Withdrawal Timeline Cont. - 2021:

 

**JANUARY 2021**

-Jan 1- Scared of everything, terror/panic, no sleeping, all wd symptoms

-Jan 2- Cold hands/feet, slightly better sleep, still all wd symtpoms but get better for a few hours after Hydroxyzine. Using about 30mg of Hyroxyzine a day, 30mg of Propranolol

-Jan 3- Left thumb def sore, burn. Waking up with numb hands/feet, more on right side. Windows getting longer until 5pm-ish.

-Jan 4-Can feel right toe but doesn’t hurt. Panic, used ¼ of Lorazepam only once.

-Jan 7- Dark depressive intrusive thoughts/ bad anxiety

-Jan8- Sharp prickly stabbing pain in right thumb tip, thumbs burn so bad haven’t been able to do dishes or open doors, walk dogs, use fork, etc. Back stiff tingly. No true windows last few days. Cold weather is oddly very painful on skin, fingers feel frozen after a few seconds & burn. Everything I see is through most negative lens possible, immediately project horror/terror with everything I see & causes panic/palpitations. Irrational fixed thoughts I can’t convince myself things will ever be ok even though I’ve been through some of this before.  

(Jan 8-11 Period)

-Jan 11- Stop propranolol, Trying no LDN makes insomnia worse

-Jan 13-Right toe feels funny has for last month or so, left toe wake numb, sweating, feverish. 

Jan 15: Slight Progress; Not needing propranolol, using less Hydroxyzine, less twitching/buzzy feeling. Average sleeping 3am or 4am to 11am but wake frequently. Skin very dry, dermatitis 

-Jan 17-Right toe dull pain. Thumbs burn. Less nausea, palpitations, eating slightly more

-Jan 20- Steroid injection right thumb (didn’t help much). Waking up every hour of sleep.

-Jan 22- Updose Prozac 2.3mg. Progress- notice no nausea in mornings, anxiety really bad but slightly more manageable, not as many fixed /terror intrusive thoughts.

-Jan 26- Wake with dread, palpitations. Updose Prozac 2.8mg. Feels like someone holding left toe, right toe burning, more mild burn thumbs, neck cracking sounds

-Jan 28- Knees hurt a little more today, right elbow inside hurts, rash on wrist from using splint on thumb 

-Jan 30- neck/back hurt burning pain, jaw clicking, knees hurt when not doing anything – have to keep shifting them. Still bad anxiety and depression, intrusive thoughts.

-Jan 31- right toe middle joint red below def sore today

 

**FEBRUARY 2020**

-Feb 1- Pinched nerve/sciatic pain last 2 weeks but goes away after get up. 

Slight progress, able to eat w/ less nausea, anxiety slightly better, sleeping slightly longer, but more widespread pain in back, neck, knees elbow, right wrist on right side, both thumbs, both big toes.

(Feb 2-8 Period)

-Feb 4- Sciatic pain left side really bad, Left leg cold water trickling sensation running down left hip thigh, knee, shin to toe when walk some also when sit. Feel overwhelmed, Dr says Sciatica.

-(Feb 2-8 Period- all symptoms worse before period in all wd’s)

-Feb 3- Updose Prozac 3mg, Needing less Hydroxyzine 15mg

-Feb 6- Waking with panic, trembling, some twitching, Reduce Dose Prozac 2.6mg. 

-Feb 7-. Burning sensations in skin random places like fireworks, some twitching. Could be from updose, or period always worse?

-Feb 16- Parasthesia start mild random areas legs arms hands feet, still waking with panic, burning neck pain. Skin really dry on face, losing weight, looking sick.

-Feb 17- Start ball of foot joint pain, more painful sparks all over skin, sciatic pain back. Had chinese food at night.

-Feb 18- Horrible anxiety, dread, stabbing/prickling sensations all over

-Feb 20- Left hand middle knuckle itch, big toes wake numb. Been spotting between period, prickling on skin/feet

-Feb 16- Updose Prozac 2.8mg

-Feb 21-Severe anxiety, mid-back pain horrible (ended up being kidney stone)

-Feb 25- Updose Prosac 2.88mg

-Feb 27- Updose Prozac 3mg, Right pinkie finger tingling first, now burning start, red blotch slightly goes up finger. Passed kidney stone.

-Feb 28 – Wake right toe numb, Red dot on thumb & pinkie knuckles, pricks all over body but not as bad as earlier in month. Bad anxiety continues.

 

**MARCH**

(Mar 1-7 Period – all symptoms worse before period in all wd’s)

-Mar 1- Horrible brain fog, can’t hardly talk, heart racing after eating. Has been happening more and more with food I was fine with a couple weeks ago. Notice when I take Hydroxyzine in morning it does nothing but after taking Prozac dose, Hydroxyzine causes sedation. Nighttime dose does hardly anything as well- Interdose withdrawal?

-Mar 4- Left pinkie finger start burning, wake numbness, IBS

-Mar 6- Start Zyrtec 10mg. Notice morning wave of anxiety back was gone a while, 

-Mar 7- Both pinkie toes mild pain, wax/wanes

-Mar 8- Middle knuckle left hand start medium pain (trying to type do some work), red knuckles off and on, sciatic pain bad. Pinkies worst right now.

Mar 9- Less red skin/reaction, flushing prob Zyrtec helping.

-Mar 10- Start Celadrin 700mg morning, 700mg evening. Wake hands slightly numb, burning joints. 

-Mar 11- spreading joint pain to tops of feet, less sciatic pain

-Mar 12- Updose Prozac 3.08mg. Skin bright red when mild scratch.

-Mar 13- Seems like pressure urticarial on hands been happening

-Mar 15- Middle knuckle right hand start, palm fold red/itchy

-Mar 17- Updose Prozac 3.12mg,  some sneezing, upper left side chest pain, 99 mild temp. food reaction peanut butter?

-Mar 19- Compulsive hunger feeling, not feeling full

-Mar 21-Less anxiety, brain fog, intrusive thoughts, needing much less Hyrdroxyzine

Mar 23- small red pin prick dots, one on knee, some feet, hips back, notice glands in neck slightly enlarged not sure how long

-Mar 28- small petechial rash on arms, some spots knee, foot. Joint pain spread middle knuckles. Notice red blotches when showering. Insatiable hunger.

-Mar 30- Updose Prozac 3.2mg

Symptom status: Nausea is more rare, sleeping slightly longer, windows slightly longer (wake with anxiety, take Prozac 11am, then feel better by 1-2pm until 6-8pm when anxiety & pain get worse. Another window usually around 10pm after take melatonin and taurine), less panic intrusive thoughts, less time with fixed negative fears though still struggle a lot in evenings and mornings. Seemed to improve after starting Zyrtec & Celadrin: needed less Hydroxyzine for anxiety, less brain fog, food/skin reactions, skin pricks, slightly less cold sensitivity, less sciatic pain. Burning joint pain slightly more intermittent at times but still really bad and continues to spread to more joints, seems like tendons and joints. Not hungry in morning, then intense food cravings around 3pm & don’t feel full.

"You have a chemical imbalance & we can fix it with these"

1995-2004: Varying time on Zoloft / Lexapro / Effexor (minor withdrawals).

2004-2009: Wellbutrin & Prozac, then added Neurontin & Abilify.

2009-2016: Wellbutrin, Prozac, Neurontin, Abilify, & Cytomel. Adderal & Oxazepam as needed. Failed trials of Ritalin / Viibryd / Brintellex / Lamictal (short or cross tapers).

2016-2017: Wellbutrin, Prozac, Cytomel. Dropped Abilify, Neurontin & Cytomel. Oxazepam as needed. Failed trial of Topamax & Enlyte (short or cross tapers). Failed trial on Cymbalta (1 year on, 2 month taper, 3+ months of acute withdrawals. Used Prozac bridge, Hydroxyzine, Benadryl, Quercetin, & Zyrtec). Thought was stabilized.

Nov 2017-Sept 2019: Tapered 2 months off Wellbutrin 75mg & crashed (4-9+ months of acute withdrawals after reinstated Prozac 20mg & Wellbutrin 75mg. Used Propranolol, Hydroxyzine, Lorazepam, Clonazepam, Quercetin).  Successfully tapered Prozac 20mg to 10mg over 3 months (down to 10mg Prozac at 3/25/19, minor withdrawals).  Successfully tapered Wellbutrin over 6 months (OFF Wellbutrin 10/19/19, minor withdrawals). 5 month hold only on Prozac 10mg. 

Mar-July 2020: Tapered Prozac 10mg to 2.5mg over 5 months (minor withdrawals), started LDN 1mg July. 

July-Nov 2020: Tapered Prozac 2.5mg to 0.5mg (minor withdrawals).

Dec 2020- Current: Crashed in Dec.  Reinstated Prozac 2mg, dropped LDN. (Acute withdrawals. Using Hydroxyzine, Quercetin, briefly used Propranolol), . Updose to 3mg Feb. Updose 3.2mg March (added Zyrtec, Celadrin, & Boswellia). Mental symptoms much better after 6 mo, physical symptoms that developed during withdrawal / pain, very slowly improving for the most part with more  good days than bad days now. 

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Welcome, @normalhuman

 

21 hours ago, normalhuman said:

-Mar 30- Updose Prozac 3.2mg

Symptom status: Nausea is more rare, sleeping slightly longer, windows slightly longer (wake with anxiety, take Prozac 11am, then feel better by 1-2pm until 6-8pm when anxiety & pain get worse. Another window usually around 10pm after take melatonin and taurine), less panic intrusive thoughts, less time with fixed negative fears though still struggle a lot in evenings and mornings. Seemed to improve after starting Zyrtec & Celadrin: needed less Hydroxyzine for anxiety, less brain fog, food/skin reactions, skin pricks, slightly less cold sensitivity, less sciatic pain. Burning joint pain slightly more intermittent at times but still really bad and continues to spread to more joints, seems like tendons and joints. Not hungry in morning, then intense food cravings around 3pm & don’t feel full.

 

It sounds like you're stabilizing from the SSRI withdrawal symptoms. It's possible you have other health issues as well that are unrelated to Prozac withdrawal.

 

What is your current daily schedule and dosages?

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.

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On 4/5/2021 at 1:52 AM, Altostrata said:

Welcome, @normalhuman

 

 

It sounds like you're stabilizing from the SSRI withdrawal symptoms. It's possible you have other health issues as well that are unrelated to Prozac withdrawal.

 

What is your current daily schedule and dosages?

Hi Alto, Thank you so much for looking over my info, I really appreciate it.  Re: "unrelated to Prozac"? ie Do you mean like it unmasked or induced it, or more like a coincidence?  I agree that it could be unrelated in a sense but I lean towards it having something to do with Prozac since it started and got worse with the taper/withdrawal symptom severity, blew up after stopping, and because of the fact that I had some of these symptoms before (red burning skin splotches, thumb/wrist pain) in prior withdrawals that went away completely after reinstatement. The difference now (seemingly) is I was determined to get off of it this time and figured it would go away but it's not & is spreading, although I recognize there's a possibility it could still be separate & might have came on anyway.  I wonder if updosing slowly would help and then going down much, much slower but I don't want to kindle myself.  This is what my original NP said to do (raise dose by 1mg every 3-4 weeks until stabilized) but that seemed fast potentially for how sensitive I am and I don't know the odds of it helping or hurting.  I read Dr. Stuart Shipko says basically to never taper off after how long I was on Prozac unless I want years of suffering, and then with the 2nd opinion Psychiatrist saying to taper off immediately I'm unsure of what to do. I read so many success stories & have gotten this far though I just want the safest path.

 

I saw the Rheumatologist today to look at my joints and skin, since I have no major swelling and only pain she doesn't think it's RA, PsA or urticarial vasculitis, & that it could also possibly be fibromyalgia or SFN with something else "immune or allergic in nature unknown." So I'm seeing an allergist soon but am unsure he'll give any better answers.  She suggested Pregabalin or Gabapentin could potentially help, although she knows I am trying to get off Prozac!  She's not sure what it is & has no "good answers" & I may never know an exact diagnosis since medicine isn't perfect but that it doesn't get better & it seems autoimmune and regular pain meds don't help that if want to treat it there are also other drugs she can prescribe to try but they all come with potentially serious side effects (Prednisone or Hydroxychloroquine). The LAST thing I want to do is use another dangerous drug which is why I'm blown away this is where I'm at right now after trying to taper 10mg of Prozac & now looking down the barrel of Plaquenil 😫.  6 months ago I hiked 7 miles and today I'm literally disabled; though I obviously hope & am determined that this is something I will mostly slowly recover from & I can someday help support other people going through the same thing. 

 

This is a typical day but it can vary; some days like the week before and during period I hardly have any windows & anxiety is less controllable like I’m in more fight/flight mode, & pain/inflammation is also worse. Note that in all my withdrawals, the morning and evenings are hardest; not sure if it’s my natural rhythm or from taking Prozac and it wearing off. Curious if trying a split dose, or adding 1/2mg around 4pm could help.

 

-4:30am- Wake up but fall back asleep, knees & toes uncomfortable.

-6am- Wake with palpitations/panic, calm myself/breathing exercise, back to sleep within 15-30min.

-8am- Wake with palpitations, sweating, feel tired & restless, calm myself use sleep meditation, go back to sleep within 15-30min. Sometimes wake numbness in finger or toe.

-11:30am- Wake with minor palpitations after dream ends, uncomfortable physical anxiety or “buzzy” edgy feeling with slight impending doom feeling, some ruminating but try to use DBT & breathing & know this always happens (in a wave), not much pain in joints/tendons, sciatic area a little sore.

-Get up, Take Prozac 3.2mg, 

-12pm- Fix scrambled eggs but not super hungry, slight brain fog after. Slight pain in both thumbs or fingers from doing stuff. Take supplements: Celadrin 700mg (natural pain reliever), Quercetin EMIQ, Vit C 1000mg, Vit D, Zinc 25mg, Oxaloacetate 100mg, Berberine 250mg, Zyrtec 10mg

-1pm- Start to feel a little less physical anxiety & more “normal” reactions/thoughts.

-2pm- Window where feel more calm about my situation, less ruminating.

-3 or 4pm- Feel insatiable hunger around mid-afternoon like I have to eat something more but can’t get full. Usually brain fog after eating. Several hour window where feel less anxious and productive but if I walk around the joints/tendons in my feet start to hurt and if I use the computer or iphone my fingers start to hurt/burn more. The less active I am the less things hurt, which is frustrating.

-5pm- Notice more normal or positive feelings/thoughts start to turn into slight agitated or restless response/ feelings, and know this means wave is coming

-5:30pm- Wave. Restlessness turns into anxiety, sadness creeps in, slight flu-like feeling, IBS pain worse, joint pain usually at it’s worst in evening (hands and feet mostly), notice more anxious & sad thoughts that are harder to counter like frontal lobe is going offline, Take Hydroxyzine 5mg.

-7pm- Anxiety starting to feel better from Hydrox, joints usually still hurt but not quite as much.

-8pm- Make dinner, slight brain fog & anxiety after

-9pm- Feel more energy like evening 2nd wind, slight window but also slightly uncomfortable or tense edge to alertness. Use computer to answer emails or iphone, & thumbs, knuckles and wrists start to hurt (places where pain has spread that flares), anxiety about pain after use/ future.

10pm- Not tired at all, slightly anxious. Take Hydroxyzine 5mg. Epsom salt bath 2 cups. Feel more calm.

-12am- Take Melatonin 600mcg, Vit C 1000mg, Quercetin EMIQ, Celadrin 700mg, Tart Cherry 300mg, Taurine 500mg (note, sometimes try tiny dose of Magnesium/Malic Acid which helps with sleep but can’t use every night or will get palpitations from it. Then if I wait a few days it helps again so I try to space it out. I used to use Mag regularly in normal to higher doses for years but since first withdrawal it then started to give me bad palpitations & couldn’t tolerate it even after trying multiple forms/brands. Epsom bath seems to be good though).

-1am- Still not tired, but listen to sleep meditation try to fall asleep, some slight twitching in ankles, sciatic area a little sore.

-2am- Can’t sleep, Take more Hydroxyzine 5mg or Melatonin 300mcg.

-3am- Fall asleep, sometimes deep sleep, other times nightmares.

"You have a chemical imbalance & we can fix it with these"

1995-2004: Varying time on Zoloft / Lexapro / Effexor (minor withdrawals).

2004-2009: Wellbutrin & Prozac, then added Neurontin & Abilify.

2009-2016: Wellbutrin, Prozac, Neurontin, Abilify, & Cytomel. Adderal & Oxazepam as needed. Failed trials of Ritalin / Viibryd / Brintellex / Lamictal (short or cross tapers).

2016-2017: Wellbutrin, Prozac, Cytomel. Dropped Abilify, Neurontin & Cytomel. Oxazepam as needed. Failed trial of Topamax & Enlyte (short or cross tapers). Failed trial on Cymbalta (1 year on, 2 month taper, 3+ months of acute withdrawals. Used Prozac bridge, Hydroxyzine, Benadryl, Quercetin, & Zyrtec). Thought was stabilized.

Nov 2017-Sept 2019: Tapered 2 months off Wellbutrin 75mg & crashed (4-9+ months of acute withdrawals after reinstated Prozac 20mg & Wellbutrin 75mg. Used Propranolol, Hydroxyzine, Lorazepam, Clonazepam, Quercetin).  Successfully tapered Prozac 20mg to 10mg over 3 months (down to 10mg Prozac at 3/25/19, minor withdrawals).  Successfully tapered Wellbutrin over 6 months (OFF Wellbutrin 10/19/19, minor withdrawals). 5 month hold only on Prozac 10mg. 

Mar-July 2020: Tapered Prozac 10mg to 2.5mg over 5 months (minor withdrawals), started LDN 1mg July. 

July-Nov 2020: Tapered Prozac 2.5mg to 0.5mg (minor withdrawals).

Dec 2020- Current: Crashed in Dec.  Reinstated Prozac 2mg, dropped LDN. (Acute withdrawals. Using Hydroxyzine, Quercetin, briefly used Propranolol), . Updose to 3mg Feb. Updose 3.2mg March (added Zyrtec, Celadrin, & Boswellia). Mental symptoms much better after 6 mo, physical symptoms that developed during withdrawal / pain, very slowly improving for the most part with more  good days than bad days now. 

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One other question I had was that the liquid Fluoxetine this month is a different manufacturer and contains alcohol as an additional ingredient & is a different flavor. The pharmacy said the old one I get was out of stock I've been on for a year - is this a potential issue since it could potentially be slightly different?  Wondering if I should I try to call around to pharmacies since I'm on such a low dose & very sensitive to changes?

"You have a chemical imbalance & we can fix it with these"

1995-2004: Varying time on Zoloft / Lexapro / Effexor (minor withdrawals).

2004-2009: Wellbutrin & Prozac, then added Neurontin & Abilify.

2009-2016: Wellbutrin, Prozac, Neurontin, Abilify, & Cytomel. Adderal & Oxazepam as needed. Failed trials of Ritalin / Viibryd / Brintellex / Lamictal (short or cross tapers).

2016-2017: Wellbutrin, Prozac, Cytomel. Dropped Abilify, Neurontin & Cytomel. Oxazepam as needed. Failed trial of Topamax & Enlyte (short or cross tapers). Failed trial on Cymbalta (1 year on, 2 month taper, 3+ months of acute withdrawals. Used Prozac bridge, Hydroxyzine, Benadryl, Quercetin, & Zyrtec). Thought was stabilized.

Nov 2017-Sept 2019: Tapered 2 months off Wellbutrin 75mg & crashed (4-9+ months of acute withdrawals after reinstated Prozac 20mg & Wellbutrin 75mg. Used Propranolol, Hydroxyzine, Lorazepam, Clonazepam, Quercetin).  Successfully tapered Prozac 20mg to 10mg over 3 months (down to 10mg Prozac at 3/25/19, minor withdrawals).  Successfully tapered Wellbutrin over 6 months (OFF Wellbutrin 10/19/19, minor withdrawals). 5 month hold only on Prozac 10mg. 

Mar-July 2020: Tapered Prozac 10mg to 2.5mg over 5 months (minor withdrawals), started LDN 1mg July. 

July-Nov 2020: Tapered Prozac 2.5mg to 0.5mg (minor withdrawals).

Dec 2020- Current: Crashed in Dec.  Reinstated Prozac 2mg, dropped LDN. (Acute withdrawals. Using Hydroxyzine, Quercetin, briefly used Propranolol), . Updose to 3mg Feb. Updose 3.2mg March (added Zyrtec, Celadrin, & Boswellia). Mental symptoms much better after 6 mo, physical symptoms that developed during withdrawal / pain, very slowly improving for the most part with more  good days than bad days now. 

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On 4/5/2021 at 1:52 AM, Altostrata said:

Welcome, @normalhuman

 

 

It sounds like you're stabilizing from the SSRI withdrawal symptoms. It's possible you have other health issues as well that are unrelated to Prozac withdrawal.

 

What is your current daily schedule and dosages?

Today the Psychiatrist suggested to move my 11:30am dose to 5pm for 2 weeks to see if it's shifts my "window" of time when I feel better to later in the day. She said repeatedly that the 3.2mg can't scientifically be doing anything other than causing me to be "obsessed" with dosages & causing further suffering but that "if I'm right" and it does help me during the day, that shifting it to a later time would mean I would shift my window/wave later.  Does this make any sense, or would it be safer to try to split my dose and do 1/2 in the am and 1/2 in the pm? I don't care about her theory as much as am curious if there's a possibility you guys have seen it help even things out in people. I know everyone's different & there's no way to tell for sure but wanted SA's opinion from what you've seen over the many cases you've helped with.

"You have a chemical imbalance & we can fix it with these"

1995-2004: Varying time on Zoloft / Lexapro / Effexor (minor withdrawals).

2004-2009: Wellbutrin & Prozac, then added Neurontin & Abilify.

2009-2016: Wellbutrin, Prozac, Neurontin, Abilify, & Cytomel. Adderal & Oxazepam as needed. Failed trials of Ritalin / Viibryd / Brintellex / Lamictal (short or cross tapers).

2016-2017: Wellbutrin, Prozac, Cytomel. Dropped Abilify, Neurontin & Cytomel. Oxazepam as needed. Failed trial of Topamax & Enlyte (short or cross tapers). Failed trial on Cymbalta (1 year on, 2 month taper, 3+ months of acute withdrawals. Used Prozac bridge, Hydroxyzine, Benadryl, Quercetin, & Zyrtec). Thought was stabilized.

Nov 2017-Sept 2019: Tapered 2 months off Wellbutrin 75mg & crashed (4-9+ months of acute withdrawals after reinstated Prozac 20mg & Wellbutrin 75mg. Used Propranolol, Hydroxyzine, Lorazepam, Clonazepam, Quercetin).  Successfully tapered Prozac 20mg to 10mg over 3 months (down to 10mg Prozac at 3/25/19, minor withdrawals).  Successfully tapered Wellbutrin over 6 months (OFF Wellbutrin 10/19/19, minor withdrawals). 5 month hold only on Prozac 10mg. 

Mar-July 2020: Tapered Prozac 10mg to 2.5mg over 5 months (minor withdrawals), started LDN 1mg July. 

July-Nov 2020: Tapered Prozac 2.5mg to 0.5mg (minor withdrawals).

Dec 2020- Current: Crashed in Dec.  Reinstated Prozac 2mg, dropped LDN. (Acute withdrawals. Using Hydroxyzine, Quercetin, briefly used Propranolol), . Updose to 3mg Feb. Updose 3.2mg March (added Zyrtec, Celadrin, & Boswellia). Mental symptoms much better after 6 mo, physical symptoms that developed during withdrawal / pain, very slowly improving for the most part with more  good days than bad days now. 

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6 hours ago, normalhuman said:

 She said repeatedly that the 3.2mg can't scientifically be doing anything

 

This is one of the most misunderstood part of anti-depressants all around, what doctors consider "small" dosages and just how powerful they are.

If She is talking about moving Your prozac dose, Prozac has an extremely long half life..

It's not like a drug with a 4 hour half life.

 

Maybe I am missing the point of Her theory but I do not think She understands medications.

Reinstatement of meds is NOT  PRN for symptoms, in the way you would take tylenol for whenever a headache pops up.

The afternoon is many peoples WORST time of day for their symptoms, as it is for non drug people (it's the afternoon "lull" for all of us).

If you are symptomatic at that time that is completely normal.

If you were on a drug with a short half life there would be merit it splitting your dose in half twice a day but not for prozac.

 

 

 

 Starting ds 2 (12.5 CR'S) = 25 MG PAXIL CR 1/21/15: 1 Pill + 10mg liquid (2 weeks) 2/4: 1 Pill + 9mg Lq (3 weeks) 2/25: 1 Pill + 8 mg lq (1 week) 3/4: 1 Pill + 6 mg lq (2 weeks) 3/18/15 1 Pill + 4 mg lq (2 weeks) 4/1/15 1 Pill + 3 mg lq (2 weeks) 4/14/15 1 Pill + 2 mg lq (2 weeks) 4/29/15 1Pill + 1 mg lq (16 days) 5/15/15 1 12.5 mg Pill ONLY (9 days) 5/24/15 12 mgs liquid (8 days) 6/1/15 11mg lq (12 days) 6/13/15 10 mg.  12/3/15 Drop from 8mg to 7.6 (24 days to) 12/27/15 7.2mgs 8/4/16 6.8mgs,  11/1/16 6.4mgs, 2/5/17 6 mgs  4/3/17 5.6mgs, 4/24/17 5.2mg, 6/13/17 4.8mgs, 9/20/17 4.4mgS, 11/23/17 4 mgs, 1/1/18 3.6 mgs, 2/15/18 3.2 mgs. 4/13/18 2.8mgs, 5/11/18 2.4mgs, 6/10/18 2.0 mgs, 8/4/18 1.6mgs,  9/27/18 1.2mgs, 12/24/18 0.8mg, 3/24/19 0.64 mg,(syringe change issue date?) 4/22/19 0.60 mg, 5/24/19 0.60 mg, 7/7/19 0.52 mgs, 8/4/19 0.44mgs, 11/4/19 0.36mgs, 2/1/20 0.28mgs, 3/1/20 0.24mgs (crash April 6) Compound started 6/28/21: 0.24mgs, 8/29/21: 0.22mgs, 10/31/21: 0.20mgs, 1/03/22: 0.18mgs, 3/5/22: 0.16mgs, 5/5/22: 0.14mgs.

 

Original Wellbutrin Dose: 6 months from 9/14 to 3/2015, 300 XL 3/15/15: Half to 150 XL ( severe symptoms started on day 12) 4/16/15: 125mg   for 20 days to: 5/6/15:   100mg  for  15 days to: 5/21/15    75mg  for  10 days to: 6/1/15:  56.25mg      13 days to: 6/13/15: 37.25mg    7 days to: 6/20/15  28.12mg   14 days to: 7/4/15  18.75mg, 7 days to: 7/11/15; RAISE BACK TO: 28.12 to 8/14/15: 18.75mg  20 days to :9/3/15 : 12.5mg, 8/4/16 9mg 1/9/17: 8.5mg 2/8/17 8mg, 3/9/17: 7.6  4/9/17  7.2  5/27/17 6.4 6/24/17 5.8, 8/1/17 5.0, 8/29/17 4.2mgs, 10/2/17 3.5mgs, 12/28/17 2.5mgs, 2/27/18 1.7mgs,  4/19/18 0.8 mgs, LAST DOSE: 6/11/18:  3 YEARS, 2 MONTHS, 27 DAYS...

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On 4/6/2021 at 10:37 PM, normalhuman said:

One other question I had was that the liquid Fluoxetine this month is a different manufacturer and contains alcohol as an additional ingredient & is a different flavor. The pharmacy said the old one I get was out of stock I've been on for a year - is this a potential issue since it could potentially be slightly different?  Wondering if I should I try to call around to pharmacies since I'm on such a low dose & very sensitive to changes?

 

Some people feel the difference when they take a different brand and others don't. 

 

Show your psychiatrist this paper https://ils.unc.edu/bmh/neoref/this.dir.unneeded/schizophrenia/review/tmp/352.pdf It has SERT saturation for fluoxetine on the 4th page. 3.2mg has about 20% SERT and plasma saturation.

 

Do you always take fluoxetine at 11:30 a.m.? Colonial is correct, it has such a long half-life, changing the timing of your dose probably won't help anything unless it's conflicting with some other drug. Peak plasma is about 4 hours. This is probably when you feel better around 4-5.

 

This suggests 3.2mg is not enough. You feel better at peak plasma but worse before peak plasma. You might updose slightly, perhaps to 3.5mg to start. Please let us know how you're doing.

 

I am sorry, I don't know what might be affecting your thumb and toes.

 

 

 

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.

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18 hours ago, Colonial said:

 

This is one of the most misunderstood part of anti-depressants all around, what doctors consider "small" dosages and just how powerful they are.

If She is talking about moving Your prozac dose, Prozac has an extremely long half life..

It's not like a drug with a 4 hour half life.

 

Maybe I am missing the point of Her theory but I do not think She understands medications.

Reinstatement of meds is NOT  PRN for symptoms, in the way you would take tylenol for whenever a headache pops up.

The afternoon is many peoples WORST time of day for their symptoms, as it is for non drug people (it's the afternoon "lull" for all of us).

If you are symptomatic at that time that is completely normal.

If you were on a drug with a short half life there would be merit it splitting your dose in half twice a day but not for prozac.

 

 

 

@Colonial She said at small doses Prozac may metabolize faster and wondered if it could possibly cause interdose withdrawal but wasn't sure & was doubtful, which is why she thought shifting the dose from 11am to 5pm (when I normally get a wave) might tell whether or not it had any effect on my daily symptoms.  Her main proposition has been that the low dose has no effect on me so it probably won't do anything but if it does & my symptoms shift to later, that could indicate it's actually doing something. I don't mind trying this in theory as I'd be curious too but I'm just not sure if this is risky or could destabilize me further... Maybe gradually working it to that time is safer, or splitting my dose and taking the other 1/2 at 5pm rather than the whole thing. 

15 hours ago, Altostrata said:

 

Some people feel the difference when they take a different brand and others don't. 

 

Show your psychiatrist this paper https://ils.unc.edu/bmh/neoref/this.dir.unneeded/schizophrenia/review/tmp/352.pdf It has SERT saturation for fluoxetine on the 4th page. 3.2mg has about 20% SERT and plasma saturation.

 

Do you always take fluoxetine at 11:30 a.m.? Colonial is correct, it has such a long half-life, changing the timing of your dose probably won't help anything unless it's conflicting with some other drug. Peak plasma is about 4 hours. This is probably when you feel better around 4-5.

 

This suggests 3.2mg is not enough. You feel better at peak plasma but worse before peak plasma. You might updose slightly, perhaps to 3.5mg to start. Please let us know how you're doing.

 

I am sorry, I don't know what might be affecting your thumb and toes.

 

 

 

Thanks @Altostrata I'll show her that. I'm also an "intermediate metabolizer" per my gene report so I think this makes an even stronger case Prozac could be doing something at the low dose. I usually take it around 11am, have a window from 2pm-5pm, 5pm notice agitation/random anxious thoughts creep in, then by 6-7pm I'm full on weepy/fearful/sick. It's worth noting some days it's no window or shorter on bad days, and longer on rare good days so this could just be my underlying pattern- I guess that's why I'm almost curious to potentially try.  Any thought on shifting vs splitting the dose being theoretically less risky, or is this a bad idea? (Also, I just updosed 10 days ago so I'm assuming I will wait another couple weeks to see how I do, or not obviously updose at all while I experiment with shifting or splitting my dose if I go that route.)

 

Also, I wanted to ask your opinion about the safest use of Hydroxyzine during withdrawal; it's helped me in even tiny doses with the crippling 5pm anxiety wave but I know it also acts on serotonin so I wonder if I should be keeping this consistent also in dosage/time rather than using it "as needed" if I'm confusing my brain chemistry by taking 2.5mg some days and 15mg or 20mg others.  I think I've noticed a pattern where I think I don't need it if I feel good by 7pm for a day and then the next day having a worse wave. Thoughts?

 

"You have a chemical imbalance & we can fix it with these"

1995-2004: Varying time on Zoloft / Lexapro / Effexor (minor withdrawals).

2004-2009: Wellbutrin & Prozac, then added Neurontin & Abilify.

2009-2016: Wellbutrin, Prozac, Neurontin, Abilify, & Cytomel. Adderal & Oxazepam as needed. Failed trials of Ritalin / Viibryd / Brintellex / Lamictal (short or cross tapers).

2016-2017: Wellbutrin, Prozac, Cytomel. Dropped Abilify, Neurontin & Cytomel. Oxazepam as needed. Failed trial of Topamax & Enlyte (short or cross tapers). Failed trial on Cymbalta (1 year on, 2 month taper, 3+ months of acute withdrawals. Used Prozac bridge, Hydroxyzine, Benadryl, Quercetin, & Zyrtec). Thought was stabilized.

Nov 2017-Sept 2019: Tapered 2 months off Wellbutrin 75mg & crashed (4-9+ months of acute withdrawals after reinstated Prozac 20mg & Wellbutrin 75mg. Used Propranolol, Hydroxyzine, Lorazepam, Clonazepam, Quercetin).  Successfully tapered Prozac 20mg to 10mg over 3 months (down to 10mg Prozac at 3/25/19, minor withdrawals).  Successfully tapered Wellbutrin over 6 months (OFF Wellbutrin 10/19/19, minor withdrawals). 5 month hold only on Prozac 10mg. 

Mar-July 2020: Tapered Prozac 10mg to 2.5mg over 5 months (minor withdrawals), started LDN 1mg July. 

July-Nov 2020: Tapered Prozac 2.5mg to 0.5mg (minor withdrawals).

Dec 2020- Current: Crashed in Dec.  Reinstated Prozac 2mg, dropped LDN. (Acute withdrawals. Using Hydroxyzine, Quercetin, briefly used Propranolol), . Updose to 3mg Feb. Updose 3.2mg March (added Zyrtec, Celadrin, & Boswellia). Mental symptoms much better after 6 mo, physical symptoms that developed during withdrawal / pain, very slowly improving for the most part with more  good days than bad days now. 

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On 4/9/2021 at 8:14 AM, Altostrata said:

It has SERT saturation for fluoxetine on the 4th page. 3.2mg has about 20% SERT and plasma saturation.

 

Bases on calculations the SERT is about 53% at a dose of 3,2mg. These drugs are extremely powerful at low doses. If you look carefully at the graph on page 4, you can also see that the SERT is close to 50% at a dose of 3,2%.

 

The SERT at each dosage can be calculated with the formula shown on page 4 (under the graph).

 

Here is a chart of several dosages of Prozac, showing the SERT (calculated with the formula mentioned above).

 

 

% of 1 pill(20 mg)

Dosage in mg

Prozac

% blockage serotonin receptor

(SERT)

100

20

78

50

10

72

25

5

62

12,5

2,5

48

10

2 

44

7,5

1,5

37

5

1

29

4

0,8

25

3

0,6

20

2

0,4

14,5

1,5

0,3

11

1

0,2

8

0,5

0,1

4

0,25

0,05

2

0,1

0,02

0,9

0,05

0,01

0,5

1993    Anafranil (Clomipramine) for a few months. Later in 1993 Paxil for a few months 1993- 2006      No medication

2006   Effexor, Cymbalta, some Benzo’s. All for short periods. Later in 2006 Lexapro (escitalopram) 10 mg and shortly after Wellbutrin XR 150mg, against side effects Lexapro 

Since 2006 until end of 2015: Several times on and off Lexapro and Wellbutrin and several slight dosage changes. Mostly taken dosages: 5mg Lexapro and 150mg Wellbutrin

2016  Dosage change Lexapro from 5mg to 2,5 mg. Wellbutrin stayed om 150mg

November 2016 – April 2017 Down from 2,5mg to 0,6mg Lexapro (in steps) without much problems. Wellbutrin down from 150mg to 66mg. Also without much problems.

April 2017 – March 2019       Lexapro 0,6 mg        April 2017 - August 2018       Wellbutrin in small steps down from 66mg in to 37,5 mg . Quite heavy WD after each step.

March 2019 – May 2019 Lexapro down from 0,6 to 0,3mg then Prozac to 0,6 mg switch because severe discontinuation effects (may also have been from Wellbutrin..)    

Wellbutrin down from 37,5mg to 35,3mg 

October 2019        Seroquel 12,5 mg for 4 weeks because of extreme sleeping problems, then weaning off in 2 weeks       Prozac up dosage to 1,2 mg

March 2020     Wellbutrin in 2 steps down from 35,3mg to 33,3mg   Extreme withdrawal effects during 8 months. Stopped tapering Wellbutrin  until total off Prozac. 

February 2020 – November 2020   Prozac down in steps from 1,2mg to 0,57mg. 

Jan 2021  Prozac down to:  0,55> 0,53>0,51mg,   Feb 0,47mg ,  Mar 0,42mg,   Apr 0,37, longer hold because of WD symptoms July 0,36 and hold again, Sept 19 0,35, Sept 26 0,34mg, Oct 3 0,33mg  Long hold of 172 days until March 2022

January 20, 2022:  Wellbutrin from 33,3 to 32,3mg

March 22, 2022 Prozac down from 0,33mg to: 0,30mg, Apr 0,29, May 0,28, 0,27, June 0,26, 0,25, July 0,24, 0,23, 0,22, 0,21, Aug 0,20, 0,19 Sep 0,18, Oct 0,17. 0,16, 0,15, Nov 0,14  Jan 2023 0,13, 0,12, 0,11  Feb 0,10, 0,09 Mar 0,08 ,  June 0,07 , July 0,06,  0,05, Aug 0,04, 0,03, Sept 0,026, 0,024 Nov 0,022, 0,019, 0,016, 0,013 Dec 0,012, 0,011, 0,010, 0,009   Jan 2024 0,008, 0,007,  0,006,  0,005, 0,004, 0,003, 0,002, 0,001, Feb  0,0007.  0,0005,   0,0003, 0,0001,  

Feb 23, 2024:  0,00000

  

Supplements: Fish Oil (3000mg), Magnesium 100 mg, 2 drops of Lavender Oil, only when feeling extreme anxiety. 50mg of L-Theanine only when severe discontinuation effects caused by Wellbutrin

 

Please note this is NOT a medical advice. Discuss all your medical issues with a doctor who understands psychical drugs and really knows how to withdraw from them. I wish that you will find one.

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10 hours ago, normalhuman said:

She said at small doses Prozac may metabolize faster and wondered if it could possibly cause interdose withdrawal

 

That's an interesting hypothesis but it sounds like one based on ignorance regarding the exponential differences in receptor blockage at lower amounts.

 

Likely it's just regular WD from tapering off of 10mg too fast.

Since many people have delayed reactions, their last stable dose may have been what they were at months before difficulty.

A slight increase in Your dose may help.

 

It's up to you whether you want to humor Her in moving your dose times but I would recommend slowly and not too close to the other meds.

However, I think what your experiencing is the very common pattern of afternoon early evening symptom spike many have.

My symptoms were always worse from 3-8pm, and then later in the night I would have a few good hours right before sleep.

 

11 hours ago, normalhuman said:

the safest use of Hydroxyzine during withdrawal; it's helped me in even tiny doses with the crippling 5pm anxiety wave but I know it also acts on serotonin so I wonder if I should be keeping this consistent also in dosage/time rather than using it "as needed" if I'm confusing my brain chemistry by taking 2.5mg some days and 15mg or 20mg others.  I think I've noticed a pattern where I think I don't need it if I feel good by 7pm for a day and then the next day having a worse wave

 

Did your doctor recommend the Hydroxyzine? It is not recommended to use Hydro and Prozac together.
Whether taking it at 5pm is making some of your evening wave worse in ways yet unidentified is a possibility.
 
Serious interactions of Hydroxyzine include:
  • fluoxetine.
Using FLUoxetine together with hydrOXYzine may increase side effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, confusion, and difficulty concentrating,  impairment in thinking, judgment, and motor coordination.
 
What are (regular) side effects of hydroxyzine?
  • Chest pain or discomfort.
  • hives, itching, or skin rash.
  • irregular or slow heart rate.
  • puffiness or swelling of the eyelids or around the eyes, face, lips, or tongue.

 Starting ds 2 (12.5 CR'S) = 25 MG PAXIL CR 1/21/15: 1 Pill + 10mg liquid (2 weeks) 2/4: 1 Pill + 9mg Lq (3 weeks) 2/25: 1 Pill + 8 mg lq (1 week) 3/4: 1 Pill + 6 mg lq (2 weeks) 3/18/15 1 Pill + 4 mg lq (2 weeks) 4/1/15 1 Pill + 3 mg lq (2 weeks) 4/14/15 1 Pill + 2 mg lq (2 weeks) 4/29/15 1Pill + 1 mg lq (16 days) 5/15/15 1 12.5 mg Pill ONLY (9 days) 5/24/15 12 mgs liquid (8 days) 6/1/15 11mg lq (12 days) 6/13/15 10 mg.  12/3/15 Drop from 8mg to 7.6 (24 days to) 12/27/15 7.2mgs 8/4/16 6.8mgs,  11/1/16 6.4mgs, 2/5/17 6 mgs  4/3/17 5.6mgs, 4/24/17 5.2mg, 6/13/17 4.8mgs, 9/20/17 4.4mgS, 11/23/17 4 mgs, 1/1/18 3.6 mgs, 2/15/18 3.2 mgs. 4/13/18 2.8mgs, 5/11/18 2.4mgs, 6/10/18 2.0 mgs, 8/4/18 1.6mgs,  9/27/18 1.2mgs, 12/24/18 0.8mg, 3/24/19 0.64 mg,(syringe change issue date?) 4/22/19 0.60 mg, 5/24/19 0.60 mg, 7/7/19 0.52 mgs, 8/4/19 0.44mgs, 11/4/19 0.36mgs, 2/1/20 0.28mgs, 3/1/20 0.24mgs (crash April 6) Compound started 6/28/21: 0.24mgs, 8/29/21: 0.22mgs, 10/31/21: 0.20mgs, 1/03/22: 0.18mgs, 3/5/22: 0.16mgs, 5/5/22: 0.14mgs.

 

Original Wellbutrin Dose: 6 months from 9/14 to 3/2015, 300 XL 3/15/15: Half to 150 XL ( severe symptoms started on day 12) 4/16/15: 125mg   for 20 days to: 5/6/15:   100mg  for  15 days to: 5/21/15    75mg  for  10 days to: 6/1/15:  56.25mg      13 days to: 6/13/15: 37.25mg    7 days to: 6/20/15  28.12mg   14 days to: 7/4/15  18.75mg, 7 days to: 7/11/15; RAISE BACK TO: 28.12 to 8/14/15: 18.75mg  20 days to :9/3/15 : 12.5mg, 8/4/16 9mg 1/9/17: 8.5mg 2/8/17 8mg, 3/9/17: 7.6  4/9/17  7.2  5/27/17 6.4 6/24/17 5.8, 8/1/17 5.0, 8/29/17 4.2mgs, 10/2/17 3.5mgs, 12/28/17 2.5mgs, 2/27/18 1.7mgs,  4/19/18 0.8 mgs, LAST DOSE: 6/11/18:  3 YEARS, 2 MONTHS, 27 DAYS...

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  • Administrator

Thanks, @Go2zero @normalhuman, your psychiatrist wants to perform an interesting experiment, she's smart, but I think we know what's going on. You might remind her of time to fluoxetine peak plasma.

 

Doctors frequently mistake the adverse effects of drugs for withdrawal symptoms or other maladies. You might ask her to read 

 

Framer, A. (2021). What I have learnt from helping thousands of people to taper off antidepressants and other psychotropic medications. Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1177/2045125321991274 (free to read and download)
 
Horowitz, M. A., & Taylor, D. (2019). Tapering of SSRI treatment to mitigate withdrawal symptoms. The Lancet Psychiatry, 6(6), 538–546. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30032-X

 

It is true that lower doses may metabolize faster but that is not what your daily symptom pattern is saying. You do not have interdose withdrawal.

 

What your daily symptom pattern says is you feel better as the morning dose ramps up in the early evening. Then you feel worse later in the evening, then a little better -- thanks for pointing this out. I apologize, I was mistaken in my earlier interpretation.

 

I believe what's happening is you feel better as the morning Prozac reaches peak plasma, which for you appears to be about 5 hours after ingestion. That fits with what is known about Prozac peak plasma. 

 

However, at that peak, 3.2mg Prozac is TOO STRONG for you and it aggravates your symptoms. If those are allergic reactions to Prozac, this makes sense -- more drug will cause an allergic reaction to be stronger. You feel better as the drug plasma level declines again into the evening, as you metabolize it. 

 

Dividing the dose will flatten the drug peak. This may relieve the intensification of symptoms you get about 5:30 p.m., but you might get them twice a day instead. A smoother average drug plasma level may cause some of your allergic symptoms to lessen. However, you may still have some allergic effects.

 

You will need to decide if perhaps gradually switching to another drug, such as citalopram, is worth going off fluoxetine because it might be causing an allergic reaction that is responsible for many of your symptoms.

 

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.

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  • ChessieCat changed the title to Normalhuman: complicated Prozac withdrawal symptoms
  • 1 month later...

Thank you @Altostrata @Colonial @Go2zero With the help of the advice here I was able to convince my Psychiatrist that the 3.2mg of Prozac was still necessary and she stopped pushing a quick taper off.  I did try splitting my dose and taking it at 10am and 4pm but it was too hard to tell if it made any difference and I also got some weird nausea off and on so it scared me back into just doing the once a day dose and my waves have still improved but I also think a lot of it was improvement with time & from starting the Zyrtec. 

 

The month of April and now into May, many of my worst emotional withdrawal symptoms are more mild  & I feel like I'm slowly improving on some physical ones too but much slower & I'm no where near functional yet (I feel like I'm 80), which is frustrating because its been over 3.5 years of tapering ups/downs & no specialist can find a clear indicator of a physical or autoimmune condition based on extensive testing. If I knew the physical problems were unrelated I could continue tapering but I feel too scared to taper since I'm just starting to feel less intensity in joint pain the last month.  My Rheumatologist suspects Fibromyalgia may be a component to whatever is going on but my GP says that's what they say when they don't know a diagnosis & my other symptoms aren't typical of it, & Allergist says it could be something with Mast Cell Activation based on symptoms & improvement on Zyrtec. I was also able to taper off Hydroxyzine.

 

My GP suspects after so many extensive & remote tests/opinions, my physical symptoms are Prozac wd related but doesn't know if this means tapering caused new problems, unmasked or exacerbated underlying problems, if it's a temporary PAWS problem, or if because I was on Prozac so long and it has some immune protective properties that my body/ immune system (not just mentally) adapted to having it, or its also still possible the drug itself turned on me and I developed these symptoms as an adverse reaction (although this is less likely b/c they aren't worse after taking it & I had allergic symptoms on last wd that improved after prozac reinstatement). 

 

Here are some articles that talk about the immune protective properties of Fluoxetine, which obv don't bother reading if you're familiar with the idea but what I'm concerned about is that if I basically took this drug for 15+ years that boosted my immune system (25 years of SSRI's total), and as I slowly tapered off have resolved most acute emotional wd symptoms but also gotten lupus-like, CFS-like, RA-like symptoms, whether or not I should continue to taper as maybe my body physically needs it? In cases like this do you wait until all physical symptoms are resolved to taper more or would you recommend increasing to see if physical problems get slightly better? Also should I try to taper Zyrtec before Prozac? or vice versa ideally since that could confuse possible side effect indicators to know which way to go?

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100225082441.htm

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4876141/

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1721727X15618671

 

Ongoing symptoms:

-Intermittent joint & muscle pain (spread to more fingers, now in hips/knees/fingers/shoulders) that now goes almost completely away for some hours or part of the day but not on a regular pattern & is worse after use. Some off days still a lot of pain everywhere.  Much better 2 weeks into cycle & worse during PMS so hormones play a role as well. 

-Lack of energy, sleeping more but never feel rested & like I ran a marathon every day

-Very little motivation (but actually better than on higher dose of prozac. I want to do things more now I just physically can't as much)

-Mild anxiety waves upon waking up and at night (much improved)

-Random numbness in places that have pressure for too long (kneeling makes knees feel numb, sitting my butt goes numb after a while, feet or hands can have some random numbness overnight.

 

Newer symptoms in the last few weeks:

-Emotional numbness & not caring as much as I should about many things. It feels like I'm back on Prozac, this was improved for a while before withdrawal hit (unless it was slight hypomania), but then way too many emotions during acute withdrawal, now feel shut down/numb again; could be Prozac, underlying depression, or my own ability to shut down from being overwhelmed by withdrawal.

-Mild RLS started recently at night that's waking me up

-Insatiable hunger/weight gain (used to be not able to eat now it flipped & I'm constantly craving carbs & have oddly even binged several days like I can't stop eating which have never had an issue with, not sure if it's from Zyrtec or serotonin issues but started a week after Zyrtec and subsequent sensitivity improvement or I'd go off it)

-Sexual side effects are back (unless I'm developing PSSD-like symptoms now, or Zyrtec could cause)

-Overactive bladder & some pelvic pain (no UTI or any physical issue not sure if this could also be Prozac or PSSD-like progression of physical problems)

 

(Mostly) Resolved:

-No longer sensitive to supplements/foods but I think this is masked from Zyrtec b/c not taking that seems to bring back more sensitivities.

-Depressive/intrusive/anxious thoughts much better

-No nausea, panic attacks, palpitations, profuse sweating, crying, mood swings (but not normal level of healthy range of emotions either again)

-Sciatica is much better

-Hardly ever pins/needles/shooting nerve pain

 

Meds/Supplements:

Prozac 3.2mg, Zyrtec 10mg 2x/day, Quercetin, Celadrin, Boswellia, Vit C/A/D/K/B12, Taurine in PM, Melatonin in PM

(Stopped Hydroxyzine)

 

If I had to guess, I suspect the Prozac is too strong "mentally" (emotionally numb, sexual sx) but too weak "physically" (immune/joint).  I don't know how common that is but I feel like its both "helping" physical issues and "hurting" by causing more typical overmedicated side effects mentally but I can't discount some of those problems may just be my underlying state or that none of these are the case because it's me guessing! Long story short, do I potentially taper Zyrtec first and leave Prozac where it's at for a while? Do I wait until all physical issues resolve or at what point do I assume it's a different kind of damage or unrelated and continue to start a 10% or hyperbolic taper?  Thank you! 🙏

 

 

 

"You have a chemical imbalance & we can fix it with these"

1995-2004: Varying time on Zoloft / Lexapro / Effexor (minor withdrawals).

2004-2009: Wellbutrin & Prozac, then added Neurontin & Abilify.

2009-2016: Wellbutrin, Prozac, Neurontin, Abilify, & Cytomel. Adderal & Oxazepam as needed. Failed trials of Ritalin / Viibryd / Brintellex / Lamictal (short or cross tapers).

2016-2017: Wellbutrin, Prozac, Cytomel. Dropped Abilify, Neurontin & Cytomel. Oxazepam as needed. Failed trial of Topamax & Enlyte (short or cross tapers). Failed trial on Cymbalta (1 year on, 2 month taper, 3+ months of acute withdrawals. Used Prozac bridge, Hydroxyzine, Benadryl, Quercetin, & Zyrtec). Thought was stabilized.

Nov 2017-Sept 2019: Tapered 2 months off Wellbutrin 75mg & crashed (4-9+ months of acute withdrawals after reinstated Prozac 20mg & Wellbutrin 75mg. Used Propranolol, Hydroxyzine, Lorazepam, Clonazepam, Quercetin).  Successfully tapered Prozac 20mg to 10mg over 3 months (down to 10mg Prozac at 3/25/19, minor withdrawals).  Successfully tapered Wellbutrin over 6 months (OFF Wellbutrin 10/19/19, minor withdrawals). 5 month hold only on Prozac 10mg. 

Mar-July 2020: Tapered Prozac 10mg to 2.5mg over 5 months (minor withdrawals), started LDN 1mg July. 

July-Nov 2020: Tapered Prozac 2.5mg to 0.5mg (minor withdrawals).

Dec 2020- Current: Crashed in Dec.  Reinstated Prozac 2mg, dropped LDN. (Acute withdrawals. Using Hydroxyzine, Quercetin, briefly used Propranolol), . Updose to 3mg Feb. Updose 3.2mg March (added Zyrtec, Celadrin, & Boswellia). Mental symptoms much better after 6 mo, physical symptoms that developed during withdrawal / pain, very slowly improving for the most part with more  good days than bad days now. 

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  • Administrator
5 minutes ago, normalhuman said:

no specialist can find a clear indicator of a physical or autoimmune condition based on extensive testing.

 

This is typical of drug-induced symptoms.

 

6 minutes ago, normalhuman said:

(Mostly) Resolved:

-No longer sensitive to supplements/foods but I think this is masked from Zyrtec b/c not taking that seems to bring back more sensitivities.

-Depressive/intrusive/anxious thoughts much better

-No nausea, panic attacks, palpitations, profuse sweating, crying, mood swings (but not normal level of healthy range of emotions either again)

-Sciatica is much better

-Hardly ever pins/needles/shooting nerve pain

 

That these symptoms, which are typical of withdrawal, have lessened or resolved indicates withdrawal syndrome is responsible for at least part of your symptom pattern.

 

Emotional anesthesia on psychiatric drugs and while you're going off is quite common. Deadening your feelings is how they "work".

 

It's fairly well known (but not by doctors) that going off Zyrtec quickly will cause a rebound in whatever it suppresses. If you intend to go off, you need to taper it. It could be that irregular dosing of Zyrtec has added to your symptoms.

 

Many people find fish oil and magnesium supplements helpful, see


https://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/36-king-of-supplements-omega-3-fatty-acids-fish-oil/


https://survivingantidepressants.org/topic/15483-magnesium-natures-calcium-channel-blocker/

 

Magnesium in particular can relax muscles and restless legs. (Gentle leg stretching is good too.) You might try a little bit of one at a time to see how it affects you.

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.

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  • 7 months later...

Hello @normalhuman I just read through all of your posts. You are very thorough and consistent, which is comforting that I can relate with your struggles. I too quit Prozac and I have just recently passed a kidney stone. I believe Prozac effects kidneys during withdrawals, weakened my immune system and serotonin in my gut causing diverticulitis too. Many of my problems are similar to yours but not as severe, however some of my symptoms are more severe. I say this because I was the caretaker of my father who passed away in 2019 from congestive heart failure and type 2 diabetes. Some of these symptoms are that of diabetes after what would be many years of insulin intolerance and keto acidosis(paresthesia, gout, extreme hunger or thirst, waking up in the middle of the night can be caused by abrupt changes in blood sugar etc.) Antihistamines are known to cause spikes in hunger too. 
 

what’s important to mention is I took cymbalta for a while, not too long, was only six weeks severe withdrawals. However I thought I had depression a year after stopping(initially took it for back pain and anxiety). Had I know it was a very late wave I wouldn’t be in my position now. Maybe you found the correct dose of Prozac to maintain but Wellbutrin is still protracted withdrawing? I’m not trying to change your mind on dosage. I hope you win at cessation just like I hope myself and all the others do. I plan on lobbying the FDA against these drugs one day.

 

I wish you a speedy recovery.

2011 bupropion 

2011-2013 Ritalin then mostly adderall 

March 2017 - August 2017 sertraline 50mg

September 2017 - January 2019 Duloxetine 20mg

February 2020 - July 2020 Lexapro 10mg

August 2020 - mid September 2020 paroxetine 

mid September 2020 - mid May 2021 10mg fluoxetine 

Mid May - June 1st 10mg fluoxetine every other day

June 1st cold turkey

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  • 5 months later...
  • Moderator Emeritus

I've just been catching up on your thread, and am wondering how you're doing @normalhuman?

Supportive wishes to you,

Arbor

 

Zoloft: 1995 - 2015

Prozac: 2015 - 2018 (tapered from 40mg x day on July 31 to 30mg on August 31 to 20mg on September 31 to 10mg October 31 to 0mg on  December 15, 2018

Gabapentin: 2016 to 2019  (tapered from 300mg x day to 150mg on August 31, 2019 to 75mg on September 15 to 50mg on September 31 to 25ishmg on October 15 to 0mg on December 1, 2019

Enalapril: 2010 - 2019

Lipitor: 2017 -2017

Metformin: 2000 - 2020

Liothyronine: 2007 - 2019

Levothyroxine: 2000 - 2022

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  • 7 months later...

How are you doing?  Wishing you well.

2009-2021: Fluoxetine (20-40 mg) on-and-off many times, would reinstate after 4-6 months off.

Aug 2021: Tapered off 20 mg fluoxetine over 6 weeks.

Dec 2021: Reinstated 10 mg fluoxetine for 12 days, then stopped for three weeks.

Jan-Feb 2022: Reinstated 10 mg fluoxetine again for 3.5 weeks, had severe side effects due to kindling, stopped and went into severe withdrawal.

March 2022: Tried a botched reinstatement of fluoxetine - 2.5 mg one day, 1.25 mg the next day, stopped 4 days(?), 0.5 mg for 3 days, then stopped due to burning sensations.

July 2022: Loud movie significantly worsens ear symptoms (tinnitus, hyperacusis, TMJD etc.)

Nov 2022: 1 mg of Lexapro for 3 days, stopped due to strong side effects.

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