Lydiana: Tapering Down Prozac

[Lydiana]

Hi,

 

History

 

I was having depression/anxiety with physical sympthoms (constant headache, stomach pain, fatigue, brain fog, etc) so doctor put me on sertraline 50mg for 6 months but soon after the effect wore off and doc increased it to 100mg once daily for another 6 or 8 months. I was not happy with the result i got from sertraline as i was dizzy, nauseous, very sleep and gained weight - from 57kg to 65kg (8kg in less than a year) so I switched it to Prozac (generic) 20mg for the first 3 months and again it didnt really worked completely particularly with my depression so I upped it to 40mg (2 tablets once daily). I managed to keep my weight stable for a while but now it is also making me gained weight from 65kg to 72kg now. It is making me depressed and i dont want to cause any further health issues due to my weight gain.

 

I managed to taper down from 40mg to 20mg within a month or so (from 2 pills to 1 pill a day). As per doctor advise, I was supposed to further taper down my dosage to 20mg alternate days for a month and 20mg every 2 days for another month and so on until i stop completely. I have trying skipping my dose but I have withdrawals (very sad, fatique, emotional, irritated, angry, brainfog, feeling hopeless, etc). So I reinstated my 20mg per day for 3 weeks and then I split my capsule into 2 to 10mg per pill and currently taking that dose daily for the last 15 days without any withdrawals and still feeling ok. I need to know how do i taper from hereon. I need to get of this med as fast as possible. Please help. Thank you.

[getofflex]

Hello, and welcome to SA.  We are a peer owned and run forum of people who have been or are getting off of psychiatric drugs.  

 

First of all, can you please give us specific information about your drug history for all drugs you are on and have been on, especially for the past 18-24 months?  Please put this in your signature box as per the instructions in the link below.  It would be especially helpful to have the details of your drugs in a concise list (no symptoms), only specific dates (as best you can say for example early March if you don't recall the day) and dosages of each medication decrease or increase.  Please read the link below for instructions.  This will allow us to give you the best guidance.  

 

How to List Drug History in Signature

 

Here is some information about how these drugs actually work.  

 

How Psychiatric Drugs Remodel Your Brain

 

This helps you understand what withdrawal syndrome is: 

 

What is Withdrawal Syndrome?

 

I'm glad that you are no longer skipping or alternating doses, as this causes the level of the drug in the bloodstream to fluctuate, which caused the uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms.  Tapering is best done extremely slowly, and we taper by 10% of the current dose, so that the taper becomes exponentially smaller.  It is suggested to wait at least 4 weeks between each reduction. 

 

 Why Taper by 10% of my Dosage  

 

Tips for Tapering Off Prozac

 

Also, as we are recovering, we suggest keeping things slow, simple, and stable. 

 

Keep it Simple, Slow, and Stable

 

 

When we recover, there are times of feeling OK mixed in with times of feeling bad.  This is called windows and waves.

 

Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

 

Here are some techniques to cope with symptoms: 

 

Non Drug Ways to Cope with Withdrawal Symptoms

 

 

We don't suggest many supplements, but 2 that many of us find helpful are magnesium and omega-3 fish oil. Here are the links for info about those. It is suggested to add one at a time, and start with a low dose to see how it affects you. 

 

Magnesium

 

Omega 3 Fish Oil

 

15 hours ago, LYDIANA said:

I need to get of this med as fast as possible.

It takes a lot of time and patience to get off these meds properly.  We have seen many people come in here after getting off of the meds too fast, and they are in severe withdrawal, and sometimes this can take months if not years to recover from.  So it is best to be very careful and slow when tapering off.  Here is a good link where issues around how long it takes to get off the drugs is discussed: 

 

Too Fast Tapers

 

How Long is Withdrawal Going to Take?

 

I'm glad to hear that you are feeling OK.  Please take care, and realize that you can be free of these drugs.  

 

 

Edited April 29, 2021 by getofflex

[Lydiana]

Hi,

I have included my drugs history in my signature. Thank you.

On 4/29/2021 at 11:51 AM, LYDIANA said:

Hi,

 

History

 

I was having depression/anxiety with physical sympthoms (constant headache, stomach pain, fatigue, brain fog, etc) so doctor put me on sertraline 50mg for 6 months but soon after the effect wore off and doc increased it to 100mg once daily for another 6 or 8 months. I was not happy with the result i got from sertraline as i was dizzy, nauseous, very sleep and gained weight - from 57kg to 65kg (8kg in less than a year) so I switched it to Prozac (generic) 20mg for the first 3 months and again it didnt really worked completely particularly with my depression so I upped it to 40mg (2 tablets once daily). I managed to keep my weight stable for a while but now it is also making me gained weight from 65kg to 72kg now. It is making me depressed and i dont want to cause any further health issues due to my weight gain.

 

I managed to taper down from 40mg to 20mg within a month or so (from 2 pills to 1 pill a day). As per doctor advise, I was supposed to further taper down my dosage to 20mg alternate days for a month and 20mg every 2 days for another month and so on until i stop completely. I have trying skipping my dose but I have withdrawals (very sad, fatique, emotional, irritated, angry, brainfog, feeling hopeless, etc). So I reinstated my 20mg per day for 3 weeks and then I split my capsule into 2 to 10mg per pill and currently taking that dose daily for the last 15 days without any withdrawals and still feeling ok. I need to know how do i taper from hereon. I need to get of this med as fast as possible. Please help. Thank you.

 

[getofflex]

Thanks for the clear and concise drug signature - it really helps.  🙂

 

Hopefully you are taking your 10 mg prozac each day. I forgot to mention in my first post that it is strongly suggested not to skip doses when taking any psych meds.  Here is a link about that: 

 

Never Skip Doses to Taper

 

I hope you will stay on this current dose for a while, to give your nervous system a chance to heal from the tapers you did in March and April.  Keep us posted on how you are doing.  Here is a link about stability.  We wait until we are stable before we make another reduction in our dose.  

 

Stability

[Lydiana]

Hi. Yes I am taking my 10 mg prozac without fail every day and I am still feeling pretty ok. I am happy that I am now able to feel my true emotions nowadays (was not able to cry or feel sad when I was supposed to). No withdrawal symptoms so far. My problem is falling asleep at night and waking up feeling so tired and sleepy. Ok will stay on 10mg prozac for now and will keep you posted. Thank you again.

[getofflex]

On 5/9/2021 at 9:11 PM, Lydiana said:

Hi. Yes I am taking my 10 mg prozac without fail every day and I am still feeling pretty ok.

sounds good!  🙂  That was a pretty big reduction going from 20 mg to 10 mg - it was a 50% reduction, and we suggest only a 10% reduction.  So It's good you are giving your system some time to adjust to that.  

[Lydiana]

Hi All,

 

From 8 April 2021 I started taking 10mg daily to taper down from 20 mg and so it has been more than 2 months. I am actually trying to prepare my own prozac liquid since dividing the powder into 2 is not quite fun and also I want to start to reduce the dosage again. So if I should reduce 10% of my current dosage of 10mg daily, I should be getting 9.9mg on the next tapering, yes?

 

And also kindly check if my measurement is correct:- Water : 80ml mixed with Prozac : 20mg x 4 caps = 80mg (80mg of Prozac in 80ml of water). So for me to consume 10mg daily, I take 10ml of my mixture, yes?

 

So for my next tapering to 9.9mg (10%), i believe I should be using the 5ml - 20mg measurement, yes?

[getofflex]

To taper 10%, which we suggest, you would drop from 10 mg to 9.0 mg, not 9.9.  You are welcome to taper to 9.9 if you wish, but a 10% taper would be 9.0 mg.  (10% of 10 mg is 1 mg, 10 minus 1 is 9) To do this, all you need to do is take 9.0 ml of the liquid, if you are mixing it to where 1 ml of liquid contains 1 mg of the prozac.  

Edited June 16, 2021 by getofflex

[Lydiana]

Thank you so much for your kind help. Successfully made the prozac liquid. So how long do u suggest i say on that dosage everytime i decrease the dose? So far I have not felt any withdrawal/side effect except that I am more able to cry now and feel my emotions better or accordingly. Imagine unable to cry at family funerals? I hated it so much. Nowadays, I appreciate my crying bouts and i understand that its ok to feel sad or down or cry as long as it doesnt go beyond what it should be. Tapering down is the best way for sure to avoid any unneccessary side effects. Comparing it to skipping your pill, its a big difference and i sure can feel it.

[Lydiana]

Just an update.. surprisingly I have noticed that with 9ml of prozac within a few days I started to see/feel the side effects of the tapering. The withdrawals are quite significant: brain fog (8/10), irritability (8/10), mood swings (6/10), depressed (6/10) and short tempered (8/10), feeling dizzy (7/10). Should I reinstate back to 10ml for a longer period or maybe taper down to 9.5ml? Or should I just let it be and just go through those side effects for a bit longer just to see how it goes in a few weeks time? 

[Addax]

Hey Lydiana.

 

I suspect what you’re feeling has more to do with the speed of your taper up to this point. While prozac’s 1/2 life can be a good thing when tapering, it can also mean a delayed response to the tapering.  Also, at just under 9 mg things are probably leaving your system a bit quicker because your liver has less processing to do. 
 

I haven’t been around here in awhile, so I won’t opine on whether to hold or taper back up a bit, but I just wanted to at least share what I have learned about prozac withdrawal’s sometimes wacky pattern and provide some reassurance if the symptoms feel scary. I know they often scared me and it helped to hear and read that what I was experiencing wasn’t unusual… at least relative to withdrawal. 
 

No doubt a moderator will jump in shortly.

[Lydiana]

Dear Addax,

 

Thank you so much for your kind support. It really does help that someone is there for you esp. when you dont know anything and yes it is scary for me. I have read your blog and it is what I have been going through. But I think i am just going to reinstate 10mg and stick with it for now. I just starting today with the reinstatement of 10mg and so far my day has been great. Thank you for sharing with me you experience. I wish you nothing but the best in life and I hope we can get through this. Keep me posted..

[getofflex]

On 6/21/2021 at 11:50 PM, Lydiana said:

So how long do u suggest i say on that dosage everytime i decrease the dose?

We at SA suggest you stay on the same dosage for at least 4 weeks before doing another dose decrease.  The best thing to do, in my opinion, is to listen to your body.  Sometimes I'll hold for longer than 4 weeks if I feel I need to.   I'm glad you are not skipping doses anymore - that can really cause problems.  I'm glad you are able to feel your emotions again.  This is a healthy thing.  Crying can be a healthy thing - it is cathartic and healing.  

 

14 hours ago, Lydiana said:

Just an update.. surprisingly I have noticed that with 9ml of prozac within a few days I started to see/feel the side effects of the tapering. The withdrawals are quite significant: brain fog (8/10), irritability (8/10), mood swings (6/10), depressed (6/10) and short tempered (8/10), feeling dizzy (7/10). Should I reinstate back to 10ml for a longer period or maybe taper down to 9.5ml? Or should I just let it be and just go through those side effects for a bit longer just to see how it goes in a few weeks time? 

If it's only been a few days to a week since you dropped to 9.0, then I would go back up to 10.0, and stay there for a while.  Please update your drug sig (click on your name in upper right of screen, then account settings, then signature) to show us when you did the decrease to 9.0.  If it's been longer, then I would go back up to 9.5 mg.  You did make some major decreases (50% taper) in the past 4 months, so your system may need more stability before you can taper.  A hold of at least 3 or 4 months may really help.  I did a 5 month hold last year, and it helped me a lot, and made the subsequent tapers easier. 

[Addax]

@Lydiana, I’m glad my comments were helpful but I hope my blog didn’t scare you. Not that it wasn’t scary at the time. I hope that if people read it they’ll gain some bit of knowledge or insights, but sometimes I think the most important thing some people might get from it is that there is absolutely a light at the end of the tunnel, even when the tunnel curves and you can’t see it for awhile. 
 

Don’t forget to show yourself compassion! 

 

 

[Lydiana]

Hi everyone,

 

So I have managed to taper down further to 8mg of Prozac. I didnt reinstate back to 10ml that day after my last episode. I just let myself go through it since the withdrawal was later tolerable and eventually disappeared. I realised that I tend to have the withdrawals only a few days of starting the new reduced dose but gradually would get better (especially once I started my exercising/workout regimen again). Yes, exercise made it better for me although i have to really push myself and dread it most days)  So crossed fingers I hope I can get through this smoothly and get off it completely by end of this year. 

 

FYI : I have also updated my drugs history signature too.

 

Thank you.

[getofflex]

On 7/26/2021 at 1:43 AM, Lydiana said:

I didnt reinstate back to 10ml that day after my last episode. I just let myself go through it since the withdrawal was later tolerable and eventually disappeared

That's good that you were able to push through it.  I generally advocate people doing that, unless their WD is unbearable.  Thanks for updating your drug signature.  

 

I have noticed you are doing a linear taper.  That is, you are reducing by the same amount each time - 1 mg.   We at SA suggest to taper by 10% of the current dose, so that the taper becomes exponentially smaller.  You tapered by 10% when you dropped from 10 mg to 9 mg, because 9 mg is 10% less than 10 mg.  However, when you dropped from 9 mg to 8 mg, you dropped by 12%.  We would have suggested you drop by 10%, which would make you next dose 8.1 mg.  You will probably get away with it, since its such a small difference now, and you seem to be managing WD pretty well, and are only having symptoms for a few days after a reduction.  However, as you get to the lower doses, it will be more important to make the reductions smaller and smaller.  We will be glad to help you calculate your future reduction amounts. The basic formula is current dose x 0.9 = new dose.  Please read the following links for an explanation why:  

 

 Why Taper by 10% of my Dosage  

 

Tips for Tapering Off Prozac

 

Even at very low doses, the medication is quite powerful.  A high number of your receptors are still being affected by the drugs, even at very small amounts.  This link explains why.  It is rather technical, but just take a good look at the chart.  When we taper exponentially, the tapering curve mimics the curve of SERT occupancy, and makes withdrawal easier.  

 

SERT Occupancy Studies Show Importance of Gradual Tapering

 

 

 

[Addax]

@Lydiana So glad to hear it was tolerable and you made it through. I’m with Getofflex with the whole stick close to 10% as you get lower. You’re now below what is the lowest therapeutic dose, so the potential for it to get a bit bumpy is greater. Not saying anything is for sure, but the greater potential is there.  
 

😊

[Lydiana]

((The 10% taper method recommends a 10% dosage reduction every 4 weeks, with the 10% calculated on the last dosage)).. Ahhh got it now!!! From the chart I was able to see the difference (sorry not at my smartest at the moment :)) So for now I should be taking 8.1mg dose and the next 10% taper from the CURRENT DOSAGE will be 7.29mg (rounding it off to 7.3mg). Ok will see what happens next.

 

Thank you again for helping to clarify further.

[getofflex]

I'm glad you understand now.  You are doing great - keep it up!