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Introduction: trying to get off of Prozac after a decade of (likely unnecessary!) SSRI use


Weltschmerz

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Hi all,

 

I'm a 26 year old woman who was diagnosed with GAD at 15, and has been on some form of SSRI (primarily Prozac) in the decade since. I joined SA because I've been trying to discontinue Prozac all year, after some failed attempts many years ago, and have encountered some extremely disturbing effects in the process.

 

Here's a condensed (but still rather long and winding; apologies in advance!!) version of my story.

 

When I was 15 years old, I was prescribed Prozac (initially 20mg, then upped to 40mg) for GAD. Maddeningly, the original diagnosis and treatment by my family pDoc was almost certainly unwarranted: I was undergoing objectively stressful events at the time that I was treated (including but not limited to leaving an unsupportive home, starting college as a teen), but was still fully functional -- just incredibly anxious. I was pretty naive about meds at the time, so I didn't think much of starting to take the pills; I assumed they could only help my functioning, and was assured they couldn't possibly hurt me. I remember experiencing extreme GI symptoms, fatigue, sexual dysfunction, and increased emotionality while starting up, but all those symptoms (excepting the decreased libido and anorgasmia) faded after the first few weeks.

 

At 17, while still in college, I decided to quit the Prozac cold-turkey (I think I was only on 20mg at the time, but can't be sure). I couldn't put up with not being able to orgasm anymore, and was starting to worry that the pills were making me "dumb." This period of time is extremely hazy for me, but I know that I experienced fairly intense side effects after discontinuation, including a moderately intense depressive episode, which led me to start taking a different SSRI (lexapro, zoloft) and other meds (Wellbutrin, discontinued after a few months due to intense agitation and confusion). For a couple of years, I was reasonably functional, despite some familiar side-effects (sexual dysfunction, extreme fatigue, feelings of blankness, reaching for words). 

 

Then, at 20, at an extremely stressful time in my life, I tapered very quickly off of Zoloft (from 150mg to 0 in a month or two, I think -- unfortunately, I just can't remember the details). I experienced my first major depressive episode one month later. This was far and away the worst experience of my life: I was convinced I was losing my mind, couldn't get out of bed, could barely talk or think, cried almost constantly. I was immediately reinstated on Prozac (at first 20mg, then 40mg), and told that I now had MDD and GAD. The depressive disorder, I was told, was probably being treated by the meds the whole time, and surfaced once I got off them. (Even writing this is making me furious. This sort of clinical reasoning would be laughable if it weren't so frightening.) 

 

I remained in a deep, deep depression for at least 6-8 months, and got better very gradually (it's unclear whether in response to medication or changing circumstances, but I strongly suspect the latter). Since then, I've been on varying doses of Prozac for 6 years. Again, my recollection of my treatment course is EXTREMELY vague and imprecise: one of the reasons I've wanted to get off SSRIs so desperately is that I'm convinced they've been severely impacting my memory. I'm pretty sure that I was initially on 40mg for around two years, then 20 for almost three years. And I know I spent the last year and a half tapering from 20mg to 10 to to 10 every other day to 0, in increments of a few months/reduction, after the same amount of time in therapy with a wonderful and supportive psychologist. 

 

As I tapered, I began to feel more myself, and was perceptibly more psychologically healthy in general (everyone noticed, including acquaintances). During the last year, and especially the two months after hitting 0mg, I felt the best I can ever recall feeling -- despite the pandemic, and despite the fact that I was feeling increasingly emotional and teary. I expected some psychological turbulence, and took the sadness and anxiety in stride as they came. Then June came, precisely two months after my last dose of Prozac (at the end of March), and I was hit with a bout of acute nausea and associated GI symptoms. I literally couldn't get out of bed without wanting to vomit. After a week of trying to wait this out, I started experiencing extreme panic and swooping episodes of "the world and my life is collapsing in on me" feelings, until it suddenly dawned on me that I might be experiencing discontinuation syndrome. I got really worried, and a week later reinstated 5mg of prozac, with the aim of testing the hypothesis that discontinuation was responsible for the weirdness. Both my psychiatrist and my therapist agreed that I didn't need the meds again for "psychological" reasons, but that it was worth seeing whether the physical symptoms would be lessened or made less unbearable if I re-introduced Prozac. 

 

Two weeks later, I was still experiencing no relief from the intense nausea and abdominal pains. I upped to 10mg; my mood and anxiety worsened dramatically, I experienced episodes of pretty extreme panic, but still felt no physical relief. After two weeks of this, I decreased again to 5mg, with the aim of getting off Prozac again completely; my mood continued to be low, overt depressive thinking started surging ("I hate myself, I'll never get better, there's something deeply wrong with me, medications have screwed me up forever and I'll never be rid of them, I'm not and never will be a real person, I can't remember almost anything about my life, I can't think or focus or summon any self-trust, my personhood is falling apart"). But here's the thing: that was three weeks ago, and my nausea and abdominal pain, although still there, have since greatly improved. All diagnostic tests for independent medical conditions so far have been negative, so the evidence seems to support the nausea and GI problems being related to discontinuing the SSRI. 

 

TL;DR: Two months after reducing from 10mg Prozac every other day to 0, I started experiencing continuous (daily, almost uninterrupted) and incredibly acute nausea and abdominal cramping, pain, bloating, gas, diarrhea/constipation, which have been going strong for two months now. These symptoms made me effectively dysfunctional; I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, couldn't work. After a couple of weeks, I broke and reinstated Prozac, partly because I was afraid that the physical symptoms were a harbinger of a full-system (including psychological) crisis to come. I was already experiencing crying episodes and moments of real darkness, and given my past experience of depressive episodes following a discontinuation of medication, I worried that the GI symptoms were just the beginning of a full-on season of hell. After some playing around, I'm now on 5mg of Prozac again, and the nausea is much better than it was -- but I'm feeling increasingly mentally awful. I'm tired all the time, I feel confused and disoriented pretty much constantly, I have no libido, I've developed intense self-loathing (which is extremely unusual for me), I feel almost dissociated much of the time, and I'm still crying at the drop of a hat. But I don't know whether I wouldn't eventually be feeling this way, or worse, if I just stopped taking the Prozac again. And so I'm worried I'll never get off the SSRI, even though  I feel like crap. My "sober, reasonable" plan is to taper very very slowly once I feel fully better, using liquid Prozac, but I just don't know whether this will actually happen -- whether I won't experience awful symptoms again, freak out, and keep plodding on. I'm already so depressed, and it's just been getting worse since I started taking the pills again. I just want to be off them. But I don't want to risk falling apart like I did when I was 20, and I'm terrified that my brain (which has been developing against the background of constant SSRI use for the last 10 years) has already been so impacted and destabilized that getting off the meds will induce a full-system failure, rather than an unmedicated "baseline". I hate being on the meds, am super sick when off them, and reading stories on these forums has made me pessimistic about the awfulness I experienced just "passing" after a few more months or sticking it out. So now I don't know what the hell to do. 

 

So that's it, I guess. Could say more, but I've already said so much. Thanks for reading this far, if you're still with me. Any advice, reassurance, or shared experience you can offer would be profoundly appreciated. 

 

WS

 

 

 

2010: start Prozac 10mg; soon updose to 20mg

2012/13: stop Prozac cold-turkey

2013/14: start Lexapro 10mg; start Adderall 10-20mg; switch from Lex to Wellbutrin, 150mg; raise to 300mg; discontinue

2015: begin Zoloft 50mg -> 100mg; after some months, reduce to 50mg -> 25mg -> 0 [cue depressive crash]

2016: reinstate Prozac 20mg, soon updosed to 40mg; short-term Klonopin .5mg

2017 - 2019: Prozac 20-40mg (not entirely sure which)

2020: Prozac 20mg; reduce to Adderall 5-10mg

2020-21: discontinue Adderall; Prozac 20mg every other day for ~5 months; 20mg every three days for ~3 months. 

late March 2021: final dose of Prozac

June 24: reinstate 5mg Prozac; short-term Klonopin .25mg (2-3x a week)

July 10: raise to 10mg Prozac. July 23: reduce to 5mg Prozac. Present: 5mg Prozac.

*** NB: Memory quite hazy for much of this timeline; currently trying to corroborate via past medical records (will update accordingly) ***

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  • Moderator

Welcome to this support site. Before we can answer your questions, please give us more information first. 

 

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?  It would be especially helpful to have the details of your drugs in a concise list (no symptoms), only drug names, 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.  

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/18343-please-summarize-your-withdrawal-history-in-your-signature/

 

So sorry to read what you ar going through. It seems you are suffering from WD from prozac. All symptoms you describe physically and mentally point in that reaction

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/14397-neuro-emotions/

 

19 hours ago, Weltschmerz said:

And I know I spent the last year and a half tapering from 20mg to 10 to to 10 every other day to 0, in increments of a few months/reduction, after the same amount of time in therapy with a wonderful and supportive psychologist. 

 

 

Skipping doses is asking for trouble

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/22958-never-skip-doses-to-taper/

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/759-tips-for-tapering-off-prozac-fluoxetine/

 

 

20 hours ago, Weltschmerz said:

After some playing around, I'm now on 5mg of Prozac again, and the nausea is much better than it was -- but I'm feeling increasingly mentally awful. I'm tired all the time, I feel confused and disoriented pretty much constantly, I have no libido, I've developed intense self-loathing (which is extremely unusual for me), I feel almost dissociated much of the time, and I'm still crying at the drop of a hat.

 

Please give all info about your meds use as much as possible detailed with dates and dosages in you signature. Then we will come back to you. You can and will heal. But you need to know that first you must stabilize. Therefor do NOT go up or down in dosage right now! That may makes things worse!

 

After getting stable we can advise you to taper in the right way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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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Thanks so much for the kind and thoughtful response, Go2Zero. It means a whole lot. More than I can say. 

 

I've updated my signature, although I'll continue to dig into past medical records for more precise info -- as I've said, I don't really trust my memory of these timelines, and I (rather uncharacteristically) didn't keep precise notes. 

 

I now know that skipping days is risky business! Weirdly, I felt pretty much fine for most of the year. Experienced intermittent episodes of intense nausea, and definitely feel like lots of time just vanished, but it was nothing like what I started experiencing in June. (I've worried about brain fog, fatigue, and various cognitive-centric symptoms since I started taking these meds 10 years ago, so although I kept experiencing similar enough stuff this year, it didn't mark much of a difference: in fact, comparatively, it felt like I was finally experiencing some relief.)

 

I also know that stabilization should be my priority right now. The current plan is to stick with 5mg until I feel well enough to keep tapering. I do still wonder, though, whether I made the right choice to reinstate at all. It's barely been two months since I started up the Prozac again, and my mood and cognitive functionality is definitely worse than it was before (even though the nausea seems to have gotten a lot better). I don't know what would have happened if I stuck it out back in June, obviously; maybe I would have gotten worse anyway. But I just feel so sedated, fatigued, and psychologically "absent" -- stoned, almost -- after I take my daily dose. Which is super scary, especially because I have to do a bunch of really intellectually demanding work in the next few months (teach a course at Uni, finish several research projects, generally not flunk out of graduate school, etc).

 

I guess I'm kind of worried that I'm extending some pretty bad experiences now in the hope of not having to deal with other bad experiences later down the line, without any guarantee that I won't have to experience all the really bad stuff anyway. Not sure if that makes sense? Anyway, the plan is still to stick to the 5mg. I'm just hoping I don't feel pressured to raise the dose in the coming months. I can't shake the suspicion that being on the meds at all is a central part of my problem, and that feeling bad while already on them, coupled with a fear of getting off them, is a slippery slope. 😕

 

Hope this wasn't too much of a ramble. Thanks so much, again, for all your care and advice.  

2010: start Prozac 10mg; soon updose to 20mg

2012/13: stop Prozac cold-turkey

2013/14: start Lexapro 10mg; start Adderall 10-20mg; switch from Lex to Wellbutrin, 150mg; raise to 300mg; discontinue

2015: begin Zoloft 50mg -> 100mg; after some months, reduce to 50mg -> 25mg -> 0 [cue depressive crash]

2016: reinstate Prozac 20mg, soon updosed to 40mg; short-term Klonopin .5mg

2017 - 2019: Prozac 20-40mg (not entirely sure which)

2020: Prozac 20mg; reduce to Adderall 5-10mg

2020-21: discontinue Adderall; Prozac 20mg every other day for ~5 months; 20mg every three days for ~3 months. 

late March 2021: final dose of Prozac

June 24: reinstate 5mg Prozac; short-term Klonopin .25mg (2-3x a week)

July 10: raise to 10mg Prozac. July 23: reduce to 5mg Prozac. Present: 5mg Prozac.

*** NB: Memory quite hazy for much of this timeline; currently trying to corroborate via past medical records (will update accordingly) ***

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  • Moderator

Hi Weltschmerz,

 

Thanks for updating your signature!  Are you still using the Klonopin? If so why and how often?

 

7 hours ago, Weltschmerz said:

I also know that stabilization should be my priority right now. The current plan is to stick with 5mg until I feel well enough to keep tapering. I do still wonder, though, whether I made the right choice to reinstate at all. It's barely been two months since I started up the Prozac again

 

 

On 8/15/2021 at 5:21 PM, Weltschmerz said:

Two months after reducing from 10mg Prozac every other day to 0, I started experiencing continuous (daily, almost uninterrupted) and incredibly acute nausea and abdominal cramping, pain, bloating, gas, diarrhea/constipation, which have been going strong for two months now. These symptoms made me effectively dysfunctional; I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, couldn't work. After a couple of weeks, I broke and reinstated Prozac,

 

It is a fact that a lot of people start feeling extreme WD symptoms 2-4 months after stopping a SSRI. (or after an extreme dosage drop).

This seemed to be have been the case with you too. 

 

I guess it was a good thing to reinstate, but the reinstatement was too high probably. Better would have been 1 mg to start with.

 

Here is interesting and important info about reinstating:

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/7562-about-reinstating-and-stabilizing-to-reduce-withdrawal-symptoms/?tab=comments#comment-33809

 

Unfortunately you have been going up and down in dosage quite a lot. This sensitizes the central nervous system over and over again.

 

To give an idea about the strength of these meds I put this table here which shows the SERT (serotonin receptor occupancy) of Prozac at different dosages. Then you will see how strong these meds are at very low dosages. 5 mg gives a SERT of 62% whereas a full dose of 20mg does 78%...

 

A reinstatement of 1mg gives around 29%...

 

But we have to deal with the existing situation now! As soon as you have the feeling you could start to taper, you could go down with 10% maximum of the current dosage. And see what that does. But please listen very careful to your body. Only you can decide if you feel stable enough to start a careful taper. 

 

As soon as you notice too much extreme WD symptoms, make a hold and stabilize. Please understand that going fast down, will increase WD symptoms. The slower we go while listening to our body, the faster we heal. Although it still may take longer then we want...

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/23081-are-we-there-yet-how-long-is-withdrawal-going-to-take/?tab=comments#comment-492493

 

 

 

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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Thanks so much for the thoughtful response and advice, GTZ. 

 

18 hours ago, Go2zero said:

Are you still using the Klonopin? If so why and how often?

 

 

I'm super wary of benzos in general, but I have been taking Klonopin in small doses (max .25, typically ~.10) when the breakthrough anxiety and despair become too intense to push past. Last time I took a shard was last week, I think? And the week before that, I took .10mg once on Monday and again on Thursday. But I know that the drug has a really, really long half-life, so I guess that's still significant. The last few weeks have just been an extremely difficult time for me, so I figured using it only as-needed and in small doses was a reasonable enough harm reduction strategy. 

 

It guess it's probably also worth noting that I've begun taking low doses of Adderall again -- usually in one-off doses of 5-10mg every few days. I think my average in the last month has been twice a week. The comedowns are more awful than they've ever been (intense irritability, emptiness, super amplified depression), but I've really been struggling to get anything done recently, and the work keeps piling up. So even a few hours of normalized functionality seems worth the evening unwellness. Realize I'm not exactly selling the rationality of this, though. 

 

 

18 hours ago, Go2zero said:

Unfortunately you have been going up and down in dosage quite a lot. This sensitizes the central nervous system over and over again.

 

To give an idea about the strength of these meds I put this table here which shows the SERT (serotonin receptor occupancy) of Prozac at different dosages. Then you will see how strong these meds are at very low dosages. 5 mg gives a SERT of 62% whereas a full dose of 20mg does 78%...

 

A reinstatement of 1mg gives around 29%...

 

 

I know. I feel awful about this. I initially hoped to reinstate by 1mg, but the nausea and panic were so intense, and all the doctors I saw wanted me to start taking a "clinical" dose again ASAP. So I figured 5mg was a fair compromise. I also had no idea how to reliably dose at 1mg -- the lowest available dose in Germany is a 10mg tablet, and there's no liquid formulation on the market. (Absurd and extremely upsetting.)

 

I'm going to try to transform my tablets into liquid form, but it honestly seems like a pretty daunting plan. My mind's been in such a fog in the last month; even ordinary tasks have required intense effort to execute. Just hope that I'll be able to follow online instructions + do basic math + use the right equipment in a consistent way by the time I'm feeling well enough to taper by 10%. 

 

Where can I see the SERT table you mentioned? I'd love to take a look at it. 

 

Thanks again.

2010: start Prozac 10mg; soon updose to 20mg

2012/13: stop Prozac cold-turkey

2013/14: start Lexapro 10mg; start Adderall 10-20mg; switch from Lex to Wellbutrin, 150mg; raise to 300mg; discontinue

2015: begin Zoloft 50mg -> 100mg; after some months, reduce to 50mg -> 25mg -> 0 [cue depressive crash]

2016: reinstate Prozac 20mg, soon updosed to 40mg; short-term Klonopin .5mg

2017 - 2019: Prozac 20-40mg (not entirely sure which)

2020: Prozac 20mg; reduce to Adderall 5-10mg

2020-21: discontinue Adderall; Prozac 20mg every other day for ~5 months; 20mg every three days for ~3 months. 

late March 2021: final dose of Prozac

June 24: reinstate 5mg Prozac; short-term Klonopin .25mg (2-3x a week)

July 10: raise to 10mg Prozac. July 23: reduce to 5mg Prozac. Present: 5mg Prozac.

*** NB: Memory quite hazy for much of this timeline; currently trying to corroborate via past medical records (will update accordingly) ***

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17 hours ago, Weltschmerz said:

I'm super wary of benzos in general, but I have been taking Klonopin in small doses (max .25, typically ~.10) when the breakthrough anxiety and despair become too intense to push past.

Better stop the use of benzo's immediately. It has negative effects on the WD symptoms you already suffer from Prozac.

An harmless alternative could be ORGANIC essential lavender oil. Put 2 - 4 drops in a glass of water and drink it. Lots of people experience relief in anxiety and stress. Only take when needed. Results can be felt within 30 minutes. No side effects for most people. And if side effects they are very harmless.

 

17 hours ago, Weltschmerz said:

It guess it's probably also worth noting that I've begun taking low doses of Adderall again -- usually in one-off doses of 5-10mg every few days.

 

Why do you take this? Adderall is an ampethmine. It can really influence your withdrawal of prozac. It also harms your central nervous system!

 

17 hours ago, Weltschmerz said:

I'm going to try to transform my tablets into liquid form, but it honestly seems like a pretty daunting plan. My mind's been in such a fog in the last month; even ordinary tasks have required intense effort to execute. Just hope that I'll be able to follow online instructions + do basic math + use the right equipment in a consistent way by the time I'm feeling well enough to taper by 10%. 

 

Are you sure liquid prozac is not available in Germany? Anyhow, making your own solution is very simple. I do it also every 5 days. You need scales that can weigh 1/1000 gr (1mg). The Gemini 20 is one possibility, but there are more good models to be found. You can look on Amazon.

Furthermore you need oral syringes from 1 ml and a syringe of 10ml or 5ml. 

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/2693-how-to-make-a-liquid-from-tablets-or-capsules/

 

If you have problems with the math or method, let me know. I can help you out then. It is quite easy when you know how to do it. I spend less than 10 minutes to make a solution for 5 days.

 

 

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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  • Moderator

Here is the SERT table for Prozac

 

% 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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