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thenextguy: Trying to come off Cymbalta, trying bridge to Prozac - struggling

thenextguy

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thenextguy

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Hello everyone, 

A little bit of a background on me. I've been on SSRI/SNRI medication for about 10 years. My most recent medication was Cymbalta. In the last year I had decided that I haven't had a depressive episode in a long time and wanted to try to come off it. I was able to taper down to 20mg using the manufacturer capsules (60mg --> 50mg (20+30) --> 40mg --> 30mg --> 20mg. 

I had attempted to cold turkey from 20mg twice and failed miserably. I only recently became aware of how difficult that is to do and the strategies and techniques discussed on this website. 

In the past I had tapered off of benzodiazepines by switching from Ativan (short half live) to Valium (long half life) and tapering from there. I had success with that several years ago and no longer take benzos.

So I read about bridging  from short acting SSRI/SNRIs to longer ones (prozac). So I decided to give that a try. I had my doctor prescribe me prozac. Here's how it went. 

Day 1: 10mg prozac, 20mg cymbalta
Day 2: 10mg prozac, 20mg cymbalta
Day 3: 10mg prozac, 20mg cymbalta
Day 4: 10mg prozac, 20mg cymbalta
Day 5: 20mg prozac, 20mg cymbalta
Day 6: 20mg prozac, 20mg cymbalta
Day 7: 20mg prozac, 0mg cymbalta
Day 8: 20mg prozac, 0mg cymbalta
Day 9: 20mg prozac, 20mg cymbalta (decided to take one more dose of cymbalta to ease the landing)
Day 10 through 23 (today): 20mg prozac

 

I had intended to wait until I stabilized on 20mg prozac before I began tapering, but that hasn't happened yet.

In retrospect, I think going from 20mg to 0mg cymbalta was WAY to rapid, even with a bridge. 

 

I'm currently struggling and I'm not sure what the best strategy is. 

 

The first week off cymbalta wasn't too bad and I figured the bridge was working. But I'm not sure if things have gotten better since then. In fact, they may have gotten worse. 

Does that make sense? I assumed that the further away I got from 0mg cymbalta, it would get better. But I'm not sure if that has happened.

 

I'm considering reinstating cymbalta and then just microtaper from cymbalta (bead counting or weighing). But I've read that once you introduce a new med, that is not advised. 

 

Anyway, trying to figure all this out. Thank you to anyone listening. 

 

Any advice would be great!

 

I should add that so far the worst symptoms are anxiety, irritability, and sharp pain in the back of my shoulder. 

 

Edit: One more edit! I forgot to mention that take 7.5mg of mirtazapine at night for sleep. I originally took it as an antidepressant, but now I only take it for sleep. Not sure if that's relevant. 

-Since 2017-ish I've been on Cymbalta & Mirtazapine. At max dose it was 120mg cymbalta and 45mg mirtazapine. This combo was meant to deal with a depressive episode and it worked. Over the next few years I tapered down from those high doses. I had tried to get off the cymbalta twice and had to reinstate twice. I don't remember when. Maybe 2018? 2019? 

-Since 2020 I've been stable 20mg cymbalta and 7.5mg mirtazapine (this is mainly for sleep now). I have come off of the mirtazapine before without trouble, but still take it occasionally for sleep. 

-August 2nd began taking 10mg prozac as a bridge to attempt to get off cymbalta. Took 10mg for about a week then 20mg for a few days. Stopped taking the cymbalta and was doing okay for a bit, but things didn't seem to get better and maybe have been getting worse. 

-8/25/2021 - 20mg cymbalta and struggling. Stopped the prozac. I'm struggling, but I can probably ride this out if I had to. My concern is that things will continue to get worse, as they seem to be doing. 

-8/29/2021 - things started to get worse. Probably prozac withdrawal. Reinstated 20mg prozac. 

-9/2/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 7.5 mg mirtazapine --> 9/24/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 11/7/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 4/24/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac   --> 6/5/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.33mg prozac

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  • Go2zero changed the title to thenextguy: Trying to come off Cymbalta, trying bridge to Prozac - struggling
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Go2zero
Go2zero

Great news! If you feel OK with the 20mg that's fine. You feel what you feel. And it is important that you feel confident with it. It is no exact science   Understand that fallbacks may occu

Nanda
Nanda

Honey, don't keep making changes to your medications.  I speak from experience.  Reintegrating 20mg of Prozac is too much, in its place, I would no longer take Prozac, I would take the dose of duloxet

Nanda
Nanda

@Altostrata ♥️ 

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Go2zero Contributor

Go2zero

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Welcome to this support site. Before we can answer all of your questions, please give us more information first. Good that you came here. There is a lot of knowledge to be found and shared here. Also the members can support each other here.

 

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/

 

Sorry to read how you are struggling with stoppin Cymbalta. A very important thing we need to know is when exactly did you start the bridge to prozac. Please put this info also in your signature. When your bridge was very recent, there may be a way back....

 

There are several important things you should know:

 

1) Bridging to Prozac is sometimes seen as an easier way to taper. I did it myself too.... But, it is a myth that Prozac is self tapering and it is also a myth that prozac is easy to taper. OK, there are drugs that are more difficult to taper than prozac, but bridging very often means just a change of meds.

 

This means in practice that one still goed through the (often full) withdrawal of the med that was stopped (in your case Cymbalta) and we have to adapt to a new med (prozac). So we think we are doing something good, but very often we make things worse...

 

I went through hell after bridging from escitalopram to prozac! For many many months. And I am still not away from prozac after 2 years on this med. And I bridged to a dose of only 0,6 mg Prozac (coming from 0,3mg escitalopram).

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/19373-the-prozac-switch-or-bridging-with-fluoxetine/

 

 

2) You bridged from 20 mg Cymbalta to 20 mg Prozac. The standard dose of Cymbalta is 60mg and the equivalent of Prozac (standard dose) is 20mg. So you bridged to a dose that is 3 times as high as the Cymbalta you took before!   Why?

 

As you say, it might be better to switch back to Cymbalta, but before you decide it is most important to know WHEN you bridged.

 

11 hours ago, thenextguy said:

Edit: One more edit! I forgot to mention that take 7.5mg of mirtazapine at night for sleep. I originally took it as an antidepressant, but now I only take it for sleep. Not sure if that's relevant. 

This is relevant for sure. Since this is a similar drug as Cymbalta and Prozac. They all influence and block the serotonine receptors. Don't think that 7,5 mirtazapine is a light dose. This has a big influence on your nervous system next to the Cymbalta and Prozac.

 

Since when are you taking this? Please put in your signature as well (all meds, all dosage changes and all dates please).

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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thenextguy Contributor

thenextguy

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Thank you for the reply, Go2zero. I have added some information to my signature. I hope that helps. I don't recall all of the dates, but I had been stable on 20mg cymbalta and 7.5mg mirtazapine for over a year. 

 

 

-Since 2017-ish I've been on Cymbalta & Mirtazapine. At max dose it was 120mg cymbalta and 45mg mirtazapine. This combo was meant to deal with a depressive episode and it worked. Over the next few years I tapered down from those high doses. I had tried to get off the cymbalta twice and had to reinstate twice. I don't remember when. Maybe 2018? 2019? 

-Since 2020 I've been stable 20mg cymbalta and 7.5mg mirtazapine (this is mainly for sleep now). I have come off of the mirtazapine before without trouble, but still take it occasionally for sleep. 

-August 2nd began taking 10mg prozac as a bridge to attempt to get off cymbalta. Took 10mg for about a week then 20mg for a few days. Stopped taking the cymbalta and was doing okay for a bit, but things didn't seem to get better and maybe have been getting worse. 

-8/25/2021 - 20mg cymbalta and struggling. Stopped the prozac. I'm struggling, but I can probably ride this out if I had to. My concern is that things will continue to get worse, as they seem to be doing. 

-8/29/2021 - things started to get worse. Probably prozac withdrawal. Reinstated 20mg prozac. 

-9/2/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 7.5 mg mirtazapine --> 9/24/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 11/7/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 4/24/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac   --> 6/5/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.33mg prozac

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Go2zero Contributor

Go2zero

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Thanks for making your signature. That makes things more clear!

 

If I were you, I would go back to Cymbalta asap. Since you have been on prozac on for 3 weeks and because of its extreme long half life, I would stop the Prozac immeditately. Also because you have been taking 3 times the equivalent dose of the 20 mg Cymbalta. Was this on purpose or a mistake?

 

I would go back to Cymbalta by taking 10 mg in the first week and then back to 20mg the 2nd week. This is just an idea. But you have to wash out the relatively high dosage of prozac (long half life). Don't like the idea of higher level of meds during switching back.

 

After switching back take at least 2 months to stabilize before starting to taper Cymbalta. Your system may have been shocked quite a lot because of the made and upcoming changes.

 

What do you think?

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/283-tips-for-tapering-off-duloxetine-cymbalta/

 

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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thenextguy Contributor

thenextguy

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f I were you, I would go back to Cymbalta asap. Since you have been on prozac on for 3 weeks and because of its extreme long half life, I would stop the Prozac immeditately. Also because you have been taking 3 times the equivalent dose of the 20 mg Cymbalta. Was this on purpose or a mistake?

 

My understanding was that 20mg was the starting dose for both meds. 

 

I definitely think the bridge hasn't been very effective and the struggles I'm having are mostly related to cymbalta withdrawals. 

 

I was inclined to start the cymbalta again and then do a proper taper from there. My only concern is something I read here: CHW Reinstatement Guidelines - Healing America Now

 

They say that you should only reinstate within 2-3 weeks, which I am within that window to reinstate. But they also say that you shouldn't reinstate if you've started another med. But perhaps it's still early on the prozac. 

-Since 2017-ish I've been on Cymbalta & Mirtazapine. At max dose it was 120mg cymbalta and 45mg mirtazapine. This combo was meant to deal with a depressive episode and it worked. Over the next few years I tapered down from those high doses. I had tried to get off the cymbalta twice and had to reinstate twice. I don't remember when. Maybe 2018? 2019? 

-Since 2020 I've been stable 20mg cymbalta and 7.5mg mirtazapine (this is mainly for sleep now). I have come off of the mirtazapine before without trouble, but still take it occasionally for sleep. 

-August 2nd began taking 10mg prozac as a bridge to attempt to get off cymbalta. Took 10mg for about a week then 20mg for a few days. Stopped taking the cymbalta and was doing okay for a bit, but things didn't seem to get better and maybe have been getting worse. 

-8/25/2021 - 20mg cymbalta and struggling. Stopped the prozac. I'm struggling, but I can probably ride this out if I had to. My concern is that things will continue to get worse, as they seem to be doing. 

-8/29/2021 - things started to get worse. Probably prozac withdrawal. Reinstated 20mg prozac. 

-9/2/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 7.5 mg mirtazapine --> 9/24/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 11/7/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 4/24/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac   --> 6/5/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.33mg prozac

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Go2zero Contributor

Go2zero

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35 minutes ago, thenextguy said:

I definitely think the bridge hasn't been very effective and the struggles I'm having are mostly related to cymbalta withdrawals. 

 

 I guess you are right.

 

36 minutes ago, thenextguy said:

I was inclined to start the cymbalta again and then do a proper taper from there. My only concern is something I read here: CHW Reinstatement Guidelines - Healing America Now

 

They say that you should only reinstate within 2-3 weeks, which I am within that window to reinstate. But they also say that you shouldn't reinstate if you've started another med. But perhaps it's still early on the prozac. 

 

I am not saying this is an ideal situation where you are in. But I guess that WD from Cymbalta will give more problems than staying on Prozac (and also having to adapt to that...

 

You could lower the reinstatement dose of Cymbalta probably a bit to let say 18mg, since you stopped it 3 weeks ago.

 

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

 

 

 

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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thenextguy Contributor

thenextguy

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7 minutes ago, Go2zero said:

 I guess you are right.

 

 

I am not saying this is an ideal situation where you are in. But I guess that WD from Cymbalta will give more problems than staying on Prozac (and also having to adapt to that...

 

You could lower the reinstatement dose of Cymbalta probably a bit to let say 18mg, since you stopped it 3 weeks ago.

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

Yes, my original instinct was to try to reinstate cymbalta since I haven't been off it that long. I was only hesitant when I read that other link, but I agree that trying is still probably the "least bad" move. I'm going to try to reinstate and then do a proper 10% taper from there. Thank you!

-Since 2017-ish I've been on Cymbalta & Mirtazapine. At max dose it was 120mg cymbalta and 45mg mirtazapine. This combo was meant to deal with a depressive episode and it worked. Over the next few years I tapered down from those high doses. I had tried to get off the cymbalta twice and had to reinstate twice. I don't remember when. Maybe 2018? 2019? 

-Since 2020 I've been stable 20mg cymbalta and 7.5mg mirtazapine (this is mainly for sleep now). I have come off of the mirtazapine before without trouble, but still take it occasionally for sleep. 

-August 2nd began taking 10mg prozac as a bridge to attempt to get off cymbalta. Took 10mg for about a week then 20mg for a few days. Stopped taking the cymbalta and was doing okay for a bit, but things didn't seem to get better and maybe have been getting worse. 

-8/25/2021 - 20mg cymbalta and struggling. Stopped the prozac. I'm struggling, but I can probably ride this out if I had to. My concern is that things will continue to get worse, as they seem to be doing. 

-8/29/2021 - things started to get worse. Probably prozac withdrawal. Reinstated 20mg prozac. 

-9/2/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 7.5 mg mirtazapine --> 9/24/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 11/7/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 4/24/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac   --> 6/5/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.33mg prozac

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Go2zero Contributor

Go2zero

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2 minutes ago, thenextguy said:

I'm going to try to reinstate and then do a proper 10% taper from there. Thank you!

Do stabilize first! Do this until you really feel stable! Otherwise things may become worse when starting to taper.

 

Going slow and careful most often is the fastest way in the end... And the most comfortable...

 

 

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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thenextguy Contributor

thenextguy

Posted
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1 hour ago, Go2zero said:

Do stabilize first! Do this until you really feel stable! Otherwise things may become worse when starting to taper.

 

Going slow and careful most often is the fastest way in the end... And the most comfortable...

 

 

 

Definitely going to stabilize first. Do you think it would be worth it to do a mini taper on the prozac? Like, 10mg for a week and then 0mg after that? 

-Since 2017-ish I've been on Cymbalta & Mirtazapine. At max dose it was 120mg cymbalta and 45mg mirtazapine. This combo was meant to deal with a depressive episode and it worked. Over the next few years I tapered down from those high doses. I had tried to get off the cymbalta twice and had to reinstate twice. I don't remember when. Maybe 2018? 2019? 

-Since 2020 I've been stable 20mg cymbalta and 7.5mg mirtazapine (this is mainly for sleep now). I have come off of the mirtazapine before without trouble, but still take it occasionally for sleep. 

-August 2nd began taking 10mg prozac as a bridge to attempt to get off cymbalta. Took 10mg for about a week then 20mg for a few days. Stopped taking the cymbalta and was doing okay for a bit, but things didn't seem to get better and maybe have been getting worse. 

-8/25/2021 - 20mg cymbalta and struggling. Stopped the prozac. I'm struggling, but I can probably ride this out if I had to. My concern is that things will continue to get worse, as they seem to be doing. 

-8/29/2021 - things started to get worse. Probably prozac withdrawal. Reinstated 20mg prozac. 

-9/2/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 7.5 mg mirtazapine --> 9/24/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 11/7/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 4/24/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac   --> 6/5/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.33mg prozac

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Go2zero Contributor

Go2zero

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Posted
40 minutes ago, thenextguy said:

Do you think it would be worth it to do a mini taper on the prozac? Like, 10mg for a week and then 0mg after that? 

 

A bit difficult to say. I don't like the idea that you have made this big jump from 20 mg Cymbalta to 20mg Prozac, which is as said 3 times the equivalent of 20mg Cymbalta. So ideally you would go down in prozac asap. This is not exact science.... We all react differently.

 

Given the long time for washing out Prozac (more than 2 months) and the fact that you probably experience most symptoms from stopping Cymbalta (like CT), I would think to start the Cymbalta directly today (18mg?). You could lower Prozac to 10mg for a max a week. That is what I would do. But these things are always a gamble a bit.... 

 

What do you think yourself when you read this and take everything into account?

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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thenextguy Contributor

thenextguy

Posted
  • Author
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20 minutes ago, Go2zero said:

 

A bit difficult to say. I don't like the idea that you have made this big jump from 20 mg Cymbalta to 20mg Prozac, which is as said 3 times the equivalent of 20mg Cymbalta. So ideally you would go down in prozac asap. This is not exact science.... We all react differently.

 

Given the long time for washing out Prozac (more than 2 months) and the fact that you probably experience most symptoms from stopping Cymbalta (like CT), I would think to start the Cymbalta directly today (18mg?). You could lower Prozac to 10mg for a max a week. That is what I would do. But these things are always a gamble a bit.... 

 

What do you think yourself when you read this and take everything into account?

 

Well, I'm hoping I haven't been taking the prozac long enough that it should cause problems coming off. I'm going to try to reinstate the cymbalta and discontinue prozac.

-Since 2017-ish I've been on Cymbalta & Mirtazapine. At max dose it was 120mg cymbalta and 45mg mirtazapine. This combo was meant to deal with a depressive episode and it worked. Over the next few years I tapered down from those high doses. I had tried to get off the cymbalta twice and had to reinstate twice. I don't remember when. Maybe 2018? 2019? 

-Since 2020 I've been stable 20mg cymbalta and 7.5mg mirtazapine (this is mainly for sleep now). I have come off of the mirtazapine before without trouble, but still take it occasionally for sleep. 

-August 2nd began taking 10mg prozac as a bridge to attempt to get off cymbalta. Took 10mg for about a week then 20mg for a few days. Stopped taking the cymbalta and was doing okay for a bit, but things didn't seem to get better and maybe have been getting worse. 

-8/25/2021 - 20mg cymbalta and struggling. Stopped the prozac. I'm struggling, but I can probably ride this out if I had to. My concern is that things will continue to get worse, as they seem to be doing. 

-8/29/2021 - things started to get worse. Probably prozac withdrawal. Reinstated 20mg prozac. 

-9/2/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 7.5 mg mirtazapine --> 9/24/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 11/7/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 4/24/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac   --> 6/5/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.33mg prozac

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Go2zero Contributor

Go2zero

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7 minutes ago, thenextguy said:

Well, I'm hoping I haven't been taking the prozac long enough that it should cause problems coming off

Therefor try to stop it asap... It has a very long half life so you should not be using it very long anymore in my opinion 

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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thenextguy Contributor

thenextguy

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Does anyone know physiologically what's going on in the brain that can cause delayed withdrawals? I always assumed that the further I got from a dose reduction, things would be better. 

 

But I've been reading about how withdrawals can take up to a month to show up. Are there any theories about why that is? What's going on in the brain?

-Since 2017-ish I've been on Cymbalta & Mirtazapine. At max dose it was 120mg cymbalta and 45mg mirtazapine. This combo was meant to deal with a depressive episode and it worked. Over the next few years I tapered down from those high doses. I had tried to get off the cymbalta twice and had to reinstate twice. I don't remember when. Maybe 2018? 2019? 

-Since 2020 I've been stable 20mg cymbalta and 7.5mg mirtazapine (this is mainly for sleep now). I have come off of the mirtazapine before without trouble, but still take it occasionally for sleep. 

-August 2nd began taking 10mg prozac as a bridge to attempt to get off cymbalta. Took 10mg for about a week then 20mg for a few days. Stopped taking the cymbalta and was doing okay for a bit, but things didn't seem to get better and maybe have been getting worse. 

-8/25/2021 - 20mg cymbalta and struggling. Stopped the prozac. I'm struggling, but I can probably ride this out if I had to. My concern is that things will continue to get worse, as they seem to be doing. 

-8/29/2021 - things started to get worse. Probably prozac withdrawal. Reinstated 20mg prozac. 

-9/2/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 7.5 mg mirtazapine --> 9/24/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 11/7/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 4/24/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac   --> 6/5/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.33mg prozac

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thenextguy

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One other random question that I hope someone can answer. Roughly how long until withdrawals peak?

 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, it had been two weeks since I stopped the Cymbalta. The withdrawals so far have been uncomfortable, but very manageable. I could handle this while my body healed, but I'm worried that it might get worse. 

 

So when do people usually experience a peak in withdrawals? I know that everyone (and drug) is different, but are there any ballpark estimates? 

-Since 2017-ish I've been on Cymbalta & Mirtazapine. At max dose it was 120mg cymbalta and 45mg mirtazapine. This combo was meant to deal with a depressive episode and it worked. Over the next few years I tapered down from those high doses. I had tried to get off the cymbalta twice and had to reinstate twice. I don't remember when. Maybe 2018? 2019? 

-Since 2020 I've been stable 20mg cymbalta and 7.5mg mirtazapine (this is mainly for sleep now). I have come off of the mirtazapine before without trouble, but still take it occasionally for sleep. 

-August 2nd began taking 10mg prozac as a bridge to attempt to get off cymbalta. Took 10mg for about a week then 20mg for a few days. Stopped taking the cymbalta and was doing okay for a bit, but things didn't seem to get better and maybe have been getting worse. 

-8/25/2021 - 20mg cymbalta and struggling. Stopped the prozac. I'm struggling, but I can probably ride this out if I had to. My concern is that things will continue to get worse, as they seem to be doing. 

-8/29/2021 - things started to get worse. Probably prozac withdrawal. Reinstated 20mg prozac. 

-9/2/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 7.5 mg mirtazapine --> 9/24/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 11/7/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 4/24/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac   --> 6/5/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.33mg prozac

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thenextguy

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8 hours ago, Go2zero said:

Therefor try to stop it asap... It has a very long half life so you should not be using it very long anymore in my opinion 

 

Hi everyone, I think I screwed up. 

 

I have reinstated cymbalta twice in the past and it has always made the withdrawal symptoms go away. Now, the two times I did do that I had done so within the first week and I immediately started feeling better after the first dose. This time I think it's different. I have started protracted withdrawals and I'm not sure it's going to do anything. It might even be making things worse.

 

So I assumed that if if I reinstated again, the withdrawals would go away. Earlier in the thread I mentioned that I was going to start that today. But I actually took one dose yesterday of 20mg to feel it out. It didn't do much. I think it might have made things worse, but I can't be certain.

 

Today, I took another 20mg earlier in the day. This evening, so far, has been my worst night since I stopped taking cymbalta on August 11th. I have since read that reinstating at the same dose is often a mistake, but that's what I did the two previous times so I thought it would be okay.

 

I guess the difference now is that my protracted withdrawals have started.

 

So here I am in the evening. I'm currently taking 20mg of prozac, and I haven't even reached a steady state of that dose. And now I've taken two days of cymbalta 20mg. 

 

I now understand what it means when people say your nervous system is more sensitive in withdrawals. 

 

Am I now going to go through additional withdrawals if I don't take cymbalta tomorrow? Or should I stop taking it. 

 

It seems like no matter what I do the level of meds in my system will be changing drastically over the coming days. 

1. Keep taking cymbalta. After tomorrow's dose, it should reach a steady state since it's been 3 days of dosing. But then what do I do with the prozac? If I keep taking it, that means it's continuing to build up in my system. 

2. Stop the cymbalta after two days and keep going with the prozac? The cymbalta will be out of system rapidly in three days. (Will this cause problems?) And keep going on the prozac and expect to reach a steady state of 20mg in a few more weeks. 

3. Keep taking both! I know that's generally a bad idea, but I now have 2 days of 20mg cymbalta in me. Will it be a problem if I stop suddenly? Should I now focus on stabilizing the medication in me and give my body a chance to sort things out? 

 

I know I haven't handled this well, but I don't know what to do now that what's done is done. Help!

 

Edit: Also, I'm trying to see my psychiatrist ASAP, but I'm not sure he knows much about this stuff. 

-Since 2017-ish I've been on Cymbalta & Mirtazapine. At max dose it was 120mg cymbalta and 45mg mirtazapine. This combo was meant to deal with a depressive episode and it worked. Over the next few years I tapered down from those high doses. I had tried to get off the cymbalta twice and had to reinstate twice. I don't remember when. Maybe 2018? 2019? 

-Since 2020 I've been stable 20mg cymbalta and 7.5mg mirtazapine (this is mainly for sleep now). I have come off of the mirtazapine before without trouble, but still take it occasionally for sleep. 

-August 2nd began taking 10mg prozac as a bridge to attempt to get off cymbalta. Took 10mg for about a week then 20mg for a few days. Stopped taking the cymbalta and was doing okay for a bit, but things didn't seem to get better and maybe have been getting worse. 

-8/25/2021 - 20mg cymbalta and struggling. Stopped the prozac. I'm struggling, but I can probably ride this out if I had to. My concern is that things will continue to get worse, as they seem to be doing. 

-8/29/2021 - things started to get worse. Probably prozac withdrawal. Reinstated 20mg prozac. 

-9/2/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 7.5 mg mirtazapine --> 9/24/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 11/7/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 4/24/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac   --> 6/5/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.33mg prozac

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thenextguy

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Just an update. I've decided to stick with the attempt to reinstate cymbalta and stopped prozac.

 

August 26, 2021

Day three of 20mg of cymbalta.

Day 1 of 0mg prozac. 

-Since 2017-ish I've been on Cymbalta & Mirtazapine. At max dose it was 120mg cymbalta and 45mg mirtazapine. This combo was meant to deal with a depressive episode and it worked. Over the next few years I tapered down from those high doses. I had tried to get off the cymbalta twice and had to reinstate twice. I don't remember when. Maybe 2018? 2019? 

-Since 2020 I've been stable 20mg cymbalta and 7.5mg mirtazapine (this is mainly for sleep now). I have come off of the mirtazapine before without trouble, but still take it occasionally for sleep. 

-August 2nd began taking 10mg prozac as a bridge to attempt to get off cymbalta. Took 10mg for about a week then 20mg for a few days. Stopped taking the cymbalta and was doing okay for a bit, but things didn't seem to get better and maybe have been getting worse. 

-8/25/2021 - 20mg cymbalta and struggling. Stopped the prozac. I'm struggling, but I can probably ride this out if I had to. My concern is that things will continue to get worse, as they seem to be doing. 

-8/29/2021 - things started to get worse. Probably prozac withdrawal. Reinstated 20mg prozac. 

-9/2/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 7.5 mg mirtazapine --> 9/24/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 11/7/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 4/24/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac   --> 6/5/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.33mg prozac

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Go2zero Contributor

Go2zero

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23 hours ago, thenextguy said:

So when do people usually experience a peak in withdrawals? I know that everyone (and drug) is different, but are there any ballpark estimates? 

This cannot be said. Since (as you say yourself) we all react different. Drugs themselves are also different. Wash out is different in time. There are slow or fast metabolizers, etc....

 

You write in an earlier post that withdrawal shows up after a month sometimes. It can be anything between a couple of days and even 4 months....

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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Go2zero Contributor

Go2zero

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25 minutes ago, thenextguy said:

Just an update. I've decided to stick with the attempt to reinstate cymbalta and stopped prozac.

 

August 26, 2021

Day three of 20mg of cymbalta.

Day 1 of 0mg prozac. 

I think this is a good decision. As I wrote before the 20mg prozac is equivalent of 60mg Cymbalta. So when taking the 20 mg Prozac ( several days combined with 20mg Cymbalta) you upped the meds in total quite a lot (4 times the dose of the 20mg Cymbalta you took before bridging to Prozac).

 

I guess most symptoms you feel come from withdrawal from Cymbalta. But the use of Prozac (on a too high dose) with its long half life may hold you in in having withdrawal symptoms for a while.... 

 

Furthermore the more often we reinstate a drug (certainly on a high dose), the more WD symptoms we get. Tis is what we see a lot.

 

You might think of taking a bit less than 20 mg Cymbalta. Since your body was of it for a while and because the serotonin blockage of the (too high dosage) Prozac is also still there. This takes time to wash out because of the extreme long half life.

 

All this combined would be a good reason for tapering the Cymbalta already a bit to 18 mg or so.

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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thenextguy

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So this is interesting. My appetite today is MUCH better than the past few days. And I'm feeling slightly better. I think it's too early to say the reinstatement is working for sure, but I'm hopeful this is a good sign.

 

I had already done 2 days at 20mg, so I just decided to stick with that amount. 

-Since 2017-ish I've been on Cymbalta & Mirtazapine. At max dose it was 120mg cymbalta and 45mg mirtazapine. This combo was meant to deal with a depressive episode and it worked. Over the next few years I tapered down from those high doses. I had tried to get off the cymbalta twice and had to reinstate twice. I don't remember when. Maybe 2018? 2019? 

-Since 2020 I've been stable 20mg cymbalta and 7.5mg mirtazapine (this is mainly for sleep now). I have come off of the mirtazapine before without trouble, but still take it occasionally for sleep. 

-August 2nd began taking 10mg prozac as a bridge to attempt to get off cymbalta. Took 10mg for about a week then 20mg for a few days. Stopped taking the cymbalta and was doing okay for a bit, but things didn't seem to get better and maybe have been getting worse. 

-8/25/2021 - 20mg cymbalta and struggling. Stopped the prozac. I'm struggling, but I can probably ride this out if I had to. My concern is that things will continue to get worse, as they seem to be doing. 

-8/29/2021 - things started to get worse. Probably prozac withdrawal. Reinstated 20mg prozac. 

-9/2/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 7.5 mg mirtazapine --> 9/24/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 11/7/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 4/24/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac   --> 6/5/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.33mg prozac

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Go2zero Contributor

Go2zero

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Great news! If you feel OK with the 20mg that's fine. You feel what you feel. And it is important that you feel confident with it. It is no exact science ;)

 

Understand that fallbacks may occur. That would be completely normal. So don't let yourself discourage when that would happen. You are doing very good!

2

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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thenextguy

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I'm going to try to post my experiences daily in case future readers find it helpful. 

 

Day 4 of 20mg cymbalta/duloxetine reinstatement; Day 2 of 0mg prozac/paroxetine

 

Still feeling better than I was earlier in the week. Still feeling pretty crummy, but that's a HUGE improvement from how I felt as recently as day 2. So things appear to be headed in the right direction still.

 

I got about 8 hours of sleep last night, so that's a big improvement. And my appetite appears to be normalizing. 

 

The only weird thing is that I did feel some slight depression today for the first time since this all started. It's pretty mild, so I'm hoping it's nothing. 

 

The constant headache seems to be improving, as well as the muscle pains in my arms. I still have a stinging pain in my right collarbone that flares up.

 

I went out to run some errands today and that was kind of a strain on me. My symptoms flared up a bit, so I can tell that my nervous system is still healing. 

 

Have a 4 hour drive tonight to spend the weekend with family. 

 

Overall, things appear to be heading in the right direction.

-Since 2017-ish I've been on Cymbalta & Mirtazapine. At max dose it was 120mg cymbalta and 45mg mirtazapine. This combo was meant to deal with a depressive episode and it worked. Over the next few years I tapered down from those high doses. I had tried to get off the cymbalta twice and had to reinstate twice. I don't remember when. Maybe 2018? 2019? 

-Since 2020 I've been stable 20mg cymbalta and 7.5mg mirtazapine (this is mainly for sleep now). I have come off of the mirtazapine before without trouble, but still take it occasionally for sleep. 

-August 2nd began taking 10mg prozac as a bridge to attempt to get off cymbalta. Took 10mg for about a week then 20mg for a few days. Stopped taking the cymbalta and was doing okay for a bit, but things didn't seem to get better and maybe have been getting worse. 

-8/25/2021 - 20mg cymbalta and struggling. Stopped the prozac. I'm struggling, but I can probably ride this out if I had to. My concern is that things will continue to get worse, as they seem to be doing. 

-8/29/2021 - things started to get worse. Probably prozac withdrawal. Reinstated 20mg prozac. 

-9/2/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 7.5 mg mirtazapine --> 9/24/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 11/7/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 4/24/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac   --> 6/5/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.33mg prozac

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thenextguy

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Day 5 of 20mg cymbalta/duloxetine reinstatement; Day 3 of 0mg prozac/paroxetine

 

Not much new today. Been taking it easy today so symptoms haven’t flared. Mostly dealing with  the shoulder and the collarbone pain. No depression. A new symptom today is an itchy feeling on my side. Almost like I have a rash there.

 

 Still doing well though! Things continue to appear to be heading in the right direction.

-Since 2017-ish I've been on Cymbalta & Mirtazapine. At max dose it was 120mg cymbalta and 45mg mirtazapine. This combo was meant to deal with a depressive episode and it worked. Over the next few years I tapered down from those high doses. I had tried to get off the cymbalta twice and had to reinstate twice. I don't remember when. Maybe 2018? 2019? 

-Since 2020 I've been stable 20mg cymbalta and 7.5mg mirtazapine (this is mainly for sleep now). I have come off of the mirtazapine before without trouble, but still take it occasionally for sleep. 

-August 2nd began taking 10mg prozac as a bridge to attempt to get off cymbalta. Took 10mg for about a week then 20mg for a few days. Stopped taking the cymbalta and was doing okay for a bit, but things didn't seem to get better and maybe have been getting worse. 

-8/25/2021 - 20mg cymbalta and struggling. Stopped the prozac. I'm struggling, but I can probably ride this out if I had to. My concern is that things will continue to get worse, as they seem to be doing. 

-8/29/2021 - things started to get worse. Probably prozac withdrawal. Reinstated 20mg prozac. 

-9/2/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 7.5 mg mirtazapine --> 9/24/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 11/7/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 4/24/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac   --> 6/5/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.33mg prozac

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thenextguy

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Day 6 of 20mg cymbalta/duloxetine reinstatement; Day 4 of 0mg prozac/fluoxetine

 

Today was a rough day. I drove home 4 hours from visiting the family. Along the way I started to get hungry. Since I knew I would be home soon, I decided to try and wait it out and eat when I got home. Well, that didn't work out so well. I started feeling really anxious and my heart rate became elevated. I almost felt like I was about to have a panic attack. I pulled over and got something eat. I started to feel better after that, but the damage was done. One thing I learned is that hunger is stress. Now normally it's something we can all deal with, but when you nervous system is screwed up it doesn't handle stress properly. So I think that's what happened. I also got in my head and probably probably added to the anxiety. I'm home now and feeling better.

 

But I was thinking that since it's day 4 off of prozac I wonder if I might start feeling withdrawals from that. I was only on it a few of weeks, but I have no idea if that will cause withdrawals as it leaves my body. If I do start to feel worse this week, I'm wondering if I should reinstate 10mg of prozac until I stabilize. It's generally not a good idea to take two SSRI/SNRIs at the same time, but I think at such low doses the risk of serotonin syndrome are virtually nill. I used to take 120mg of cymbalta and 45mg of mirtazapine a few years ago. So I'm not too concerned about 20mg of cymbalta and 10mg of prozac. My concern is that with my nervous system in such a fragile state, withdrawals from prozac could further destabilize things. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I don't think prozac withdrawal is what happened today. I'm just trying to be prepared.  Do you have any thoughts on that, Go2zero? 

 

 

-Since 2017-ish I've been on Cymbalta & Mirtazapine. At max dose it was 120mg cymbalta and 45mg mirtazapine. This combo was meant to deal with a depressive episode and it worked. Over the next few years I tapered down from those high doses. I had tried to get off the cymbalta twice and had to reinstate twice. I don't remember when. Maybe 2018? 2019? 

-Since 2020 I've been stable 20mg cymbalta and 7.5mg mirtazapine (this is mainly for sleep now). I have come off of the mirtazapine before without trouble, but still take it occasionally for sleep. 

-August 2nd began taking 10mg prozac as a bridge to attempt to get off cymbalta. Took 10mg for about a week then 20mg for a few days. Stopped taking the cymbalta and was doing okay for a bit, but things didn't seem to get better and maybe have been getting worse. 

-8/25/2021 - 20mg cymbalta and struggling. Stopped the prozac. I'm struggling, but I can probably ride this out if I had to. My concern is that things will continue to get worse, as they seem to be doing. 

-8/29/2021 - things started to get worse. Probably prozac withdrawal. Reinstated 20mg prozac. 

-9/2/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 7.5 mg mirtazapine --> 9/24/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 11/7/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 4/24/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac   --> 6/5/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.33mg prozac

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thenextguy

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On 8/27/2021 at 3:26 AM, Go2zero said:

Great news! If you feel OK with the 20mg that's fine. You feel what you feel. And it is important that you feel confident with it. It is no exact science ;)

 

Understand that fallbacks may occur. That would be completely normal. So don't let yourself discourage when that would happen. You are doing very good!

 

Ugh...something is very wrong today. I thought I was just experiencing a wave earlier today, but these are all new symptoms and they haven't stopped. Since this afternoon, my heart has been racing and I'm feeling very anxious. Almost close to panic. Feeling very warm/flush, but don't have a temperature. My resting heart rate is getting up to 120bpm. I also don't have an appetite, although that's not a new symptom. But everything else is. 

 

It's been 4 days off of the prozac. This seems like it could be withdrawals from that. I'm considering reinstating that. I know it's not a good idea to take to SSRI/SNRI at once, but these are low doses. I'm not too worried about serotonin syndrome. I had been feeling much better lately until today. Withdrawal from prozac seems like the only explanation. 

-Since 2017-ish I've been on Cymbalta & Mirtazapine. At max dose it was 120mg cymbalta and 45mg mirtazapine. This combo was meant to deal with a depressive episode and it worked. Over the next few years I tapered down from those high doses. I had tried to get off the cymbalta twice and had to reinstate twice. I don't remember when. Maybe 2018? 2019? 

-Since 2020 I've been stable 20mg cymbalta and 7.5mg mirtazapine (this is mainly for sleep now). I have come off of the mirtazapine before without trouble, but still take it occasionally for sleep. 

-August 2nd began taking 10mg prozac as a bridge to attempt to get off cymbalta. Took 10mg for about a week then 20mg for a few days. Stopped taking the cymbalta and was doing okay for a bit, but things didn't seem to get better and maybe have been getting worse. 

-8/25/2021 - 20mg cymbalta and struggling. Stopped the prozac. I'm struggling, but I can probably ride this out if I had to. My concern is that things will continue to get worse, as they seem to be doing. 

-8/29/2021 - things started to get worse. Probably prozac withdrawal. Reinstated 20mg prozac. 

-9/2/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 7.5 mg mirtazapine --> 9/24/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 11/7/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 4/24/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac   --> 6/5/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.33mg prozac

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Go2zero Contributor

Go2zero

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9 hours ago, thenextguy said:

Now normally it's something we can all deal with, but when you nervous system is screwed up it doesn't handle stress properly. So I think that's what happened. I also got in my head and probably probably added to the anxiety. I'm home now and feeling better.

These things happen often when we have stress. If we go to our head and start ruminating we may make things worse....

 

Not saying that it easy, but try to accept what is there in the moment. And know that this will go away. Also this is part of withdrawal.

 

 

6 hours ago, thenextguy said:

Since this afternoon, my heart has been racing and I'm feeling very anxious. Almost close to panic. Feeling very warm/flush, but don't have a temperature. My resting heart rate is getting up to 120bpm. I also don't have an appetite, although that's not a new symptom. But everything else is. 

These are all common wd symptoms. Even things like high blood pressure and heart palpitations are known as a wd symptom.They come and go with the waves and windows.... 

 

6 hours ago, thenextguy said:

t's been 4 days off of the prozac. This seems like it could be withdrawals from that. I'm considering reinstating that. I know it's not a good idea to take to SSRI/SNRI at once, but these are low doses. I'm not too worried about serotonin syndrome. I had been feeling much better lately until today. Withdrawal from prozac seems like the only explanation. 

As I said before, it is not exact science.... We all react differently. It may be WD from prozac. You could reinstate, but the longer you are on prozac the more chance of getting real WD from it when you stop. If you would reinstate, I would take not more than 3-5 mg and see if the WD symptoms get less. If so, it is probably the Prozac. But also then, I would taper the Prozac asap to zero. So that I would not be on Prozac longer than absolutely necessary. Otherwise you have to withdraw from it maybe for a longer period....

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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thenextguy Contributor

thenextguy

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Day 6 Reinstated Prozac 20mg

 

Day 6 of 20mg cymbalta/duloxetine reinstatement; Day 1 of 20mg prozac/fluoxetine reinstatement

Day 7 of 20mg cymbalta/duloxetine reinstatement; Day 2 of 20mg prozac/fluoxetine reinstatement

 

16 hours ago, Go2zero said:

As I said before, it is not exact science.... We all react differently. It may be WD from prozac. You could reinstate, but the longer you are on prozac the more chance of getting real WD from it when you stop. If you would reinstate, I would take not more than 3-5 mg and see if the WD symptoms get less. If so, it is probably the Prozac. But also then, I would taper the Prozac asap to zero. So that I would not be on Prozac longer than absolutely necessary. Otherwise you have to withdraw from it maybe for a longer period....

 

I do believe it was the prozac withdrawal. I was kind of terrified that the withdrawals would continue to get worse, so I reinstated prozac at 20mg. In retrospect, that may have been too much, but more on that in a minutre.

 

My biggest concern is that I will become disabled and not able to work. If I have to do a lengthy taper process in the future, that would certainly suck, but I would deal with it. I can deal with the uncomfortableness as long as I can mostly function and go to work. So that's the lens through which I'm approaching this.

 

So like I said, I reinstated 20mg prozac yesterday and today. That may have been too much, but it definitely stopped the weird little mini panic attacks I was having on Sunday. I went to the office today. It wasn't pleasant, but I was able to do it. But now I'm wondering what to do going forward. Do I stay at 20mg? If I had to do it over, I would have tried 10mg for a few days and see how that went first. But now that I've had 2 days at 20mg, is it dangerous to try 10mg now? I feel like I shouldn't be fluctuating on doses so much.

 

Oh, and I went to cut open my 10mg prozac capsules tonight thinking I could maybe do 15mg instead of 20mg. Well, there's powder inside. I was prepared to count some beads, but now I'm not sure what to do. I'm not even sure if 15mg is a good idea. Maybe I should just stick with 20mg until I feel I have stabilized a bit and then start tapering. I feel extremely sensitive right now and any sort of withdrawals are magnified! I feel like I need to aim for stability now, even if it's a dose that will require a prolonged taper down the road. I dunno. I realize it's not an exact science. As I said, my main goal is to be able to function as a human. Even if that means tapering down the road. 

 

I know it's not a good idea to be on these two meds at the same time, but I'm so scared of becoming disabled due to withdrawals.

-Since 2017-ish I've been on Cymbalta & Mirtazapine. At max dose it was 120mg cymbalta and 45mg mirtazapine. This combo was meant to deal with a depressive episode and it worked. Over the next few years I tapered down from those high doses. I had tried to get off the cymbalta twice and had to reinstate twice. I don't remember when. Maybe 2018? 2019? 

-Since 2020 I've been stable 20mg cymbalta and 7.5mg mirtazapine (this is mainly for sleep now). I have come off of the mirtazapine before without trouble, but still take it occasionally for sleep. 

-August 2nd began taking 10mg prozac as a bridge to attempt to get off cymbalta. Took 10mg for about a week then 20mg for a few days. Stopped taking the cymbalta and was doing okay for a bit, but things didn't seem to get better and maybe have been getting worse. 

-8/25/2021 - 20mg cymbalta and struggling. Stopped the prozac. I'm struggling, but I can probably ride this out if I had to. My concern is that things will continue to get worse, as they seem to be doing. 

-8/29/2021 - things started to get worse. Probably prozac withdrawal. Reinstated 20mg prozac. 

-9/2/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 7.5 mg mirtazapine --> 9/24/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 11/7/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 4/24/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac   --> 6/5/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.33mg prozac

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Nanda Newbie

Nanda

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Hello, how are you? 
 

I also tried bridging 30mg of duloxetine to 20mg of Prozac.  On the third day when I lowered the dose of duloxetine to 20mg I already felt very bad.  on the fifth day he is having acute attacks of anxiety, panic and akathisia.  My doctor told me to persevere, but I couldn't stand it, on the seventh day for Prozac and I went back to 30mg of duloxetine.  I started the bridge at the end of July and stopped 7 days later, since then until today I have never managed to stabilize.  I'm taking benzo for the anxiety attacks and akathisia and they've improved a lot, I hope to get some stability soon and be able to start benzo withdrawal.  It broke my heart to have to take it, but I needed to function, I have a family, children, work.  I wish you the best of luck and be able to stabilize soon. 
 

my English is terrible, I'm Brazilian and I use the translator.
 

another detail, i didn't reinstate Prozac even though i knew i was having its WD about 4 days after i stopped taking it (as its half life is long we only feel the withdrawal effects after 4 or 5 days without it) .  I increased the dose of duloxetine to 40mg about 10 days ago and felt some improvement from it.

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thenextguy Contributor

thenextguy

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30 minutes ago, Nanda said:

Hello, how are you? 
 

I also tried bridging 30mg of duloxetine to 20mg of Prozac.  On the third day when I lowered the dose of duloxetine to 20mg I already felt very bad.  on the fifth day he is having acute attacks of anxiety, panic and akathisia.  My doctor told me to persevere, but I couldn't stand it, on the seventh day for Prozac and I went back to 30mg of duloxetine.  I started the bridge at the end of July and stopped 7 days later, since then until today I have never managed to stabilize.  I'm taking benzo for the anxiety attacks and akathisia and they've improved a lot, I hope to get some stability soon and be able to start benzo withdrawal.  It broke my heart to have to take it, but I needed to function, I have a family, children, work.  I wish you the best of luck and be able to stabilize soon. 
 

my English is terrible, I'm Brazilian and I use the translator.
 

another detail, i didn't reinstate Prozac even though i knew i was having its WD about 4 days after i stopped taking it (as its half life is long we only feel the withdrawal effects after 4 or 5 days without it) .  I increased the dose of duloxetine to 40mg about 10 days ago and felt some improvement from it.

 

Hi Nanda,

Thank you for sharing. I hope we both feel better soon. I know I need to get off the prozac soon, but from what I understand going through withdrawals while not stablized is dangerous. So I'm not sure how to approach things.

-Since 2017-ish I've been on Cymbalta & Mirtazapine. At max dose it was 120mg cymbalta and 45mg mirtazapine. This combo was meant to deal with a depressive episode and it worked. Over the next few years I tapered down from those high doses. I had tried to get off the cymbalta twice and had to reinstate twice. I don't remember when. Maybe 2018? 2019? 

-Since 2020 I've been stable 20mg cymbalta and 7.5mg mirtazapine (this is mainly for sleep now). I have come off of the mirtazapine before without trouble, but still take it occasionally for sleep. 

-August 2nd began taking 10mg prozac as a bridge to attempt to get off cymbalta. Took 10mg for about a week then 20mg for a few days. Stopped taking the cymbalta and was doing okay for a bit, but things didn't seem to get better and maybe have been getting worse. 

-8/25/2021 - 20mg cymbalta and struggling. Stopped the prozac. I'm struggling, but I can probably ride this out if I had to. My concern is that things will continue to get worse, as they seem to be doing. 

-8/29/2021 - things started to get worse. Probably prozac withdrawal. Reinstated 20mg prozac. 

-9/2/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 7.5 mg mirtazapine --> 9/24/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 11/7/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 4/24/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac   --> 6/5/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.33mg prozac

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thenextguy Contributor

thenextguy

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Day 8 - 18 mg of cymbalta / 20 mg of prozac

 

I'm scared to taper while not stable, but I think I need to get some of these drugs out of my system. I'm starting 18mg cymbalta today. Since cymbalta has a much shorter half life, I figured it would be quicker to reduce the level.

-Since 2017-ish I've been on Cymbalta & Mirtazapine. At max dose it was 120mg cymbalta and 45mg mirtazapine. This combo was meant to deal with a depressive episode and it worked. Over the next few years I tapered down from those high doses. I had tried to get off the cymbalta twice and had to reinstate twice. I don't remember when. Maybe 2018? 2019? 

-Since 2020 I've been stable 20mg cymbalta and 7.5mg mirtazapine (this is mainly for sleep now). I have come off of the mirtazapine before without trouble, but still take it occasionally for sleep. 

-August 2nd began taking 10mg prozac as a bridge to attempt to get off cymbalta. Took 10mg for about a week then 20mg for a few days. Stopped taking the cymbalta and was doing okay for a bit, but things didn't seem to get better and maybe have been getting worse. 

-8/25/2021 - 20mg cymbalta and struggling. Stopped the prozac. I'm struggling, but I can probably ride this out if I had to. My concern is that things will continue to get worse, as they seem to be doing. 

-8/29/2021 - things started to get worse. Probably prozac withdrawal. Reinstated 20mg prozac. 

-9/2/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 7.5 mg mirtazapine --> 9/24/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 11/7/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 4/24/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac   --> 6/5/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.33mg prozac

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thenextguy Contributor

thenextguy

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On 8/30/2021 at 2:01 AM, Go2zero said:

These things happen often when we have stress. If we go to our head and start ruminating we may make things worse....

 

Not saying that it easy, but try to accept what is there in the moment. And know that this will go away. Also this is part of withdrawal.

 

 

These are all common wd symptoms. Even things like high blood pressure and heart palpitations are known as a wd symptom.They come and go with the waves and windows.... 

 

As I said before, it is not exact science.... We all react differently. It may be WD from prozac. You could reinstate, but the longer you are on prozac the more chance of getting real WD from it when you stop. If you would reinstate, I would take not more than 3-5 mg and see if the WD symptoms get less. If so, it is probably the Prozac. But also then, I would taper the Prozac asap to zero. So that I would not be on Prozac longer than absolutely necessary. Otherwise you have to withdraw from it maybe for a longer period....

 

Hey Go2zero, one thing that I didn't consider is something Nada mentioned. I know the idea is to get off antidepressants, but I'm considering stopping the prozac again and when withdrawals present trying to stabilize with 30 or 40mg of cymbalta. At least then it would only be one drug I'm taking.

-Since 2017-ish I've been on Cymbalta & Mirtazapine. At max dose it was 120mg cymbalta and 45mg mirtazapine. This combo was meant to deal with a depressive episode and it worked. Over the next few years I tapered down from those high doses. I had tried to get off the cymbalta twice and had to reinstate twice. I don't remember when. Maybe 2018? 2019? 

-Since 2020 I've been stable 20mg cymbalta and 7.5mg mirtazapine (this is mainly for sleep now). I have come off of the mirtazapine before without trouble, but still take it occasionally for sleep. 

-August 2nd began taking 10mg prozac as a bridge to attempt to get off cymbalta. Took 10mg for about a week then 20mg for a few days. Stopped taking the cymbalta and was doing okay for a bit, but things didn't seem to get better and maybe have been getting worse. 

-8/25/2021 - 20mg cymbalta and struggling. Stopped the prozac. I'm struggling, but I can probably ride this out if I had to. My concern is that things will continue to get worse, as they seem to be doing. 

-8/29/2021 - things started to get worse. Probably prozac withdrawal. Reinstated 20mg prozac. 

-9/2/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 7.5 mg mirtazapine --> 9/24/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 11/7/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 4/24/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac   --> 6/5/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.33mg prozac

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Go2zero Contributor

Go2zero

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15 hours ago, thenextguy said:

I feel like I shouldn't be fluctuating on doses so much.

 

To be honest, is was not clever to reinstate Prozac on a full dose! You may be making things just worse by stopping, bridging, stopping, reinstating, etc... This is asking for trouble. 

 

There is not something like an easy fix. And most trials of easy fixing make things worse and longer lasting. 

 

By reinstating Prozac it will only take longer to withdrawal from it. It needs up to 75-90 days to washout from your system. You were only for a short while on Prozac. Yes it may give withdrawal. But staying on it longer, will only make it more difficult to get off it....

 

 

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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thenextguy Contributor

thenextguy

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I may be asking for trouble, but I was in pretty bad shape on Sunday. I don't know if I could have gone to work on Monday.

 

What's troubling about Prozac is that it has such a long half life. So now even if I stay at this level, I'm going to be adding more to my system every day. I'm not a steady state yet. I don't know how by body will react to that.

-Since 2017-ish I've been on Cymbalta & Mirtazapine. At max dose it was 120mg cymbalta and 45mg mirtazapine. This combo was meant to deal with a depressive episode and it worked. Over the next few years I tapered down from those high doses. I had tried to get off the cymbalta twice and had to reinstate twice. I don't remember when. Maybe 2018? 2019? 

-Since 2020 I've been stable 20mg cymbalta and 7.5mg mirtazapine (this is mainly for sleep now). I have come off of the mirtazapine before without trouble, but still take it occasionally for sleep. 

-August 2nd began taking 10mg prozac as a bridge to attempt to get off cymbalta. Took 10mg for about a week then 20mg for a few days. Stopped taking the cymbalta and was doing okay for a bit, but things didn't seem to get better and maybe have been getting worse. 

-8/25/2021 - 20mg cymbalta and struggling. Stopped the prozac. I'm struggling, but I can probably ride this out if I had to. My concern is that things will continue to get worse, as they seem to be doing. 

-8/29/2021 - things started to get worse. Probably prozac withdrawal. Reinstated 20mg prozac. 

-9/2/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 7.5 mg mirtazapine --> 9/24/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 11/7/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 4/24/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac   --> 6/5/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.33mg prozac

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Nanda Newbie

Nanda

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Honey, don't keep making changes to your medications.  I speak from experience.  Reintegrating 20mg of Prozac is too much, in its place, I would no longer take Prozac, I would take the dose of duloxetine until it stabilized.  unfortunately, there is no magic solution that we can do and get back to stability, I would love it that way.  I'm also struggling a lot to work, to take care of the family, the children, I'm lucky to have my mother and aunts helping me.  Take it easy and try not to make changes to your medications, it will slow down the healing process even further.  I am praying for you!  It's gonna be okay!

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thenextguy Contributor

thenextguy

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4 minutes ago, Nanda said:

Honey, don't keep making changes to your medications.  I speak from experience.  Reintegrating 20mg of Prozac is too much, in its place, I would no longer take Prozac, I would take the dose of duloxetine until it stabilized.  unfortunately, there is no magic solution that we can do and get back to stability, I would love it that way.  I'm also struggling a lot to work, to take care of the family, the children, I'm lucky to have my mother and aunts helping me.  Take it easy and try not to make changes to your medications, it will slow down the healing process even further.  I am praying for you!  It's gonna be okay!

 

Well, if last Sunday is anything like what Prozac withdrawal will be like, I don't know if I would be able to work. So I don't know what to do.

-Since 2017-ish I've been on Cymbalta & Mirtazapine. At max dose it was 120mg cymbalta and 45mg mirtazapine. This combo was meant to deal with a depressive episode and it worked. Over the next few years I tapered down from those high doses. I had tried to get off the cymbalta twice and had to reinstate twice. I don't remember when. Maybe 2018? 2019? 

-Since 2020 I've been stable 20mg cymbalta and 7.5mg mirtazapine (this is mainly for sleep now). I have come off of the mirtazapine before without trouble, but still take it occasionally for sleep. 

-August 2nd began taking 10mg prozac as a bridge to attempt to get off cymbalta. Took 10mg for about a week then 20mg for a few days. Stopped taking the cymbalta and was doing okay for a bit, but things didn't seem to get better and maybe have been getting worse. 

-8/25/2021 - 20mg cymbalta and struggling. Stopped the prozac. I'm struggling, but I can probably ride this out if I had to. My concern is that things will continue to get worse, as they seem to be doing. 

-8/29/2021 - things started to get worse. Probably prozac withdrawal. Reinstated 20mg prozac. 

-9/2/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 7.5 mg mirtazapine --> 9/24/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 5mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 11/7/2021 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac, 3.75 mg mirtazapine --> 4/24/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.75mg prozac   --> 6/5/2022 - 20mg cymbalta, 3.33mg prozac

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Go2zero Contributor

Go2zero

Posted
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Posted
8 hours ago, thenextguy said:

Hey Go2zero, one thing that I didn't consider is something Nada mentioned. I know the idea is to get off antidepressants, but I'm considering stopping the prozac again and when withdrawals present trying to stabilize with 30 or 40mg of cymbalta. At least then it would only be one drug I'm taking.

 

It is not good to keep changing meds and dosages. Stabilizing means hold! If I were you I would stay on 20mg Cymbalta and let the Prozac wash out. Forcing things because you need to go to work or for whatever reason will most probably make withdrawal worse!

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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