Turkey: Question about Prozac taper

[ChessieCat]

I'm feeling okay and felt reasonable throughout the majority of my taper.  The issues I had were right at the start which is when I found SA and it took a little bit of time to stabilise after I updosed.  The delayed reaction I had was after a cold turkey.  I tapered the Pristiq following SA's tapering protocol.

 

The idea of tapering so that the brain adapts to not getting as much of the drug.  If we take the drug away took quickly we can get bad withdrawal symptoms because the brain automatically tries to regain homeostasis, sort things out about how to work without the drug.  Tapering is "sneaking" the drug away.  We might still get some withdrawal symptoms, but they are generally mild and resolve fairly quickly after a reduction.

 

It is important not to taper if you are experiencing withdrawal symptoms and it is a good idea to hold on a dose if you are sick, experiencing added stress, or even if you are going on a holiday (which can be a "good" stress).

[Turkey]

I know that the reason we taper slowly is in order to avoid and/or minimize withdrawal symptoms.  But it seems like there are a lot of people who experience protracted withdrawal and difficult symptoms even after jumping from a long taper.  Why is that?  Is there any way to avoid that?  And, if you do experience difficult withdrawal symptoms even while doing a slow taper, does that mean you will probably have a difficult and protracted withdrawal?  I am still in benzo withdrawal (10 months off) and experiencing bad symptoms, but I am really worried that continuing to take Prozac might be making me even worse or might be keeping me from recovering from benzos.  I decided to do another 5% cut of Prozac (I did my first 10% cut three months ago).  Now I am terrified that I might be making a mistake and it might make me even worse.  Everyone suggested that I wait to continue with a Prozac taper until I go through benzo withdrawal or "stabilise."  But that might take another year, and I am alreaady 71 years old.  Advice, suggestions would be very appreciated.  Should I really react to a 5% cut this early in a Prozac taper?

[Altostrata]

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Did you make a recent reduction in Prozac? If so, how do you feel?

 

If you're asking what will happen -- we don't know, we can't predict the future. Most people do fine with 5% or 10% reductions, some do not.