LetsGoBuffalo: withdrawing from Prozac

[LetsGoBuffalo]

I began this journey like a lot of others. The stress of college got to me and I have one panic attack that evolved into many. It was debilitating to the point where it was hard to leave the house. My mother has dealt with the same thing her whole life so she immediately got me in to see a psychologist and be evaluated. During my first 30 minute appointment i had a prescription for prozac and a bottle of xanax to use as needed. At the time it seemed like a god send and I was just thankful and hopeful to get my life back in order. For the most part, it worked. I was able to function and finish school. Began my career and I was satisfied. I had some side effects like brain fog, low libido, and an overall sense of detachment; kinda like I wasn't authentically me. I assumed this was the cost of doing business and there was no other way around it because I had a genetic chemical imbalance. 

 

About 2019 I stumbled upon a reddit thread where someone got off of SSRI's due to feeling a lot of the same symptoms as me and were successful at it. A few others chimed in saying it was the best decision they ever made. I talked to my doc and said I wanted to try. 

 

I told her I was in no rush and we did it over 3 years. 10mg reduction each year. In hindsight, I think my taper wasn't linear enough. It more resembled a flight of stairs. In August of this year i took my last dose. After a month I felt amazing. Brain fog was gone. My personality was back. I felt more emotion. Everything I read online said the withdrawal symptoms would be done by 4 weeks so I thought I escaped them. Spoiler alert: I was wrong... Month 2 until now has been pure hell. I have a full spectrum of symptoms. Minor symptoms like getting a little ticked off when someone cuts me off in traffic, some balance issues, a bit of nausea randomly, etc.. Then I have the ones that really make daily life miserable, heart palpitations that freak me the heck out and send me into a wave of anxiety, body jolts where if feels like a full body palpation or zap(not sure if this is the technical term and i cant find anything official for what i'm feeling), random short waves of intense anxiety that last a few minutes, and the least fun is those stupid jolts of anxiety where you are about to transition into dream land and your body sends you into a quick tizzy and makes you sit straight up. And my body likes to play this song on repeat for a week or so then it tapers off a little bit and then it comes back stronger. Rinse and repeat.

 

So here I am, part of me is here for the comfort that i'm not the only one that has been awoken to big pharma and the pill dispenser doctors that pass them around. The other half is just lurking around seeing if i can get any insight into when this will end or if i need to reengage with the drug and do a proper taper. Sorry for the long winded intro, and GO Bills! GO Sabres!

[Shep]

Hi, @LetsGoBuffalo.

 

Welcome to Surviving Antidepressants.

 

On 11/8/2022 at 8:38 PM, LetsGoBuffalo said:

Minor symptoms like getting a little ticked off when someone cuts me off in traffic, some balance issues, a bit of nausea randomly, etc.. Then I have the ones that really make daily life miserable, heart palpitations that freak me the heck out and send me into a wave of anxiety, body jolts where if feels like a full body palpation or zap(not sure if this is the technical term and i cant find anything official for what i'm feeling), random short waves of intense anxiety that last a few minutes, and the least fun is those stupid jolts of anxiety where you are about to transition into dream land and your body sends you into a quick tizzy and makes you sit straight up. And my body likes to play this song on repeat for a week or so then it tapers off a little bit and then it comes back stronger. Rinse and repeat.

 

All of this definitely sounds like withdrawal. Please note SSRIs are notorious for a delayed withdrawal phenomenon. As you've experienced, many people don't experience withdrawal until they're several months off the drug. 

 

Here are some threads about these symptoms:

 

Neuro-emotion

 

Irregular heartbeats, palpitations, tachycardia, bradycardia

 

Brain zaps

 

Constant low-level jolts in entire body

 

Withdrawal causing intrusive or repetitive thoughts, rumination, and increased panic?

 

 

On 11/8/2022 at 8:38 PM, LetsGoBuffalo said:

The other half is just lurking around seeing if i can get any insight into when this will end or if i need to reengage with the drug and do a proper taper.

 

Yes, reinstating is a good idea. 

 

Please see:

 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

Tips for tapering off fluoxetine (Prozac)

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

The Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

 

 

How psychiatric drugs remodel your brain 

 

Healing from antidepressants. Patterns of recovery  video (4 minutes)

 

You stopped Prozac at 10 mg about three months ago. You may want to try reinstating just a tiny bit, say 0.5 mg and see how you feel. 

 

Please post your thoughts. Also, please let us know if you're currently using any supplements or on other drugs so we can check for any drug interactions. 

 

Please continue to use this thread to document your taper and to ask questions. 

[LetsGoBuffalo]

2 hours ago, Shep said:

Hi, @LetsGoBuffalo.

 

Welcome to Surviving Antidepressants.

 

 

All of this definitely sounds like withdrawal. Please note SSRIs are notorious for a delayed withdrawal phenomenon. As you've experienced, many people don't experience withdrawal until they're several months off the drug. 

 

Here are some threads about these symptoms:

 

Neuro-emotion

 

Irregular heartbeats, palpitations, tachycardia, bradycardia

 

Brain zaps

 

Constant low-level jolts in entire body

 

Withdrawal causing intrusive or repetitive thoughts, rumination, and increased panic?

 

 

 

Yes, reinstating is a good idea. 

 

Please see:

 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

Tips for tapering off fluoxetine (Prozac)

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

The Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

 

 

How psychiatric drugs remodel your brain 

 

Healing from antidepressants. Patterns of recovery  video (4 minutes)

 

You stopped Prozac at 10 mg about three months ago. You may want to try reinstating just a tiny bit, say 0.5 mg and see how you feel. 

 

Please post your thoughts. Also, please let us know if you're currently using any supplements or on other drugs so we can check for any drug interactions. 

 

Please continue to use this thread to document your taper and to ask questions. 

 Thanks for the reply, Shep!

 

Up until last week, I was on Vitamin D, B complex, and fish oil. After reading around I went to my GP and got a vitamin and mineral test. I’m actually on the higher side of B vitamins and magnesium. Iron, D, and others are normal. With those results I decided to stop the D and B vitamins as I’ve read they can make my withdrawal symptoms worse. 
 

So, at this moment I just have a fish oil capsule with breakfast. Nothing else. 

[Shep]

1 hour ago, LetsGoBuffalo said:

Up until last week, I was on Vitamin D, B complex, and fish oil. After reading around I went to my GP and got a vitamin and mineral test. I’m actually on the higher side of B vitamins and magnesium. Iron, D, and others are normal. With those results I decided to stop the D and B vitamins as I’ve read they can make my withdrawal symptoms worse. 

 

Did you feel any differently after stopping these vitamins? Or are things pretty much the same? 

 

4 hours ago, Shep said:

You stopped Prozac at 10 mg about three months ago. You may want to try reinstating just a tiny bit, say 0.5 mg and see how you feel. 

 

After you feel you've stabilized from removing the vitamins you no longer need, do you think you might wish to try a reinstatement? 

 

After you have a chance to read over the links, please let us know if you have any questions. 

[LetsGoBuffalo]

3 hours ago, Shep said:

 

Did you feel any differently after stopping these vitamins? Or are things pretty much the same? 

 

 

After you feel you've stabilized from removing the vitamins you no longer need, do you think you might wish to try a reinstatement? 

 

After you have a chance to read over the links, please let us know if you have any questions. 

TBH, I’m not 100% sure, but I believe cutting out those other vitamins have helped. 
 

I thought about reinstating, but I’m struggling with whether that’s a good decision for me or not. I feel there are thousands of variables that determine how someone reacts with getting off these antidepressants (age, sex, length of AD use, other drugs being used, current life circumstances, etc.). I’ve read online people getting over withdrawal symptoms after a few months and some that take a few years. 

I’m 3 months in. If I’ve peaked or about to peak, I want to see it through and “tough it out”. If I’m only about 1/3 of the way before I peak, then HELL NO. I would reverse course and do a micro taper. Is there an algorithm to determine about how long withdrawals will last? I will say that going from 30 —> 20 and from 20 —> 10 gave me minor symptoms and they only lasted a few months.  

 

 

 

[Shep]

11 hours ago, LetsGoBuffalo said:

I feel there are thousands of variables that determine how someone reacts with getting off these antidepressants (age, sex, length of AD use, other drugs being used, current life circumstances, etc.). I’ve read online people getting over withdrawal symptoms after a few months and some that take a few years. 

 

There really is no rhyme or reason. Yes, folks who have other medical problems generally have a harder time, but there are young, healthy people who crash from these drugs and struggle for a long time. 

 

All we currently know is that a tiny reinstatement is the best protection for toning down withdrawal symptoms. You take a small amount (such as 0.5 mg) and give it a week or so to see how you feel. If it doesn't help, you stop it. If it doesn't cause any reaction at all, you might want to bump the dose up, but only a tiny bit. 

 

11 hours ago, LetsGoBuffalo said:

Is there an algorithm to determine about how long withdrawals will last? I will say that going from 30 —> 20 and from 20 —> 10 gave me minor symptoms and they only lasted a few months.  

 

 

We don't know. One thing to consider is the collateral damage. This is the damage that comes from loss of employment, relationships, etc. if you go into PAWS (protracted withdrawal syndrome). Losing an income can mean losing the ability to eat healthy or even have a roof over your head. Not everyone who is suffering years out is suffering only from the effects of the drugs. The collateral damage is real and can be brutal. 

 

Anyways, you have the information you need to make an informed decision.

 

Please let us know if you have any questions. 

 

[LetsGoBuffalo]

Question for the group. How can I tell if I have relapsing symptoms of panic/anxiety or if they are just withdrawal symptoms? My anxiety has returned to the exact same levels as pre-medication and i’m not able to decipher if it’s withdrawal or relapse. I had some panic and anxiety while on Prozac, but it WAS NOT like this and it feels exactly the same as that month before initially starting prozac.

[Toast]

Hi @LetsGoBuffalo

 

Your experience sounds similar to mine. I had no problems reducing from 30 mg to 20 mg or from 20 mg to 10 mg, but when I tried to come off 10 mg prozac, I had a terrible time. The reason is the dose response curve of Prozac (or any drug) is not linear, and the effect of stepping from 20 to 10 mg is like an 80 to 70% SERT occupation drop, but 10 to 0 is like falling off a cliff. I don’t know what your experience will be or whether you should reinstate- this is something you’ll have to decide - but if you do reinstate you don’t need to reinstate at 10 mg, you can reinstate at a lower dose like 2 mg. You may have to buy a scale and manually measure the dose. 

 

Hoping for the best for you.

[LetsGoBuffalo]

5 hours ago, Toast said:

Hi @LetsGoBuffalo

 

Your experience sounds similar to mine. I had no problems reducing from 30 mg to 20 mg or from 20 mg to 10 mg, but when I tried to come off 10 mg prozac, I had a terrible time. The reason is the dose response curve of Prozac (or any drug) is not linear, and the effect of stepping from 20 to 10 mg is like an 80 to 70% SERT occupation drop, but 10 to 0 is like falling off a cliff. I don’t know what your experience will be or whether you should reinstate- this is something you’ll have to decide - but if you do reinstate you don’t need to reinstate at 10 mg, you can reinstate at a lower dose like 2 mg. You may have to buy a scale and manually measure the dose. 

 

Hoping for the best for you.

 
Thanks toast! That’s useful information. The symptoms have gotten to the point of being unbearable so my doc gave me a script for liquid Prozac to reinstate a micro dose. Will my body accept that the same as busting open a capsule and weighing out the powder?

[Shep]

6 hours ago, LetsGoBuffalo said:

 
Thanks toast! That’s useful information. The symptoms have gotten to the point of being unbearable so my doc gave me a script for liquid Prozac to reinstate a micro dose. Will my body accept that the same as busting open a capsule and weighing out the powder?

 

We usually recommend switching from tablet to liquid gradually, but with a tiny dose, that may not be possible. But it is the same drug, whether liquid or tablet, and a tiny amount may help settle down some of the withdrawal symptoms. 

Since it's been a few months since you last took Prozac, you may want to try a tiny dose of 0.5 mg and see how you do. You can always increase. 

[LetsGoBuffalo]

Ended up taking the liquid prozac on sunday. Took 2mg (0.5ml) since that was the smallest my syringes could measure to. I noticed a slight improvement yesterday within 30 minutes of taking it. Same with today, very slight improvement. Will stay on this dose for about 10 days and then re-evaluate. 

[Shep]

@LetsGoBuffalo How are you taking your liquid prozac? Is it a prescribed concentrated liquid that you add to water? If so, how much water are you using? 

 

To be able to get smaller doses, you can increase the water you add your concentrated liquid Prozac to or you can get a syringe that measures smaller increments. 

 

This is about making homemade liquid formulas, but you may find the information helpful:

How to make a liquid from tablets or capsules

 

Information on syringes: 

 

Using an oral syringe and other tapering techniques

[LetsGoBuffalo]

2 hours ago, Shep said:

@LetsGoBuffalo How are you taking your liquid prozac? Is it a prescribed concentrated liquid that you add to water? If so, how much water are you using? 

 

To be able to get smaller doses, you can increase the water you add your concentrated liquid Prozac to or you can get a syringe that measures smaller increments. 

 

This is about making homemade liquid formulas, but you may find the information helpful:

How to make a liquid from tablets or capsules

 

Information on syringes: 

 

Using an oral syringe and other tapering techniques

 

Hey Shep,

 

They gave me the 5ml/20mg liquid prozac. I didn't feel comfortable playing chemist and possibly messing up a dosage so I just used what I had at that time. It seems to be working and all of my withdrawal symptoms are improving daily.

 

I did order some good syringes for micro dosing when the time comes in a few months to begin a proper taper from 2mg. 

 

Thanks to you and this site for the wealth of knowledge. Had I not known any better, I would have assumed I was "relapsing" and reinstated at 10mg this weekend. 

[Shep]

Wonderful to read, @LetsGoBuffalo I hope things continue to improve. 

[LetsGoBuffalo]

On 12/1/2022 at 7:22 AM, Shep said:

Wonderful to read, @LetsGoBuffalo I hope things continue to improve. 

 
hey Shep! Question for you… since reinstating my symptoms have improved quite a bit. What is the threshold for reinstatement? Should I be looking for complete reversal of symptoms? Or to just feel well enough to function? Im undecided if I should go up another .5-1mg and see if that makes everything go away. 

[Shep]

22 hours ago, LetsGoBuffalo said:

 
hey Shep! Question for you… since reinstating my symptoms have improved quite a bit. What is the threshold for reinstatement? Should I be looking for complete reversal of symptoms? Or to just feel well enough to function? Im undecided if I should go up another .5-1mg and see if that makes everything go away. 

 

Since you only reinstated 17 days ago, I would continue to hold and enjoy the healing you're experiencing. As noted in the "tips for tapering off fluoxetine (Prozac)" thread:

 

On 7/2/2011 at 2:11 PM, Altostrata said:

Prozac has the longest half-life of any SSRI. After you take it for a few days, half-life is about 16 days. Fluoxetine itself has a half-life of 2-4 days, but as it is processed, your body creates an active antidepressant metabolite, norfluoxetine, which has a half-life of 7-15 days. So Prozac keeps on extending its half-life as it is metabolized.

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluoxetine , fluoxetine and norfluoxetine inhibit each other's metabolism, extending the half-life of the drug. Because the half-lives are so long, the full effect of Prozac on the brain may not be felt for several weeks.

fluoxetine (1-6 days) ---> norfluoxetine (up to 16 days) ---> other metabolites

 

I would hold a couple more weeks and then reassess how you're doing. You may not need to increase, which would be great - that will make your taper shorter.

 

Please post your thoughts. 

 

 

[LetsGoBuffalo]

33 minutes ago, Shep said:

 

Since you only reinstated 17 days ago, I would continue to hold and enjoy the healing you're experiencing. As noted in the "tips for tapering off fluoxetine (Prozac)" thread:

 

 

I would hold a couple more weeks and then reassess how you're doing. You may not need to increase, which would be great - that will make your taper shorter.

 

Please post your thoughts. 

 

 

 
Sounds good. If I’m rating things on a scale of 1-10.

 

Pre-cold turkey (10mg): 10

3 months post-cold turkey: 2.5

Now: 6

 

i hang out at this dose til the new year and see if it improves or gets worse.

[Shep]

@LetsGoBuffalo Sounds like a good plan. Please check in before making any more changes and let us know how you're doing. 

[LetsGoBuffalo]

So I’m one month in for my reinstatement. The reinstatement was definitely the correct move, but so far hasn’t seemed “enough” to get me back to normal. Still dealing with a lot of anxiety and random cortisol spikes. Also, trouble falling asleep most nights. The second I’m about to drift off into sleep, my body jolts me awake and that cycle goes on for hours. No idea what that symptom is called, but it’s super frustrating.

 

I know Prozac takes a long time to reach its full effect so I’m not sure if I should up my dose or roll with it for a few more weeks and see if thing improve anymore. 

[Shep]

1 hour ago, LetsGoBuffalo said:

I know Prozac takes a long time to reach its full effect so I’m not sure if I should up my dose or roll with it for a few more weeks and see if thing improve anymore. 

 

That's great you're getting some benefit from the Prozac reinstatement, but you're right to be cautious about upping it too fast. 

 

A lot of members struggle with upticks in symptoms over the holidays - increased stress from relatives, financial pressures, eating sweets, staying up later because of having days off from work, etc. If any of this is something you also struggled with, you may want to hold for a week or so and see if some of this resolves on its own. The fact that you're already seeing improvements during a rather difficult time of the year for many people (and even good stress can still be stressful!), perhaps giving the reinstatement at the 2 mg dose a bit longer may be best. 

 

Please post your thoughts. 

[LetsGoBuffalo]

Thanks Shep!

 

Whats the general consensus for panic/anxiety during withdrawals? I know generally speaking (for a non-withdrawing brain) it’s best practice to push yourself and expose your amygdala to as many panic inducing situations as possible to desensitize yourself. Is the brain able to be reshaped from conquering a panic attack or anxiety? Or does it make things worse? I don’t want to start avoiding things, but if it drags this process out or makes things worse than I have no choice. 

[Shep]

23 hours ago, LetsGoBuffalo said:

Thanks Shep!

 

Whats the general consensus for panic/anxiety during withdrawals? I know generally speaking (for a non-withdrawing brain) it’s best practice to push yourself and expose your amygdala to as many panic inducing situations as possible to desensitize yourself. Is the brain able to be reshaped from conquering a panic attack or anxiety? Or does it make things worse? I don’t want to start avoiding things, but if it drags this process out or makes things worse than I have no choice. 

 

That's a good question. I would start out doing small activities or errands and scheduling downtime so you can rest up. I wouldn't go out of your way to expose your amygdala to panic inducing situations that aren't necessary. Now is not the time to take up sky diving, for instance.

 

If you work, than doing your job every day and getting groceries and taking walks may be enough. If you're not working but want to explore getting out of the house, you could sign up for volunteer work for a few hours a week. Something small and gentle until you see where you're at. 

 

You may find that journaling helps you sort out where you're at in your journey.

 

Journaling / Therapeutic Writing

 

Don't forget to note the things your grateful for in your journey and things that help you cope. All of these can be helpful as you see your progress along the way. 

 

While you're doing this, it's important to keep up the non-drug coping skills. You may find helpful advice from Dr. Claire Weeks:

 

Pass Through Panic: Freeing Yourself from Anxiety and Fear AudioBook Pt video (58 minutes)

 

Dr. Claire Weekes has a number of videos which you can find on YouTube that deal with panic and anxiety and non-drug ways of coping. 

 

Dr. Jon Kabbat-Zinn is another one to check out on YouTube for some great talks and ideas for coping with anxiety. 

 

As you bring in these non-drug coping skills, you'll find your still-traumatized nervous system is able to tolerate more and more. You may also find your anxiety turns into excitement, as this video shows: 

 

How to Turn Anxiety Into Excitement video (3 minutes)

 

 

[Addax]

Hi @LetsGoBuffalo.

I am also tapering from fluoxetine. As you well know, this last bit of the taper is tricky for sure, but i was glad to read the you experienced a bit of relief with the small reinstatement… you’ve endured symptoms for quite awhile and I hope the benefits of the reinstatement continue to increase
 

I was curious about something you wrote: 

On 12/31/2022 at 12:33 PM, LetsGoBuffalo said:

I know generally speaking (for a non-withdrawing brain) it’s best practice to push yourself and expose your amygdala to as many panic inducing situations as possible to desensitize yourself.

Where did you hear this? Or read it?  

 

Because the triggers for anxiety and panic and this intensity and duration are less, say, predictable (if known at all), this is probably a time to focus on soothing yourself and providing you some relief from symptoms rather than focus on increasing your tolerance to panic provoking situations, which doesn’t sound like a good idea for anyone.  Whether it’s journaling, mindfulness exercises, guided meditation, grounding exercises, light physical activity - doing something that is kind to your nervous system is going to be your best bet.  While the things Shep and I mention are effective when you are feeling anxious or panicked, or even just anticipate those things, with repetition they also essentially work to teach you and your brain how to regulate and self-soothe, something that our bodies and brains seem less efficient at during withdrawal.  

 

 

 

 

 

[LetsGoBuffalo]

1 hour ago, Addax said:

I was curious about something you wrote: 

Where did you hear this? Or read it?  

 

Because the triggers for anxiety and panic and this intensity and duration are less, say, predictable (if known at all), this is probably a time to focus on soothing yourself and providing you some relief from symptoms rather than focus on increasing your tolerance to panic provoking situations, which doesn’t sound like a good idea for anyone.  Whether it’s journaling, mindfulness exercises, guided meditation, grounding exercises, light physical activity - doing something that is kind to your nervous system is going to be your best bet.  While the things Shep and I mention are effective when you are feeling anxious or panicked, or even just anticipate those things, with repetition they also essentially work to teach you and your brain how to regulate and self-soothe, something that our bodies and brains seem less efficient at during withdrawal.  

 

 

 

 

 

Good evening Addax!

 

Thanks for stopping by and the words of wisdom. I’m mainly referring to the treatment plans for anxiety by Dr. Claire Weekes and Dr. Harry Barry. The goal being to desensitize a sensitized nervous system through training. The idea is that when you don’t fight the symptoms of panic and anxiety, rather let them flow through you and accept it, you train your system to not to sound the alarm so erratically.
 

My question is, while experiencing withdrawal and reinstatements, would that be a good idea? I assume the guidance by the two aforementioned Dr’s would assume a nervous system that is already in homeostasis. 
 

I don’t want to sit around and wait to feel better, but if I need to wait for my nervous system to level out before re-teaching my body how to respond to panic/anxiety I’m willing to concede to that. 

[khoff4488]

Hey Buffalo and others. I'm also tapering Prozac. I'm down to 1.38mg using homemade liquid. I went from 40 to 20 and that was a piece of cake compared to tiny drops I've been making lately. I'm currently right at 3 months into a hold just giving my busy a chance to chill. Prozac gave me severe dpdr so your detachment stuff really clicked with me. It's slowly improving. I'm more of a baseball fan since they left but go Chargers.

[Shep]

20 hours ago, LetsGoBuffalo said:

I’m mainly referring to the treatment plans for anxiety by Dr. Claire Weekes and Dr. Harry Barry. The goal being to desensitize a sensitized nervous system through training. The idea is that when you don’t fight the symptoms of panic and anxiety, rather let them flow through you and accept it, you train your system to not to sound the alarm so erratically.
 

My question is, while experiencing withdrawal and reinstatements, would that be a good idea? I assume the guidance by the two aforementioned Dr’s would assume a nervous system that is already in homeostasis. 

 

I'm not familiar with Dr. Harry Barry, but I really enjoyed listening to Dr. Claire Weekes talks during withdrawal. By not fighting the symptoms of panic and anxiety but instead, learning to breathe and float through it, you are learning to relax your nervous system. This is helpful for withdrawal. It also keeps you from going down emotional spirals and making yourself panic even more. It's the float-and-breathe way of getting through withdrawal. Very good stuff, LetsGoBuffalo. 

 

20 hours ago, LetsGoBuffalo said:

 

I don’t want to sit around and wait to feel better, but if I need to wait for my nervous system to level out before re-teaching my body how to respond to panic/anxiety I’m willing to concede to that. 

 

Think of your waves as teachers and gurus - those experiences with high levels of anxiety will give you the practice you're seeking. If you can be grateful for your waves for giving you the chance to practice your skills, you'll master handling anxiety and panic. Plus, you won't have as much fear of the waves. 

 

I wouldn't go out looking for high-stress activities, but simply let the waves come and let the waves go. Float and breathe. Float and breathe. 

[LetsGoBuffalo]

58 minutes ago, Shep said:

Think of your waves as teachers and gurus - those experiences with high levels of anxiety will give you the practice you're seeking. If you can be grateful for your waves for giving you the chance to practice your skills, you'll master handling anxiety and panic. Plus, you won't have as much fear of the waves. 

 

I wouldn't go out looking for high-stress activities, but simply let the waves come and let the waves go. Float and breathe. Float and breathe. 

Thanks Shep. I’m in the midst of the worst wave since my reinstatement. I’ve had daily symptoms but the last couple of days have been borderline unbearable. My daily withdrawal symptoms have stuck around, but I’ve just felt really cloudy, depressed, jittery, head pulsating, and constantly being jolted awake at night. Not sure if it’s the Prozac side effects starting to kick in from the reinstatement or a withdrawal wave, but it’s the absolute pits. Hopefully this all passes soon.

[Shep]

20 hours ago, LetsGoBuffalo said:

I’m in the midst of the worst wave since my reinstatement. I’ve had daily symptoms but the last couple of days have been borderline unbearable. My daily withdrawal symptoms have stuck around, but I’ve just felt really cloudy, depressed, jittery, head pulsating, and constantly being jolted awake at night. Not sure if it’s the Prozac side effects starting to kick in from the reinstatement or a withdrawal wave, but it’s the absolute pits. Hopefully this all passes soon.

 

What time of day do you take Prozac? How do you feel before you take it? Do you have as many jittery, head pulsating, etc. symptoms before you take it as several hours afterwards? Prozac doesn't reach it's full peak plasma level in your system for 6 - 8 hours, so you may not feel the full affect for a long time after you take it. But if the symptoms are less right before you take your daily dose when it's been 24 hours since you last took it, that can be an indication that you may be getting some side effects and the reinstatement may be too high. 

 

Please post your thoughts. 

[LetsGoBuffalo]

40 minutes ago, Shep said:

 

What time of day do you take Prozac? How do you feel before you take it? Do you have as many jittery, head pulsating, etc. symptoms before you take it as several hours afterwards? Prozac doesn't reach it's full peak plasma level in your system for 6 - 8 hours, so you may not feel the full affect for a long time after you take it. But if the symptoms are less right before you take your daily dose when it's been 24 hours since you last took it, that can be an indication that you may be getting some side effects and the reinstatement may be too high. 

 

Please post your thoughts. 

I take it between 7:30-8:30 AM. I usually wake up with a cortisol spike and feeling pretty crappy. It usually weens around 10 or 11, but the last few days have been miserable most of the day with small 20-30 minute windows.

[Shep]

3 minutes ago, LetsGoBuffalo said:

I take it between 7:30-8:30 AM. I usually wake up with a cortisol spike and feeling pretty crappy. It usually weens around 10 or 11, but the last few days have been miserable most of the day with small 20-30 minute windows.

 

Do you feel that the intensity of this symptom is worse now than before you reinstated? 

 

What time(s) of the day are you getting the 20 - 30 minute windows? 

 

[LetsGoBuffalo]

17 minutes ago, Shep said:

 

Do you feel that the intensity of this symptom is worse now than before you reinstated? 

 

What time(s) of the day are you getting the 20 - 30 minute windows? 

 

It was slowly getting better until the holidays hit then it spiraled. Today I was back at work (from home) and it was slightly better. 
 

My windows before the holidays were around 8-9pm but the last couple of days it’s been 5 minutes here or there randomly. 
 

It’s hard to tell if this is a wave from the holidays, Prozac starting to ramp back up and further scrambling my nervous system, or a wave from the Prozac withdrawal. Not sure what to think. I feel like the body adjusts more quickly to AD’s shutting down receptors vs my body naturally building them back up, so I’m not sure if I want to reduce Prozac especially given that any results are 4-8 weeks away. 

[Shep]

@LetsGoBuffaloMaybe do a hold for a month or so and see if some of these symptoms get better? Just a thought. When there are a lot of variables involved (and holiday stress can be really hard), the best thing to do is to hold and do as much self care as you can.