SouthernFreeze: 10 years and finally clean

[Altostrata]

Is it possible you took a dose when the wafer was not completely dissolved?

[SouthernFreeze]

3 hours ago, Altostrata said:

Is it possible you took a dose when the wafer was not completely dissolved?

Maybe, but unlikely as I have a pretty vigorous ritual. Does water temp change anything? I'm thinking maybe I used some warmer water maybe I don't know. 

[Altostrata]

@SouthernFreeze, I merged your posts with your existing Intro topic as we need to talk more about your particular situation, which would have been off-topic for a general tapering topic.

 

On 8/12/2019 at 2:16 AM, SouthernFreeze said:

I went back on fluroxatine. The lowest they do here is 20mg, so I got dispersables. I put it with water in a 30ml syringe and squirt out 5ml every day, probably not an exact amount everytime but I'm not sure how to do it any better. 

 

I felt the effects straight away. One thing I noticed was the shortness of breath, poor bowel movements, sore back muscles and craving for alcohol. All things I had got rid of in that one year. But at least now I could sleep and be more present for my family and work.

 

You've been taking 16.67mg fluoxetine since August 2018? Do you still have the adverse effects you described above?

 

Occasional alcohol can indeed shake things up. Did you perhaps have a drink or two recently, before you posted last Sunday?

[SouthernFreeze]

5 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

@SouthernFreeze, I merged your posts with your existing Intro topic as we need to talk more about your particular situation, which would have been off-topic for a general tapering topic.

 

 

You've been taking 16.67mg fluoxetine since August 2018? Do you still have the adverse effects you described above?

 

Occasional alcohol can indeed shake things up. Did you perhaps have a drink or two recently, before you posted last Sunday?

Uhh... is 16.7mg what you worked out from that? I thought it would be much less, but yeah it has probably been a year now since doing that. I should update. 

 

Yes I still have those symptoms mentioned above, though I think they get harder to distinguish over time as you get used to them....apart from the short breath, never get used to that. 

 

I stopped any alcohol three weeks ago. 

 

 

 

[Altostrata]

It could be that the alcohol three weeks ago upset your nervous system. Has your symptom pattern changed in the last few days?

[SouthernFreeze]

3 hours ago, Altostrata said:

It could be that the alcohol three weeks ago upset your nervous system. Has your symptom pattern changed in the last few days?

Well yesterday I felt a lot better. 

 

Don't feel amazing today, but not to bad for symptoms. 

I have noticed I'm starting to get those incredibly vivid dreams. 

Its all like symptoms I had when I was clean but on a lesser scale and I can still sleep well enough. 

 

[SouthernFreeze]

I tried 10% drop from my 3mg fluroxatine for three days and couldn't handle it and went back to my normal dose. I'm fine down but feel a bit disturbed because fluroxatine being a slow release I thought it would take longer and be pretty a minor withdrawal. Always brings me down, a bit, I really want to be drug free but feel like I will be on this **** for the rest of my life

[Gridley]

7 minutes ago, SouthernFreeze said:

I tried 10% drop from my 3mg

10% is too much for some people.  You're at a low dose where decreases can really have an effect. Something like 85% of the drug's effectiveness happens in the first 10 mg, so making even a small change can have a big effect symptom wise

 

You could try a much smaller decrease once you're stable, maybe 2% or even 1% and see how that goes.  Then, you could slowly work up a little higher.  Having a bad reaction to cutting 10% of the low dose you're on definitely doesn't mean you can taper and be off this drug, it just means you need to go more slowly.  We have a saying here, the lower you go, the slower you go.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SouthernFreeze]

39 minutes ago, Gridley said:

10% is too much for some people.  You're at a low dose where decreases can really have an effect. Something like 85% of the drug's effectiveness happens in the first 10 mg, so making even a small change can have a big effect symptom wise

 

You could try a much smaller decrease once you're stable, maybe 2% or even 1% and see how that goes.  Then, you could slowly work up a little higher.  Having a bad reaction to cutting 10% of the low dose you're on definitely doesn't mean you can taper and be off this drug, it just means you need to go more slowly.  We have a saying here, the lower you go, the slower you go.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Problem is I use dispersible tablets and lts hard to accurately measure less than 10%

[Altostrata]

Are you able to get another form of fluoxetine? It comes in a prescription liquid. It's very easy to make a liquid from the powder in the capsules.

[SouthernFreeze]

30 minutes ago, Altostrata said:

Are you able to get another form of fluoxetine? It comes in a prescription liquid. It's very easy to make a liquid from the powder in the capsules.

Yes I can get the regular 20mg capsules. That does sound very interesting, if there's a how to link that would be great. Might be scary trying crossover though. 

[Altostrata]

Tips for tapering off Prozac (fluoxetine)

[SouthernFreeze]

3 hours ago, Altostrata said:

Tips for tapering off Prozac (fluoxetine)

Thanks

[SouthernFreeze]

Still having breathing problems, can't get a deep breath. It's driving me insane, I get puffed so easily and when I'm surfing it often feels like I'm breathing through a straw. 

My doctor says this only happens to 0.01% patients on fluroxatine. They don't believe me and say it anxiety basically. But it didn't happen to me when I wasnt on them, and I also noticed it when I tried St John's wort. 

Does anyone know anything about this, any relief? 

I was going to go to the hospital to get a respiratory scan before this covid thing but Im pretty sure it wouldn't show anything anyway. 

[ChessieCat]

Trouble with breathing is listed as a rare side effect.   https://www.drugs.com/sfx/fluoxetine-side-effects.html

 

It's interesting that you state that you noticed the same thing with SJW.  When I took Prozac I got very weak muscles (I had trouble walking similar to how a pregnant woman's ligaments/muscles are during late pregnancy) and had to stop taking it.  I can distinctly remember the day that we went to the beach and I had great difficulty walking on the sand to get back to the car; my hips felt very loose.  Joint and muscle pain is classed as a less common side effect.  However I've just noticed these under rare:  shakiness or unsteady walk.  Later on I tried St John's Wort and got weak muscles.  It wasn't as bad as the Prozac but I recognised it immediately.

 

Just because it is classed as rare doesn't mean that you aren't going to be affected.

 

And also I don't think that doctors and patients always make the connection that the issue they have is related to the drug.

[SouthernFreeze]

8 hours ago, ChessieCat said:

Trouble with breathing is listed as a rare side effect.   https://www.drugs.com/sfx/fluoxetine-side-effects.html

 

It's interesting that you state that you noticed the same thing with SJW.  When I took Prozac I got very weak muscles (I had trouble walking similar to how a pregnant woman's ligaments/muscles are during late pregnancy) and had to stop taking it.  I can distinctly remember the day that we went to the beach and I had great difficulty walking on the sand to get back to the car; my hips felt very loose.  Joint and muscle pain is classed as a less common side effect.  However I've just noticed these under rare:  shakiness or unsteady walk.  Later on I tried St John's Wort and got weak muscles.  It wasn't as bad as the Prozac but I recognised it immediately.

 

Just because it is classed as rare doesn't mean that you aren't going to be affected.

 

And also I don't think that doctors and patients always make the connection that the issue they have is related to the drug.

Cheers for the link, I'm sure alot of those "rare" side effects definitely ain't rare.

Muscle and joint pain is another one I suffer from. I have always had lower back pain but ever since going on fluoxetine it's like all my muscles are constantly tight. I get cramp in the surf all the time now after not being out long, it's embarrassing. I'm only on a very low dose too. 

 

[SouthernFreeze]

Just an update 

 

For the last month I have been drinking alcohol, and having small amounts of codeine and cannabis. Still on the same small dose of fluoxetine. 

 

The reason I gave in to the drugs and alcohol is because I felt like I couldn't enjoy anything anymore, the things I usually enjoy like surfing, photography, music and family weren't giving me any joy, even meditation felt like it had no effect. I guess I felt no joy in nothing for a long time. I get this thing where I meet people and its fine but then I soon withdrawal and then get this overwhelming feeling everybody thinks I'm a loser or is angry with me even though I have no evidence. Promising friendships usually decay by end of a week or 2 and I feel like I'm constantly alone. I run a business but have no confidence or self esteem, terrified of confrontation, so even though the constant politeness gets me work, people tend to walk all over me. I get workers but they don't usually last, I'm guessing because of my lack of confidence and leadership. I actually need to talk to someone but in the last couple of years I have lost all faith in finding a decent psychologist or getting anything that will actually help. I was laying awake with thoughts of suicide in the night. 

 

I have a second child on the way and the dread of my anxiety and depression rubbing off on my kids leaves me feeling constantly panicked to fix something that I feel can't be fixed. 

 

I'm going to try to go clean from today as the other night I lost balance after beers while playing with my 4 yearold, small thing but felt discusting. 

 

The alcohol honestly gave me the confidence to meet with people have a little bit of a social life, even when sober in the day Im more social and positive as I had the sweet anxiety relief to look forward to after work. 

 

Sorry about that. 

 

As for the fluroxatine, I feel I'm way to stressed all the time to even consider getting off them, almost feel like I will never get off them unless I got a few years of no work when the kids are older maybe. I don't know. 

 

 

[Hanna72]

Hi @SouthernFreeze

I just read your post. I am sorry to hear how much sadness you feel.

I think it’s very important to take good care of oneself, regardless if we are tapering off drugs or not. 
Some of us have the pattern of negative self talk which can lead to much pain and misery. It’s like becoming your own worst enemy, just by repeating self criticism and listening to constant negative self talk in our own mind. The good news is it can be changed. By practicing to ignore those thoughts when you catch them. 
 

1 hour ago, SouthernFreeze said:

I'm going to try to go clean from today as the other night I lost balance after beers while playing with my 4 yearold, small thing but felt discusting. 

That’s sounds like an excellent plan. 
Please be kind to yourself, and try to focus on getting small changes done, one at a time. The no alcohol is a very good start.

Have faith and believe in yourself 

Once you choose hope

anything is possible 🙏

 

 

[SouthernFreeze]

On 8/16/2020 at 10:33 AM, Hanna72 said:

Hi @SouthernFreeze

I just read your post. I am sorry to hear how much sadness you feel.

I think it’s very important to take good care of oneself, regardless if we are tapering off drugs or not. 
Some of us have the pattern of negative self talk which can lead to much pain and misery. It’s like becoming your own worst enemy, just by repeating self criticism and listening to constant negative self talk in our own mind. The good news is it can be changed. By practicing to ignore those thoughts when you catch them. 
 

That’s sounds like an excellent plan. 
Please be kind to yourself, and try to focus on getting small changes done, one at a time. The no alcohol is a very good start.

Have faith and believe in yourself 

Once you choose hope

anything is possible 🙏

 

 

Thankyou for the kind encouraging words, it means a lot to me 🙏

[SouthernFreeze]

Ok so how do I edit the title of this thread, I'm definitely not clean.

 

Anyway I think I have stopped drinking long enough now to taper off another 5%. There's just a few things I'd like to clear up for before I decide to do it.

 

Is it worth it? Every time I taper I get very irritable with paranoid thoughts. This takes a long time to go away and as you know comes in waves. I'm just worried about my family, my wife is supportive but there's only so much she can take, also I don't think she has time for my **** now as we have had a second child since the last time I tappered. I feel a bit cornered as I want to get off the drugs but can't because of the affect it will have on my family.

 

Also....I still get confused as whether I should actually be on these drugs. I definitely had some anxiety disorders when I was put on them as a teenager, I firmly believe it was from smoking weed too young and a bad a family situation.

Is there a chance that I actually should be on this drug??? I still have low self esteem confidence, anxiety issues now. It's difficult to know if actually need to be on this drug, im 38 now and I've been on various types since I was around 18