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Tips for tapering off Prozac (fluoxetine)


Altostrata

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Hi,

 

I'm trying to make my own liquid Prozac to start tapering, I emptied five 20mg capsules in 100ml of distilled water and shoke it well but the powder doesn't seem to dissolve in the water, is that normal?

Paxil 20mg 3/2012 - 11/2014 - C/T for 2 weeks then back again till 1/2015

Prozac 20mg 2/2015 - 10/2015 - Tapered down by skipping doses but got withdrawal symptoms

Reinstated 20mg Prozac 18/1/2016

Started tapering Prozac again 3/2016

Off the meds completely since 17/4/2017 - Last Prozac dosage 0.1mg

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Apparently it is the filler in the Prozac that doesn't dissolve.  See

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/759-tips-for-tapering-off-prozac-fluoxetine/?hl=prozac

 

I would advise using a container with a screw top that you can shake really hard to wet the powder so that it will at least be IN the solution and not floating around in clumps.  Then, be sure to shake really well right before drawing up your dose. 

 

I like these tubes for this purpose because they have hash marks for measuring, and have the screw cap so you can shake really well:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Karter-Scientific-Centrifuge-30x115mm-Conical/dp/B005Z4S3ZU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1459558983&sr=8-2&keywords=50+ml+conical+tubes

 

SG

Started ADs back around 1995 after bad break-up, starting with Prozac.  Switched to Wellbutrin, and then to Effexor in 2002
Effexor XR 2002-2014 up to 225 mg at one point, down to 37.5 mg towards end but back up to 75 mg in 2014; now realize I had W/D as I dropped down, memory very poor about history.  Extreme emotions, poor concentration as I stepped back down, didn't connect the dots!
Summer 2014 reduced to 0 very quickly, was sick of anhedonia/sexual dysfunction due to meds, depression never controlled if not worse. Didn't recognize WD since symptoms built slowly (thought I had ADD! and menopausal on top of it), starting with severe sweats, very bad cog-fog and memory issues, culminating in weight loss, severe anxiety and depression, panic, severe apathy and insomnia by eight months off.  Saw p-doc who put me on Remeron, increased from 7.5 mg/day to 37.5 mg by May 22, 2015; still doing very badly though able to sleep.

June 1. 2015 Reinstated Effexor XR 37.5 mg, Remeron dropped to 30 mg PM. Immediate relief of symptoms, like nothing had ever happened!  Joined SA and began on advice of friend who recognized it was WD all along! Began tapering in July 2015.

Been tapering both meds ever since, focusing on one more than the other or doing no more than 5% of each per month.

12 mg Effexor and 5.8 mg Remeron (mirtazapine SolTabs to make a solution with OraPlus) as of 5/4/2017 

Update 3/14/18: 2.9 mg Remeron and 6 mg Effexor; 6/10/18:  2.6 mg Remeron and 4.9 mg Effexor

 

My intro: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/9313-squirrellygirl-effexor-withdrawal-etc/page-2#entry196679

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

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  • 6 months later...

Hey guys,

 

I know that there is a somewhat rough transition period for me from tablets of drugs to liquid (I tried that switch from Valium pills to liquid last year and couldn't cut it... am off Valium now), but was wondering if anyone has experienced any kind of issue switching from Prozac capsules w/powder to Prozac tablets?

 

Reason I ask is, I've been cutting pills with a blade and shaving all of my meds (weigh on scale) and very much prefer doing it that way for peace of mind. That shouldn't be a problem?

 

Thanks guys. Appreciate it.

Took Accutane in 2007 at age 19 and a severe reaction to it threw me into Psychiatry's dirty hands. Suffered through a number of c/t's, rapid tapers, drug switches, reinstatements before finally figuring out what was happening to me in 2012 after checking out of psych hospital with a prescription for Ativan and Prozac. (Went in because was unknowingly in Xanax c/t wd and dying at the time from it).

 

May 2016 - Last dose of Valium after 2 year long taper from 15mg

June 2017- Last dose of the corticosteroid Hydrocortisone after taper

July 2019- Last dose of Prozac after 2 year long taper from 30mg

 

Was on Accutane, Lexapro, Celexa, Xanax, Ativan, Prozac, Hydrocorisone, Valium, and thyroid meds when none of them were needed. Still recovering to this day and hope to be healed in the coming months, but taking it one day at a time.

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  • 4 months later...

Altostrata:

 

Question about a statement on one of your posts about tapering off Prozac:

 

If you are very sensitive to variations in dosage, this method will not be precise enough for you to control your taper.

 

I am planning on tapering off Prozac by the 10% reduction method. I have already finished tapering--as of several years ago--down to one 20 mg capsule PER WEEK. My husband is looking into using a scale to help me do this. My physician wants me to go from one capsule every seven days to one every 8 days, 9 days, etc., which I have no intention of doing as from what I understand, and my experience, it is not recommended.

 

For our planning purposes, what does your statement, above in red, mean? Are you saying the scale method won't work? It seems like it would be rather precise, although my husband is looking into that.

 

I already asked my doctor about using a compounding pharmacy. He didn't respond, but said "we will use. . . " (the method I mentioned above).

 

I am afraid to ask him again, because I don't want to try to explain to him all the information he is lacking, because I am not a technical person, he might be annoyed, and he might not agree even if he read about it. I just want to do it without him, if that is possible. He is a super nice person, but he doesn't understand psychoactive drug withdrawal.

 

Thanks for your help.

1990-2016   Prozac, 30 mg. Tapered over 4 years, now down to 20 mg per WEEK.

Nov. 2016, tapering Prozac until completely off (soon, I hope).

March 2015 through Oct. 2016   Xanax 0.25 mg 3x daily.

Nov. 2016   Xanax: Completely off.

1-2 days after going off Xanax, severe muscle pain. Continues.

 

 

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altostrata:

 

In relation to my previous post (3/8/2017), my husband says we need a scale that goes out one more place. I'm going to look for one.

 

 

1990-2016   Prozac, 30 mg. Tapered over 4 years, now down to 20 mg per WEEK.

Nov. 2016, tapering Prozac until completely off (soon, I hope).

March 2015 through Oct. 2016   Xanax 0.25 mg 3x daily.

Nov. 2016   Xanax: Completely off.

1-2 days after going off Xanax, severe muscle pain. Continues.

 

 

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Post #1 in this thread, about 1/2 way down, mentions liquid Prozac and also making your own liquid.

* NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA *

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED:  (6 year taper)      0mg Pristiq  on 13th November 2021

ADs since ~1992:  25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq:  50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity)  Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021   LAST DOSE 0.0025mg

Post 0 updates start here    My tapering program     My Intro (goes to tapering graph)

 VIDEO:   Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management

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Thanks, Chessie Cat. I'm going to go with a scale and capsules rather than Iiquid.

 

figured out that altostrata's statement about lack of precision referred to the method of dividing the dosage by hand, for instance on a piece of paper with a razor, rather than to weighing it on an electronic scale. So now I think the digital scale method has a good chance of working for me.

 

I should have read more carefully first!

1990-2016   Prozac, 30 mg. Tapered over 4 years, now down to 20 mg per WEEK.

Nov. 2016, tapering Prozac until completely off (soon, I hope).

March 2015 through Oct. 2016   Xanax 0.25 mg 3x daily.

Nov. 2016   Xanax: Completely off.

1-2 days after going off Xanax, severe muscle pain. Continues.

 

 

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  • 2 months later...

Does anyone know if liquid Prozac made from a dissolved capsule could potentially irritate the esophagus? I'm making my own liquid at the moment but have to drink a lot of water to erase the bitter aftertaste. Does anyone think gelatin caps would be a safer method?

Prozac 30 mg for many years.

Short two-week taper to 20 mg followed by 5 day washout period. (January 2017)

Lexapro 10 mg for 25 days. Stopped due to intolerable side-effects, notably palpitations and tinnitus. (February 2017)

Two day washout period before reinstating Prozac at 40 mg. (February 2017)

3 weeks later end up in ER due to severe palpitations and dizziness. (March 2017)

2 weeks of insomnia and intermittent akathisia. (March 2017)

Stabilization of Prozac dosage at 20 mg. (April 2017)

Gradual recovery and eventual return to work. (December 2017)

Reinstatement of Prozac dosage back to 30 mg gradually over 5 years. (February 2024)

 

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Does anyone know if liquid Prozac made from a dissolved capsule could potentially irritate the esophagus? I'm making my own liquid at the moment but have to drink a lot of water to erase the bitter aftertaste. Does anyone think gelatin caps would be a safer method?

 

It tastes bitter and awful so could possibly cause acidity and indigestion of different types. What do you mean by gelatin caps? Just taking the capsules without opening them?

 

Have you looked into compounding pharmacies in your area that can just make any dose you need? Is the liquid Prozac not available in your country? Where are you located? 

  • SSRIs 3-4 times in the last 14 years; would take them for 6-8 months and then taper off under dr supervision with no problems.
  • Med history prior to 2015: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/6012-newbeginning-my-withdrawal-story/?p=267313#entry267313
  • 04/2015: Prozac decreased to 15mg over last 3 months; effexor held steady at 8mg; current effexor XR: 20 beads of a 75mg capsule per day (about 8mg)
  • 06/2015: Prozac: 10mg; effexor XR: 19 beads (about 7.5mg); 07/2015: Prozac: 8.5mg; effexor 18 beads; 08/2015: Prozac: 7.5mg; effexor: 17 beads
  • End of August: withdrawal: depressive symptoms, crying spells. Realized I was measuring prozac dose wrong for the last 2 months. Reinstated Prozac 8.5mg; Kept effexor at 17 beads. Stabilized in 5 weeks.
  • 10/2015: Prozac: 8.5mg; effexor: 17 beads11/2015: Prozac: 1.9ml (7.5mg); effexor: 16 beads12/2015: Prozac: 1.6ml; effexor xr: 16 beads. Withdrawal: neuroemotions
  • 01/2016: prozac: 1.6ml; effexor xr: reinstated 17 beads, withdrawal improved; 02/2016: Prozac 1.5ml; Effexor: 17 beads; 03/2016: Prozac 1.3ml(5mg); Effexor: 17 beads (7mg)-withdrawal (flu-like malaise, lightheaded, drowsy) started end of March. April 15: reinstated Prozac 1.5ml. Stabilized. 2 weeks ok. End of April: Withdrawal (neuroemotions). Eventually stabilized in April-May. Apathy improved.
  • 3 month hold until August. August 2016: apathy came back;

  • October 2016: updosed to Prozac 1.6ml. Bad reaction: anxiety, depression. End of October: went down Prozac 1.5ml. Stabilized over several weeks.

  • Dec 9: tried macca for energy: anxiety/depression. Improved over several weeks, but not completely resolved.

  • Dec 31: cut Effexor 5% to 16 beads. After 9 days: withdrawal anxiety, depression; tried updosing to 17 beads Feb 7 but anxiety got worse; went down to 16 beads

    May 2017: Anxiety improved; severe depression continuesSeptember 2017: finally stabilized!!!!!! 09/07/2017-12/31/2017: hold

  • Stable on Effexor 6mg and Prozac 6mg until around 2019-2020. Side effects (fatigue, anhedonia) continued, but had some long lasting windows thanks to therapy. Windows lasting 5-6 months each year followed by relapses.

  • 2019: bad reaction to melatonin 3 mg. Withdrawal after taking it 2 months. When I tried to stop it developed severe insomnia that lasted 6 months even after I reinstated melatonin. Only slept again because I took hydroxyzine 5 mg 3 times a week for few months. Stopped hydroxyzine with no issues. Sleep normalized.

  • 2020-2021: Holding on Prozac 6mg, Effexor 6mg, Tapered melatonin 1 drop every 2-4 weeks down to 1.5mg. Had to hold because further cuts were causing severe drowsiness. 

  • 2021: Insomnia returned due to caffeine use for few months (only started after months of use). I also had a concussion at this time.

  • 2023: took hydroxyzine 5-100mg for one month (kept increasing dose every 3 days because I developed tolerance). Tapered for 1 week. After 1 month: withdrawal neuroemotions. Reinstated 5mg 2 months after stopping. Gradually increased to 25mg, stabilized, but withdrawal came back after 10 days. Kept increasing dose and withdrawal returning. Currently at 40mg. Not sure how to stabilize. 

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By Gelatin caps I mean filling empty gelatin capsules with Prozac powder to avoid the bitter taste of the homemade liquid. Of course I would need a very sensitive digital scale to weigh out the correct doses. Unfortunately compounding pharmacies and liquid Prozac are not an option where I am :(

Prozac 30 mg for many years.

Short two-week taper to 20 mg followed by 5 day washout period. (January 2017)

Lexapro 10 mg for 25 days. Stopped due to intolerable side-effects, notably palpitations and tinnitus. (February 2017)

Two day washout period before reinstating Prozac at 40 mg. (February 2017)

3 weeks later end up in ER due to severe palpitations and dizziness. (March 2017)

2 weeks of insomnia and intermittent akathisia. (March 2017)

Stabilization of Prozac dosage at 20 mg. (April 2017)

Gradual recovery and eventual return to work. (December 2017)

Reinstatement of Prozac dosage back to 30 mg gradually over 5 years. (February 2024)

 

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  • Administrator

You could weigh the powder and put it in empty gelatin capsules.

 

Read this carefully http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/759-tips-for-tapering-off-prozac-fluoxetine/?p=6498You will see a reference to mixing the powder with cranberry juice.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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  • 2 weeks later...

About the part where it says that one should use a container with a special lid that you can get down an oral syringe through. Why? Can't I just keep my solution in a container with a normal lid, shake it and then open the lid when I want to take out some of the solution? :) Or will that ruin it?

Oct, 2014: 40 mg fluoxetine.

Nov, 2014 - present: 30 mg fluoxetine, 10 mg Mianserin.
 

Have tried several times in the last year to taper off, usually by a 10 mg/33%-decrease in fluoxetine. Failed everytime. Longest success was in December, 2016, which lasted for about 10 days. Otherwise, just numerous attempts given up roughly by the 5th or 6th day.

 

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BilboBaggins - Alto's comment about a special cap that has a hole for an oral syringe was in response to a member's question about her commercially prepared Prozac liquid.  The cap is an option not a requirement.  You can use your own container and lid.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.
1997-1999 Effexor; 2002-2005 Effexor XR 37.5 mg linear taper, dropping same #beads/week with bad results

Cymbalta 60 mg 2012 - 2015; 2016: 20 mg to 7 mg exact doses and dates in this post; 2017: 6.3 mg to  0.0 mg  Aug. 12; details here


scallywag's Introduction
Online spreadsheet for dose taper calculations and nz11's THE WORKS spreadsheet

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BilboBaggins - Alto's comment about a special cap that has a hole for an oral syringe was in response to a member's question about her commercially prepared Prozac liquid.  The cap is an option not a requirement.  You can use your own container and lid.

Ok, great, thx a lot for such a quick answer! :)

 

Edit: Just one more thing; I think I'm gonna go with the commercially prepared Prozac liquid as well, and see if I can tolerate it. Is it still just an option to use the special cap, or a must for the liquid not to be ruined?

Oct, 2014: 40 mg fluoxetine.

Nov, 2014 - present: 30 mg fluoxetine, 10 mg Mianserin.
 

Have tried several times in the last year to taper off, usually by a 10 mg/33%-decrease in fluoxetine. Failed everytime. Longest success was in December, 2016, which lasted for about 10 days. Otherwise, just numerous attempts given up roughly by the 5th or 6th day.

 

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"According to http://en.wikipedia....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."

 

One thing I've always wondered about Prozac is the way in which its long half-life delays the effects of dosage changes. Would anyone agree that side-effects are felt first and therapeutic effects felt later, which is why increasing your dosage can make you feel worse before you feel better? I think this distinction between the timing of side effects and therapeutic effects is significant because it makes judging the true effect of any dosage change almost counter-intuitive. I know this could be said of almost all the SSRIs but I think it is particularly pronounced with Prozac.

Prozac 30 mg for many years.

Short two-week taper to 20 mg followed by 5 day washout period. (January 2017)

Lexapro 10 mg for 25 days. Stopped due to intolerable side-effects, notably palpitations and tinnitus. (February 2017)

Two day washout period before reinstating Prozac at 40 mg. (February 2017)

3 weeks later end up in ER due to severe palpitations and dizziness. (March 2017)

2 weeks of insomnia and intermittent akathisia. (March 2017)

Stabilization of Prozac dosage at 20 mg. (April 2017)

Gradual recovery and eventual return to work. (December 2017)

Reinstatement of Prozac dosage back to 30 mg gradually over 5 years. (February 2024)

 

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...I think I'm gonna go with the commercially prepared Prozac liquid as well, and see if I can tolerate it. Is it still just an option to use the special cap, or a must for the liquid not to be ruined?

The idea with the cap may be either convenience or contamination prevention. You'll have to get the liquid from a pharmacy, ask the pharmacist. Make him/her work for the dispensing fee. ;)

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.
1997-1999 Effexor; 2002-2005 Effexor XR 37.5 mg linear taper, dropping same #beads/week with bad results

Cymbalta 60 mg 2012 - 2015; 2016: 20 mg to 7 mg exact doses and dates in this post; 2017: 6.3 mg to  0.0 mg  Aug. 12; details here


scallywag's Introduction
Online spreadsheet for dose taper calculations and nz11's THE WORKS spreadsheet

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  • 1 month later...

has anybody experienced weight gain while withdrawing from Prozac? I've reached 4mg and I've started to gain weight :( trying to understand is it because of prozac or seroquel withdrawal..

in 2002- 0,5 tablet cipramil for half a year, ended it uneventfully. in 2006 - citalopram for half a year, ended in horrific state, ditched the drugs CT. 2007-2008 not feeling well but drug free. in 2008 prozac 20mg + quetiapine 25mg. 2009 tried to stop, ended up in hole after couple of months, started zoloft. 2009-2011 zoloft 50mg. went to 25mg in 2011 summer, it resulted in half a year horrible suffering. reinstated, changed drugs, nothing happened. by 2012 beginning suddenly felt great and CT meds. after 4 months came suddenly most horrible human suffering that's possible. was started on prozac and questiapine. started tapering slowly, GFCF diet and Hardy Nutritionals vitamins in 2013 summer. 

current medications: 1) fluoxetine and quetiapine since Aug 2012; 2) Daily Essential Nutrients by Hardy Nutritionals 7 capsules / since May 2013 + omega3; 3) Gluten-free-casein-free diet since june 2013

Started withdrawing slowly since april 2013. Mostly around 10% cuts. 

April'13 - March'14: fluoxetine 40mg -> 19,5mg; quetiapine 50mg -> 40mg
April'14-March'15: fluoxetine 19,5mg -> 14,4mg; quetiapine 40mg -> 22mg

April'15-March'16: fluoxetine 14,4mg -> 7,4mg; quetiapine 22mg -> 15mg

April'16-March'17: fluoxetine 7,4mg -> 5,0mg; quetiapine 15mg -> 7,25mg

April'17-March'18: fluoxetine 5,0mg -> 4,0mg; quetiapine 7,25mg -> 0 (as of 1st Feb 2018)!!!!

April´18-March´19: fluoxetine 4,0mg - > 2,3mg. Jumped off fluoxetine 1,4mg due to pregnancy in July 2019. Oct 2019 severe withdrawal syndrome started.

Took mistakenly a complex for hormonal support that included pregnenolone dec2019-april2020. Stopped it april 2020 and immediately severe akathisia started. Have had life threatening akathisia since, 100% disabled, suicidal, very hard to hold on. 

 

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  • 3 months later...

Does anyone know if Fluoxitine liquid is available in Australia? 

  • Citalopram 20mg - 40mg ~ approx 2010 - October 2015 (stopped over one week)
  • Parnate  20mg - 50mg and olazapine 5mg ~ Jan 2016 - May 2016 (ceased over 2 days) 
  • Lithium 450mg-900 mg and Thyroxin ~May 2016 - May 2017
  • Diazepam various doses (including PRN) ~ 2015 - 2017
  • Oxazepam various doses (including PRN) ~ May 2016 - June 2016
  • Lurasidone 20mg ~Mid May 2016 - Mid June 2016
  • Vortioxetine 10mg - 20mg ~ 6th June 2016 - 20th July 2016 (abruptly ceased)
  • Amitriptyline 200mg ~July 2016 - September 2016 (ceased over 1 week)
  • Nortriptyline  (dose ?) ~October 2016 ~ November 2016 (abruptly ceased)
  • Seroquel XR 100mg - 300mg ~ May 2016 - August 2017 (ceased over 3 weeks)
  • Escitalopram 10mg - 30mg ~ August 2016 - March 2017 (ceased over 2 weeks)
  • Bupropion 300mg ~ December 2016 - May 2017 (ceased over 1 week)
  • Clonazepam 1.5mg daily ~ July 2016 (started tapering May 2017 - September 2017 currently on 0.375mg..ie 0.125mg TDS) 27th May 2018 5% 0.357mg (possible paradoxical reaction - see benzo thread)  28th June 5% 0.337mg, 28th July 10% 0.303mg, 12th September10% 0.272mg, 18th September reinstated 10% due to intolerable WD 0.303mg, 1st October-11th Oct 10% (1% reduction over 10 days) 0.272mg, 22nd October clonazepam ceased crossed over 10mg diazepam
  •  Dexamphatamine 20mg ~ December 2016 (started tapering October 2017 - tapered 1.25mg 4th Dec 2017, 1.25mg 19th Dec 2017 6.25mg, Speed up decrease due to major interaction between Dex and fluoxetine- ref to thread 10% 17th Feb 2018 5.63mg, 10% 21st Feb 2018 5.1mg, 10% 26th Feb 2018 4.5mg 10% 28th Feb 4.1mg, 10% 1st March 3.7mg, 10% 5th March 3.3mg, 10% 8th March 3mg, 10% 10th March 2.7mg, 10% 12th March 2.4mg, 10% 14th March 2.16mg, 10% 16th March 1.94mg, 10% 18th March 1.74mg, 10% 20th March 1.57mg, 10% 21st March 1.41mg, 10% 22nd March 1.26mg, 10% 23rd March 1.13mg, 10% 24th March 1.01mg, 10% 25th March 0.9mg, 10% 27th March 0.81mg, 10% 29th March 0.73mg, 10% 31st March 0.66mg, 10% 2nd April 0.59mg , 10% 4th April 0.53mg, 10% 6th April 0.47mg, 10% 8th April 0.42mg, 10%10th April 0.37mg, 11th April 0.2mg, 12th April 0.1mg (last dose) OFF! 
  • Fluoxetine 40mg ~December 2016 - 31 Jan 2018 reduced to 20mg (probable serotonin toxicity) 10th March 2020 10mg (1:1 ratio), 7th April 9mg, 1st May 8.5mg, 15th May 8.0mg, 27th May 7.5mg, 8th Sept 7.2mg, 2nd Oct 7mg, 19th Oct 6.8mg, 28th Oct 6.6mg, 5th Nov 6.4mg, 26th Nov 6mg, 2nd April 2021 5.9mg, 9th April 5.8mg, 19th April 5.75mg, 22nd April 5.7mg, 26th April 5.65mg,28th April 5.6mg, 1st May 5.5mg, 4th May 5.45mg, 7th May 5.4mg, 10th May 5.35mg, 12th May 5.3mg, 15th May 5.25mg, 18th May 5.2mg, 20th May 5.15mg, 22nd May 5mg, 10th July 4.5mg, 9th Aug 4.48mg (switched from syringe to pipette method), 12th Aug 4.46mg, 14th Aug 4.4mg, 18th Aug 4.38mg, 19th Aug 4.36mg, 20th Aug 4.34, 21st 4.32mg, 22nd 4.3mg, 23rd Aug 4mg (hold), (micro-taper) 12th Oct 2021 3.98mg, 14th Oct 3.96mg, 15th Oct 3.94mg, 16th Oct 3.92mg, 17th Oct 3.9mg, 18th Oct 3.88mg, 19th Oct 3.86mg, 21st Oct 3.84mg, 22nd Oct 3.82mg, 23rd Oct 3.8mg, 24th Oct 3.78mg, 25th Oct 3.76mg, 26th Oct 3.74mg, 27th Oct 3.72mg, (WD reached intolerable level, reinstated 0.06mg) 28th Oct 3.8mg, 7th March 2022 3.7mg, 21st March 3.6mg, 4th April 3.5mg, 18th April 3.4mg, 2nd May 3.3mg, 16th May 3.2mg, 20th June 3.1mg, 4th July 3mg, 18th July 2.9mg, 12th September 2.7mg, 18th October 2.5mg, 14th Nov 2.3mg, 12th December 2.1mg, 18th January 2023 1.9mg, 9th July 2023 1.88mg, 16th July 1.86mg, 23rd July 1.84mg, 30th July 1.82mg, 6th Aug 1.80mg, 10th Sept 1.7mg, 12th Oct 1.68mg, 23rd Oct 1.66mg, 30th Oct 1.64mg, 6th Nov 1.62mg, 13th Nov 1.60mg, (2:1 ratio) 30th Dec 1.597mg, 7th Jan 2024 1.595mg, 8th 1.592mg,  10th 1.589, 11th 1.587, 12th 1.585, 13th 1.583, 14th 1.58 cont… 5th Feb 1.56mg, 11th Feb 1.55mg
  • Diazepam 10mg ~ 22nd Oct 2018, 10th November 8mg, 14th Nov 7mg, 8th December 6mg, 30th December 5mg (Nocte), 7th March 2019 4.5mg,14th March 4mg, 5th April 3.5mg, 9th April 3mg, 18th April 2.5mg,1st May 2mg, 17th May 1.75mg, 25th May 1.6mg, 4th June 1.59mg, 5th June 1.58mg, 6th June 1.57mg, 7th June 1.56mg, 8th June 1.55mg, 22nd June 1.4mg, 4th July 1.2mg, 16th July 1mg, 30th July 0.8mg, 13th Aug 0.6mg, 28th Aug 0.4mg, 10th Sept 0.2mg, 23rd Sept Off! 
  • SR Circadin 2mg (melatonin) 25th May - 20th June 
  • Zolpidem 10mg 25th May (7 tablets)
  • Supplements: Magnesium glycinate (soluble - sip throughout the day) 

 

"Whenever you feel yourself doubting how far you can go,  just remember how far you have come.  Remember everything you have faced, all the battles you have won, and all the fears you have overcome"    Unknown 

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  • Administrator

Please read the first post in this topic to see how you can make your own liquid Prozac.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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  • 7 months later...

Liquid Prozac (fluoxetine) seems to be available here in the USA but no amount of searching has uncovered a critical answer: what is the liquid in which the fluoxetine is dissolved?  (the closest I've found to a real answer "mint flavored liquid").  
Seems like it ought to say on the package what the solvent used is.  anybody?  thanks in advance!

 

 

 

20090810 Dx GeneralAnxietyDisorder & PanicDisorder.  Rx Pristiq (desvenlafaxine) 50mg.  stable, side effects minor but blurry vision, impotence, others. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/5418-ktp-weaning-from-4yrs-50mg-pristiq/ for more details.  

20140210 switch Pristiq50mg (can't cut them!) to Effexor (venlafaxine, V) same drug but easier dose reduction (and mfr TEVA's beads are handily ~= 1mg ea).  20140218 125mgV  0309 112mg 0401:100mg, 410:75, 0506:70, 0512:65, 0525:56, 0614:37.5, 0620:30, 0624:27, 0630:26, 0706:24, 0724:22, 0801:20, 0804:19, 0808:18, 0813:17, 0818:16, 0819:15, 0821:13, 0903:12, 0911:11, 0918:10, 0921:9, 0927:8, 1001:6, 1021:5, missed a day?, darn, it was going so well, or so I thought.  SEVERE ANXIETY, INSOMNIA. WAY TOO QUICK REDUCTIONS! hindsight: 0813:5%/5days, 0818:6%/5days, 0819:6%/1day, 0821:13%/2days, 0903: 7%/14days, 0911:8%/8days, 0918:9%/7days; 0921:10%/3days, 0927:11%/6days, 1001:25%/3days (still okay!) 1021:16%20days.  guideline is 10%/30days =  i am a self-diagnosed idiot

20141103 back to 6mgV, xanax next several days. 1111 insomnia bad, 10mgAmbien slept well. 1112 8mgV no Ambien; miserable. 1113 Ambien+xanax, tough night. 1114 Very Tired. 0.125Xanax, 25mgV at 10, better 10min later. 20141115 37.5mg V +Ambien. miserable month, still insomnia & anxiety. 1214 upped to 75mg V, ate .125Xanax. 1215 37.5mg mornings; force sleep for one week and come back". 20150115 lots of appts lots of chat but we never get to MY agenda = meds discussion.  Upping to 47.5mg mornings (no more xanax-, lunesta-forced sleep) but still anxious.  PAYING BIGTIME FOR TOO-FAST WEANING in OCTOBER 2014!  20150220 50mg V. 20150330 still anxy each am let's try reducing: 45mg V 1/day mornings. 20150511:42mg, 0611:40, 0626:39, 0710:38, 0717:37, 0731:33, 0813:32, 0915:29, 0927:28, 1004:27, 1015:26, 1101:25, 1116:22mg/day.  Still anxiety every morning, this sucks.  20151124 found a shrink who seems to get weaning: 20151125 add 10mg/day Prozac aka fluoxetine F, continue taper V to zero, then taper the F, "easier".  20151203:10mg Prozac=P 19mg V, 1213:10mgP17mgV, daily anx quieter but lurking. 1227:10mgP15mgV, 20160108:10mgP14mgV, 0124:10P13V, 0131:P10,V12. 0215 P10,V11.  0223:P10V10.  0314:P10V9. enjoying relatively quiet brain.  0407 P10V8, 0427P10V7, 0517P10V6, 0611P10V5, 0706P10V4, 0818P10V3, 0921P10V2,  1021P10V1, 20161128Prozac10mgVenlafaxine ZERO, 20170115 still anxious upped Prozac to 20mg/day, better anxiety control... 

20190301 finally stable enough to consider weaning again, started skipping one day / week.

20190501 started skipping every 3rd day so 13.3mg/day average.  several days long 1/2life must be why the docs think of prozac as 'self-tapering' i think it just means longer time between upsetting the cart and seeing apples all over the road.  skipping is bad practice, even with longlife prozac: let's do liquid: 20190902 first day of 13mg via 5ml liquid made from 13 20mg caps in 100ml water.  20190921 12mg same way(7.7%/20days).  20191010 11mg (8.3%/20days) 20191031 10mg (9.1%/20days) 20191124 9mg (10.0%/24 days) 20191213 8.5mg (5.6%/20 days) 20191231 8mg (5.9%/20days) 20200120 hit a wall?  going another 20 days at 8mg, just started Lisinopril for hypertension (caused by prozac withdrawal creating less-than-panic-grade anxiety??) and doubled atorvastatin to 40mg.  Minimizing changes in general and had a semi-panic 4am 1/20... BP still wild. 20200208 back to 9mg daily anxiety starting about 1/18.  

20200212 increase to 10mg prozac cap daily.  anxiety still there but clears within hour of drugs.  20200222 still anxy 2 hrs after 10mg, added another 1mg and mucho better.  20200223 11mg early.  anxious enough to be glad i can actually sit.  will wait another 5 days before adding another milligram. 20200229 12mg prozac still anxious.  20200317 13mgProzac still anxious.  20200610 15mgProzac.  bp under control with Losartan50mg (lisinopril cough dictates change)  

20201028 10am met w Dr S.  to switch back to Venlafaxine XR, "take 10mg prozac + 37mg VenlafaxineXR for a monththen quit prozac." i think i'll taper thanx... 
20201116 9am start 10mgProzac,37Venlafaxine,40Statin,25Losartan,81Aspirin.  20201230 5mgProzac,37Venlafaxine,40Statin,25Losartan,81Aspirin.
20210124 4mgP,37V,40S,25L,81A.  20210213 3.5mgP,37V,40S,25L,81A;  20210306 3mgP,37V,40S,25L,81A  20210328 2.5mgP,37V,40S,25L,81A; 20210501 2.0mgP,37V,40S,25L,81A;20210519 1.5mgP,37V,40S,25L,81A; 20210607 1.5mgP,37V,40S,50L,81A. 
20210614 1.0mgP,37V,40S, 50L,81A. 20210702 0.5mgP,37V,40S,50L,81A; 20210728; 0.0mgProzac,37.5Venlafaxine,40Atorvastatin50Losartan,81Aspirin; 20210917 0915am anxiety started about a week after dropping the last 0.5mg of prozac.  just took 0.10mg xanax.  20210929 1:28 PM I'm anxious after so carefully weaning off prozac - the last 0.5mg may need to come back??  instead, trying an extra cap of 37.5mg venlafaxine, let's see if there's sudden relief?  it seems possible.  fingers x'd.  not sure but 5 minutes later i think i feel better gawd i hope.  20210930 7am anxious out of bed, took drugs early and oops chewed them.  no more drugs 2day.  11:41 AM 10/1/2021 very jagged today, avoiding the shower.   took <1/6 of a .5mg xanax and still anxy at noon.  6:59 PM 10/4/2021 2nd or 3rd day of 75mg Venlafaxine  met w/ shrink 2day he says i'm doing  it right so  20210728 75.0mgVenlafaxine,40Atorvastatin,50Losartan,81Aspirin;10mgCarbidopa-Levodopa; 12/18/2021  112.5mgVenlafaxine, 40Atorvastatin, 50Losartan, 81Aspirin; 0.4mgFlowmax; 3x 25/100mgSinemet aka Carbidopa/Levodopa.    20220308 new neurologist, raising CL:  112.5mgVenlafaxine, 40Atorvastatin, 50Losartan, 81Aspirin; 0.4mgFlowmax; 4x 25/100mgSinemet aka Carbidopa/Levodopa.  possibly need to reduce losartan to avoid fainting.

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@ktp I find Googling "liquid fluoxetine ingredients" often answers questions like that.

 

Please post what you discover in this topic. But first, you might want to read this topic to see if it tells you what you need to know.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

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very helpful but as I mentioned, I searched like crazy.  "clear, colorless liquid with mint flavor" is the best I can find.  

someone here must be actually using liquid fluoxetine, which should mention actual contents on the label.

This thread does indeed mention using water to "dissolve" a prozac tablet but same post points out that something (probably and hopefully the "filler" not the drug) doesn't dissolve.  

if i make my own it will be from 20mg powder-filled capsules.  so, again, 

 

can someone please read their liquid prozac label to see if it mentions actual ingredients?

 

 

20090810 Dx GeneralAnxietyDisorder & PanicDisorder.  Rx Pristiq (desvenlafaxine) 50mg.  stable, side effects minor but blurry vision, impotence, others. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/5418-ktp-weaning-from-4yrs-50mg-pristiq/ for more details.  

20140210 switch Pristiq50mg (can't cut them!) to Effexor (venlafaxine, V) same drug but easier dose reduction (and mfr TEVA's beads are handily ~= 1mg ea).  20140218 125mgV  0309 112mg 0401:100mg, 410:75, 0506:70, 0512:65, 0525:56, 0614:37.5, 0620:30, 0624:27, 0630:26, 0706:24, 0724:22, 0801:20, 0804:19, 0808:18, 0813:17, 0818:16, 0819:15, 0821:13, 0903:12, 0911:11, 0918:10, 0921:9, 0927:8, 1001:6, 1021:5, missed a day?, darn, it was going so well, or so I thought.  SEVERE ANXIETY, INSOMNIA. WAY TOO QUICK REDUCTIONS! hindsight: 0813:5%/5days, 0818:6%/5days, 0819:6%/1day, 0821:13%/2days, 0903: 7%/14days, 0911:8%/8days, 0918:9%/7days; 0921:10%/3days, 0927:11%/6days, 1001:25%/3days (still okay!) 1021:16%20days.  guideline is 10%/30days =  i am a self-diagnosed idiot

20141103 back to 6mgV, xanax next several days. 1111 insomnia bad, 10mgAmbien slept well. 1112 8mgV no Ambien; miserable. 1113 Ambien+xanax, tough night. 1114 Very Tired. 0.125Xanax, 25mgV at 10, better 10min later. 20141115 37.5mg V +Ambien. miserable month, still insomnia & anxiety. 1214 upped to 75mg V, ate .125Xanax. 1215 37.5mg mornings; force sleep for one week and come back". 20150115 lots of appts lots of chat but we never get to MY agenda = meds discussion.  Upping to 47.5mg mornings (no more xanax-, lunesta-forced sleep) but still anxious.  PAYING BIGTIME FOR TOO-FAST WEANING in OCTOBER 2014!  20150220 50mg V. 20150330 still anxy each am let's try reducing: 45mg V 1/day mornings. 20150511:42mg, 0611:40, 0626:39, 0710:38, 0717:37, 0731:33, 0813:32, 0915:29, 0927:28, 1004:27, 1015:26, 1101:25, 1116:22mg/day.  Still anxiety every morning, this sucks.  20151124 found a shrink who seems to get weaning: 20151125 add 10mg/day Prozac aka fluoxetine F, continue taper V to zero, then taper the F, "easier".  20151203:10mg Prozac=P 19mg V, 1213:10mgP17mgV, daily anx quieter but lurking. 1227:10mgP15mgV, 20160108:10mgP14mgV, 0124:10P13V, 0131:P10,V12. 0215 P10,V11.  0223:P10V10.  0314:P10V9. enjoying relatively quiet brain.  0407 P10V8, 0427P10V7, 0517P10V6, 0611P10V5, 0706P10V4, 0818P10V3, 0921P10V2,  1021P10V1, 20161128Prozac10mgVenlafaxine ZERO, 20170115 still anxious upped Prozac to 20mg/day, better anxiety control... 

20190301 finally stable enough to consider weaning again, started skipping one day / week.

20190501 started skipping every 3rd day so 13.3mg/day average.  several days long 1/2life must be why the docs think of prozac as 'self-tapering' i think it just means longer time between upsetting the cart and seeing apples all over the road.  skipping is bad practice, even with longlife prozac: let's do liquid: 20190902 first day of 13mg via 5ml liquid made from 13 20mg caps in 100ml water.  20190921 12mg same way(7.7%/20days).  20191010 11mg (8.3%/20days) 20191031 10mg (9.1%/20days) 20191124 9mg (10.0%/24 days) 20191213 8.5mg (5.6%/20 days) 20191231 8mg (5.9%/20days) 20200120 hit a wall?  going another 20 days at 8mg, just started Lisinopril for hypertension (caused by prozac withdrawal creating less-than-panic-grade anxiety??) and doubled atorvastatin to 40mg.  Minimizing changes in general and had a semi-panic 4am 1/20... BP still wild. 20200208 back to 9mg daily anxiety starting about 1/18.  

20200212 increase to 10mg prozac cap daily.  anxiety still there but clears within hour of drugs.  20200222 still anxy 2 hrs after 10mg, added another 1mg and mucho better.  20200223 11mg early.  anxious enough to be glad i can actually sit.  will wait another 5 days before adding another milligram. 20200229 12mg prozac still anxious.  20200317 13mgProzac still anxious.  20200610 15mgProzac.  bp under control with Losartan50mg (lisinopril cough dictates change)  

20201028 10am met w Dr S.  to switch back to Venlafaxine XR, "take 10mg prozac + 37mg VenlafaxineXR for a monththen quit prozac." i think i'll taper thanx... 
20201116 9am start 10mgProzac,37Venlafaxine,40Statin,25Losartan,81Aspirin.  20201230 5mgProzac,37Venlafaxine,40Statin,25Losartan,81Aspirin.
20210124 4mgP,37V,40S,25L,81A.  20210213 3.5mgP,37V,40S,25L,81A;  20210306 3mgP,37V,40S,25L,81A  20210328 2.5mgP,37V,40S,25L,81A; 20210501 2.0mgP,37V,40S,25L,81A;20210519 1.5mgP,37V,40S,25L,81A; 20210607 1.5mgP,37V,40S,50L,81A. 
20210614 1.0mgP,37V,40S, 50L,81A. 20210702 0.5mgP,37V,40S,50L,81A; 20210728; 0.0mgProzac,37.5Venlafaxine,40Atorvastatin50Losartan,81Aspirin; 20210917 0915am anxiety started about a week after dropping the last 0.5mg of prozac.  just took 0.10mg xanax.  20210929 1:28 PM I'm anxious after so carefully weaning off prozac - the last 0.5mg may need to come back??  instead, trying an extra cap of 37.5mg venlafaxine, let's see if there's sudden relief?  it seems possible.  fingers x'd.  not sure but 5 minutes later i think i feel better gawd i hope.  20210930 7am anxious out of bed, took drugs early and oops chewed them.  no more drugs 2day.  11:41 AM 10/1/2021 very jagged today, avoiding the shower.   took <1/6 of a .5mg xanax and still anxy at noon.  6:59 PM 10/4/2021 2nd or 3rd day of 75mg Venlafaxine  met w/ shrink 2day he says i'm doing  it right so  20210728 75.0mgVenlafaxine,40Atorvastatin,50Losartan,81Aspirin;10mgCarbidopa-Levodopa; 12/18/2021  112.5mgVenlafaxine, 40Atorvastatin, 50Losartan, 81Aspirin; 0.4mgFlowmax; 3x 25/100mgSinemet aka Carbidopa/Levodopa.    20220308 new neurologist, raising CL:  112.5mgVenlafaxine, 40Atorvastatin, 50Losartan, 81Aspirin; 0.4mgFlowmax; 4x 25/100mgSinemet aka Carbidopa/Levodopa.  possibly need to reduce losartan to avoid fainting.

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at https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/8040/pil I found the "Patient Info Leaflet" (note this is a UK site) which includes...

"...

Prozac contains sucrose and ethanol

Prozac oral solution contains sucrose. If you have been told by your doctor that you have an intolerance to some sugars, contact your doctor before taking this medicinal product.

The flavouring for this medicinal product contains small amounts of ethanol (alcohol), less than 100 mg per dose (see Section 6)."

...

"6. Content of the pack and other information

What Prozac oral solution contains

The active substance is fluoxetine hydrochloride. Each 5 ml of oral solution contains 20 milligram (mg) of fluoxetine (as fluoxetine hydrochloride).

The other ingredients are: benzoic acid, sucrose, glycerine, mint flavour (containing 0.23% ethanol (alcohol)) and purified Water."

 

20090810 Dx GeneralAnxietyDisorder & PanicDisorder.  Rx Pristiq (desvenlafaxine) 50mg.  stable, side effects minor but blurry vision, impotence, others. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/5418-ktp-weaning-from-4yrs-50mg-pristiq/ for more details.  

20140210 switch Pristiq50mg (can't cut them!) to Effexor (venlafaxine, V) same drug but easier dose reduction (and mfr TEVA's beads are handily ~= 1mg ea).  20140218 125mgV  0309 112mg 0401:100mg, 410:75, 0506:70, 0512:65, 0525:56, 0614:37.5, 0620:30, 0624:27, 0630:26, 0706:24, 0724:22, 0801:20, 0804:19, 0808:18, 0813:17, 0818:16, 0819:15, 0821:13, 0903:12, 0911:11, 0918:10, 0921:9, 0927:8, 1001:6, 1021:5, missed a day?, darn, it was going so well, or so I thought.  SEVERE ANXIETY, INSOMNIA. WAY TOO QUICK REDUCTIONS! hindsight: 0813:5%/5days, 0818:6%/5days, 0819:6%/1day, 0821:13%/2days, 0903: 7%/14days, 0911:8%/8days, 0918:9%/7days; 0921:10%/3days, 0927:11%/6days, 1001:25%/3days (still okay!) 1021:16%20days.  guideline is 10%/30days =  i am a self-diagnosed idiot

20141103 back to 6mgV, xanax next several days. 1111 insomnia bad, 10mgAmbien slept well. 1112 8mgV no Ambien; miserable. 1113 Ambien+xanax, tough night. 1114 Very Tired. 0.125Xanax, 25mgV at 10, better 10min later. 20141115 37.5mg V +Ambien. miserable month, still insomnia & anxiety. 1214 upped to 75mg V, ate .125Xanax. 1215 37.5mg mornings; force sleep for one week and come back". 20150115 lots of appts lots of chat but we never get to MY agenda = meds discussion.  Upping to 47.5mg mornings (no more xanax-, lunesta-forced sleep) but still anxious.  PAYING BIGTIME FOR TOO-FAST WEANING in OCTOBER 2014!  20150220 50mg V. 20150330 still anxy each am let's try reducing: 45mg V 1/day mornings. 20150511:42mg, 0611:40, 0626:39, 0710:38, 0717:37, 0731:33, 0813:32, 0915:29, 0927:28, 1004:27, 1015:26, 1101:25, 1116:22mg/day.  Still anxiety every morning, this sucks.  20151124 found a shrink who seems to get weaning: 20151125 add 10mg/day Prozac aka fluoxetine F, continue taper V to zero, then taper the F, "easier".  20151203:10mg Prozac=P 19mg V, 1213:10mgP17mgV, daily anx quieter but lurking. 1227:10mgP15mgV, 20160108:10mgP14mgV, 0124:10P13V, 0131:P10,V12. 0215 P10,V11.  0223:P10V10.  0314:P10V9. enjoying relatively quiet brain.  0407 P10V8, 0427P10V7, 0517P10V6, 0611P10V5, 0706P10V4, 0818P10V3, 0921P10V2,  1021P10V1, 20161128Prozac10mgVenlafaxine ZERO, 20170115 still anxious upped Prozac to 20mg/day, better anxiety control... 

20190301 finally stable enough to consider weaning again, started skipping one day / week.

20190501 started skipping every 3rd day so 13.3mg/day average.  several days long 1/2life must be why the docs think of prozac as 'self-tapering' i think it just means longer time between upsetting the cart and seeing apples all over the road.  skipping is bad practice, even with longlife prozac: let's do liquid: 20190902 first day of 13mg via 5ml liquid made from 13 20mg caps in 100ml water.  20190921 12mg same way(7.7%/20days).  20191010 11mg (8.3%/20days) 20191031 10mg (9.1%/20days) 20191124 9mg (10.0%/24 days) 20191213 8.5mg (5.6%/20 days) 20191231 8mg (5.9%/20days) 20200120 hit a wall?  going another 20 days at 8mg, just started Lisinopril for hypertension (caused by prozac withdrawal creating less-than-panic-grade anxiety??) and doubled atorvastatin to 40mg.  Minimizing changes in general and had a semi-panic 4am 1/20... BP still wild. 20200208 back to 9mg daily anxiety starting about 1/18.  

20200212 increase to 10mg prozac cap daily.  anxiety still there but clears within hour of drugs.  20200222 still anxy 2 hrs after 10mg, added another 1mg and mucho better.  20200223 11mg early.  anxious enough to be glad i can actually sit.  will wait another 5 days before adding another milligram. 20200229 12mg prozac still anxious.  20200317 13mgProzac still anxious.  20200610 15mgProzac.  bp under control with Losartan50mg (lisinopril cough dictates change)  

20201028 10am met w Dr S.  to switch back to Venlafaxine XR, "take 10mg prozac + 37mg VenlafaxineXR for a monththen quit prozac." i think i'll taper thanx... 
20201116 9am start 10mgProzac,37Venlafaxine,40Statin,25Losartan,81Aspirin.  20201230 5mgProzac,37Venlafaxine,40Statin,25Losartan,81Aspirin.
20210124 4mgP,37V,40S,25L,81A.  20210213 3.5mgP,37V,40S,25L,81A;  20210306 3mgP,37V,40S,25L,81A  20210328 2.5mgP,37V,40S,25L,81A; 20210501 2.0mgP,37V,40S,25L,81A;20210519 1.5mgP,37V,40S,25L,81A; 20210607 1.5mgP,37V,40S,50L,81A. 
20210614 1.0mgP,37V,40S, 50L,81A. 20210702 0.5mgP,37V,40S,50L,81A; 20210728; 0.0mgProzac,37.5Venlafaxine,40Atorvastatin50Losartan,81Aspirin; 20210917 0915am anxiety started about a week after dropping the last 0.5mg of prozac.  just took 0.10mg xanax.  20210929 1:28 PM I'm anxious after so carefully weaning off prozac - the last 0.5mg may need to come back??  instead, trying an extra cap of 37.5mg venlafaxine, let's see if there's sudden relief?  it seems possible.  fingers x'd.  not sure but 5 minutes later i think i feel better gawd i hope.  20210930 7am anxious out of bed, took drugs early and oops chewed them.  no more drugs 2day.  11:41 AM 10/1/2021 very jagged today, avoiding the shower.   took <1/6 of a .5mg xanax and still anxy at noon.  6:59 PM 10/4/2021 2nd or 3rd day of 75mg Venlafaxine  met w/ shrink 2day he says i'm doing  it right so  20210728 75.0mgVenlafaxine,40Atorvastatin,50Losartan,81Aspirin;10mgCarbidopa-Levodopa; 12/18/2021  112.5mgVenlafaxine, 40Atorvastatin, 50Losartan, 81Aspirin; 0.4mgFlowmax; 3x 25/100mgSinemet aka Carbidopa/Levodopa.    20220308 new neurologist, raising CL:  112.5mgVenlafaxine, 40Atorvastatin, 50Losartan, 81Aspirin; 0.4mgFlowmax; 4x 25/100mgSinemet aka Carbidopa/Levodopa.  possibly need to reduce losartan to avoid fainting.

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  • 2 months later...

Can you crush these to taper? Its Fluoxetine 10mg

 

If yes, how then do you take the powder? Im trying to follow all the post but am just getting confused at this point.

fluoxetine.jpg

Edited by ChessieCat
added topic title

2007 20mg for depression and a few panic attacks. - 2015/2016 went up to 40mg of Paroxetine, plus buspirone to boost the Paroxetine (no idea how much), plus .5mg of Lorazepam as needed and an antipsychotic ( no idea which kind).

2016-2020 Went down to taking Lorazepam only as needed/40 mg Paroxetine only. Cannot recall when I started lowering my dose of Paroxetine - 3/23/20 Went from 20mg to 15mg Paroxetine - 6/20 Went from 15mg of Paroxetine to 10mg - 8/29/20 Took last 10mg of Paroxetine - 10/28/20 - Reinstated on 5mg of Fluoxetine  - 11/4/20 - Went up to 10mg Fluoxetine (Taking 1 .5mg Lorazepam every 3-6 days as needed).

11/11/20 - Went back to 5mg of Fluoxetine - not taken Lorazepam since 11/12

12/10 Went up to 10mg of Fluoxetine - took a couple .25 mg of Lorazepam

12/15 Went down to 7.5mg of Fluoxetine

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34 minutes ago, CareBear said:

Can you crush these to taper? Its Fluoxetine 10mg

 

Yes.  See the table here:

 

https://www.mdedge.com/psychiatry/article/62466/pros-and-cons-pill-splitting

 

Also read Post #1 of this topic:

 

tips-for-tapering-off-prozac-fluoxetine

 

and:

 

using-a-digital-scale-to-measure-doses-weighing

 

how-to-make-a-liquid-from-tablets-or-capsules

 

 

* NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA *

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED:  (6 year taper)      0mg Pristiq  on 13th November 2021

ADs since ~1992:  25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq:  50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity)  Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021   LAST DOSE 0.0025mg

Post 0 updates start here    My tapering program     My Intro (goes to tapering graph)

 VIDEO:   Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management

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  • 4 months later...

Hello. I have an issue regarding Fluoxetine tablets, and could use some advice.

 

I’m on 30 mg of Fluoxetine. This means I take a 20 mg and 10 mg capsule every morning. I want to try to slowly get down to 20 and see how that goes. My prescriber suggested replacing the 10 mg capsule with a tablet, which I could then cut. I’m in the U.S., so tablets are available here, though I guess these are not orodispersable. I’m more comfortable shaving down the 10 mg tablets and weighing them than I am making a solution from the capsule. The tablets are the same brand as the capsules I receive, which is Teva. But I have some concerns:

 

1. Is it safe to combine the 10 mg tablet and 20 mg capsule?

2. Is it safe to shave down or cut Fluoxetine tablets?

3. If I do shave down the tablets, will they keep if I prepare a week’s supply at a time?

 

Thank you.

2017 - Withdrawal Crisis, drop from 2.5 mg Olanzapine to 0 mg
Feb 2018 - 30 mg Fluoxetine, 10 mg Olanzapine
Spring 2018 to - Sep 23, 2023 Olanzapine taper 10 mg to 2.5 mg
June 13, 2021 - 27 mg Fluoxetine
Aug 27, 2021 - Reinstatement, 30 mg Fluoxetine
Sep 6, 2022 - Thyroidectomy, instatement 125 mcg Levothyroxine
Oct 12, 2022 - 137 mcg Levothyroxine
Dec 12, 2022 - 150 mcg Levothyroxine
Jan 25, 2023 - 175 mcg Levothyroxine
Mar 10, 2023 - April 9, 2023 - Pantoprazole 40 mg
April 10, 2023 - Famotidine 20 mg, as needed

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@FredloPlease read this topic from the beginning.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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Thank you for your reply. I must be misunderstanding something. I had read the whole topic, as well as related topics, and I just did again. I still don’t see an answer to my question. I don’t know what it is I haven’t seen. Maybe it’s because I couldn’t access the MDedge article on pill splitting?

2017 - Withdrawal Crisis, drop from 2.5 mg Olanzapine to 0 mg
Feb 2018 - 30 mg Fluoxetine, 10 mg Olanzapine
Spring 2018 to - Sep 23, 2023 Olanzapine taper 10 mg to 2.5 mg
June 13, 2021 - 27 mg Fluoxetine
Aug 27, 2021 - Reinstatement, 30 mg Fluoxetine
Sep 6, 2022 - Thyroidectomy, instatement 125 mcg Levothyroxine
Oct 12, 2022 - 137 mcg Levothyroxine
Dec 12, 2022 - 150 mcg Levothyroxine
Jan 25, 2023 - 175 mcg Levothyroxine
Mar 10, 2023 - April 9, 2023 - Pantoprazole 40 mg
April 10, 2023 - Famotidine 20 mg, as needed

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You can get a prescription liquid for the 10mg. It's far easier to taper with a liquid than weighing tablets.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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  • 1 month later...

Is liquid fluoxetine required to be refrigerated or can you keep on your person?

2007 20mg for depression and a few panic attacks. - 2015/2016 went up to 40mg of Paroxetine, plus buspirone to boost the Paroxetine (no idea how much), plus .5mg of Lorazepam as needed and an antipsychotic ( no idea which kind).

2016-2020 Went down to taking Lorazepam only as needed/40 mg Paroxetine only. Cannot recall when I started lowering my dose of Paroxetine - 3/23/20 Went from 20mg to 15mg Paroxetine - 6/20 Went from 15mg of Paroxetine to 10mg - 8/29/20 Took last 10mg of Paroxetine - 10/28/20 - Reinstated on 5mg of Fluoxetine  - 11/4/20 - Went up to 10mg Fluoxetine (Taking 1 .5mg Lorazepam every 3-6 days as needed).

11/11/20 - Went back to 5mg of Fluoxetine - not taken Lorazepam since 11/12

12/10 Went up to 10mg of Fluoxetine - took a couple .25 mg of Lorazepam

12/15 Went down to 7.5mg of Fluoxetine

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Please contact your pharmacist to find out for your brand, and post the information in this topic for the benefit of others.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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  • 2 months later...
On 7/2/2011 at 7:11 PM, Altostrata said:

ADMIN NOTE If you are looking for information about switching or "bridging" to Prozac to go off your antidepressant, read this ENTIRE topic: https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/19373-the-prozac-switch-or-bridging-with-prozac/

 


 

Prozac was the first popular SSRI, released in 1987, and was a substantial source of profit for Eli Lilly for many years. It became available in a generic form in 2001 (Lilly's fortunes subsequently plummeted).
 



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

Prozac is mainly metabolized by the liver enzymes identified by cytochrome P450 CYP2D6 and CYP2C9/2C19, and inhibits its own metabolism via cyp 2D6 and cyp 2c19, which means lower doses get metabolized faster. (Prozac and its metabolites are also mild to moderate inhibitors of CYP1A2, CYP2B6, CYP2C9, and CYP3A4.)

Is Prozac "self-tapering"?
Because of its very long half-life, Prozac has the reputation of being "self-tapering," meaning it requires only a short taper. However, some people do suffer withdrawal from Prozac, just as severe as other SSRIs. Because of the long half-life, withdrawal symptoms simply take longer to appear.

We suggest starting out with a slow taper of 10% per month for a couple of months; if no withdrawal symptoms appear, rate of taper may be increased -- but slow down if withdrawal symptoms arise.

Reduce by 10% per month to start
The 10% rule holds for Prozac, just like other psychiatric drugs: Reduce by 10% per month, calculated on the last dosage. (The amount of the reduction gets progressively smaller.)

See Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

 

 

Hi all,

 

According to    Tapering of SSRI treatment to mitigate withdrawal symptoms - Open Excellence

 

"Fluoxetine takes 35–75 days to reach steady state,47 which is likely to be responsible for observations that its withdrawal symptoms can arise weeks after cessation.9,56

Therefore, it would be prudent to wait 3 months (35–75 days plus 4 weeks) to observe for late-arising withdrawal symptoms. Given this property of fluoxetine, which is similar to an in-built tapering system, it could be reasonable to reduce doses by the equivalent of approximately 30% serotonin transporter occupancy in each iteration, titrated to patient tolerance."

 

 

Does this suggest a reduction every  3 months because that your first reduction may take 3 months to show withdrawal?

 

2003/7 (at age 52)        Prozac 20mg. For chronic fatigue syndrome.    2007/10    20mg citalopram, 2010/11 Cold Turkey citalopram Severe withdrawal,  2011  back on citalopram 10mg, 2014  Discontinued Citalopram over a month period

2014/15                       Suffered severe withdrawal and was prescribed Prozac 20mg, 2017/18 After research I decided that I have never had such severe mental illness, only withdrawal

2017/20                       Various failed attempts to ‘taper’ (missing doses), 2020 Sept 16th started a 5% taper using mini scales, 2020 Nov Ended taper Back on 20mg Prozac

2021 Nov 24               Reduced to 19mg Prozac  from starting dose of 20mg (5% reduction) 2022 Jan 3rd              Reduced to 18mg Prozac (5.26% reduction)

2022 Feb 27th            Reduced to 17.2mg Prozac (4.44% reduction)

2022 Mar 12th            Reduced to 16.8mg Easier to read on Syringe 

2022 Jun 15               16mg  4.76% reduction

2023 Mar 29th          Reduced to 15.5mg

 

 

Hand on heart, "Personally I have never heard of anyone suffering withdrawal from Prozac" Dr P

 

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8 hours ago, vincent said:

Does this suggest a reduction every  3 months because that your first reduction may take 3 months to show withdrawal?

 

It says it takes about 3 months for a change in fluoxetine dosage to fully take effect.

 

Why hypopthetically, a 30% reduction every 3 months might work, in my opinion, reducing by 10% per month is a more gradual taper than 30% every 3 months.

This is not medical advice. Discuss any decisions about your medical care with a knowledgeable medical practitioner.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has surpassed our humanity." -- Albert Einstein

All postings © copyrighted.

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Thanks for the link. At least they acknowledge the advisability of tapering. Other publications treat fluoxetine as if it is does not require taper. 

 

I like the 10%/month reduction. Unfortunately it seems the long half life is drawback in the sense it may take a long time to get “feedback” after dose reduction or re-instatement.

On and off antidepressants since 1989. (Prozac, Celexa, Lexepro, Wellbutrin, Paxil, Cymbalta

2017 40mg Fluoxetine (2017-19 started taper but don’t recall specifics but prob. 10mg per drop with several months hold)

2019 —->10mg every other day (ave 5mg/day)

October 2021 increased dose to (7.5mg/day ave.)

January 18, 2022—> 7m Feb 5, 2022 —> 6.8mg, March 21 —> 6.46mg July 23, 2022—> 6.14mg (fluoxetine) ~August 1 2022 started 2.5mg melatonin per night October 2022 —> 6mg (fluoxetine)

 

Current meds/otc

Fluoxetine 6.0 mg/day, Atorvastatin  40mg/day, Vit C 500mg, Melatonin 2.5mg/night

 

 

 

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I would not attempt a 30% reduction but waiting three months for feedback is a big problem for Prozac users.

For example, If withdrawal symptoms appear in the fourth month of a 10% per month taper, how do we know it was the last reduction to blame! 
How much to reinstate?

 

2003/7 (at age 52)        Prozac 20mg. For chronic fatigue syndrome.    2007/10    20mg citalopram, 2010/11 Cold Turkey citalopram Severe withdrawal,  2011  back on citalopram 10mg, 2014  Discontinued Citalopram over a month period

2014/15                       Suffered severe withdrawal and was prescribed Prozac 20mg, 2017/18 After research I decided that I have never had such severe mental illness, only withdrawal

2017/20                       Various failed attempts to ‘taper’ (missing doses), 2020 Sept 16th started a 5% taper using mini scales, 2020 Nov Ended taper Back on 20mg Prozac

2021 Nov 24               Reduced to 19mg Prozac  from starting dose of 20mg (5% reduction) 2022 Jan 3rd              Reduced to 18mg Prozac (5.26% reduction)

2022 Feb 27th            Reduced to 17.2mg Prozac (4.44% reduction)

2022 Mar 12th            Reduced to 16.8mg Easier to read on Syringe 

2022 Jun 15               16mg  4.76% reduction

2023 Mar 29th          Reduced to 15.5mg

 

 

Hand on heart, "Personally I have never heard of anyone suffering withdrawal from Prozac" Dr P

 

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Yes, exactly! I am hoping that any differences (maybe mild) would be noticed before the full effects after 3 months. (?)

On and off antidepressants since 1989. (Prozac, Celexa, Lexepro, Wellbutrin, Paxil, Cymbalta

2017 40mg Fluoxetine (2017-19 started taper but don’t recall specifics but prob. 10mg per drop with several months hold)

2019 —->10mg every other day (ave 5mg/day)

October 2021 increased dose to (7.5mg/day ave.)

January 18, 2022—> 7m Feb 5, 2022 —> 6.8mg, March 21 —> 6.46mg July 23, 2022—> 6.14mg (fluoxetine) ~August 1 2022 started 2.5mg melatonin per night October 2022 —> 6mg (fluoxetine)

 

Current meds/otc

Fluoxetine 6.0 mg/day, Atorvastatin  40mg/day, Vit C 500mg, Melatonin 2.5mg/night

 

 

 

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