phil0312 needs advice about stopping prozac after 3.5 months

[phil0312]

Hello my name is phil and Im a late 30's male who was extremely healthy and in great shape a few months back and wish to talk with others about their experience getting off of prozac.

I am currently on 40 mg of prozac daily for the past 3.5 months and am wanting to talk with others about coming off of it. I have always had above average anxiety and slight ocd but haven't been on meds in many years and managed fime.

About 4 months ago I had complications and major increasing pain from a vasectomy that went wrong and had a major breakdown. I was given 40 mg of prozac to take daily and also xanax to take as needed. I was taking up to 4mg xanax a day for the first 2 months.

When I started the prozac I started to suffer from severe insomnia. I went the first 5 weeks getting anywhere from 0-2 hours sleep at most and hoped it would improve but it never did.

Eventually I was given 50 mg of trazadone to help me sleep and bumped it up to 100mg soon after.

I have been able to get myself down to 0.5-1mg xanax daily with no problems mainly taking it at night along with my trazadone and 10 mg of melatonin for sleep.

I cannot sleep at all if i dont take the trazadone, xanax and melatonin and I feel like my sleep has been disrupted badly when I started taking the prozac.

About 10 years aho I had been on a high dose of zoloft for a year or two and quit CT and didn't go through much withdraw. I am sure my family would like me to continue the prozac but I can't handle the insomnia or the thought of never being able to sleep without other meds.

I'm hoping to try to reduce my dosage in half for awhile and then slowly wean off. I've only been on it for 3.5 months so I'm hoping the withdraw wont be too difficult.

I just found this site and was looking for advice, support or stories of other people's experiences. I'm hoping that if I get off the prozac I will eventually be able to sleep on my own again without additional meds as I have never had problems with sleep in the past, prior to starting the prozac.

On a side note, I had a second surgery preformed two months ago and am still having issues. I have been seeing a therapist weekly and am not so sure if my insomnia is totally related to the prozac or if some of it is due to my anxiety that I am still having anxiety from the the complications of the surgery, either way I do not want to be on prozac for an extended period of time.

Any advice or experiences would be appreciated. Has anyone else experienced insomnia that wouldn't go away from prozac?

 

Thanks, Phil

[Fresh]

Hi Phil ,  boy , have you come to the right place.    

The fact that your sleep became so disrupted after starting prozac is a pretty good indicator that it's too activating for you.

You should have been started on 10mg , not 40.   

To then add more drugs to dampen the toxic effect of prozac , trazodone and xanax , is a travesty , but we see it all too often around here.

 

We specialize in helping people get off these drugs safely.  As you read members' threads in the Introductions section , you'll learn heaps from others going through similar circumstances.

 

Here's some reading to get you started:

Taking Multiple Psych. Drugs , Which Drug to Taper First http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2207-taking-multiple-psych-drugs-which-drug-to-taper-first/

Why Taper 10% of My Dosage http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1024-why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage/

Tips For Tapering Prozac http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/759-tips-for-tapering-off-prozac-fluoxetine/

 

Use this thread as your journal or to ask questions.

Please could you fill in a signature summarizing your drug history. Instructions are here  http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/893-please-put-your-withdrawal-history-in-your-signature/

 

If you click FOLLOW at the top right , you'll receive an email each time someone posts.

 

Best wishes ,and welcome aboard ,  Fresh

[phil0312]

Thanks for your response Fresh,

 

    I have been seeing my therapist and getting my prescriptions refilled via my family doctor and haven't talked to my psychiatrist in awhile. I am kinda weary of him wanting to keep throwing more drugs at me. I left a message for him today to contact me stating I have concerns about the side effects I am still experiencing 3 months after starting the prozac. And discuss the bowel problems (frequent diarrhea and very loose stools) which still exist after adding the trazadone. I am thinking he may want to switch me to lexapro or something similar but I still would rather just deal with my ocd and anxiety on my own without meds as I have done for years before.

 

    I have not had problems coming off meds in the past so I decided I would try to begin my taper today. My 40mg prozac is in a capsule so i tried my best to empty the contents out and remove what I felt was 10-20%, put the remaining back into the capsule and take it. It may not have been a very accurate way of doing it and I'm sure it was slightly more than 10%, but I am hoping it will be fine since I have only been taking for a little over 3 months? I am also planning to continue my 100mg of trazadone at night, along with 0.5mg xanax in morning and 0.5mg at night throughout my entire taper process.

 

    I am so glad I found this site and I will be using it as a journal to document my progress. I am also glad to hear of others experiences as well. I am still waiting on my psychiatrist to hear what his thoughts are but to be honest I trust the opinion of others who have experience themselves coming off prozac more than I trust my doctor.

[phil0312]

      I have a quick question maybe someone could shine some light on. I was on 200mg of zoloft twice in the past many years ago and both times stopped CT with no major WD's at all. Now after many years of being med free I have been on 40mg of Prozac for the last 3.5 months.

     I do not like the side effects and cannot sleep without now adding 100mg trazadone and 0.5 xanax at night, so I am planning on getting off the prozac with hopes my sleep will return to normal eventually. Since it has only been 3.5 months do you think if I taper 20% for a month and see how it goes than maybe I could get off this entirely within 3-6 months, since I haven't been taking it long? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as most of the stories I have read on this site most people have been taking their meds for many years.

[Fresh]

Thanks for doing your signature Phil.

It's important to keep things as stable as possible while you're tapering , which means you'll need to find a more precise way to measure your doses. 

The most precise way is to make your own liquid solution from your capsules.  Basically , if you dissolve the contents of one 40mg capsule in 40mls of water , you can draw up exactly 36mg's using a syringe.

 

From Tips for Tapering Prozac:

"Making your own Prozac liquid 

Prozac is one of the few psychiatric medications with a long history of do-it-yourself dilution in water or juice. Mixed in cranberry juice, it's been called "Cranzac."

My own personal preference would be to dilute it with water, to avoid any degradation that might be caused by sugar or acid in the juice. Also, it will be easier to see how well the Prozac is dissolved in water. (There may be particles swirling around, that's the filler in the Prozac capsule that doesn't dissolve.)

Your Prozac solution may be a little bitter -- just swallow it quickly. You might want to chase it with a little fruit juice.

There are instructions for DIY Prozac solution here: http://depression.ab.../ht/cranzac.htm"

 

Following a harm reduction approach means sticking to the 10% decrease and seeing how the first month goes after that.

If there are no problems , you may then decide to continue decreasing every 4 weeks , but if you get alot of symptoms you may choose to do smaller cuts in future.   Better to be conservative initially.

[phil0312]

Thanks for the tips Fresh.

     One quick question. I do have access to a small digital scale. Would this work fairly decent in measuring out the powder, or would I be better just trying the solution? I only ask cause I was thinking about getting empty gelatin capsules and possibly weighing the powder and filling the capsules ahead of time for ease of taking them when I travel etc. Also I never realized that after taking it for less than 4 months the taper would be way over a year....

[Fresh]

I know what you mean about the length of time tapering.  

If you take these drugs for longer than a few weeks you're at risk of w/d syndrome , because they change the way the brain works.  Some people DO come off them without any trouble , but if that's not you and you cut down too fast , you can get sick for many many months.  And it may not hit till 6 months after you stop . . . "protracted withdrawal syndrome".

 

A scale will work fine.   I found I could twist a capsule open , tip a little out onto the weighing plate , and pop the top back on the capsule.

 

As I mentioned previously , if you have no problems with symptoms , you may decide to speed up the taper.

 

[phil0312]

     Thanks for the advice I really really appreciate it. When I started the Prozac in December I was on Xanax already for half a month at that point my psych doc told me to take Xanax any time i felt anxiety, he said "I don't care if one day you take 3 and the next day 7!" I assumed he thought the Prozac would settle into my system quickly and I wouldn't need the Xanax that often and would only be using for a brief period.

    

      I took a lot of it cause I couldn't sleep for weeks once I started the Prozac and thought the extra Xanax would help me relax but it did not. I was themn given the 100mg of trazadone. The only thing that allows me to sleep is my mix of 0.5mg Xanax 10mg Melatonin and 100mg Trazadone.

 

     Unfortunately I was going through a major life crisis at the time, so for 2 months or so I took over 4mgs of Xanax daily some days up to 5-7. In just over 1.5 months I have tapered the Xanax down to 1mg and often only 0.5mg just at night and have felt no WD symptoms from it at all, does that seem normal?

 

      I will definitely give the Prozac a slow taper the first month and see how it goes, as the past two time I came off Zoloft CT twice and I don't really remember any withdraw symptoms as most people list on this site. Again, I am so glad I found this site and I really appreciate your insight, knowledge and wisdom.

 

     I am hoping since my past times with coming off meds have gone well that this won't be too different and may not take over a year, but I will keep updating this journal to let you know how I am doing and what I am experiencing. I am planning on taking 0.5mg xanax in the morning and 0.5 mg at night as needed while I taper the prozac, and continue the 100mg of trazadone for sleep until I'm off the Prozac then taper that.

 

   Thanks Fresh

[phil0312]

     Just updating my journal. I had spoken with my sister who has been on prozac for years and also really wants to get off of it. We went out and got bottles and oral syringes and are both starting our taper together. I am planning a slightly larger than 10% taper the first month and I will assess myself then and then adjust my taper schedule as needed, I'm going to see how it goes and if I start showing WD symptoms I will slow my taper or add a few mg's until I level off before trying another drop.

     As I stated earlier I have come off zoloft twice CT after over a year of usage each time with no issues. So I am hopeful that I may not need as much time, but I will continue for at least a month before I decide how big my next taper should be. I'm glad I found this forum as there is so much useful knowledge and I know if I have any issues there will be someone here to give me advice.

[phil0312]

      So today is day 7 of my tapering off Prozac, I decided I would try to update this once a week so I can look back and see how my progress is going. I spoke with my therapist yesterday and he thinks a slow taper by creating a liquid is a very good idea, although he thinks I could do it much faster but I am going to do it as my body allows. He is with me either way, so that helps a lot. I am not letting my doctor know as I am sure she will take me off too quickly.

 

     I was a little ambitious the first 4 days and dropped my 40mg dose to 30mg and figured i would try to ride it for a month then slow my taper as needed. The first 4 days I noticed nothing but then on day 5 I felt more anxious than normal and slightly shaky, it wasn't bad, but still I didn't like it so so the past few days I upped my dosage to 34mg and will ride it out at this dosage for some time. I feel much better today. I understand going from 40 to 34 is a 15% drop not a 10% but I am going to give it a week or so and determine if it will work for me or not. If so I will be planning on dropping about 4mg to 30mg next month hopefully..... I don't want to rush this, but like everyone else I want to get off sooner than later....

 

     I am very skinny and have always had a super fast metabolism, I was wondering if it is a usual trend to notice some withdraws a few days after a drop? I assume I will and if they aren't bad I could ride them out for a few weeks to a month until they subside then determine my next small drop.

[phil0312]

     Today marks 2 weeks of my taper. I had stated at 40mg of prozac and am now on 34mg. I plan on staying at this level for another two weeks then making another slight drop if I don't get any WD side effects. So far, things have been going well. I will be back to update in another week as to my progress.

[phil0312]

     Things have been going good so far. I have passed the 3 week mark of my prozac taper, after over two weeks at 34mg i dropped to 33 mg for the past week and am going to hold that until after I have passed a month then do another small drop.

     I have been experimenting with skipping a dose here and there of my xanax and have not really noticed any issues. The experts on the benzo forum said that after a few weeks the xanax has lost its effectiveness on sleep which i assumed so i am now planning on trying 0.25mg of xanax at night to see if it affects my sleep. I still plan on using the minimum amount of xanax possible and continuing the trazadone until I get much further along on my prozac taper.

     I will be back in a week or so to update my progress.

[phil0312]

Today is exactly 4 weeks since I began my Prozac taper. I started at 40mg and had gone slightly faster with my taper then recommended, and have been taking 34 for the first 2 weeks then 33mg the past two weeks. Things seem well, just slight anxiety the past two afternoons but not bad. After getting advice from Fresh, I will continue to hold where I'm at for another two weeks to see how it goes then if all is well I will drop 10% to 30mg. I had also been jumping around with my Xanax from between (0.5-0.75mg-1.0mg daily) and I am going to also try to keep that steady at 0.75mg for the next few weeks then keep it there throughout my entire Prozac taper.

[Petunia]

Thanks for the regular updates Phil, it helps us keep an eye on how you are doing.

 

     I was wondering if it is a usual trend to notice some withdraws a few days after a drop? I assume I will and if they aren't bad I could ride them out for a few weeks to a month until they subside then determine my next small drop.

 

Everyone's pattern of withdrawal symptoms is a little different, there really aren't any trends, but by keeping good notes of your cuts and symptoms you will be able to discover your own pattern which will help you decide when you need to make adjustments to your tapering schedule.

 

      I have been experimenting with skipping a dose here and there of my xanax and have not really noticed any issues. The experts on the benzo forum said that after a few weeks the xanax has lost its effectiveness on sleep which i assumed so i am now planning on trying 0.25mg of xanax at night to see if it affects my sleep.

 

This isn't a good idea and I'm glad to read in your later post you have decided to keep the xanax stable through your prozac taper.

 

Even if a drug is no longer providing any therapeutic benefit, changing its dose adds to destabilization and the purpose of careful tapering is to keep your nervous system as stable as possible through the process.

 

Another reason not to be changing doses of two drugs at a time is that if you get new or increased symptoms, you don't know which change caused it.

[phil0312]

petunia,

     Thanks so much for your support. I am so glad I found this forum; I am hoping to have a successful recovery with the help of everyone on here. I feel with the knowledge I am learning that my recovery will be somewhat smooth.. Keeping my fingers crossed......

[phil0312]

Just an update I have been at 33-34mg of Prozac for over a month and am feeling good. I had a few days of slight anxiety but i think it was due to changing doses of Xanax.

 

I feel I have the Xanax steady now and under control and I have been seeing improvement in my night sweating and my bowel issues these past few days. I was planning on waiting a few more days to do my next cut of Prozac but I really feel ready so I dropped 10% today from 33mg to 30mg. I will be sure to monitor any issues that arise. Keeping my fingers crossed.

[phil0312]

     Today is 6 weeks since I began my taper. So far things are going well. I started working again this week and it has surely helped me keep my mind off things so that is good. I also have noticed the past week I have been tired more during the day and I assumed it may be because I am taking less Prozac which had been stimulating me a lot and may be feeling more of the morning grogginess from my trazodone.

 

     So I  have dropped my nightly trazodone a few days ago to 75 mg and have had no issues with sleep which is good. I am going to see how things go for the next few weeks and hopefully I have no issues. keeping my fingers crossed.

[phil0312]

Just an update, things have been going really well. I have sped up my taper as I havent experienced any side effects. I am currently down to 20mg prozac, 50 mg trazadone and 0.375mg xanax

[scallywag]

Phil, sometimes the side effects are cumulative and don't show up until later. We have a member who recently completed a fast taper of one psych drug who was fine throughout the taper. Boom! He got slammed with significant withdrawal symptoms about a week after his last dose. 

 

You're tapering three drugs simultaneously, you should carefully consider the risks of a similar negative outcome. You're back to work and your life is going well. That's worth protecting, no?

[phil0312]

Just wanted to give an update. It has been over 9 months since I've taken any meds and ai have been doing great. Wanted to say thanks for everyone's support during my journey.

[Madeleine]

Good to hear Phil that you are doing great!  Thanks for the update. Always nice to read a positive post.