hillen -- first week

[hillen]

ok so heres my story , 2 years ago i had a massive break down , why? lots of reasons i think , at first i couldnt leave my bed let alone my house , but this only went on for about a month . in this time i had gone to the doctors , for some reason i thought i had schitzophrenia i mean really thought i had it , ( now i beleave it was just overactive thoughts ) but scared the hell out of me so obviously from that my anxiety and depression just got worse, my doctor had me see a phsycologist who told me i didnt have schitzophrenia which was a great relief but still i couldnt knock the feeling that i had it . i had put on alot of weight even though all my life iv been quite active , the doctor told me to start th gym which helped loads , got some confidence back and was happier , but every now and then id feel like i was going to have a panic attack but i just went with it and carried on, i didnt want it to beat me , so for a few months i was going to the gym when i went to watch a friend have a fight ( boxing ) . this got me interested in boxing so i went along an really liked it , well from that time everything just got better and better , id recommend to anybody not necassarily boxing but anything that has lots of cardio , iv never felt so good , maybe even before i got anxiety , so anyway about a week ago i went to my usual appointment at the docs , i told him that id only had 1 tablet in 5 days and he said i look like im doing pretty well and that i dont want to be on the tabs forever , so he said see how i get on without them atall , so basicly stopping dead after about 2 years on fluoxatine, i wonderd if anyone thinks this is a bad idea, iv had a few headaches , im gettin anxiety symptoms back and my hands are very shaky, although i can probably deal with all this at the same time i worry il end up back to square one?? p.s i understand my illness may not be as bad as others because i only take 20mg of fluoxatine a day (did) but still im in the same boat, thanks in advance anybody that takes the time to read this :-) ben

[Jemima]

The fact that you're having withdrawal symptoms after a short time off of fluoxatine (Prozac, so others don't have to look this up) tells me that abruptly stopping the drug has disturbed your nervous system. This is not a good thing, and believe me, withdrawal can get much worse than having some anxiety and hands that tremble. I think you'd be doing yourself a great favor by going back on a somewhat lower dose of the drug and tapering off a lot more slowly. Going "cold turkey" is absolutely the worst way to get off of antidepressants!

 

Please read this for more specific tips on getting off of Prozac:

 

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

[Altostrata]

I agree with Jemima, hillen.

 

You'll save yourself some wear and tear on your nervous system. You only have one of them, and you need it to run everything in your body.

 

Welcome to our community -- I moved your topic here, as your Intro topic. I'm sure yours will soon be a success story.

[strawberry17]

Hi Hillen

Yes I think after 2 years on Prozac and coming off so abruptly (sp?) you would be extremely lucky to get away with no withdrawals.

I absolutely agree with the others to reinstate the Prozac and taper down more slowly. I'm tapering liquid Prozac, if you can the liquid it's so much easier. I've been tapering an awful long time but then I was on and off AD's for many years, it may not take you so long as it's been two years rather than many years!

If you look in the tapering forum there's lots of info.

I have a feeling you'll be able to come off relatively easily and will be a sucess story as well, and I absolutely agree about the exercise, I go for bike rides and use a X trainer and it really does boost the endorphins and make you feel good.

strawberry

[hillen]

thanks guys , im going to start taking them again , then come off them slowly , hopefully it will work better as dont feel to great at the moment

[shriraj]

how are you doing now dear frnd

[hillen]

so a while ago i came here on advice about goin cold turkey . which my doctor told me to do . a few people sai this is a bad idea as i was having shaking hands and wierd thoughts within the first week , i decided to go another day or two to see if it got better , it did not my anxiety almost went back to when i first got it , so id like to say thanks for the advice people , and im feeling much better back on the medication , i will try again to come off but at a very slow rate . id like to add that from my experiance i wouldnt recomen for anybody to go cold turkey , i personaly now think its silly ... thanks for reading

[Jemima]

Hillen,

 

I moved your post here to your original introductory topic. The intro is used something like a journal so that both you and other forum members can follow your progress. Just come to this topic and click on "Add Reply" when you have comments to make regarding your withdrawal.

 

I'm very, very glad that you took the advice to not go cold turkey. There are no words to tell you what a nightmare you've missed by being sensible and slow with your taper.

[shriraj]

hi friend...see i also went cold turkey...but i took medication for only 4 days nd that to a very low dose...as soon as i got to know i was misdigonalysed and took this medication for headache(stupid doctor).....i am also having this anxiety and feeling empty inside....but some excersises and meditation including yoga has defnately brought it down to a great extand ..if you wana know about the excersises do reply me..m always there for help

[Skyler]

hi friend...see i also went cold turkey...but i took medication for only 4 days nd that to a very low dose...as soon as i got to know i was misdigonalysed and took this medication for headache(stupid doctor).....i am also having this anxiety and feeling empty inside....but some excersises and meditation including yoga has defnately brought it down to a great extand ..if you wana know about the excersises do reply me..m always there for help

 

Shri.. 'discontinued' is more accurate than 'cold turkey' when you took the meds for four days. Everything in context, you sure had a miserable reaction given the short duration.

 

Hi Hillen.. I've been reading your account and am sorry to hear you have had such a dreadful time.. I too am very glad you decided not to go cold turkey.. you only have one nervous system, and need it to be on your side while you taper!

[strawberry17]

Hi Hillen

It's great to hear an update, so glad you decided not to carry on with the cold turkey and you're feeling well.

strawberry

[hillen]

thanks guys shiri im already feelin better :-) im currently boxing 3 times a week and running 2 times a week which helps a great deal

[shriraj]

nic to hear u r feeling better.....we are here to support each other...now jst make sure you taper at a appropriate rate.. tell me do have any libido problems..you havnt said anything about it

[hillen]

yes we are all together on this :-) , yes i had problems with labido for a very long time , just couldnt get interested in sex at all even when i wanted to i couldnt get an errction , iv found excercise helps this , because i was overweight then i lost weight and then got interested in sex again , im guessin its to do with confidence because if you dont beleave you ar great then you have no interest in anything, if you overweight you lose confidence so its a cicious circle

[shriraj]

me too having problem with libido..i just had an adverse reaction to ssri(jst took 5mg ssri for 4 days)....but yah i have seen improvement...hop i ll get my full power back

[hillen]

you will , it just takes time . i dont understand how you developed anxiety so quick . i thought it would take much longer

[shriraj]

you will , it just takes time . i dont understand how you developed anxiety so quick . i thought it would take much longer

 

 

 

 

i havnt told you..i took depikote 500 mg for 2 weeks alone with ssri....no one know what does the combination of both this drug does to our system

[hillen]

wow! cant you sue these guy for doing this to you?

[shriraj]

what i should do...its my destiny....i have to recover friend...need your support ...have you ever seen a case in which someone was put on ssri and depikote...togeather????

[angie007]

Hi Hillen,

 

A wise move to reinstate at a low dose, will help you loads and when your ready to taper, remember nice and slow is the key --no doctor will tell you this, but we here learned a valuable lesson, many many tried to taper fast or cold turkey, its not the answer, good luck and glad to hear your feeling better.

 

Shriraj,

Yes we have seen many things here, and from being around support boards such as this, your not alone, Depakote otherwise known as Sodium Valporate here in the UK is an anticonvulsant but is also used as a mood stabiliser ------- the side effects are nausea, clay coloured stools, upper stomach pain, loss of appetite, low grade fever and in rare cases jaundice -yellowing of skin and eyes. Using the 2 drugs together does not indicate you cant recover or taper off your antidepressant --only taper one drug at any one time, once your done with the antidepressant then look at reducing your depakote, have trust in your bodys ability to heal, because it will!!!!!.