sparklypickle Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Hello! I've been on prozac for 12 years for depression and anxiety, but I'm sick sick sick of the nightly sweats and broken sleep. My dr is switching me to mirtazapine, but, being afflicted by health anxiety and a history of bad withdrawal from prozac attempts, I'm a bit wary about this process. I used to be on a high dose of p to cope with my anxiety but I can't tolerate it any more, so at least this time I'm tapering from a low dose of 20 mg. Its been over a week at half dose and I'm more or less ok. I have had headaches, Nausea, dizziness, lightheadedness, tinnitus, irritability, sweating, and lethargy. I think I'm getting used to this half dose (every other day) now, I only feel really dizzy the morning before the due dose...and that clears up by the afternoon. I guess I'd like to know that others have been through this before? Also does anyone have experience of mirtazapine? I've already discussed with the doc who to contact in case of side effects and about what dose of valium to take in case of severe panic but I'm still after some reassurance! I can't remember exactly why my previous attempts at tapering off prozac failed....I got totally off it, had wild emotional seesawing and then got horribly depressed after a triggering incident. Dr reccommend 1 week dosing every other day, one week every three days then stopping. I'm not doing that! I graphed the serum plasma levels based on an 8 day half-life and I think I need two or three weeks at every other day, then two weeks at every third day, then two weeks of 10 mg every third or four day, then maybe I can stop. The physical withdrawal symptoms are going to happen one way or another it's hard to decide if short and acute is better than drawn out? I think I'll start the mirtazapine three weeks into the taper but I'm not sure. If I can cope without any antidepressants then that would be ideal...I just think that I've needed them for some 16 years so there is probably something chronically wrong with my neurotransmitters. reason for medication: anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety lustral for 2-3 years at 150mg, straight switch to prozac prozac at 60 mg for ~ 6-7 years - initial side effects included hallucinations - yay me. attempt to come off prozac failed due to depression returning at 20mg prozac prozac decreased to 40 mg for ~ 2 years attempt to come off prozac tapering 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1 mg per day, two weeks at each dose: first month or so on zero dose fine then triggered into relapse of anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety 20 mg prozac for ~3 years, attempted 30 or 25 mg to control anxiety but could not tolerate, so used valium. March 2015, 2 years since complete AN recovery: alternate day dosing of 20mg prozac, felt like crap, switched to 10mg liquid daily, then started gradual taper August 2015 taper has reached 5.6 mg prozac and taking 40mg omeprazole December 2015 20 mg omperazole May 2016 taper has reached 1.8 mg, attempting omeprazole taper to 15 mg Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus dalsaan Posted March 18, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted March 18, 2015 Hi Sparklypickle Welcome to surviving antidepressants I can't comment too much on you 'need' for antidepressants except to,say that the theory of a chemical imbalance underpinning depression has been discredited and there are lots of people here who have long and complex drug histories that have been able to come off their drugs I also can't comment on your prospects in terms of the mirtazapine. I have a difficult history with it myself as have many others. Also, this is a site dedicated to supporting people to make good decisions in stopping medications rather than starting or swapping them. In terms of coming of your Prozac we recommend a slow taper of 10 percent of the previous dose. Significant withdrawal symptoms are not a fir gone conclusion if you are gentle on your brain and nervous system The following are good threads for you to read What is withdrawal - http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/603-what-is-withdrawal-syndrome/ Why taper 10 percent - http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1024-why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage/ Tips for tapering off Prozac. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/759-tips-for-tapering-off-prozac-fluoxetine/ Can I also ask you to fill out your signature. Instructions on how to do that are here - http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/893-please-put-your-withdrawal-history-in-your-signature/ Have a read and come back and post any questions Dalsaan Please note - I am not a medical practitioner and I do not give medical advice. I offer an opinion based on my own experiences, reading and discussion with others.On Effexor for 2 months at the start of 2005. Had extreme insomnia as an adverse reaction. Changed to mirtazapine. Have been trying to get off since mid 2008 with numerous failures including CTs and slow (but not slow enough tapers)Have slow tapered at 10 per cent or less for years. I have liquid mirtazapine made at a compounding chemist. Was on 1.6 ml as at 19 March 2014. Dropped to 1.5 ml 7 June 2014. Dropped to 1.4 in about September. Dropped to 1.3 on 20 December 2014. Dropped to 1.2 in mid Jan 2015. Dropped to 1 ml in late Feb 2015. I think my old medication had run out of puff so I tried 1ml when I got the new stuff and it seems to be going ok. Sleep has been good over the last week (as of 13/3/15). Dropped to 1/2 ml 14/11/15 Fatigue still there as are memory and cognition problems. Sleep is patchy but liveable compared to what it has been in the past. DRUG FREE - as at 1st May 2017 >My intro post is here - http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/2250-dalsaan Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus bubble Posted March 18, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted March 18, 2015 Hello sparklypickle and welcome to SA, I am glad that you have found our site relatively early into this process. I don't want to scare you but doing what you are doing now got many of us into serious problems. When I first came here after following my doctor's advice and suffering worse than ever in my life as a result many things started making sense to me: why I wasn't able to stop the drugs despite feeling well, why I kept ending on more drugs and higher doses. If you spend some time reading here you will quickly begin to understand what went wrong in your previous attempts to stop. And that it is not that "something is chronically wrong with your neurotransmitters". Briefly, after 12 years the drug has become part of the structure of your brain and if you want to live without it you have to regrow a new brain. This is achieved by removing the drug very slowly 10 % of your current dose with period of 30 days in between which allow your brain to adjust. There are no good drugs but in general Prozac is considered a way more "friendly" than Mirtazapine. I always say it's a bit strange to follow advice from an internet forum but we all came here in terrible suffering after listening to advice of our doctors. I was only able to get my life under control when I educated myself about how this drugs really work. It's a widespread practice to recommend skipping doses as a way of tapering but it's a very harmful practice. I imagine it as if you were dieting in such a way as not to eat anything one day and then stuff yourself full the next. Nobody would do that so I don't understand why they are doing it with antidepressants. It's very destabilising and no wonder you are experiencing so many withdrawal symptoms. If I were you, I would start taking the same dose of Prozac at the same time every day and stop skipping doses immediately. (it seems you are now at 10 mg. So I might try with that dose although it is 50 % cut from your previous dose which is a way too much and I can't see what happened before that and when. It seems you where on an even higher dose). Then I would wait to stabilise, that is for the symptoms to go away. This might take a while. During that time I would read as much as possible about this whole process and educate myself on the proper way of tapering. I see that Dalsaan was faster than me and she already posted some great links for you. And as she said, your drug history woudl be very useful. Once again, welcome. Bubble Current: 9/2022 Xanax 0.08, Lexapro 2 2020 Xanax 0.26 (down from 2 mg in 2013), Lexapro 2.85 mg (down from 5 mg 2013) Amitriptyline (tricyclic AD) and clonazepam for 3 months to treat headache in 1996 1999. - present Xanax prn up to 3 mg. 2000-2005 Prozac CT twice, 2005-2010 Zoloft CT 3 times, 2010-2013 Escitalopram 10 mg went from 2.5 to zero on 7 Aug 2013, bad crash 40 days afterreinstated to 5 mg Escitalopram 4Oct 2013 and holding liquid Xanax every 5 hours 28 Jan 2014 Xanax 1.9, 18 Apr 2015 1 mg, 25 June 2015 Lex 4.8, 6 Aug Lexapro 4.6, 1 Jan 2016 0.64 Xanax 9 month hold 24 Sept 2016 4.5 Lex, 17 Oct 4.4 Lex (Nov 0.63 Xanax, Dec 0.625 Xanax), 1 Jan 2017 4.3 Lex, 24 Jan 4.2, 5 Feb 4.1, 24 Mar 4 mg, 10 Apr 3.9 mg, May 3.85, June 3.8, July 3.75, 22 July 3.7, 15 Aug 3.65, 17 Sept 3.6, 1 Jan 2018 3.55, 19 Jan 3.5, 16 Mar 3.4, 14 Apr 3.3, 23 May 3.2, 16 June 3.15, 15 Jul 3.1, 31 Jul 3, 21 Aug 2.9 26 Sept 2.85, 14 Nov Xan 0.61, 1 Dec 0.59, 19 Dec 0.58, 4 Jan 0.565, 6 Feb 0.55, 20 Feb 0.535, 1 Mar 0.505, 10 Mar 0.475, 14 Mar 0.45, 4 Apr 0.415, 13 Apr 0.37, 21 Apr 0.33, 29 Apr 0.29, 10 May 0.27, 17 May 0.25, 28 May 0.22, 19 June 0.22, 21 Jun updose to 0.24, 24 Jun updose to 0.26 Supplements: Omega 3 + Vit E, Vit C, D, magnesium, Taurine, probiotic I'm not a medical professional. Any advice I give is based on my own experience and reading. Link to comment
btdt Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 " so at least this time I'm tapering from a low dose of 10 mg" Clarity is important when it comes to this process. The length of time on a drug which dose before and after taper attempts. very important information creating a signature really helps people to help you best. I am the worst person to help you with this but somebody else will give you a link. In the mean time know that withdrawal can be delayed and hit wks or months after your last dose when you try to go down too fast or quit cold turkey it takes awhile for the affects to hit home. We are all a bit different in our make up and drug use and drug taken. Going too fast or cold turkey is a really bad idea I hope by now you have read some of the links posted and have gleaned some understanding of the process. Our bodies and brains function in a methodical way and do not like upset - upset is caused by sudden and drastic changes - this will be bad for your body and brain... slow and steady wins the race in wd. I tapered the way doctors told me too more than once and quit cold turkey last time out of the gate in complete desperation. None of it was a good idea tapering as doc suggested always had me back on drugs within the year always with what I did not know was withdrawal... always having to suffer thru the start up affects and a couple of time severe adverse reactions from other drugs... when I think back to all those years 18 years all together... of what I did not know then that I know now... I see so much suffering and anguish ... and NONE of it had to be that way. I am not a tapering guru because I have never had a successful taper not once... so I try to leave that to the people who have done it successfully. Dosing every day is a must that much I know. We do have some gurus here and one will be along to give you some advice. One thing I know from previous life experiences if your body is use to one drug and just one drug... best to give it what it is use to when it is suffering than adding more trouble into the mix. I know doctors love to do that we will find the magic bullet routine but really to me it just means messing up yet another part of me... that I will be stuck with trying to heal some day. I have seen people take a very low dose of the drug they quit and then slowly taper off that may actually be what turns out to be what works for you again consistent daily dosing is a must... if I were you I would start with that while waiting for a guru to show up. It should help the withdrawal symptoms you have and to me when there are wd symptoms that is a sign the brain is pissed... calming them with daily dosing and getting stable is where this starts. From there dropping dose slowly one you have been stable a good long time. It is drop dose wait.... I would wait longer due to the long half life of prozac... it may take longer of the drop to be felt... you don't want a cumulative effects of drops to hit... I would wait till I felt wd symptoms then wait for it to pass ... then attempt another drop. Like I said I am not the guru... but this can be done listening to you body is key as your body will tell you what is up. Other people get off these drugs without going thru hell and you can too. I wish you peace WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG Had a car accident in 85 Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89 Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above. One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking. As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/ There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in Link to comment
Hudgens Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 The every other day strategy is like doing a cold turkey over and over again. Sept 12th 1992-began taking Imipramine (50mgs) for panic attacks. Stopped Imipramine after 4 months (cold turkey). 7 months later experienced "mysterious" bad flu-like symptoms, although, without upper respiratory problems or fever. Because of this and a day of panic attacks, was put on Prozac (20mgs?) for 2 months and then, when that didn't work-was put back on Imipramine, plus Xanax 1 mg (4Xdaily)-October 1993. March 1999-switched from Imipramine (50mgs) to Celexa. 2008-switched to Pristiq for 3 months, then back to Effexor XR (after bad reaction to the Pristiq). Sept 1st 2010-Switched from Effexor XR (75mgs) to Effexor Generic (solid form) in preparation for taper. Nov 15th 2010-Began tapering from 75mgs Effexor Generic. January 13th 2014-.06mgs April 17th 2014- .03mgs May 11th 2014- .02mgs Ended taper October 31st 2014 Oct 4th 2015-11 months post taper and completely back to normal! Link to comment
sparklypickle Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 Hello all, thanks for making me so welcome! I think I have fixed up my signature ok dalsaan, thanks for the links, I took a good look at them. I understand the exponential decay of serum levels (which rather begs the question why I listened to my GP telling e to alternate doses...I'm a biochemist and mildly obsessive so I always chart the theoretical serum concentration of any dose alterations I make to see when the drop actually happens wtr the dose and yet when I saw the level dropping quite fast I thought - yeah I can do that....hmmm maybe not!). regardless of whether mirtazapine and i hit it off, I want to get off prozac, I think it's caused my stomach problems and sleep issues. bubble , that does not surprise me - I haven't tried going down this fast before (not on purpose, I mean there was that time I forgot to get my prescription for a week..that was fun). I find it interesting that the opinion here is that my or your os everyone else who's on ADs' neurotransmitters might not be chronically imbalanced...in my case there is a family history of depression on both sides (brother, mother, father, 2 great aunts, great grandmother) and my brother suffers much worse than I do. That's what makes me a bit wary about all this... I'm sure that mirtazapine withdrawal will be even less fun what with the shorter halflife, but I just want to be able to sleep without repeatedly waking up in a giant pool of sweat!! (nb may be an exaggeration of the actual turn of events - it may be only a bath or basin of sweat) you've got some good advice there though - in fact I came to the same conclusion myself yesterday morning I rang the doc and asked for a script for that disgusting-tasting liquid fluoxetine gloop. (shudders). I'll be taking 10mg per day until I feel OK again. Doc wants me to start the Mirt immediately, but I want to see what happens with the prozac withdrawal a little longer. (I'm a bad patient and she knows it - i aks what I'm officially supposed to do then do something different because I *know better*) she wished me luck - I rather hope its not a matter of luck!! btdt - sorry to hear you have had such trouble trying to come off meds thanks for all your input - I really think my brain is pissed about all this change! Sadly for now I don't think I can come off ADs totally as my GP is probably concerned about AN relapsing - which I have NO plans on being a part of - hell, I'm about to start a drug that notoriously ups your appetite and gets you to gain weight! bring it on! Hudgens, yeah that is what it feels like in conclusion, i am taking on board all of your voices and will be using liquid fluoxetine to taper as soon as I pick it up. I will taper much more slowly too and report back here to see all you lovely supportive people reason for medication: anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety lustral for 2-3 years at 150mg, straight switch to prozac prozac at 60 mg for ~ 6-7 years - initial side effects included hallucinations - yay me. attempt to come off prozac failed due to depression returning at 20mg prozac prozac decreased to 40 mg for ~ 2 years attempt to come off prozac tapering 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1 mg per day, two weeks at each dose: first month or so on zero dose fine then triggered into relapse of anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety 20 mg prozac for ~3 years, attempted 30 or 25 mg to control anxiety but could not tolerate, so used valium. March 2015, 2 years since complete AN recovery: alternate day dosing of 20mg prozac, felt like crap, switched to 10mg liquid daily, then started gradual taper August 2015 taper has reached 5.6 mg prozac and taking 40mg omeprazole December 2015 20 mg omperazole May 2016 taper has reached 1.8 mg, attempting omeprazole taper to 15 mg Link to comment
sparklypickle Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 oh incidentally, one of my biggest concerns for withdrawal was that I'd get crippling anxiety as my dose lowers but actually I've been totally calm, not a sign of anxiety or panic at all. v weird. reason for medication: anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety lustral for 2-3 years at 150mg, straight switch to prozac prozac at 60 mg for ~ 6-7 years - initial side effects included hallucinations - yay me. attempt to come off prozac failed due to depression returning at 20mg prozac prozac decreased to 40 mg for ~ 2 years attempt to come off prozac tapering 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1 mg per day, two weeks at each dose: first month or so on zero dose fine then triggered into relapse of anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety 20 mg prozac for ~3 years, attempted 30 or 25 mg to control anxiety but could not tolerate, so used valium. March 2015, 2 years since complete AN recovery: alternate day dosing of 20mg prozac, felt like crap, switched to 10mg liquid daily, then started gradual taper August 2015 taper has reached 5.6 mg prozac and taking 40mg omeprazole December 2015 20 mg omperazole May 2016 taper has reached 1.8 mg, attempting omeprazole taper to 15 mg Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Fresh Posted March 19, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted March 19, 2015 Welcome to the site , sparklypickle , I'm glad you found your way here and are on the right track. Word of warning: you may not be out of the woods yet. "It's been over a week at half dose" , so it really is early days as far as withdrawal fallout goes. You may want to stay on this level for six to eight weeks before tapering , or even updose slightly if things deteriorate in the next couple of weeks. Waking up soaked sux , I hated it. It will stop once your cns is stable again. Best wishes , Fresh 1987-1997 pertofran , prothiaden , Prozac 1997-2002 Zoloft 2002-2004 effexor 2004-2010 Lexapro 40mg 2010-2012Cymbalta 120mg Sept. 2012 -decreased 90mg in 6months. Care taken over by Dr Lucire in March 2013 , decreased last 30mg at 2mg per week over 3 months. July 21 , 2013- last dose of Cymbalta Protracted withdrawal syndrome kicked in badly Jan.2014 Unrelenting akathisia until May 2014. Voluntary hosp. admission. Cocktail of Seroquel, Ativan and mirtazapine and I was well enough to go home after 14 days. Stopped all hosp. meds in next few months. July 2014 felt v.depressed - couldn't stop crying. Started pristiq 50mg. Felt improvement within days and continued to improve, so stayed on 50mg for 8 months. Began taper 28 Feb. 2015. Pristiq 50mg down to 45mg. Had one month of w/d symptoms. Started CES therapy in March. No w/d symptoms down to 30mg. October 2015 , taking 25mg Pristiq. Capsules compounded with slow-release additive. March 2016 , 21mg Link to comment
sparklypickle Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 Fresh, the thing is that I've had night sweats ever since I started prozac, it never went swat even on a stable dose. When I came off they stopped. Luckily I managed a whole night with no sweats last night. Woohoo! reason for medication: anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety lustral for 2-3 years at 150mg, straight switch to prozac prozac at 60 mg for ~ 6-7 years - initial side effects included hallucinations - yay me. attempt to come off prozac failed due to depression returning at 20mg prozac prozac decreased to 40 mg for ~ 2 years attempt to come off prozac tapering 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1 mg per day, two weeks at each dose: first month or so on zero dose fine then triggered into relapse of anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety 20 mg prozac for ~3 years, attempted 30 or 25 mg to control anxiety but could not tolerate, so used valium. March 2015, 2 years since complete AN recovery: alternate day dosing of 20mg prozac, felt like crap, switched to 10mg liquid daily, then started gradual taper August 2015 taper has reached 5.6 mg prozac and taking 40mg omeprazole December 2015 20 mg omperazole May 2016 taper has reached 1.8 mg, attempting omeprazole taper to 15 mg Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Fresh Posted March 19, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted March 19, 2015 I had it worst on Lexapro 40mg , i.e. double the recommended max. dose. I suspect it was a symptom of toxicity. Hopefully it's a symptom that's on it's way out for you. 1987-1997 pertofran , prothiaden , Prozac 1997-2002 Zoloft 2002-2004 effexor 2004-2010 Lexapro 40mg 2010-2012Cymbalta 120mg Sept. 2012 -decreased 90mg in 6months. Care taken over by Dr Lucire in March 2013 , decreased last 30mg at 2mg per week over 3 months. July 21 , 2013- last dose of Cymbalta Protracted withdrawal syndrome kicked in badly Jan.2014 Unrelenting akathisia until May 2014. Voluntary hosp. admission. Cocktail of Seroquel, Ativan and mirtazapine and I was well enough to go home after 14 days. Stopped all hosp. meds in next few months. July 2014 felt v.depressed - couldn't stop crying. Started pristiq 50mg. Felt improvement within days and continued to improve, so stayed on 50mg for 8 months. Began taper 28 Feb. 2015. Pristiq 50mg down to 45mg. Had one month of w/d symptoms. Started CES therapy in March. No w/d symptoms down to 30mg. October 2015 , taking 25mg Pristiq. Capsules compounded with slow-release additive. March 2016 , 21mg Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus mammaP Posted March 19, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted March 19, 2015 Hi Sparklypickle, that name made me smile . I just want to chime in with my thoughts for what they are worth. I can't stress enough that what the others have said, prozac is the lesser of the 2 evils here! The good news is that generally side effects are dose related and so they lessen as the dose gets lower. I know that feeling when you have made a decision you want to do it NOW, I took Effexor for 10 years and was sick of being sick on it so decided I wanted off. I did the taper the doctors recommend and it failed miserably. I thought I had done it, felt lots better but then went into withdrawal. It is common for people to feel better after a huge cut, or even after quitting cold turkey but it comes back to bite you on the butt after a few weeks and believe me withdrawal can be much much worse than side effects! If you taper prozac slowly and carefully you should find the side effects get better as time goes by, long before you are finally off the drug. We have a topic for coping without drugs, I too have a strong family history of mental illness but I am determined I will never ever take another drug but am looking at how to take care of myself without them. There are many causes of depression, find the cause and cure the depression. The chemical imbalance theory is just that, a theory cooked up by the drug companies to sell drugs. They are not even allowed to advertise that theory any more! http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1112-non-drug-techniques-to-cope-with-emotional-symptoms/ **I am not a medical professional, if in doubt please consult a doctor with withdrawal knowledge. Different drugs occasionally (mostly benzos) 1976 - 1981 (no problem) 1993 - 2002 in and out of hospital. every type of drug + ECT. Staring with seroxat 2002 effexor. Tapered March 2012 to March 2013, ending with 5 beads. Withdrawal April 2013 . Reinstated 5 beads reduced to 4 beads May 2013 Restarted taper Nov 2013 OFF EFFEXOR Feb 2015 Tapered atenolol and omeprazole Dec 2013 - May 2014 Tapering tramadol, Feb 2015 100mg , March 2015 50mg July 2017 30mg. May 15 2018 25mg Taking fish oil, magnesium, B12, folic acid, bilberry eyebright for eye pressure. My story http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/4199-hello-mammap-checking-in/page-33 Lesson learned, slow down taper at lower doses. Taper no more than 10% of CURRENT dose if possible Link to comment
sparklypickle Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 Hullo mammaP! you mean prozac is less evil that mirtazapine? well, we shall see. I get physical withdrawal symptoms about a day and a half after a missed prozac dose, but i dont think the psychological symptoms kick in for weeks. Incidentally I see you had to taper omeprazole? that's interesting as I've never had trouble just stopping and starting it when I need it for gastritis. I guess everyone is different though! reason for medication: anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety lustral for 2-3 years at 150mg, straight switch to prozac prozac at 60 mg for ~ 6-7 years - initial side effects included hallucinations - yay me. attempt to come off prozac failed due to depression returning at 20mg prozac prozac decreased to 40 mg for ~ 2 years attempt to come off prozac tapering 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1 mg per day, two weeks at each dose: first month or so on zero dose fine then triggered into relapse of anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety 20 mg prozac for ~3 years, attempted 30 or 25 mg to control anxiety but could not tolerate, so used valium. March 2015, 2 years since complete AN recovery: alternate day dosing of 20mg prozac, felt like crap, switched to 10mg liquid daily, then started gradual taper August 2015 taper has reached 5.6 mg prozac and taking 40mg omeprazole December 2015 20 mg omperazole May 2016 taper has reached 1.8 mg, attempting omeprazole taper to 15 mg Link to comment
sparklypickle Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share Posted March 20, 2015 Two days of 10mg rather than 20 every other and the dizziness etc has subsided. Hurrah! reason for medication: anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety lustral for 2-3 years at 150mg, straight switch to prozac prozac at 60 mg for ~ 6-7 years - initial side effects included hallucinations - yay me. attempt to come off prozac failed due to depression returning at 20mg prozac prozac decreased to 40 mg for ~ 2 years attempt to come off prozac tapering 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1 mg per day, two weeks at each dose: first month or so on zero dose fine then triggered into relapse of anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety 20 mg prozac for ~3 years, attempted 30 or 25 mg to control anxiety but could not tolerate, so used valium. March 2015, 2 years since complete AN recovery: alternate day dosing of 20mg prozac, felt like crap, switched to 10mg liquid daily, then started gradual taper August 2015 taper has reached 5.6 mg prozac and taking 40mg omeprazole December 2015 20 mg omperazole May 2016 taper has reached 1.8 mg, attempting omeprazole taper to 15 mg Link to comment
Dane22 Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Hey sparkly pickle. Just typing your handle makes me smile. Night sweats ugh. If it's a real bad night, I'll move over to a dry spot, then I'll awaken and have to move again to another dry area...eventually, I run out of dry bed and sleep in the guest bed. Yup, been there...still there. Glad you're feeling better on 10mg a day. Sounds like you should have less peaks and troughs with that regimine. September 2013. Diagnosed depression/anxiety. Start Prozac 10mg and slowly increase to 40mg. October 2013. Lorazepam 0.5mg prescribed for anxiety after complaining about nervous energy November 2013. prescribed a sleeping pill (name?) for insomnia. took once. ineffective. January to June 2014. psychiatrist agrees to lower dose to 15 mg due to side effects. August 2014 first attempt to quit cold turkey Lasted August 1, 2014 until October 1, 2014 November 2014 second attempt to quit cold turkey lasted Novemember 4, 2014 until Jan 13, 2015 January 2015 3rd attempt to quit cold turkey lasted feb 3, 2015 until feb 23, 2015 March 5, 2015 4th attempt to quit cold turkey. Link to comment
sparklypickle Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share Posted March 20, 2015 Well I aim to please! Who doesn't love a glittery gherkin? Hmm that sounded a bit rude! Sorry you are a fellow sweaty monkey during sleep. I really think that sweating disrupting my sleep is causing me difficulty to get up in the mornings and all day tiredness that just never resolves. Probably massive dehydration every morning. Thankfully my sweats aren't too bad at the moment because it's winter but summer is just hell. On 60mg prozac it was unbelievable, I'd seriously wonder if i'd wet the bed, then realised it would be quite a feat to urinate on my neck and chest, plus the suspiciously still full bladder... Its exactly like you describe except I can't move very far cos my partner needs some dry space too! I end up drying myself off on a corner of bedsheet adjust laying there sodden and shivering until I can nod off again. I can't wake mypartner up by changing pj's or duvet or anything. Its not his fault I am thus encumbered. reason for medication: anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety lustral for 2-3 years at 150mg, straight switch to prozac prozac at 60 mg for ~ 6-7 years - initial side effects included hallucinations - yay me. attempt to come off prozac failed due to depression returning at 20mg prozac prozac decreased to 40 mg for ~ 2 years attempt to come off prozac tapering 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1 mg per day, two weeks at each dose: first month or so on zero dose fine then triggered into relapse of anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety 20 mg prozac for ~3 years, attempted 30 or 25 mg to control anxiety but could not tolerate, so used valium. March 2015, 2 years since complete AN recovery: alternate day dosing of 20mg prozac, felt like crap, switched to 10mg liquid daily, then started gradual taper August 2015 taper has reached 5.6 mg prozac and taking 40mg omeprazole December 2015 20 mg omperazole May 2016 taper has reached 1.8 mg, attempting omeprazole taper to 15 mg Link to comment
btdt Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 I am glad your feeling better at 10mg. Is there no 10mg pill? Why do you have the liquid so soon? If your thinking of tapering I think you need to slow down and forget about that for awhile and if your feeling better what is the hurry? Though your body is responding well to having a stable dose at the right times just now there is still that big drop.... previously which you may not be feeling yet as often WITHDRAWAL IS DELAYED It can take wks or months to hit... seriously I for one think prozac hit later than most drugs because of it's long half life ( and how it may be changing the liver.. another story... just an idea there) I will go out on a limb even further and say the length of time you were on the drug makes a difference in this too... no firm numbers for anyone sorry we just don't know for sure. I have been watching sites like this a long time and often those of us who were drugged a long time with one specific drug will have a delayed withdrawal. Delayed withdrawal was often said to be symptoms coming back for me and kept me drugged 18 years I am sure it has happened to many other people too. Had I known it was withdrawal and that I needed to taper off slowly I would have been off these drugs years ago. As it is that is water under the bridge but we can try to pass on what we have learned to help other people just starting out to not make the same mistakes we did. I quit effexor after 7 years solid use I failed a too fast taper and other drugs... too... I am not sure if you know about tolerance but that may be something you will like to read about too... while you getting a long term stability at 10mg of prozac... really this is important. Getting a few months under you belt and being ok at 10mg is a big deal a big safety valve. Withdrawal is much more intense and much more painful than side effects. It is disabling for many people and if sticking at 10mg is going to protect you from that why not? Trying the new drug that affects multiple neurotransmitters to me is a mistake which eventually offers even more painful withdrawals take a look as some of the people here who are trying to get off it... ask them. I will give you a for instance my own experience as I know that best... I quit effexor 150 cold turkey after being in tolerance and trying to taper and trying to another snri... all failed... I tried to re instate that failed too... I went cold turkey. Very bad idea but I had painted myself into a corner my system would not longer respond as expected to any drug as I had done every thing all wrong... I did not know any better there were no people like you have here advising me. So I quit... I felt better actually for 6 wks nothing too bad then in the 7th wk I went to bed with the flu it felt just like the flu but it lasted for 3 months that was just the start all sorts of unmentionable hell followed. I am not trying to scare you but choices you make now may well effect you life for years to come ....choices I made back then have affected my life for years. Please take your time... now that your feeling not too bad take this time to learn. I think you are blessed to have this information available to you to have a choice. Many of use here started all this crap when there were no information available that is why this is such an important site to us. I wish you peace WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG Had a car accident in 85 Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89 Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above. One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking. As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/ There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in Link to comment
btdt Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 here are some links to delayed withdrawal https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=survivingantidepressants.org%20-%20delayed%20withdrawal Some have had delayed withdrawal several months out. Listening to you body will be the second best advise I can give you after saying to stick with this dose as long as it is working for a least a months... not days. peace PS I know you did not ask ... I am being what seems like a pain in your butt now because I only wish somebody had told me all these things it could have saved me untold suffering.. really I am not pulling any punches because withdrawal will not pull any punches when it comes. peace to you WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG Had a car accident in 85 Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89 Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above. One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking. As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/ There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in Link to comment
sparklypickle Posted March 21, 2015 Author Share Posted March 21, 2015 Thanks for the info and your experiences btdt. 10mg tablets are extremely expensive here compared to any other dose. I have managed something really special today. I measured out 2.5ml in a syringe then not paying attention to the angle, squirted it on the back of my throat, choked, freaked out, had a panic attack once I could breathe again and had to call an out of hours Dr. I'm so embarrassed. Don't do that guys, dispense onto your tongue like a normal person...Ok? Can you imagine dying from choking on prozac? I think I'd deserve a Darwin award for that... Incidentally I woke up naturally at 7am today and felt NO sleep inertia! First time in memory! reason for medication: anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety lustral for 2-3 years at 150mg, straight switch to prozac prozac at 60 mg for ~ 6-7 years - initial side effects included hallucinations - yay me. attempt to come off prozac failed due to depression returning at 20mg prozac prozac decreased to 40 mg for ~ 2 years attempt to come off prozac tapering 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1 mg per day, two weeks at each dose: first month or so on zero dose fine then triggered into relapse of anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety 20 mg prozac for ~3 years, attempted 30 or 25 mg to control anxiety but could not tolerate, so used valium. March 2015, 2 years since complete AN recovery: alternate day dosing of 20mg prozac, felt like crap, switched to 10mg liquid daily, then started gradual taper August 2015 taper has reached 5.6 mg prozac and taking 40mg omeprazole December 2015 20 mg omperazole May 2016 taper has reached 1.8 mg, attempting omeprazole taper to 15 mg Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Fresh Posted March 21, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted March 21, 2015 LOL , will remember that sp. I agree with btdt , this is a time for learning about possible outcomes of the choices you make now. Please see my thread , post 1. Fresh's Fractured Fairytale. My advice would be to get very stable on the 10mg a day for a month or two , and taper s-l-o-w-l-y from there. Thanks for brightening up my days 1987-1997 pertofran , prothiaden , Prozac 1997-2002 Zoloft 2002-2004 effexor 2004-2010 Lexapro 40mg 2010-2012Cymbalta 120mg Sept. 2012 -decreased 90mg in 6months. Care taken over by Dr Lucire in March 2013 , decreased last 30mg at 2mg per week over 3 months. July 21 , 2013- last dose of Cymbalta Protracted withdrawal syndrome kicked in badly Jan.2014 Unrelenting akathisia until May 2014. Voluntary hosp. admission. Cocktail of Seroquel, Ativan and mirtazapine and I was well enough to go home after 14 days. Stopped all hosp. meds in next few months. July 2014 felt v.depressed - couldn't stop crying. Started pristiq 50mg. Felt improvement within days and continued to improve, so stayed on 50mg for 8 months. Began taper 28 Feb. 2015. Pristiq 50mg down to 45mg. Had one month of w/d symptoms. Started CES therapy in March. No w/d symptoms down to 30mg. October 2015 , taking 25mg Pristiq. Capsules compounded with slow-release additive. March 2016 , 21mg Link to comment
sparklypickle Posted March 21, 2015 Author Share Posted March 21, 2015 I brighten someone's day? Hurrah! Who needs pills for then then eh? reason for medication: anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety lustral for 2-3 years at 150mg, straight switch to prozac prozac at 60 mg for ~ 6-7 years - initial side effects included hallucinations - yay me. attempt to come off prozac failed due to depression returning at 20mg prozac prozac decreased to 40 mg for ~ 2 years attempt to come off prozac tapering 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1 mg per day, two weeks at each dose: first month or so on zero dose fine then triggered into relapse of anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety 20 mg prozac for ~3 years, attempted 30 or 25 mg to control anxiety but could not tolerate, so used valium. March 2015, 2 years since complete AN recovery: alternate day dosing of 20mg prozac, felt like crap, switched to 10mg liquid daily, then started gradual taper August 2015 taper has reached 5.6 mg prozac and taking 40mg omeprazole December 2015 20 mg omperazole May 2016 taper has reached 1.8 mg, attempting omeprazole taper to 15 mg Link to comment
Dane22 Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 What!! I'm so jealous!! You slept till 7am? Good for you . Share the secret of sleep if you find out what it is. Sparklypickle. I just had to type that. Makes me giggle. Happy Saturday! September 2013. Diagnosed depression/anxiety. Start Prozac 10mg and slowly increase to 40mg. October 2013. Lorazepam 0.5mg prescribed for anxiety after complaining about nervous energy November 2013. prescribed a sleeping pill (name?) for insomnia. took once. ineffective. January to June 2014. psychiatrist agrees to lower dose to 15 mg due to side effects. August 2014 first attempt to quit cold turkey Lasted August 1, 2014 until October 1, 2014 November 2014 second attempt to quit cold turkey lasted Novemember 4, 2014 until Jan 13, 2015 January 2015 3rd attempt to quit cold turkey lasted feb 3, 2015 until feb 23, 2015 March 5, 2015 4th attempt to quit cold turkey. Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus mammaP Posted March 21, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted March 21, 2015 I'm really glad that you are feeling better with the 10mg daily instead of 20 every other day. Side effects tend to be dose related so hopefully they will stay bearable. I also think you would be best to give it a few weeks at least before making another cut just because a 50% cut is quite big drop and will take your brain a while to adjust. When you are stable and ready you could then taper 10% of the current dose with 4 weeks or longer between cuts. If you feel any withdrawal symptoms at any time during the taper, hold where you are until they have settled before another cut. Re Omeprazole, I had been taking it for many years and wasn't producing stomach acid. When I tried to stop the acid was produced in abundance and caused major problems so I tapered it and have been fine. Occasionally I took one if the acid got out of control again but it is always my own fault for eating badly, I rarely need them now as I've learned what to avoid, and being off the psych drugs has made a huge difference too. **I am not a medical professional, if in doubt please consult a doctor with withdrawal knowledge. Different drugs occasionally (mostly benzos) 1976 - 1981 (no problem) 1993 - 2002 in and out of hospital. every type of drug + ECT. Staring with seroxat 2002 effexor. Tapered March 2012 to March 2013, ending with 5 beads. Withdrawal April 2013 . Reinstated 5 beads reduced to 4 beads May 2013 Restarted taper Nov 2013 OFF EFFEXOR Feb 2015 Tapered atenolol and omeprazole Dec 2013 - May 2014 Tapering tramadol, Feb 2015 100mg , March 2015 50mg July 2017 30mg. May 15 2018 25mg Taking fish oil, magnesium, B12, folic acid, bilberry eyebright for eye pressure. My story http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/4199-hello-mammap-checking-in/page-33 Lesson learned, slow down taper at lower doses. Taper no more than 10% of CURRENT dose if possible Link to comment
sparklypickle Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 That makes a lot of sense mammap Sadly last night I had sweats and woke up fully at stupid o clock (it was still dark) but got back to sleep then got up at 8;30. Again no sleep inertia depite sweatines, so mornings are feeling much better now! reason for medication: anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety lustral for 2-3 years at 150mg, straight switch to prozac prozac at 60 mg for ~ 6-7 years - initial side effects included hallucinations - yay me. attempt to come off prozac failed due to depression returning at 20mg prozac prozac decreased to 40 mg for ~ 2 years attempt to come off prozac tapering 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1 mg per day, two weeks at each dose: first month or so on zero dose fine then triggered into relapse of anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety 20 mg prozac for ~3 years, attempted 30 or 25 mg to control anxiety but could not tolerate, so used valium. March 2015, 2 years since complete AN recovery: alternate day dosing of 20mg prozac, felt like crap, switched to 10mg liquid daily, then started gradual taper August 2015 taper has reached 5.6 mg prozac and taking 40mg omeprazole December 2015 20 mg omperazole May 2016 taper has reached 1.8 mg, attempting omeprazole taper to 15 mg Link to comment
sparklypickle Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 Dane, left unalarmed I will stay asleep until about 11am...and wake up feeling absolutely terrible. Waking up at 6,7,8,9,10,11 doesn't matter felt dreadful.the problem for me is broken sleep, not total lack of hours. It takes at least 3 alarms to get me up and I can't Normally function for at least an hour and a half after dragging my self out of bed.I have to go to bed at 10pm every night because I feel so knackered...so don't be jealous about the number of hours in bed! reason for medication: anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety lustral for 2-3 years at 150mg, straight switch to prozac prozac at 60 mg for ~ 6-7 years - initial side effects included hallucinations - yay me. attempt to come off prozac failed due to depression returning at 20mg prozac prozac decreased to 40 mg for ~ 2 years attempt to come off prozac tapering 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1 mg per day, two weeks at each dose: first month or so on zero dose fine then triggered into relapse of anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety 20 mg prozac for ~3 years, attempted 30 or 25 mg to control anxiety but could not tolerate, so used valium. March 2015, 2 years since complete AN recovery: alternate day dosing of 20mg prozac, felt like crap, switched to 10mg liquid daily, then started gradual taper August 2015 taper has reached 5.6 mg prozac and taking 40mg omeprazole December 2015 20 mg omperazole May 2016 taper has reached 1.8 mg, attempting omeprazole taper to 15 mg Link to comment
Dane22 Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Good morning to you SparklyPickle. Sigh, I was hoping you would bottle and sell the secret to sleep. You could have been rich. That's my problem. Fragmented sleep. No more than a two hour block at a time. The nightmares are awful and that's what usually wakes me. Very vivid. Sweating doesn't help either. I'm hoping you had a visit from the sandman last night. Sending sleepy vibes your way! September 2013. Diagnosed depression/anxiety. Start Prozac 10mg and slowly increase to 40mg. October 2013. Lorazepam 0.5mg prescribed for anxiety after complaining about nervous energy November 2013. prescribed a sleeping pill (name?) for insomnia. took once. ineffective. January to June 2014. psychiatrist agrees to lower dose to 15 mg due to side effects. August 2014 first attempt to quit cold turkey Lasted August 1, 2014 until October 1, 2014 November 2014 second attempt to quit cold turkey lasted Novemember 4, 2014 until Jan 13, 2015 January 2015 3rd attempt to quit cold turkey lasted feb 3, 2015 until feb 23, 2015 March 5, 2015 4th attempt to quit cold turkey. Link to comment
sparklypickle Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 Sorry to disappoint! The only unbroken sleep aside from the other night that I remember was after a low dose of valium, and it was awesome. Sadly medics frown on using it as a sleeping aid. If I find a less addictive trick to getting solid sleep and waking up refreshed I'll be sure to tell you all! reason for medication: anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety lustral for 2-3 years at 150mg, straight switch to prozac prozac at 60 mg for ~ 6-7 years - initial side effects included hallucinations - yay me. attempt to come off prozac failed due to depression returning at 20mg prozac prozac decreased to 40 mg for ~ 2 years attempt to come off prozac tapering 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1 mg per day, two weeks at each dose: first month or so on zero dose fine then triggered into relapse of anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety 20 mg prozac for ~3 years, attempted 30 or 25 mg to control anxiety but could not tolerate, so used valium. March 2015, 2 years since complete AN recovery: alternate day dosing of 20mg prozac, felt like crap, switched to 10mg liquid daily, then started gradual taper August 2015 taper has reached 5.6 mg prozac and taking 40mg omeprazole December 2015 20 mg omperazole May 2016 taper has reached 1.8 mg, attempting omeprazole taper to 15 mg Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus mammaP Posted March 22, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted March 22, 2015 When you find the answer I will be right there at the head of the queue! My sleep is very fractured too and you sound a lot like me. Many hours in bed but barely any sleep,it isn't much of a life but somehow we keep going! **I am not a medical professional, if in doubt please consult a doctor with withdrawal knowledge. Different drugs occasionally (mostly benzos) 1976 - 1981 (no problem) 1993 - 2002 in and out of hospital. every type of drug + ECT. Staring with seroxat 2002 effexor. Tapered March 2012 to March 2013, ending with 5 beads. Withdrawal April 2013 . Reinstated 5 beads reduced to 4 beads May 2013 Restarted taper Nov 2013 OFF EFFEXOR Feb 2015 Tapered atenolol and omeprazole Dec 2013 - May 2014 Tapering tramadol, Feb 2015 100mg , March 2015 50mg July 2017 30mg. May 15 2018 25mg Taking fish oil, magnesium, B12, folic acid, bilberry eyebright for eye pressure. My story http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/4199-hello-mammap-checking-in/page-33 Lesson learned, slow down taper at lower doses. Taper no more than 10% of CURRENT dose if possible Link to comment
sparklypickle Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 I suspect the answer is to be stress, anxiety and antidepressant free...one day.... reason for medication: anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety lustral for 2-3 years at 150mg, straight switch to prozac prozac at 60 mg for ~ 6-7 years - initial side effects included hallucinations - yay me. attempt to come off prozac failed due to depression returning at 20mg prozac prozac decreased to 40 mg for ~ 2 years attempt to come off prozac tapering 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1 mg per day, two weeks at each dose: first month or so on zero dose fine then triggered into relapse of anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety 20 mg prozac for ~3 years, attempted 30 or 25 mg to control anxiety but could not tolerate, so used valium. March 2015, 2 years since complete AN recovery: alternate day dosing of 20mg prozac, felt like crap, switched to 10mg liquid daily, then started gradual taper August 2015 taper has reached 5.6 mg prozac and taking 40mg omeprazole December 2015 20 mg omperazole May 2016 taper has reached 1.8 mg, attempting omeprazole taper to 15 mg Link to comment
sparklypickle Posted March 23, 2015 Author Share Posted March 23, 2015 I'm feeling a lot better energy-wise on 10mg per day fluoxetine....but this is considered a subtherapeutic dose. Has anyone been on 10mg for an extended period and still felt the benefits of the drug? reason for medication: anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety lustral for 2-3 years at 150mg, straight switch to prozac prozac at 60 mg for ~ 6-7 years - initial side effects included hallucinations - yay me. attempt to come off prozac failed due to depression returning at 20mg prozac prozac decreased to 40 mg for ~ 2 years attempt to come off prozac tapering 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1 mg per day, two weeks at each dose: first month or so on zero dose fine then triggered into relapse of anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety 20 mg prozac for ~3 years, attempted 30 or 25 mg to control anxiety but could not tolerate, so used valium. March 2015, 2 years since complete AN recovery: alternate day dosing of 20mg prozac, felt like crap, switched to 10mg liquid daily, then started gradual taper August 2015 taper has reached 5.6 mg prozac and taking 40mg omeprazole December 2015 20 mg omperazole May 2016 taper has reached 1.8 mg, attempting omeprazole taper to 15 mg Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Fresh Posted March 23, 2015 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted March 23, 2015 What doctors consider a "therapeutic dose" is poffle. People here have been on a lot lower dose of ssri's as they taper down , and felt a lot better , after stabilizing on less than a regular dose. Hopefully others will respond who've had that experience. See Useless Spork , who reinstated 3.5mg Mirtazapine and has seen dramatic improvement. The therapeutic dose for Mirtazapine is considered by most doctors to be 15 or 30mg. 1987-1997 pertofran , prothiaden , Prozac 1997-2002 Zoloft 2002-2004 effexor 2004-2010 Lexapro 40mg 2010-2012Cymbalta 120mg Sept. 2012 -decreased 90mg in 6months. Care taken over by Dr Lucire in March 2013 , decreased last 30mg at 2mg per week over 3 months. July 21 , 2013- last dose of Cymbalta Protracted withdrawal syndrome kicked in badly Jan.2014 Unrelenting akathisia until May 2014. Voluntary hosp. admission. Cocktail of Seroquel, Ativan and mirtazapine and I was well enough to go home after 14 days. Stopped all hosp. meds in next few months. July 2014 felt v.depressed - couldn't stop crying. Started pristiq 50mg. Felt improvement within days and continued to improve, so stayed on 50mg for 8 months. Began taper 28 Feb. 2015. Pristiq 50mg down to 45mg. Had one month of w/d symptoms. Started CES therapy in March. No w/d symptoms down to 30mg. October 2015 , taking 25mg Pristiq. Capsules compounded with slow-release additive. March 2016 , 21mg Link to comment
sparklypickle Posted March 23, 2015 Author Share Posted March 23, 2015 It's okay I asked my friend pubmed and he told me there were actually Reports of fluoxetine being effective at doses as low as 2.5mg. If I'm one of those people than no blinking wonder I have trouble with those last few milligrams! PS fell asleep around 9:30pm (was crazy knackered from horse riding/ lack of caffeine/food coma from giant bowl of pasta) woke up wide awake at 4am. Then back to sleep and woken up by alarm at 6:45 in giant pool of sweat. Yuck. Barely any sleep inertia though reason for medication: anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety lustral for 2-3 years at 150mg, straight switch to prozac prozac at 60 mg for ~ 6-7 years - initial side effects included hallucinations - yay me. attempt to come off prozac failed due to depression returning at 20mg prozac prozac decreased to 40 mg for ~ 2 years attempt to come off prozac tapering 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1 mg per day, two weeks at each dose: first month or so on zero dose fine then triggered into relapse of anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety 20 mg prozac for ~3 years, attempted 30 or 25 mg to control anxiety but could not tolerate, so used valium. March 2015, 2 years since complete AN recovery: alternate day dosing of 20mg prozac, felt like crap, switched to 10mg liquid daily, then started gradual taper August 2015 taper has reached 5.6 mg prozac and taking 40mg omeprazole December 2015 20 mg omperazole May 2016 taper has reached 1.8 mg, attempting omeprazole taper to 15 mg Link to comment
sparklypickle Posted March 23, 2015 Author Share Posted March 23, 2015 If i can still feel non depressed and non anxious on a lower prozac dose and therefore resolve the sleep issues, then I won't swap meds...I was thinking that cos I'm now below the therapeutic level, surely this means I will feel like this on no ads but... Maybe not so my friends. Sorry fresh, you replied while I was typing! reason for medication: anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety lustral for 2-3 years at 150mg, straight switch to prozac prozac at 60 mg for ~ 6-7 years - initial side effects included hallucinations - yay me. attempt to come off prozac failed due to depression returning at 20mg prozac prozac decreased to 40 mg for ~ 2 years attempt to come off prozac tapering 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1 mg per day, two weeks at each dose: first month or so on zero dose fine then triggered into relapse of anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety 20 mg prozac for ~3 years, attempted 30 or 25 mg to control anxiety but could not tolerate, so used valium. March 2015, 2 years since complete AN recovery: alternate day dosing of 20mg prozac, felt like crap, switched to 10mg liquid daily, then started gradual taper August 2015 taper has reached 5.6 mg prozac and taking 40mg omeprazole December 2015 20 mg omperazole May 2016 taper has reached 1.8 mg, attempting omeprazole taper to 15 mg Link to comment
btdt Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 If i can still feel non depressed and non anxious on a lower prozac dose and therefore resolve the sleep issues, then I won't swap meds...I was thinking that cos I'm now below the therapeutic level, surely this means I will feel like this on no ads but... Maybe not so my friends. Sorry fresh, you replied while I was typing! I think that would be the best you could hope for to get stable on 10mg and eventually taper off of the 10 mg once your well. Do you know what we here will say about you then? We will say you missed a bullet and how very lucky you were.... really that is how it goes some people get the right information at the right time and save themselves a world of hurt this is why we are here... this is the base reason to prevent others from going to the dire straights we have been too. I will add this too cause I am like that... the more often you try these drugs and get off the more likely you are to have a bad time eventually... so once you done if you can don't look back or take them again find new ways... like exercise ect... just keep walking cause tho we love to help new people ... we would also like it if a place like this was no longer needed cause nobody had withdrawal... peace WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG Had a car accident in 85 Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89 Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above. One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking. As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/ There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in Link to comment
sparklypickle Posted March 23, 2015 Author Share Posted March 23, 2015 Thanks btdt, dodged a bullet eh? Here's hoping! Today I'm actually feeling pretty good in all ways so if I continue to feel this way, I'll stick at this dose for some months before thinking about dropping again but if I get depressed again then I'll start the mirtazapine (though I know none of you would reccommend that). reason for medication: anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety lustral for 2-3 years at 150mg, straight switch to prozac prozac at 60 mg for ~ 6-7 years - initial side effects included hallucinations - yay me. attempt to come off prozac failed due to depression returning at 20mg prozac prozac decreased to 40 mg for ~ 2 years attempt to come off prozac tapering 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1 mg per day, two weeks at each dose: first month or so on zero dose fine then triggered into relapse of anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety 20 mg prozac for ~3 years, attempted 30 or 25 mg to control anxiety but could not tolerate, so used valium. March 2015, 2 years since complete AN recovery: alternate day dosing of 20mg prozac, felt like crap, switched to 10mg liquid daily, then started gradual taper August 2015 taper has reached 5.6 mg prozac and taking 40mg omeprazole December 2015 20 mg omperazole May 2016 taper has reached 1.8 mg, attempting omeprazole taper to 15 mg Link to comment
btdt Posted March 25, 2015 Share Posted March 25, 2015 If you are going to start that drug look it up on here and see how others who are trying to get off it are suffering... really it seems to be one of the worst up there with paxil and effexor... if you have to take something... why try one of the worst to get off of.. keep in mind for some of us the drugs will stop working and you will have to get off some day either way... the more drugs you try stop and start the greater your chance of protracted withdrawal... if you don't know what that is look up my page linked at the end of this peace WARNING THIS WILL BE LONG Had a car accident in 85 Codeine was the pain med when I was release from hosp continuous use till 89 Given PROZAC by a specialist to help with nerve pain in my leg 89-90 not sure which year Was not told a thing about it being a psych med thought it was a pain killer no info about psych side effects I went nuts had hallucinations. As I had a head injury and was diagnosed with a concussion in 85 I was sent to a head injury clinic in 1990 five years after the accident. I don't think they knew I had been on prozac I did not think it a big deal and never did finish the bottle of pills. I had tests of course lots of them. Was put into a pain clinic and given amitriptyline which stopped the withdrawal but had many side effects. But I could sleep something I had not done in a very long time the pain lessened. My mother got cancer in 94 they switched my meds to Zoloft to help deal with this pressure as I was her main care giver she died in 96. I stopped zoloft in 96 had withdrawal was put on paxil went nutty quit it ct put on resperidol quit it ct had withdrawal was put on Effexor... 2years later celexa was added 20mg then increased to 40mg huge personality change went wild. Did too fast taper off Celexa 05 as I felt unwell for a long time prior... quit Effexor 150mg ct 07 found ****** 8 months into withdrawal learned some things was banned from there in 08 have kept learning since. there is really not enough room here to put my history but I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things especially any of the drugs mentioned above. One thing I would like to add here is this tidbit ALL OPIATES INCREASE SEROTONIN it is not a huge jump to being in chronic pain to being put on an ssri/snri and opiates will affect your antidepressants and your thinking. As I do not update much I will put my quit date Nov. 17 2007 I quit Effexor cold turkey. http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1096-introducing-myself-btdt/ There is a crack in everything ..That's how the light gets in Link to comment
sparklypickle Posted March 25, 2015 Author Share Posted March 25, 2015 I will take your advice and read up more about it. I know that ssri or snri drugs are going to give me the horrid sleep and sweating issues I've suffered for years so I'm not willing to go onto another one of those, better the devil you know I think. Dr thought that mirtazapine was a good bet as it's good for people who cannot tolerate ssris, and those with sleep problems. I guess they don't consider that getting off them will he harder. I mean, prozac is meant to be the easiest one to stop isn't it and I find it very difficult.... reason for medication: anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety lustral for 2-3 years at 150mg, straight switch to prozac prozac at 60 mg for ~ 6-7 years - initial side effects included hallucinations - yay me. attempt to come off prozac failed due to depression returning at 20mg prozac prozac decreased to 40 mg for ~ 2 years attempt to come off prozac tapering 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5, 1 mg per day, two weeks at each dose: first month or so on zero dose fine then triggered into relapse of anorexia nervosa, depression and anxiety 20 mg prozac for ~3 years, attempted 30 or 25 mg to control anxiety but could not tolerate, so used valium. March 2015, 2 years since complete AN recovery: alternate day dosing of 20mg prozac, felt like crap, switched to 10mg liquid daily, then started gradual taper August 2015 taper has reached 5.6 mg prozac and taking 40mg omeprazole December 2015 20 mg omperazole May 2016 taper has reached 1.8 mg, attempting omeprazole taper to 15 mg Link to comment
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