Should I taper off Prozac?

[[Ma...]]

Hi Buddies,

 

I need some advice, I am wondering if I should taper of Prozac? I am on 40mg of prozac/fluoxetine a day. I have two reasons, firstly it has killed my libido, which has subsequently killed my relationship (there may the still be time for salvage though). Secondly, in 2012 I had a very bad activation reaction from taking another SSRI - Zoloft. I was almost psychotic, it was the most horrible thing I've experienced. I had it for three months but when I finally realised it was the Zoloft, it went away in about 2 days when I cold turkeyed off Zoloft. So I'm a bit nervous about the prozac because although it hasn't had the same reaction - it is an SSRI. Goodness knows how it's changing my brain structure.

 

Sure the prozac suppresses some anxiety and depression (caused by the benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome) but at what cost? Sometimes I have side effects - for one the libido, but I also feel groggy and drugged sometimes. Also I wake up in the night sometimes and my vision is weird, like I see EXTREME after images like a magic mushroom trip. Thankfully that only lasts 10 seconds.

 

What do fellow Buddies think? Thanks in advance, I appreciate your advice, it's all I have on these subjects.

[[ho...]]

Im on Prozac too and i would advise tapering off ANY drug is a good idea! Drop to 20mg for a couple weeks , see how you feel.   

[Guest [Le...]]

Matt, I too had a terrible and frightening mental reaction to Zoloft, which crept up slowly, but was gone within a couple of days of stopping. This never happened with Paxil or Prozac, or with any of the other SSRIs I've tried, so it really seems to be something that affects people differently.

 

There are a number of BBs who are on Zoloft, and others on Prozac, who find their SSRIs/SNRIs to be beneficial, so it's really hard to know, other than to pay careful attention and switch when necessary.

 

If I were in your situation, I might try to let the last symptoms from benzo withdrawal clear up for a while longer before attempting to phase out the Prozac. I went off three drugs in a row, and if I had to do it over I would have gotten off the benzo first and waited a longer time before stopping the Paxil - just based on my own experience though. I believe that slower is better when it comes to stopping psychiatric drugs.

[[ho...]]

Yeah totally agree Leslie and as we know coming off benzos can cause depression so might be a good idea staying on them just now.

[[Lo...]]

I had some minimal SSRI side effects when I was on Prozac alone. Curiously, I couldn't tolerate other antidepressants. Tried zoloft once, and I got these weird head sensations, and Effexor made me high as a kite after 1/2 dose.

 

I came off Prozac in 2013, after reading a lot of articles criticizing SSRI's, thinking it was causing me problems, but the real problem was Ativan. Once off Prozac, I could not get back on it anymore due to ativan tolerance/toxicity. If you taper off Prozac, there may be a chance you may not be able to restart it.

 

As it stands now, I can't tolerate any single antidepressant, but I wish I could have made that decision, and that ativan didn't make it that way for me....

 

Personally, I've read so many SSRI polemics years before I started taking ativan, and I really think that took my attention from the benzodiazepine epidemic getting worse and worse. I think I even read some article way back, bashing SSRI's which made me think. "Why take these SSRI meds, when benzodiazepines have been on the market for so long and are so effective for anxiety? The joke's on me.... 

 

 

[[ho...]]

Well i think cos we are all different and react differently to different drugs. Prozac is probably most suitable for me, but i have read a lot of people who are on Mitrazipine and it works for them. I was put on Mitrazapine and it just made me very aggressive, which is not like me at all , so i had to come off them. Trial and error i suppose.

[[ma...]]

I have a friend, WHO now hear voices. He things ITs fr.o.m. ProZac.

[[Es...]]

 

I always had anxiety while on Prozac. Without benzos. Just took a z-drug (Ambien) and an extremely small amount of Seroquel for sleep. I feared people on Prozac, but I'm diagnosed with social phobia. I also had withdrawal effects from Ambien all day long. It acts for 2 hours.

 

I was functioning very well on Prozac, but this anxiety was unbearable. I only took 5 mg of Prozac. Had a severe neck pain (muscle stiffness), cause I have a discopathy requiring surgical intervention.

 

OK, so I tapered Prozac from 5 mg to 0 mg and all hell broke loose. We experimented with all possible ADs for 6 months in 2014. I took each one for 2-3 weeks. Couldn't tolerate.

 

Then, in an attempt to reduce anxiety and come back to work I landed on Valium in May 2014. After 11 yrs of being free from classic benzos. I took an incredibly small dose of Lexapro at the time (2,5 mg) and my OCD was getting worse and worse.

 

I finished by washing my hands several hundred times a day. Washing everything, while the mess in my appartment was getting worse and worse.

 

In May 2016, the OCD was so severe, I went back on Prozac. I'm on 11,25 mg, increased gradually from 2,5 mg I think. One pdoc wanted me to take 60 mg. Prozac has done nothing for my Valium addiction, but helped a bit with OCD. Only this.

 

If you want to taper, try tapering 10% every month. Everyone is different. The Surviving Antidepressants page is very dangerous. The forum is run by an insane woman. I wouldn't recommend it. It made me end up in hospital.

 

There are interesting talks on YouTube by Peter Breggin. Many books on tapering ADs. One should be very cautious with tapering ADs. Ashton wrote some ppl HAVE to take them. There is also a site by David Healy. I think the less drugs you take the better. But some drugs you must take. Question remains: isn't the amount too high?

 

The Valium honeymoon lasted 1 week. Now, on 40 mg Valium and 11,25 mg Prozac, plus netoholic addiction to some insane internet site - I'M IN HELL.