Need some advise

[[or...]]

Hello my name is Oriol, I am 45 and it's been almost 5 years I am clean of benzos (at my maximumI used to take 10mg of lorazepam per day) after tappering it down during a couple of years I managed to lower it to 3/4mg per day, after that I ended up in rehab because I couldn't lower it any further, and also I had big issues with alcohol and Cannabis as well. Well it's been almost 5 years I am sober (februari 14th it's my sober aniversary) . It's been quite a journey, but totally worth it, and It felt so good to get rid of the benzos, the best thing ever!!!!

Ok until here my success story. Now I have the same problem with antidepressants (irss= fluoxetine, venlafaxine...) It's not as hard as the benzos because i don't have this huge withdrawal symptoms, but somehow even following my doctor's guidelines tappering it down, I can't get rid of them because I end up depressed, and in total confusion with a complete mess in my mind. I've been taking them for 20 years already, and sometimes i loose hope and i think I won't never get rid of this. 

I know this is a benzos forum/syte, but I was wondering if anyone has experienced something like that or if a very loooong tappering down could work... or i don't know.

Any help would be much appreciated!

Sometimes I am desperate but then I remember how desperate I was with the benzos, and it fills me in with hope. If I could do that I will do this too.

Thanks in advance evrybody!! and keep up with your gr8 efforts, are totally worthy, nothing is impossible!!!! stay strong!

[[Br...]]

Hello @[or...] and welcome to BenzoBuddies!

Congratulations on nearing your 5 year anniversary of quitting benzos and alcohol!  

You're right, of course, that this site is devoted to benzo tapering and withdrawal.  I know from personal experience that tapering from antidepressants needs to be approached with similar caution to benzos.  It's not uncommon for doctors to advise tapers that are too rapid.   If you haven't already I strongly suggest you visit SurvivingAntidepressants.org .   You will find good information and support there for planning a careful taper off fluoxetine and venlafaxine.  

Please let us know if you have any other questions.  

Brighterday

[[An...]]

Hi @[or...], welcome to BB friend.

Brighter gave you excellent advice and pointed you in the right direction. I too may have to visit the surviving antidepressants website when the time comes for me to taper my SSRI. I am currently on 7.5 mgs of Lexapro as I slowly taper from valium. I also wish to congratulate you on your 5 years of benzo freedom. That is a huge accomplishment. 10 mgs of Ativan is a lot. 👏

I have never been on the two SSRI you mentioned in your opening post so I can't help much personally there. I was having my teeth cleaned one day and my dental hygienist was sharing with me about how hard it was getting off her venlafaxine (brand effexor).  Actually, I have heard this from two other ppl IRL about this particular SSRI. It has a much shorter half-life than the fluoxetine so it might be better to tackle getting off the effexor 1st before you taper the venlafaxine.

[[or...]]

Thank you very much for your very kind answers, I really appreciate it and sorry for my poor English, I am writing you from Barcelona, Spain. 

I will visit the site you are mentioning right now!! Just for clarification, I think  I didn't express myself properly, I am not with venlafaxine anymore, I was just pointing out which types of drug a was talking about. Nowadays I am with fluoxetine and I agree with you, Venlafaxine is much harder because of its shorter half-life, the brainzaps are huge if you discontinue it.

Than said, besides the taper guidelines I am looking for a method on disolving the tablets or so, I mean, My tablets are 20mg and i cant slit them any smaller than in quarters (5mg) but I still want to taper down slower, how do you do to work with such small quantities or chunks of tablet,? just looking for a tutorial with instructions.

Thanks for your time!!

And as I said in my first post, If I did it you can do it too, I had no hope anymore and here I am almost on my 5 years sober. Don't give up buddies!!!

[[Li...]]

5 hours ago, [[o...] said:

Than said, besides the taper guidelines I am looking for a method on disolving the tablets or so, I mean, My tablets are 20mg and i cant slit them any smaller than in quarters (5mg) but I still want to taper down slower, how do you do to work with such small quantities or chunks of tablet,? just looking for a tutorial with instructions.

 

Hello, @[or...].

Have you checked Agencia Española de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios to see if a liquid formulation of Prozac/fluoxetine is available in Spain via prescription? 

As @[Br...] suggested, you’ll find guidelines and techniques for tapering fluoxetine at SurvivingAntidepressants:

Tips for tapering off Prozac (fluoxetine)
https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/759-tips-for-tapering-off-prozac-fluoxetine/