Antidepressant withdrawal

[BELAwesome]

Stopped Fluoxetine/Prozac about a week ago which was fine at first but the last few days haven’t gone well. Have cried so much. Idk what to do. Probably have to see my doctor tomorrow. I’m so frustrated with all this. Why am I so sensitive all the time. Lol :/

[Vrt14]

The same thing happened to me when I tried to stop my Effexor this summer. I was fine at first but then my anxiety came back, so now I am back on a lower dose. I guess we can't live without meds.

[BELAwesome in reply to Vrt14]

Aww. I see. I used to be on Effexor as well. Effexor is one of the hardest medications (at least antidepressant) to stop. It leaves system quickly so the withdrawal is hard. That’s why I switched the this medication to help with the process.

[HearYou]

The 12th Commandment is thou shall not discontinue any medication suddenly.

You are making a wise decision to see your doctor and I'm afraid you are correct; sounds as though you are going through withdrawal and that is rough. Wish you the best with seeing your doctor tomorrow. Just hang on tonight. You're going to be ok. Not know where you are; if things get worse before you see your doctor, call him/her or the doctor on call for help. Ok? xx

[blackcat64013]

From experience I can say the process of withdrawing from an antidepressant should be really, really slow - like a taper over 8 weeks or so and very definitely not cold turkey.

If you are having bad side effects, it's best to go back to the level that worked for you before and try again. Ask you doctor for a taper plan. If your doctor is not comfortable doing so, your pharmacist is the next stop.

As we know each body reacts differently so nothing's guaranteed to work the same way. As Vrt14 said we might need to stay on a maintenance dose.

Good luck and keep trying.

[Cathy63]

I agree that going off antidepressants gradually is the best way to do it. I went off Zoloft that way and didn't experience withdrawal. Also I strongly believe that laughter is great medicine. I always feel better after watching a funny movie, TV show, or skit on YouTube.

[Justswimming]

Why are you stopping? Are you tapering down? You can't just go cold turkey?

[BELAwesome]

I had permission from my psychiatrist to do this as I was on a low dose. I tapered down from the higher dose first.

[BELAwesome]

I’m planning to go to a walk in soon to talk a doctor cause it will be some time before I can see my psychiatrist again.