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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Delta on November 23, 2010, at 5:43:55
Withdrawing from Prozac. Taking 3- 1 mg lorazepam
daily could not make it without it. If I space the lorazepam out melt downs are rare and i feel fairly good.
However unable to make it past the 9th day without taking a Prozac. This is the 2nd time unable to get past that 9th day.
That means I've made no headway for 18 days. Actually by the 7th day flu like symptoms set in, then the melt downs.
Any advice on what to do to get through this faster/easier?
Posted by linkadge on November 23, 2010, at 7:07:50
In reply to Prozac: Now I'm really worried, posted by Delta on November 23, 2010, at 5:43:55
With antidepressant withdrawl "faster" and "easier" typically don't go together.
Linkadge
Posted by Phillipa on November 23, 2010, at 10:05:25
In reply to Re: Prozac: Now I'm really worried, posted by linkadge on November 23, 2010, at 7:07:50
What dose of prozac are you withdrawing from and long on it. Will you take another ad? You may have posted this before but don't remember. Can you taper the dose down as prozac I think has a five week life. Are you able to function and what side effects are you getting? Phillipa
Posted by Phillipa on November 23, 2010, at 10:11:31
In reply to Prozac: Now I'm really worried, posted by Delta on November 23, 2010, at 5:43:55
I see you get meltdowns but otherwise "feel pretty good" til day 7 and take another prozac maybe take less on day seven and go from there? Phillipa
Posted by ed_uk2010 on November 23, 2010, at 15:26:27
In reply to Prozac: Now I'm really worried, posted by Delta on November 23, 2010, at 5:43:55
> Withdrawing from Prozac. Taking 3- 1 mg lorazepam
Lorazepam can cause dependence rapidly. The withdrawal symptoms from lorazepam are usually much more severe than from Prozac. There is really no justification for using lorazepam to help you get off Prozac.
Prozac is not generally a difficult drug to stop, you just need to decrease the dose gradually. There is a syrup available which can help. You can simply reduce slowly eg. if you were on 20mg per day reduce to 16mg for a few weeks then 12mg for a few weeks and so on. You can use an oral syringe to measure the dose.
Posted by Conundrum on November 23, 2010, at 22:43:01
In reply to Re: Prozac: Now I'm really worried, posted by ed_uk2010 on November 23, 2010, at 15:26:27
If they make prozac, like when I was on it, you can just pull the capsul apart and take like 75% of it for awhile and then decrease and put it back together again. Also you can get 10 mg pills and break them up. For me the lowest dose that still had any effect was 2.5 mg. After that it might be able to stop completely. I'm sorry you are having a rough time. Some people, unfortunately, are very sensitive to med withdrawals.
> > Withdrawing from Prozac. Taking 3- 1 mg lorazepam
>
> Lorazepam can cause dependence rapidly. The withdrawal symptoms from lorazepam are usually much more severe than from Prozac. There is really no justification for using lorazepam to help you get off Prozac.
>
> Prozac is not generally a difficult drug to stop, you just need to decrease the dose gradually. There is a syrup available which can help. You can simply reduce slowly eg. if you were on 20mg per day reduce to 16mg for a few weeks then 12mg for a few weeks and so on. You can use an oral syringe to measure the dose.
Posted by morgan miller on November 23, 2010, at 23:00:52
In reply to Prozac: Now I'm really worried, posted by Delta on November 23, 2010, at 5:43:55
Are you trying to be free of medication?
Maybe start st. john's wort, Perika or Serofin. I would go with Perika first.
Do you take fish oil? You may want to try a marine omega 3 oil product with a higher DHA to EPA ratio like cod liver oil or calamari oil. There are a few products out there made using fish oil that have a 4 to 1 DHA to EPA ratio, I believe Carlson makes one of them.
Posted by bleauberry on November 25, 2010, at 20:24:21
In reply to Prozac: Now I'm really worried, posted by Delta on November 23, 2010, at 5:43:55
You need to know this simple trick.
Take a capsule of prozac and empty the contents into a glass of orange juice or other juice. It won't dissolve so you have to stir it well. While stirred, take a custom sized sip. For example, 1/4 glass of a 10mg pill is a 2.5mg dose. You can customize your dose throughout withdrawals and weaning. Every second or third day, take a little bit. This makes for a smoother journey.
Save the unused portion in the fridge and it's good for a little over a week. For the next minidose, just take it out of the fridge, stir it well, and sip your desired dose.
I did this when starting prozac, working from 1mg to 20mg. I also did it again when coming off prozac 8 years late, dropping the dose by about 2mg per week. The withdrawal was smooth and took about 2 months. There will always bit some of that head zap stuff, mild flu symptoms, and mood changes, but they are much more mellow with a strategic weaning.
In case you didn't already know, the half life of prozac is very long. About a week for it to be half gone from your system. So taking a minidose once in a while lasts a long time and helps the body adjust smoothly. Your difficulties seem to happen right about the end of the half life which makes sense. Keep the blood level on a steady but slow decline instead to avoid those meltdowns.
A benzo will be harder to get off of than prozac, so use some respect and caution there. Herbs that are helpful for the same thing are lemon balm, passionflower, and skull cap. Not to mention other great supplements such as magnesium glycinate, magnesium malate, vitamin C, GABA, and glycine.
Posted by 49er on November 26, 2010, at 6:18:05
In reply to Prozac: Now I'm really worried, posted by Delta on November 23, 2010, at 5:43:55
> Withdrawing from Prozac. Taking 3- 1 mg lorazepam
> daily could not make it without it. If I space the lorazepam out melt downs are rare and i feel fairly good.
> However unable to make it past the 9th day without taking a Prozac. This is the 2nd time unable to get past that 9th day.
> That means I've made no headway for 18 days. Actually by the 7th day flu like symptoms set in, then the melt downs.
> Any advice on what to do to get through this faster/easier?Hi Delta,
Part of me thinks I am insane for responding to your post because my advice on withdrawal keeps getting ignored. Nothing against you as I am ranting generally.
Anyway, I generally successfully tapered off of 4 psych meds by reducing at 10% of current dose every 3 to 6 weeks. I did cold turkey Wellbutrin but the other meds I tapered this way and even more slowly.
With Prozac, you might wait a minimum of 4 weeks since it has a long half life.
Since I don't know what your withdrawal has been like such as if you're currently tapering or if you're finished, I realize my advice has limitations.
But do not make this a race or you will regret it in my opinion. Tapering faster usually means you will have horrific withdrawal symptoms that are worse and spend more time reinstating the drug. You won't have saved any time whatsoever.
Finally, just to be clear, tapering slowly doesn't guarantee that you will have a problem free withdrawal. But for me, it was the difference between being able to work and not work.
49er
This is the end of the thread.
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