My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you have medical concerns, please seek medical attention.

Mental health

Fluoxetine withdrawal symptoms - help!

4 replies

Pedestriancrossing · 21/03/2016 16:09

Dear MNers - can you help? I have been on Fluoxetine for more than 5 years (40 mg) and for numerous reasons, have wanted to come off it for ages. Anyhow - now 3 weeks into "cold turkey" and feeling OK mentally but rubbish physically - pretty severe nausea, dizzy, insomnia and weird pins and needles feelings. Has anyone else got any experience of withdrawal - do these sound like Fluoxetine withdrawal, and if so, how long did they go on for? Thanks x

OP posts:
Report
MrsMarigold · 21/03/2016 16:14

Yes - you should lower the dose gradually rather than go cold turkey. Please go to your GP, if you've come off because you are pregnant you canstill be on it.

Report
Getyercoat · 21/03/2016 20:52

Yes that's withdrawal. Never stop an antidepressant cold turkey.
You can reinstate at the dosage you were taking before you stopped. Then taper down, 5mgs drop per month. Yes, that's how long you should take to wean to minimise withdrawal.
They don't tell you that in the GP's or the leaflet, mainly because the manufacturers haven't a notion about how to get off it.

Report
RomiiStartsAnew · 21/03/2016 21:00

I was on 60mg daily (which was too much, i felt awful) but tapered down 20mg per month to 40, then 20_ then zero, now on day 21 of zero. I felt a bit dizzy and nauseous the first week or so of being on zero, then anxiety kicked in the week after (cut down caffeine at that point), and now feel kind of okay-ish.
I had awful insomnia before the dose went up to 60, but (fingers crossed) this has not really returned.
The half life is 4-6 days and it takes 25 days to have it 99% out of your system apparently.
I would suggest speaking with your GP.

Report
Pedestriancrossing · 27/03/2016 17:29

Thanks for your responses seems that I was being too keen to stop Sad so will go back to taking them and see Gp
Just feel physically rubbish and was hoping it a virus or something
oh well

OP posts:
Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.