Coming off antidepressants, please share your experiences!

[flossietta]

I've been on 20mg fluoxetine for 18 months. It's been a lifesaver for me and I'm so glad I went on them (severe PND and reactive depression after my mum's death). I've been feeling better for 9 months so have decided to come off them (have discussed with my doctor).

I'm doing alternate days of 20mg for 2 weeks, then every 2 days for 2 weeks, then every 3
days, every 4 etc.

I started this on Monday as im on a week and didn't take my tablet as usual. Yesterday I felt really weird weird, it reminded me of when I first started to take them and I felt really bizarre - exhausted and spaced out but I felt a lot better in the evening, took my tablet and had an ok sleep.

Today I've felt so exhausted again and had to have a nap! (Thank goodness DH is off to see to DD).

I'm confident that coming of them is the right decision but I am worried about the withdrawal symptoms.

Does anyone have any experiences they could share of their own withdrawal off any antidepressant?

I posted about this on another thread here about coming off Citalopram.

I've done a lot of reading and research into withdrawal from SSRI drugs. GPs generally tell people to alternate days and stop completely over the course of a few weeks.

What I've learned from all the reading, and talking to others who've been there, is that you need to wean off them really, really, really slowly. Far more slowly than what GPs (who have never done it themselves!) tell you!

I was on 10mgs of Escitalopram for 2 years. In July I bought a pill splitter and started cutting them in half, so I was taking 5mgs a day. I had a few mood wobbles for a week or so but then evened out.

In September I started cutting the 5mg pieces in half. I was taking 2.5mgs for three months.

At the start of December I started cutting those tiny 2.5mg pieces into bits too. At the moment I'm taking a sliver, a tiny sliver of the pill.

SSRI withdrawal is very real and can be brutal if you don't do it extremely slowly. Personally I think taking a pill one day and not the next is pointless because all you're doing is forcing your brain to adjust to no pill, but then giving it another one the next day.

I'm fully expecting to have a few wobbles both mentally and physically when I stop completely but hoping the slow withdrawal over months and months will limit it to manageable.

Thankyou for your reply.

Quite interesting you say GPs have never come off then themselves. You'd be surprised.

I'm a GP. I tend to advise a very slow reduction to my patients and I've changed my mind and I'm going to follow my own advice regarding that and do it monthly rather than fortnightly.

I'm scared though. I'm scared of what I'm going to experience physically. I feel so foggy at the moment.

Oh and the reason I'm doing alternate days is because fluoxetine 20mg is the lowest dose so I can't do the 10/20 those who are on Citalopram can do. Also fluoxetine has a longer half life so are reportedly quicker to come off.

Yep sometimes people switch to fluoxetine, or a liquid version, to come off an SSRI with a shorter half-life. It's apparently easier to come off than an SNRI and other SSRIs such as Paxil or Lexapro/Celexa.

It was a generalisation about GPs, I'm sorry about that. I have found my pharmacist far more accepting of withdrawal symptoms than any GP or psychiatrist I've met.

If it's any use to you, the only physical symptoms I've had in reducing my dose is nausea. Very like pregnancy nausea, nothing a bottle of Gavision can't help!

I tried several times to come off by myself, just because it felt like I wasn't doing any better on anti-d than with. I cut down to half but then over a year I kept trying to do every other day and each time it was disastrous, I completely freaked out and had a massive day of temper/tears which I couldn't control.

Then in September I got really busy at work - so busy that for 3 days I just fell into bed & forgot to take the pill. Then I remembered for a day, but then had another 3 days when I forgot, so I just decided to stop. I was very careful to watch myself, try to spot any signs of the rage happening, but I was fine. I also get far less stressed now than I had been, and have only had one incident of the rage (triggered by a pile of crap from EA MIL, Christmas Eve at the stores and having a temperature with a bad cold) and even that I got over much more quickly, had a shout, some tears then calmed down and felt really calm afterwards - none of the lingerly feeling of despair.

I have no idea how/why I was suddenly able to come off. I am hypo-thyroid, and over the summer is the first time in a decade when my thyroid & Vit D have both been in the 'good' range, so I suspect that they are the key. I still find that when I get sick I get really depressed/stressed really quickly, so I need to stop and have a break. I used to be the 'soldier on relentless' type, but now I think I need to be more prepared to take time off and fit less into my life.

Also, I am mid 40s and there are some hormone shifts starting to happen.

That's interesting bout the vitamin d. I'm insufficient but ways forget my tablets, i'll try and keep on top of that.

I'm also increasing my exercise in hope that helps.

This might be of interest, I haven't read it myself but it looks to be helpful.
www.breggin.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=296

Can you cut the pills in half? I came off citalopram vvv slowly, never skipped any days till I was down to 5mg a day. Was at 40 went to 20 then 10 then 5 but over a 6 month period

& it was pretty smooth although I did have a bit of a wobble once I was off completely , but think this was exacerbated by the stress of moving house.

Unfortunately not as they are capsules rather than tablets so I couldn't guarantee an equal dose dividing up the granules inside.

It's ok, I've calmed down tonight. In fact I've found it bizarrely reassuring the today was the day I felt rough when it was the day I had taken the tablet IYSWIM?

Violator don't worry about the GP thing. A lot of my colleagues aren't up to scratch on mental health but then a lot are.

I personally think my mental health experiences have made me a better clinician for my patients.

I haven't read all the replies but just wanted to say i agreed with Violator's first reply and had a similar experience coming off citalopram after 9 years, i would take 10mg one day, 5 the next etc, by cutting tablets in half (i came down from 40mg). Did this by myself and had absolutely no ill effects, but i would say its better to have GP's support :) However as acknowledged above you are on a different drug so things may be different.