stopping prozac/fluoxetine

[Divastrop]

i stopped taking my meds for various reasons just over 3 weeks ago(i was on 20mg/day prozac).i went through a really bad spell last weekend,which i put down to withdrawal(discontinuation)symptoms,but i have been up and down since then and was wondering if anybody has any experience of stopping prozac and how long it takes to leave your system etc?

TIA.

Prozac has a long half life and is supposed to be one of the easiest to come off because of this. Not been my experience though I was on 40mg I managed to get down to 30mg (one one day 2 the next) fairly easily and then hit a wall I eventually came down to 20mg using liquid prozac an reducing it 1ml (4mg) at a time before I his another wall .

I honestly don't think I would have survived without anti d's initially but they do not take way or help you handle the cause of your depression. Have you been offered any psychological support or talking/behavioural therapies? If not it may well be asking about it.

There are also some natural ways of boosting your serotonin levels just some of the things I can think of off the top of my head bearing in mind the time of night. You might find something or a combination that is helps you.

• Exercise You can get exercise on prescription too it is worth asking your GP about you get a referral to a trainer, assessment of your needs and what will best help you and then, a supervised program.
• Getting out in the sun (even in the winter when we have it) sunlight effects your production of serotonin. At it's extreem people can suffer from SAD (seasonal effective disorder)
• diet It is as always important to eat a balanced diet but there are some other things.

a) drops in blood sugar can effect your mood it may be helpful to read up on the GI diet more info here you will see it mentioned mainly in relation to loosing weight but it is recommended to diabetics and as someone who suffers from the opposite problem (low blood sugar) I have found it helps stabilise mine and helps my mood. b) Vitamins and minerals it may be worth considering a supplement that contains B-Complex, Magnesium, zinc, Manganese, Calcium, plus others c) Omega 3,6 and 9 oils also this I certainly felt this helped me I only stopped when I became pregnant

• Exercise0 a natural substance which works in a similar way to the group pod anti d's Prozac belongs to.
• Other Exercise1

Not sure what happened to that it was playing up when I tried to post and makes even less sense than before start again

Prozac has a long half life and is supposed to be one of the easiest to come off because of this. Not been my experience though I was on 40mg I managed to get down to 30mg (one one day 2 the next) fairly easily and then hit a wall I eventually came down to 20mg using liquid prozac an reducing it 1ml (4mg) at a time before I his another wall .

I honestly don't think I would have survived without anti d's initially but they do not take way or help you handle the cause of your depression. Have you been offered any psychological support or talking/behavioural therapies? If not it may well be asking about it.

There are also some natural ways of boosting your serotonin levels just some of the things I can think of off the top of my head bearing in mind the time of night. You might find something or a combination that is helps you.

• Exercise You can get exercise on prescription too it is worth asking your GP about you get a referral to a trainer, assessment of your needs and what will best help you and then, a supervised program.
• Getting out in the sun (even in the winter when we have it) sunlight effects your production of serotonin. At it's extreem people can suffer from SAD (seasonal effective disorder)
• diet It is as always important to eat a balanced diet but there are some other things.

a) drops in blood sugar can effect your mood it may be helpful to read up on the GI diet more info here you will see it mentioned mainly in relation to loosing weight but it is recommended to diabetics and as someone who suffers from the opposite problem (low blood sugar) I have found it helps stabilise mine and helps my mood. b) Vitamins and minerals it may be worth considering a supplement that contains B-Complex, Magnesium, zinc, Manganese, Calcium, plus others c)Omega 3,6 and 9 oils also this I certainly felt this helped me I only stopped when I became pregnant

• Exercise0 a natural substance which works in a similar way to the group pod anti d's Prozac belongs to.
• Other Exercise1

Now I have that on word and it does not say that at all
At the bottom the last two which read exercise should read (and do on my original) 5-HTP and
Complimentary therapies

thanks

i am having therapy(?)of sorts with a CPN,plus group therapy once a week(which im sure is making things worse at the moment as its still early days and we are going over past things that have affected our self-esteem).

i am taking all of the supplements you mentioned,apart from vitamin b complex as it makes my anxiety worse.i got some 5HTP but i only took them twice as they gave me the most awful stomach cramps and made me feel drowsy.

i excersise every evening(just with a dvd),i cant do anything that involves going to a gym or whatnot as i have the little ones to look after all day.and sunlight isnt an issue as i get severe anxiety if i stay in the house for too long,so i am always out and about(i dont drive).

i havent looked into the GI diet-i will give that a try also.

its been almost 4 weeks now and im still getting funny feelings in the back of my head,dizzy spells,mood swings.my body seems to have become over-sensitive to everything since i had my 5th child.