Posted by michael on April 20, 2000, at 14:24:20
In reply to Re: DC/Elise, posted by KarenB on April 20, 2000, at 10:24:21
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> > Actually, Karen, Prozac rarely causes withdrawal effects. It has an extremely long half life. Stims, benzos, you can't just stop. But prozac you can skip for a day or two and it won't make much difference. And even when you quit for good you won't notice anything suddenly.
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> Thanks DC,
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> I am surprised - even after 6 years of taking Prozac, she would not feel any withdrawal symptoms stopping it altogether? I'll take your word for it but I still wouldn't risk doing it that way myself. Taking a dive scares the hell out of me. I have always followed the method of adding OR subtracting one drug at a time, slowly, so I can tell what is causing what, be it side effects or withdrawals. Like, adding an additional 100 mg of Provigil AND ditching the Prozac on the same day would not seem wise to me. How would you know which med - or lack of - is making you feel out of control?
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> By the way, Elise, I was previously diagnosed Bipolar with mixed states/rapid cycling (by three different doctors) but have found just recently that I am actually ADD inattentive type with HYPOactivity and have been since childhood. I am on Ritalin alone now and having NO depression (a miracle), I have sufficient energy and can get out of bed in the morning minus the resentment and loathing at having to be alive. I have noticed I also go to bed at night lately, not dreading life the next day. I am amazed.
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> It would be worth your while to do some research and take some of the tests available on some of the ADD and ADHD websites, just to see.
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> Hope you are feeling better.
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> Karen
Hey Karen -The reason it's not dangerous with prozac is it's extremely long half-life, which I believe is something like 9 days.
For example, if you stop taking prozac abruptly - 9 days after your last dose, you still have 1/2 of the amount of prozac in your system, as you did on the day you stopped taking it. It's kind of like built-in tapering...
However, generally speaking, I think you're correct - caution & patientce are a good rule to live by. From my limited knowledge, prozac is the Exception, and you need to be much more cautious in most cases... (keep in mind, I'm NOT a professional/no professional training - but I am fairly certain that this is an accurate description...) michael
(btw, any idea if the amineptine we were talking about is just what's left of existing stock, or if they have access to ongoing mfg? just wondering...)
poster:michael
thread:29655
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000420/msgs/30728.html