Posted by barbaracat on August 19, 2005, at 16:23:00 [reposted on August 22, 2005, at 21:45:51 | original URL]
In reply to Re: Prozac Withdrawal - need advice - going off meds, posted by Velodog2 on August 19, 2005, at 15:37:38
Hi and welcome to our board. I've been frequenting it almost 5 years and it's been invaluable in countless ways, not the least of which are the close friends I've made and how much I've learned. It was through this board I realized I was bipolar and not unipolar depressed and educated my pdoc. In fact, educating our pdocs is a common theme around here.
Your question is one we would all like to know. First of all, why did you decide to cold turkey this time? Since you mentioned you've tried before, you must have tried tapering before, tolerated the slow agony only to have to start up again because the depression came back.
I'd like to say that your depression is returning because your receptors have not had time to upregulate yet after only 4 weeks. You're most definitely in withdrawal which is why you're feeling the depression and why it's worse.
The question is, will it stop eventually after your chemistry balances out, or will it continue because 1) your neurochemistry is such that on it's own it will create depression, or 2) the drug has altered your brain's structure and ability to compensate without the drug. This scenario is one that more than one of us has been concerned about, including me. I've tried to come off ADs periodically since starting in 1982 and always had to come back.
I've tried all the 'right things', living a squeaky clean healthy life, supplmenting with amino acids, fish oil, non-allergy diets, meditating, praying, but it's always gotten the better of me. I've finally made peace with it that the stress of depression is much worse than whatever negative effects the meds are causing. I'm on a very low dose of Cymbalta and lithium, quite low but working fine since I now combine it with those other healthy lifestyle things.
Sorry to not be more encouraging and I'm sure many have gotten off them. You might try supplementing with higher than normal doses of amino acids, a full spectrum with extra tryptophan. The book "The Mood Cure" by Julia Ross covers all this, however, she errs in that she leaves out the importance of taking all the aminos instead of just the 'active' ones.
Take a look at the Alternative board on this site as well. That's where you're more likely to find a wealth of advice from people trying to do it more naturally. You're going to need extra Vitamin Bs along with a good vitamin/mineral supplement. You can also try to smooth out this phase by taking a benzo for the rougher moments. I like lorezapam about the best. Drink tons of water and try to get exercise (yeah, right, easier said than done when depressed but it works better than anything).
Good luck to you and please keep us informed of your progress. I often wonder how I'd be now if I never took that first SSRI. Probably dead, considering how bad I felt that drove me to taking them. The mystery question always is - how much pain am I willing to put up with and for how long. If there's truly an end in sight I think we can put up with anything, but is there an end in sight? Ah now, there's the rub. - BarbaraCat
> Hi, I'm new to this board. I've been on Prozac almost continuously for about 8 yrs. and am trying to come off it. I'm about 4 wks into cold-turkey cut off and it's not been easy. I have very few physical symptoms. My worst problem is recurring depression - generally much worse than before I went on the drug. This has happened every time I have tried coming off it before, and I always cave and go back. I hate being dependent. Does anyone else experience a bout of depression while withdrawing? Does it resolve?
poster:barbaracat
thread:545377
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/wdrawl/20050822/msgs/545379.html