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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Tanis on February 27, 2001, at 10:01:44
Hi. I want to know everything about stopping Prozac.
I have taken it for over seven years now and feel it is time to stop. I want to stop taking it because I feel that I have been taking it for way too long, however when I miss a day or two, I get really irritable. I never took Prozac for depression, I took it because I was very irritable and easily got mad. After taking Prozac, I never experienced these mad outrages as much - they decreased. And I am able to drive in traffic without wanting to "kill" the dumb driver in front of me. I am able to relax when taking Prozac. But, I also believe, the Prozac is making me tired every day. I drive an hour to work and back each day and always almost fall asleep when driving. It's dangerous and scares me. I get a min. of 6 hours a sleep per day.
I want to quit Prozac, but when I miss a few days, the withdrawals are too much. I feel dizzy, get a "shock" feeling thru my body, etc. I also get very "grouchy" when I miss a few dosages so I wonder if I have to be on Prozac for life?
I take 20 mg every day.
Any comments?
Tanis
PS. The Prozac-induced weight gain (50 lbs.) is also making me "depressed" too !!
Posted by Shell on February 28, 2001, at 9:37:37
In reply to How to stop taking Prozac?, posted by Tanis on February 27, 2001, at 10:01:44
Hi,
Your question surprises me. I took Prozac (40 mg) for a few years. I wanted to discontinue it so that I could become pregnant, so I simply quit taking it one day. I didn't have any side effects or even notice any change until several weeks had gone by. Then I began to notice that the OCD symptoms were returning (but strangely enough, not as pronounced as before I took the Prozac).
I had always thought that Prozac didn't cause a withdrawal due to its long half life. Its elimination half life is 4-6 days for longtime users and the elimination of its active metabolite takes even longer, up to 16 days.
You didn't say what your doctor's recommendation for stopping was. Did he/she suggest tapering off? I know there is a 10 mg capsule, you can also get even smaller doses from the liquid version. I hope you aren't stopping on your own; it's never a good idea. Besides, your doctor can help make the process easier for you.
I would say that if weight gain is the primary reason you want to stop that he/she could suggest alternatives, but it sounds like you just don't want to take anything on a long-term basis. I can't answer whether or not you "have to" take it forever. That's something that you should discuss with your doctor. I think that it will depend on weighing the positives and negatives and choosing which is best for you (sounds like a nonanswer, doesn't it).
Shell
PS I really don't (and this is just my opinion) think the Prozac is making you sleepy. I think that anyone with a two-hour daily commute (long drives tend to make a lot of people sleepy), a job and six hours of sleep per night will be sleepy. (Personally, I'd be comatose). Maybe you could try 7-8 hours for a while and see if you notice a difference.
Posted by JohnL on March 2, 2001, at 2:14:22
In reply to How to stop taking Prozac?, posted by Tanis on February 27, 2001, at 10:01:44
> Hi. I want to know everything about stopping Prozac.
>
> I have taken it for over seven years now and feel it is time to stop. I want to stop taking it because I feel that I have been taking it for way too long, however when I miss a day or two, I get really irritable. I never took Prozac for depression, I took it because I was very irritable and easily got mad. After taking Prozac, I never experienced these mad outrages as much - they decreased. And I am able to drive in traffic without wanting to "kill" the dumb driver in front of me. I am able to relax when taking Prozac. But, I also believe, the Prozac is making me tired every day. I drive an hour to work and back each day and always almost fall asleep when driving. It's dangerous and scares me. I get a min. of 6 hours a sleep per day.
>
> I want to quit Prozac, but when I miss a few days, the withdrawals are too much. I feel dizzy, get a "shock" feeling thru my body, etc. I also get very "grouchy" when I miss a few dosages so I wonder if I have to be on Prozac for life?
>
> I take 20 mg every day.
>
> Any comments?
> TanisHi Tanis,
I think the desire to get off medication is normal and never goes away. I feel the same way every time I pop open the top of a pill bottle. However, many times the best option is stay with it. When you stop, you are vulnerable to slipping all the way back to where you started. And then there is the rude discovery that the medication that worked well for you once might not do it a second time. It happens a lot.Millions of people rely on medication of one kind or another for someting. You would be surprised to see what is in your neighbor's medicine cabinet that you weren't aware of. Medicines can greatly improve lives. Stopping good medicines that are working is a gamble. In the old days our ancestors had no choice. There were few, if any, medicines. We are lucky to have choices.
If you are determined though to get off Prozac, you could start the process by taking 20mg every other day instead of daily. Do that for a few weeks. Then you could do the juice trick. That is, dump the contents of a capsule into juice or water, stir it well, and drink a custom sized dose (half glass = 10mg). Save the remainder in the fridge for the next day. Since it won't dissolve, be sure to stir it well each time. Do that for a month or so. Then decrease it to 1/4 glass a day (5mg). And so on. You might have to draw out the weening process a good three months or so since you have been on Prozac for years. The longer and slower you draw out the weening process the better. But as you may have guessed, I favor the idea of accepting medicine longterm and staying with it. Quitting will all too often open up a bunch of cans of worms, and it isn't unusual to actually end up being worse off that you ever were to begin with.
John
>
> PS. The Prozac-induced weight gain (50 lbs.) is also making me "depressed" too !!
This is the end of the thread.
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