You can find out more about how they work, why they are prescribed, their effects and side-effects, and alternative treatments in our separate resource on antidepressants. A doctor may consider tapering the dosage of Prozac to help avoid or reduce withdrawal. People can also try using self-care strategies, such as exercising, getting regular sleep, and following a balanced diet, to help minimize potential symptoms. These can include brain zaps, dizziness, mood changes, irritability, anxiety, headaches, confusion, insomnia, and suicidal thoughts. When a person decides that they are ready to discontinue Prozac, a doctor will likely recommend gradually reducing their dosage.
“Being upfront about cost lets us work around it,” Dr. Coulter says. Some estimates suggest that at least one in five people who stop taking an antidepressant abruptly experience these symptoms. Sign up to receive mental health news and tips delivered right in your inbox every month. The way a drug works is medically known as its mechanism of action. Always reach out to your doctor if these symptoms are affecting your quality of life.
Prozac Tapering Schedule Plan
More than 40% of people who have a depressive episode will go on to have at least one more episode in their lifetime. Maintenance treatment is essentially a long-term treatment designed to prevent relapse. It can include medication, psychotherapy, or a combination of the two.
Make sure you throw away any remaining liquid after you have taken what you need. This information aims to help inform people about different forms of tapering. You should not attempt any of these methods without speaking to your prescriber first. You can use oral syringes to measure out exact amounts of liquid antidepressant and water.
Wondering If It’s Time to Stop Taking Your Antidepressant? Read This First
Your doctor may ask you to keep track of your daily mood while you’re reducing your dose. Some people will need to taper down to smaller doses of their antidepressants than is available in tablet form. To do this, you might be able to use a liquid antidepressant and dilute it. Some people are able to stop taking their antidepressants using only tablets. If you are experiencing withdrawal symptoms and are struggling to come off your antidepressants, you may need to use both tablet and liquid antidepressants to take smaller doses. Long-acting antidepressants, like fluoxetine, can take weeks to leave your body (most take just days).
Withdrawal symptoms
Serotonin discontinuation syndrome, or antidepressant discontinuation syndrome, is a condition that can develop if you stop an SSRI medication like Prozac too rapidly. That’s why it’s best to keep your doctor involved while you go off. They can help you transition off in the most comfortable way you can. Research shows that people who exercise at least three times per week are less likely to have a relapse. Keeping your lifestyle healthy also helps your body adjust while you transition off your medicine. There are also other ways to make up smaller doses of antidepressants for tapering.
Prevalence of Antidepressant Withdrawal
Keep reading to learn more about what you can expect from Prozac withdrawal, including how long it will last and the symptoms you may experience after you stop taking fluoxetine. When you think of antidepressants, Prozac is probably one of the first to come to mind. Prozac (fluoxetine) is an antidepressant used to treat a variety of disorders, including major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, and some eating disorders. If you take Prozac for depression, know that symptom relief varies between people. You may experience relief from sleep, energy level, and appetite symptoms before your mood. However, a 2021 study suggested that mood and other core symptoms (sadness and loss of interest or pleasure) often improve first.
But if you slowly lower the volume, you’ll adjust, and the change is much less noticeable. Tapering allows your body to adapt to the decreasing drug levels, making the process more tolerable. Millions of Americans misuse prescription drugs, including antidepressants like Prozac, each year. Find answers to frequently asked questions about antidepressant detox, withdrawal, and addiction treatment options here. This can help prevent moderate to severe symptoms of withdrawal, including agitation, severe depression, and moderate to severe physical symptoms of withdrawal. Symptoms of antidepressant withdrawal may last for several weeks or potentially months, depending on how long you’ve taken Prozac and the nature of your drug use.
If an antidepressant is stopped too quickly, the brain and body will need time to adjust back again. The sudden lowering of neurotransmitter levels seems to produce withdrawal symptoms, while the brain adjusts to the change. The more gradual the changes, the milder and more tolerable symptoms should be.
Additionally, it is important to seek help if individuals experience suicidal thoughts, self-harm, or any other unexpected symptoms. If you’re calling on behalf of someone else, stay with them until help arrives. You may remove weapons or substances that can cause harm if you can do so safely. Get helpful tips and guidance for everything from fighting inflammation to finding the best diets for weight loss…from exercises to build a stronger core to advice on treating cataracts. PLUS, the latest news on medical advances and breakthroughs from Harvard Medical School experts. Book an appointment to get your symptoms assessed and obtain a prescription online.
- Drugs that your body breaks down (metabolizes) quickly are more likely to cause antidepressant withdrawal symptoms than others.
- A healthcare provider can assess your situation, create a safe and effective drug tapering plan, and provide support throughout the process.
- Long-acting antidepressants, like fluoxetine, can take weeks to leave your body (most take just days).
- Nancy Schimelpfening, MS is the administrator for the non-profit depression support group Depression Sanctuary.
- When you think of antidepressants, Prozac is probably one of the first to come to mind.
Tapering Off Prozac
Research has found that people who engage in evidence-based therapy (like CBT) throughout treatment, remission, and tapering are less likely to relapse into depression than people who don’t, Dr. Siegel says. Withdrawal symptoms usually come on within 5 days of stopping the medicine and generally last 1 to 2 weeks. Some people have severe withdrawal symptoms that last for several months or more.
Prozac starts working as soon as how to wean off prozac you take your first dose, but the effects are very gradual. If you’re experiencing headaches, they might advise you to take acetaminophen or a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) like ibuprofen (Advil). If you have nausea, they could prescribe you anti-nausea drugs like ondansetron. If you want to stop taking your current antidepressant but you don’t mind starting a different one, cross-tapering may be an option for you.
- They may also ask about your openness to trying other methods of treatment for your depression, such as psychotherapy.
- If you think you or someone else is experiencing a Prozac overdose, seek medical attention immediately.
- All steps are not exactly 10% dose reductions because this example is based on hyperbolic tapering (see above).
They can be different for individual antidepressants (see Appendix 1). Research suggests that anywhere from 56% to 80% of people who attempt to come off antidepressants experience symptoms of medication withdrawal or discontinuation. Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional. You might be wondering if your doctor should be the one to bring up tapering first. The fact is, some physicians will regularly reevaluate whether a patient should continue their meds or not while others will take a more conservative approach, Dr. DeYoung says. So some psychiatrists and primary care doctors may—as long as you’re doing well and not having side effects—keep renewing your prescription without revisiting the conversation, Dr. DeYoung explains.
If your withdrawal symptoms are severely affecting your quality of life, they can prescribe medications to reduce them and help you feel better. Prozac, the brand name for the drug fluoxetine, falls under the category of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). SSRIs function by inhibiting the reabsorption of serotonin into nerve cells, thereby elevating serotonin levels in the brain. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that regulates mood, and larger amounts of serotonin are meant to elevate mood and ease symptoms related to various mental health conditions. Tapering off drugs or medication is not something one should do alone.
