As dire as some of these symptoms may sound, you shouldn’t let them discourage you if you want to go off your antidepressant. The antidepressants most likely to cause troublesome symptoms are those that have a short half-life — that is, they break down and leave the body quickly. (See the chart “Antidepressant drugs and their half-lives.”) Examples include venlafaxine (Effexor), sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil), and citalopram (Celexa). Extended-release versions of these drugs enter the body more slowly but leave it just as fast. Antidepressants with a longer half-life, chiefly fluoxetine, cause fewer problems on discontinuation.
These symptoms may have a longer duration, but they are typically less severe. See your doctor if you get severe withdrawal symptoms after you stop taking antidepressants. Alternative approaches can be used, such as reintroducing another antidepressant from the same group and reducing the dose more slowly, or stopping completely and managing your symptoms. 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.
- Medications with a longer half-life such as fluoxetine may not require an extended tapering schedule.
- If your doctor does recommend that you stop taking Prozac, follow the steps below.
- The antidepressants most likely to cause troublesome symptoms are those that have a short half-life — that is, they break down and leave the body quickly.
- They’re generally not medically dangerous but may be uncomfortable.
- It can take several weeks after beginning fluoxetine for the symptoms of these conditions to improve.
However, several strategies and treatments can reduce or prevent such discontinuation symptoms. These side effects may include sexual dysfunction, nausea, a loss of appetite, and sleep issues. These issues may cause some people to want to stop treatment with fluoxetine.
How Decrease Prozac (Fluoxetine) By 10 mg
Stopping antidepressants following long-term use may increase the risk of having withdrawal symptoms. Doctors and professional organizations often say that antidepressant withdrawal symptoms are self-limiting and typically resolve within a couple of weeks. Stopping fluoxetine (Prozac), a type of antidepressant, can cause some people to experience withdrawal symptoms. A person should talk with their doctor if Prozac withdrawal symptoms are severe, concerning, disabling, or last longer than a few weeks. Additionally, it is important to seek help if a person experiences suicidal thoughts, self-harm, or any other unexpected or concerning symptoms. More than 40% of people who have a depressive episode will go on to have at least one more episode in their lifetime.
You should adjust your tapering plan as you go, depending on the withdrawal symptoms you experience, rather than choosing a plan and sticking to it no matter what. If you start to get suicidal thoughts or ideas when reducing and stopping an antidepressant, this could be a withdrawal symptom, or the return of depression. They will probably suggest that you go back to the last dose at which you felt well. There have been reports of other antidepressants causing withdrawal symptoms that start weeks after stopping. Brain chemicals called neurotransmitters (such as serotonin and noradrenaline) are involved.
Today, there are many alternative antidepressants, so if you need to come off Prozac, there are ways to do this safely and effectively—with your healthcare provider’s help. One of the reasons long-term antidepressant use is so common is that people are afraid meth withdrawal to stop taking them. These concerns center around the potential for relapse of symptoms and possible withdrawal. The content of this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, examination, diagnosis, or treatment.
When and how should I stop my antidepressants?
This means that you can keep them in an airtight bottle protected from light (e.g. an amber medicine bottle) for a few days before taking them. We have suggested some commonly used antidepressants that might be appropriate for the two styles of tapering. More examples are included a single dose of kudzu extract reduces alcohol consumption in a binge drinking paradigm in the appendices at the end of this resource. The most important thing is that these tapering plans are just starting points and should be adapted to your experience of tapering. Before you start tapering your medication, you should agree your tapering plan with your prescriber.
If you’ve had three or more recurrences of depression, make that at least two years. If you’re doing well on antidepressants and not complaining of too many side effects, many physicians will renew the prescription indefinitely — figuring that it offers a hedge against a relapse of depression. With the help of a healthcare or mental health professional, you may be able to successfully transition to a lower dose depression medication or no medication at all. Remember that talking with a healthcare or mental health professional before trying any of these remedies is crucial to minimizing any unwanted side effects. Sometimes going off your antidepressants can even feel like a recurrence of your depression symptoms, which can be confusing.
If you are worried about withdrawal, your provider may recommend tapering your dose versus quitting cold turkey. When you taper its use by taking progressively smaller doses over a period of time, you can often prevent or reduce Prozac withdrawal symptoms. Prozac is unique among antidepressants because its withdrawal symptoms typically don’t appear for several weeks.
Are they the new Prozac?
“Being upfront about cost lets us work around it,” Dr. Coulter says. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician. Withdrawal symptoms in pregnant people are likely to be the same as those in the general population, and the management techniques are also likely to be similar. People should take the drug during pregnancy only when the potential benefit justifies the possible risk to the fetus. It can take several weeks after beginning fluoxetine for the symptoms of these conditions to improve. A person should also seek help if the symptoms of the condition for which they were taking Prozac are redeveloping or worsening.
Harvard study: Hot yoga may help ease depression
Your doctor will help you agree a plan for how to gradually reduce your dose. This is to prevent any withdrawal symptoms you might get as a reaction to coming off antidepressants suddenly. It’s also important to know that antidepressant withdrawal can be misdiagnosed, potentially increasing the amount of time you take this type of drug or taking it at higher-than-necessary doses. Working with a healthcare provider knowledgeable about the potential for withdrawal can help reduce the likelihood of this being missed.
Many people who stop or reduce their use of antidepressants may experience withdrawal symptoms, which doctors refer to as antidepressant discontinuation syndrome. In fact, some research suggests that up to 80% of people who abruptly stop antidepressants may develop discontinuation symptoms. Most people can gradually stop taking their antidepressants over a few weeks or months, by taking smaller doses and then stopping completely.
This article discusses how to wean off antidepressants and what to do if you experience withdrawal symptoms during tapering. However, some people’s symptoms can be severe enough to impact their daily lives. By working with your doctor to gradually lower your dose over time (a process known as “tapering”), you may be able to minimize or even prevent many of these uncomfortable symptoms. Hearing “withdrawal” may make you think of addiction or dependence. However, having withdrawal symptoms while tapering antidepressants doesn’t mean you have an addiction. Instead, the symptoms come from your brain’s readjustment after being affected by your medication.
You should always contact your doctor or other qualified healthcare professional before starting, changing, or stopping any kind of health treatment. There are also other ways to make up smaller doses of antidepressants for tapering. This is because the higher the risk of withdrawal symptoms, the slower you will need to taper. If uncomfortable symptoms develop with your first dose reduction, or at any further reduction, stop the reduction. Go back to the last dose at which you felt comfortable and wait until you feel ready to try again.
Stopping your antidepressant can cause physical and mental health effects whether you stop abruptly or taper off slowly. If you’re experiencing symptoms of withdrawal, consider these tips. A 2020 study notes that severe withdrawal symptoms are less common with fluoxetine than with other antidepressants. However, withdrawal from Prozac typically lasts longer than it does for drugs with a shorter half-life. Prozac belongs to a class of medications known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).