Prozac: coming off anti-depressants

I was on prozac for about 18 months and came off in November. My moods were fine for a long time, but since Christmas I have been fairly depressed again. I'm thinnking of going back on it as it could ensure I'm more stable when I take my A2 exams (which I must do well in!)
If you have come off antidepressants successfully or unsuccessfully, how did your moods develop over the next few months?

Thanks for advice :smile:

Reply 1

Anonymous #2

I was on Mindsoothe for OCD. I came of it and then eventually all those obsessive thoughts came back. Now Im back on it again and this time I will stay on it for 6 months.

Reply 2

Anonymous #3

I was on antidepressants from about Feb-July last year and then came off the 'cold turkey' in July because I didn't want to be on them any more. I was alright for a while but I started taking them again about a month ago because I could feel my mood dipping again.

Reply 3

Anonymous #4

I have a very bad habit of coming off depressants whenever I feel better: it's generally recommended that you stay on them for at least six months after remission to prevent relapse. The fact that I'm on my third antidepressant in two years probably shows that my moods tend to deteriorate pretty rapidly after a few months (although my depression is to a certain extent recalcitrant). If you think it'll help it's not necessarily a bad idea. The important thing is to use the up time that antidepressants give you to alter your behaviours and thoughts to prevent relapse. If you simply take them and stop taking them without making any improvements then it's almost inevitable that you'll become depressed again as your former critical and negative thought processes take hold.

In short, I'd say take them again (if you and your doctor decide it's worthwhile) as long as you have some counselling or at least do some DIY therapy to prevent relapse, and continue taking the antidepressants for six months or more after remission. Otherwise you'll find yourself in the same situation again.

Reply 4

Anonymous #4

Er, that should be antidepressants. Never mind.

Reply 5

Cthulhufiend

If taking Prozac didn't cause any sketchy side effects you may as well go back on them if you feel it would help, although I know what it's like to want to avoid taking medication.
If your depression is fairly mild/moderate you could try taking St John's Wort; it's herbal but pretty effective and has very few side effects.

Reply 6

jointhedots

I came off Citalopram last autumn because I felt better and thought that meant I'd be ok without it - stupid really, because I'd come off Prozac a few times before and always relapsed. This January everything just went wrong and I felt the worst that I have since I was diagnosed 6 years ago...

I'd say start again and next time (I'm assuming you didn't this time because you didn't mention it, so sorry if I'm wrong) combine it with therapy or at least taking a lot of advice from your doctor about how long to stay on them...

The six months thing that Anonymous #4 mentioned is interesting...Is that because that's how long it takes to really change your thought processes, or do they just have more of a long term effect after that amount of time?

Reply 7

danesh

If you are on any SSRIs, to come off (after being on them a long time), you need to switch to fluoxetine liquid (the official way to stop SSRIs). Fluoxetine is the longest acting SSRI, and you can flip straight from say, paroxetine to the fluoxetine liquid without any problems.

The reason liquid is used is because you can control the dose as to have less and less each day. If you have 20mg of fluoxetine each day, you dont need to taper your dose, but can stop immediately (because of the long half life). Only high doses of SSRIs need tapering.

hope this helps!! (and hope you love my crap, slap-dash grammar)

-- A lot of people have difficulty coming off, but it is recognised (you have been on it so long!). You should always stay on it for at least 4-5 months after your depression gets better to prevent a relapse. Herbal remedies are not recommended or proven to be effective in the long term. Though st. Johns wart was the only one found to be as effective as paroxetine, it is not as well tolerated.

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