I stopped taking Prozac a few days ago... I need advice! Thanks.?

Question

I stopped taking Prozac a few days ago. I was taking 40 mg. But even though Prozac has helped me tremendously over the past couple of months, I started feeling down again... and I wanted to feel a bit free to drink some wine this weekend. But today I woke up in a terrible mood. I have been sreaming at my kids and I am very upsed with little things. My doctor has no idea that I quit my medication for a few days... since Friday. I should have some medication still on my body, I know that... but I am just feeling outrageous about stuff... anyways, I just took 20mg of my medication to see if I calm down.... oh... this is a hard day. Any advice? Thanks.

I take Prozac for depression.

Answer 1

clara,
you should never just "stop" taking you meds like that. the withdrawals can be awful. just like it takes a while for an SSRI to build up in your system, and you probably worked your way up to your current dose, if and when you decide to come off of it...it must be done gradually.
a couple things could be happening. its possible that you were starting to feel"down" again, because you have fully adjusted to your current dosage, and you may need a dosage increase. the other thing to consider strongly is the time of year. winter, and especially the holidays are very hard for people with depression and anxiety. i would encourage you to go back on your meds immediately until you can see your doc. as far as drinking....i think that i speak for many others when i say that i havnt found that having a few drinks while being on prozac( or zoloft etc) is too much of an issue. in the scheme of things...drinking a little while on an SSRI probably is much less detrimental to yourself than going off of your meds and losing it emotionally.

Answer 2

I think that no one is really qualified that does not know you personally to tell you whether you should have stopped taking the medication or keep taking it. There's things that you didn't mention...like how long you have been taking Prozac...if a relative has been diagnosed for manic depressive, or the type. Everyone is different with a different history, or going through different things. Not everyone deals with stress in the same way. If your inner instincts tell you to take the medicine, then do it. Some people do much better with the medicine, and it helps them to stay relaxed.

Personally I don't think it's the medicine only that helps, but the way you think concerning things, and how you react to pressure. Do you have someone to talk to , who knows of your condition. They would notice big changes almost immediately. You need to discuss those outrageous feelings with someone. Maybe you also need time away from the kids, a break to refresh yourself. Your family situation, or someone that you love has hurt you..feeling hurt, lonely, could be the reason for the sudden surge of sadness you're experiencing. You have to stomp that sadness soon as it tries to attack you, and not keep thinking about it. It's not good to be alone, and a support system helps alot. Holidays is when a lot of people experience hurtful feelings.

I know from experience of dealing with a parent that has bipolar. It has been years, been tough. But I'm determined to trust in God and not live my days feeling sad. Heaviness is a terrible feeling...Try joining a church for support, and ministry. You could watch TBN Trinity Broadcasting Network...ministry station on 24 hours. I watch Gospel stations at night time so my mind is not drifting on junk. Night time is when there's a possible flood of terrible thoughts trying to enter your mind.

Answer 3

HI...This is upholstery dr's wife and I have been a pharmacist for going on 17 years. As you probably figured out it is not a good idea to just stop taking Prozac (fluoxetine). You need to taper the dose down slowly... If you still feel this way tomorrow you may want to take the 40mg again. Sometimes the medication just seems to stop working..that is when you need to talk to your dr about switching to something else or changing the dose. It you defininitely want to take yourself off of the Prozac you should consult your dr about it and see what He/She suggests for you. Hope this helps...hang in there :)

Answer 4

Prozac should be tapered off - and not stopped all at one time. You picked a stressful time of year to just quit your medicine. For your children's sake, they SURELY do not know that mom has a illness called depression-and unless you want them to end up with emotional problems also PLEASE talk to your doctor about lowering your dosage or changing medications, there are many others to choose from now, would suggest some, but feel that it would be misinterpreted the wrong way by other members of yahoo. Good luck and God bless.

Answer 5

When you are taking Prozac, you are not supposed to go off of the drug abruptly because your body goes through a withdrawal. Go back on the drug until you can make an appointment to discuss the fact that you think the Prozac is no longer helping you. He will help to wean you off of it.

You should not mix St. John's Wort or any of the other natural drugs with Prozac. This could be very dangerous to do.

Answer 6

Are you kidding me???? You cannot just stop the medication, you have to GRADUALLY come off it. Plus, if you are on the medication you can have a glass of wine. You cannot just stop the medication and then just take it one day to see if you calm down. It doesn't work that way. Get it together, take the medication and you will feel better.

Answer 7

Yes, get back on the meds and remember that alcohol is a depressant and is never a good thing to substitute for meds. Then get to your Dr. and get a higher dose or some other med of it isn't working. Do this for you and your kids. They don't deserve to be treated this way and you can't help it. So, do the right thing . Get back on it and call the Dr. and see, he may suggest a larger dose without seeing you. Love coming your way.

Answer 8

It would be wonderful to be able to get off that stuff for good.Try reading with some soft music.I would do a warm shower first. then read a nice romance novel.You shouldn't stop cold but gradually.Drinking is not the answer. It only makes things worse.

Answer 9

1. St. John's Wort

2. Nutri-Calm from Nature's Sunshine

3. Switch to an all Organic diet.

This is what has helped me to control my horrible anger and depression. Quitting smoking helped me a lot, too. On to the rest of it, like excercise, and doing something in your life that means something.

Good luck. I hope you are happy in the future.

Answer 10

Call your doctor immediately - you have to build up your tolerance levels again. The drug doesn't stay in your body past 24 hours after your last dose.