Should i discontinue prozac

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Physical benefits Mental benefits Discontinuation symptoms When not to stop Side effects Finding help When to talk with a doctor Takeaway Antidepressants can be effective for treating a number of conditions, but the choice to start and stop one is very individual. Physical benefits. Mental benefits.

Discontinuation symptoms. How to manage side effects. Where to find help. When to talk with a doctor. The bottom line. Read this next. Whilst that might feel like a step in the wrong direction, it is better to be flexible with your plan than to risk becoming unwell.

Sometimes, you may be unsure what decision to make, particularly if you are feeling unwell or struggling with withdrawal symptoms. If you are ever uncertain, talk to your doctor and to the people supporting you. Let them help and guide your decision. Withdrawal symptoms can be a problem when stopping certain antidepressants. Ask your doctor whether your medication might cause them. Withdrawal symptoms are not dangerous. They usually disappear on their own within six weeks of stopping an antidepressant.

You might notice:. The best way to avoid these symptoms is to cut down the dose gradually. Allow plenty of time around each dose change. Take it slowly and be patient. If the symptoms get too unpleasant, try stopping the dose reduction; stay on the same dose for a while longer.

Antidepressants are not addictive; you do not need to take bigger and bigger doses as time goes by to get the same benefit. Stopping them, though, can cause withdrawal symptoms as your body adjusts to being without them. Very often, these withdrawal symptoms are just a minor inconvenience. Sometimes they can be more troublesome. Withdrawal symptoms tend to happen more frequently when stopping antidepressants which have a short half life. The half life of an antidepressant is the time it takes for the body to break down and remove half of a medication from its system.

So, an antidepressant with a short half life will leave the body faster than one with a longer half life. This short half life can result in withdrawal symptoms as the level of medication in your body drops more suddenly.

These antidepressants are less likely to cause withdrawal symptoms. There are many different antidepressants, all with different half lives. If you are unsure whether your medication has a short half life and is more likely to cause withdrawal symptoms, check with your doctor. As well as the half life of a medication, the length of time spent taking a medication can have a bearing on whether an individual gets withdrawal symptoms.

The longer a person has been on a medication, the greater the chance of getting withdrawal symptoms when the medication is stopped. Lastly, some individuals seem to be more sensitive to withdrawal effects than others and can find it difficult to tolerate them, whilst others seem to get few symptoms at all. You might not get any withdrawal symptoms, even if you have been on a medication with a shorter half life for quite some time.

There are no medications recommended to treat withdrawal symptoms. The best way to manage them is to cut the antidepressant dose down gradually, allowing your body time to adjust to each change. The longer you have taken your medication, the slower you might want to cut down. Try to remember exactly what changed when you first became ill. Spotting early warning signs requires a little time and thought. It also helps if you can share this task with someone close to you - a medical professional, a therapist or someone who knows you well.

There might be some experiences that only you would spot; particular thoughts or feelings that no one else would know about.

Other signs, though, are easier for those around you to spot - behaviours that people may have noticed you do last time. So, ideally, sit down with someone who knows you well and work out early warning signs together.

When thinking about experiences, it can be helpful to divide them into three different elements: thoughts, feelings and behaviours. These three elements tend to come as a package, almost like a pre-recorded message that you might have heard many times before.

Sometimes, the message is so repetitive that you can barely notice that it is playing at all; you might need the people around you to notice it for you. A particular thought will be accompanied by its usual feeling. It will trigger you to act in a particular way too. For example, people who have had symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder OCD might remember feeling anxious, having obsessional thoughts and performing compulsive behaviours.

Antidepressants, such as Prozac, typically carry a black box warning , as they may worsen symptoms of depression or suicidal ideation and cause unusual changes in behavior in adults less than 24 years of age. People taking Prozac and their loved ones or caregivers should watch for certain signs and symptoms. These may include :.

Prozac may also interact with other medications or supplements and increase the risk of side effects. It is advisable to talk with a doctor before taking Prozac if currently taking :. Discontinuing an antidepressant can increase the risk of relapse, or the return of symptoms, for anxiety and depression.

The long duration of Prozac withdrawal symptoms may also increase the likelihood of the person mistaking them for returning symptoms. Abruptly stopping antidepressants can lead to rebound depression , in which symptoms return more intensely than before. It is important for doctors to determine the difference between withdrawal symptoms and returning symptoms, such as the return of depression. 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. A person should also seek help if the symptoms of the condition for which they were taking Prozac are redeveloping or worsening.

Fluoxetine, or Prozac, is an antidepressant that doctors commonly prescribe. When a person decides that they are ready to stop Prozac, they should discuss this with their doctor and follow their advice on discontinuation strategies.

Due to the long half-life of Prozac, it is less common for people to experience withdrawal symptoms than it is with other antidepressants. These symptoms may have a longer duration, but they are typically less severe.

They may include dizziness, confusion, and headaches. 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 having a healthy diet, to help minimize potential symptoms.

Neurotransmitters act throughout the body, and you may experience physical as well as mental effects when you stop taking antidepressants or lower the dose too fast. Common complaints include the following:. As dire as some of these symptoms may sound, you shouldn't let them discourage you if you want to go off your antidepressant. Many of the symptoms of SRI discontinuation syndrome can be minimized or prevented by gradually lowering, or tapering, the dose over weeks to months, sometimes substituting longer-acting drugs such as fluoxetine Prozac for shorter-acting medications.

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.

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. Besides easing the transition, tapering the dose decreases the risk that depression will recur. In a Harvard Medical School study, nearly patients two-thirds of them women were followed for more than a year after they stopped taking antidepressants prescribed for mood and anxiety disorders.

Participants who discontinued rapidly over one to seven days were more likely to relapse within a few months than those who reduced the dose gradually over two or more weeks.

Source: Adapted from Joseph Glenmullen, M. If you're thinking about stopping antidepressants, you should go step-by-step, and consider the following:. Take your time. You may be tempted to stop taking antidepressants as soon as your symptoms ease, but depression can return if you quit too soon.

Clinicians generally recommend staying on the medication for six to nine months before considering going off antidepressants. If you've had three or more recurrences of depression, make that at least two years.

Talk to your clinician about the benefits and risks of antidepressants in your particular situation, and work with her or him in deciding whether and when to stop using them.

Before discontinuing, you should feel confident that you're functioning well, that your life circumstances are stable, and that you can cope with any negative thoughts that might emerge. Don't try to quit while you're under stress or undergoing a significant change in your life, such as a new job or an illness. Make a plan. Going off an antidepressant usually involves reducing your dose in increments, allowing two to six weeks between dose reductions. Your clinician can instruct you in tapering your dose and prescribe the appropriate dosage pills for making the change.

The schedule will depend on which antidepressant you're taking, how long you've been on it, your current dose, and any symptoms you had during previous medication changes.

It's also a good idea to keep a "mood calendar" on which you record your mood on a scale of one to 10 on a daily basis. Consider psychotherapy.