1. Community
  2. Mental health
  3. Fluoxetine

Stopped fluoxetine 6 months ago cold turkey, when will the anxiety go?

Posted , 19 users are following.

louise76951
louise76951

I felt so much better after I first stopped taking fluoxetine. I felt alive again. My head was clear, I had more energy and my depression actually went away. In the last 2 months I have been suffering with anxiety, I feel like there is a hamster on a wheel at the top of my chest. Hope that analogy makes sense!? I feel like running away. Struggling to have patience with anyone. Is this just a phase of withdrawl and it will go eventually? I really really do not want to start taking fluoxetine again. Has anyone else had this problem, how did you cope and when does it go? Thank you Louise x 

3 likes, 32 replies

32 Replies

Next
  • jacqueline90552
    jacqueline90552 louise76951

    Posted

    Hi Louise, ive just read your post, i just wondered what your outcome was? I also came straight off Prozac and for a month felt on top of the world, better than i had felt in years then i started to go downhill rapidly.

    • louise76951
      louise76951 jacqueline90552

      Posted

      Hi Jacqueline

      I just could not cope with the anxiety and I was dangerously considering leaving my husband, moving to London on my own etc, crazy irrational thoughts. I lost contol of what was reality and what was the withdrawal. I have had to go back on to fluoxetine. I was gutted. I feel now like I'm hooked on it and there is no escape. I wish I had better news to give you. I've tried the phased programme of reducing the dosage gradually rather than a cold turkey stop but I still found the anxiety came raging back either way. I'm still suffering with periods of really bad depression, feeling like a zombie with no interest in anything other than thoughts of dying. Then I'll feel much better and almost normal again. It's a rapid cycling pattern as well, I'm talking days not weeks. How did you feel when you started to go down hill?

    • jacqueline90552
      jacqueline90552 louise76951

      Posted

      I started back on Prozac yesterday but today i feel almost suicidal and have that awful feeling in the pit of my stomach, i just feel that i am as bad on it as off, i just want to be happy;
    • jacqueline90552
      jacqueline90552 louise76951

      Posted

      I felt exactly as you did, the first month was great then the anxiousness and irrational thoughts together with very short fuse, i just couldn't cope any longer
    • louise76951
      louise76951 jacqueline90552

      Posted

      I know exactly what you mean. You feel desperete to feel normal. Everyone around you seems normal, why aren't I. Why can't I just feel content at the very least. It's a horrible disease and it's impact is devestating. I find it hard to beleive that a talking therapy could cure this. This isn't about listening to negative thoughts too much, this is a feeling that is beyond our control. I went on antidepressants in the year 2000 after the end of a physically and mentally violent relationship, I was a mess and finding it impossible to face people. The drugs seemed like miracle workers in the begining and made me feel so much better, but now I wished I'd had the talking therapy back then as that was what I really needed. Now I feel 14 years later so much damage has been done to my brain by this drug I cannot escape it. All I do is pray for help, I don't know what else to do.
  • jacqueline90552
    jacqueline90552 louise76951

    Posted

    When you went back on them this time round, how long til they started working? Also, I was put on Fluoxetine for PND 21 years ago and have been on and off them since. When I went cold turkey a few months ago it was because I felt they werent working anymore and because i started to feel better immediately after stopping them I really thought that was the turning point, a new start, no more fluoxetine side effects, the constant tiredness, weight gain, feeling of not being all there then boom back to feeling depressed, miserable, not wanting to get out of bed in the mornings....nightmare :-)
    • louise76951
      louise76951 jacqueline90552

      Posted

      It was at least 2 weeks and even now I'm still getting the hamster back again and having these days of feeling like nothing can make me happy and there is no point living if it weren't for the hurt I would cuase my loved ones. Like you I stopped taking them because I felt they werent working anymore and because I started to feel better immediately after stopping them, I felt alive again, clear headed and more energised. Like you I really thought that was the turning point, a new start, no more fluoxetine side effects, the constant tiredness and feeling not there, all exactly the same as you. Then like you say it all goes down hill very quickly. I haven't discussed this with a Doctor because I fear the talking therapy will be the only option provided.
  • jacqueline90552
    jacqueline90552 louise76951

    Posted

    Thanks so much for your input xxx
    • louise76951
      louise76951 jacqueline90552

      Posted

      You too, it's good to talk becuase you feel very alone with this condition at times. Take care xxx
    • jacqueline90552
      jacqueline90552 louise76951

      Posted

      Yes, its nice to talk to someone going through the sane thing, only my partner and one friend know about my situation, too embarrassed to discuss it with anyone else! Would like to keep in touch if possible xx
    • louise76951
      louise76951 jacqueline90552

      Posted

      I don't really talk to anyone about my situation. My husband has a mental health problem of his own which means he finds it difficult to handle even mild stress and if he knew how bad I felt it would cause him great distress and that really would'nt help me as I would just be worrying about him. I go to work everyday and nobody knows how I feel, I'm very good at hiding it and getting on with things. I think that is a common way of coping for many who suffer as we do, but it doesn't help our condition it makes it worse. I would be very happy to keep in touch, feel free to talk whenever you like. xxxx
    • jacqueline90552
      jacqueline90552 louise76951

      Posted

      Its a shame we cant exchange e-mail or Facebook details without them being posted on here!!
  • maura06108
    maura06108 louise76951

    Posted

    Hi Louise.

    I recently came off prozac cold turkey and everything is so much better for me.  I don't know you or your situation but I really want to advocate for going off of the prozac.  Your psychiatrist might tell you you're wrong or crazy for thinking it is making you depressed like mine did, but I know for a fact that it made me depressed.  I only had anxiety before taking it, and within a few months of taking it, I became suicidal.  I told my doctor it was making me depressed and she told me I was wrong.  It got really bad and she wasn't helping me, so I just decided to go cold turkey on my own.  I had a panick attack the other day at the psychiatrist office when she got angry at me for going off my meds, but I honestly think it hurt me way more than it helped and there is no way I'm going back on it.  It was such an empty, hollow feeling that just made me feel like I didn't like living any more.  If you've been on it for a long time, it might be hard to tell the difference between how you feel and how the prooxac is making you feel.  I had a hard time telling the difference and I was only on it for a few months.  I literally went from being a really happy college student with social anxiety to giving up on life and hurting myself alone in my room, crying myself to sleep at night.  This drug was awful for me and I want you to know that if you are feeling that it is making you a certain way, it probably is.  Your psychiatrist isn't feeling what you are feeling.  Hope this helps.  Best of luck to you <3         =""  ="">

    • theon77276
      theon77276 maura06108

      Posted

      Hello maura, I have had a similar experience.

      I started prozac for anxiety and excesive worrying about everything 4 months ago and, although it has helped me to worry less, it makes me numb, kills my libido and I don't feel like myself.

      My doctor wants me to stay on prozac longer but i'll rather come back to my excessive worrying and mild depression than stay more on the drug. So I've decided to go off cold turkey becuase i want to be myself again.

      I'm also worried because I read that some people don't get the libido back even when they stop the treatment.

      Did you have any withdrawal effects after stopping it?

      Did your experience any permanent effect afterwards?

      By the way, I'm also a college student.

    • karen76145
      karen76145 theon77276

      Posted

      Hi, Theon. Please don't stop cold turkey. It's typical to have a relapse after going cold turkey. When you go off the side effects do disappear. But please talk to your doctor before quitting.
    • alex1979
      alex1979 theon77276

      Posted

      Hi The on,

      Did you start the taper? If so, did your libido start returning?

      Regards

      Alex

Back to top
Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.