Best way to come off fluoxetine?

talk to your psychiatrist..... i have heard that coming off is much harder than people think it is..... i have personally witnessed people go off it cold turkey and it was not a pretty sight....she was hit with round after round of crying spells, insomnia, stomach illness...... needless to say, she had not intended to go off of it, but had forgotten her pulls during a 10 day stay in mexico, and then when she got home she thought she was in the clear...... nope..... fluoxetine stays in your system the longest of all the SSRI drugs......so it dint hit her fully until about 15 days after missing her doses, after that, it was nothing short of a nightmare, so please be sure you talk to your Dr first, and explain why you want to be off the drug, and go SLOW!, very very slow.

Hi Bella

I've been thinking of coming off too though only been on for 4 months. the horror stories about people coming off are a bit disheartening (and doctors dont tell is that when we go on - tho guess at the point we went on that wd have made is feel pretty desperate too.) I suspect I need to stay on a bit longer but was thinking maybe take dose every other day for a month, then every 3 days? I think discussing with gp or prescriber a good idea. Glad you're feeling better, me too! good luck 😊

Hi sarah and susie,

Thanks for your replies. Yep... that is what I worry about. The pills made me feel really bad in the first place...it was horrible....I am not looking forward to that at all. At the same time my hair keeps falling out.... so I think I will have start lowering the dosage very slowly. I will talk to my psych. I did hear though that is not good to fluctuate dosage over days, better to take a little off and then continue that for a long time. The question is, how much is a little? 2,5 mg? Or 2??

when i was on 40mg a few years ago, i felt out of it and lightheaded quite a bit, so i talked to my dr about weaning down a bit, and went from 40 to 20 with really no issues at all......i had been on 40mg for 10 years, so quite a long time..... but my weight had gone down by about 25 lbs, and i think the 40 was just too much for me. At 30 mg, you could go to 20 and stay at that dose for about 2-3 months and see how you feel. They have all these websites telling you how to do it, but Im not so sure id trust a website, or advise on medication off the internet... ( including mine) . If your Dr isnt listening to you, then find one that will..... its your body, and most of them have not been on the very drugs they prescribe, so they dont know how you feel.... they are reading from a text book and doing what the manufacture suggests. I do know fluoxetine comes in a liquid form, so small dosage decreases are easier with the liquid vs the capsule or pill......I want off this stuff too some day, but until someone figures out a way to do it without the major side effects, im ok with just being on a minimal dose.

((hugs))

Sarah