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having to stop fluoxetine altogether

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david_25160
david_25160

hello, so here I am trying to get my head round the fact that I have to stop Fluoxetine altogether!!! started on 20mg, went to 40mg, felt great after several weeks smile but then the problems started, routine blood tests showed abnormalities in liver enzymes so I went back to 20, reluctantly, but sadly the blood tests still showed this enzyme thing, so today my gp reckoned that I should stop them altogether and see if that gets my liver working as it should, also must say that prior to starting the Fluoxetine my bloods were fine, so it appears to be the culprit here! It's ok mending my liver, but what about the loss of the Fluoxetine and the good it did me in other ways?? I've been given 2mg Diazepam, but only in case of emergency, yikes!!

1 like, 16 replies

16 Replies

  • carl58303
    carl58303 david_25160

    Posted

    Schizen! that soinds tough! I suppose liver abnormality is more likely to kill you than anxiety/depression but you are being left out to dry! Did he not offer anything for your mental well-being other than emergency pills? Support? A place to go, number to call? Anything?

    How did s/he tell you how to come off Flu or do you just stop? That isn't going to be fun in itself let alone if your original symptoms reappear. I suppose they may not, people come off SSRIs after all.

    Please keep us posted on how you are coping and faring. Good luck!

  • katecogs
    katecogs david_25160

    Posted

    Oh gosh David I am sorry to hear that.  Yes, equally I want to know if you've been freed anything else in the SSRI range too.  Of course as Carl says a liver abnormality is far more important than depression, though of course it doesn't always feel like that.

    Why were they doing routine bloods anyway ... were you having other symptoms besides the Flu side effects?  Mind you, that's irrelevant I suppose as it's shown an abnormality.

    Dont forget to come off them slowly - I do feel for you.

    Dont forget that book on 5-HTP - it really is worth trying them when you've stopped Fluoxetine.  5-HTP and l-tyrosine worked for me.

    K xx

     

    • katecogs
      katecogs

      Posted

      Not freed ... offered
    • david_25160
      david_25160 katecogs

      Posted

      hi Kate, no was'nt offered any substitute for the Fluoxetine, also was not told to wean myself off them, just to stop! so today was the last one sad the bloods were getting done as I was on a statin for high cholesterol, they stopped my statin a couple months ago too! so basically two drugs that were (a) keeping me sane, and (b) had my cholesterol at a great level, both stopped, as Tommy Cooper would have said, just like that. so the coming days, weeks, could be eventfull to say the least. god I hate all these obstacles that life is chucking my way recently, maybe some b*gger has a photo of me and systematically sticks pins in it! thanks Kate, regards, David x
    • katecogs
      katecogs david_25160

      Posted

      So you have no more tablets after today?  Remember how you felt when you just missed a tablet?  I'm just shocked a doctor wouldn't offer any advice re stopping, because even the leaflet that comes with the meds says do not just stop taking them.  You really should go speak to your doctor as I wouldn't just stop them.  You'll be very ill.  That's the last thing you want.

      Yes, so many obstacles ..... I really do feel for you.

      Sending big hugs xxx

  • carl58303
    carl58303 david_25160

    Posted

    Hi David

    According to this paper, you have a 44% chance of suffering withdrawals - a figure that surprisedd me hugely as I had thought it was guaranteed.

    https://patient.info/health/coming-off-antidepressants

    If ever I decide to stop, I shall wean myself off them. 

    Good luck  and please keep us posted on the effects sof stopping.

    Emis Moderator comment: I have replaced the link given with the one above as it is the same article but on our site. If you want to advise users to go to that article please use the link above as this will not go for moderation and therefore will not be delayed.

    • katecogs
      katecogs carl58303

      Posted

      I was just reading about a new treatment for depression on the online BBC News site called Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT).  Can't find it now but Google it for a read.  Quite interesting.

      Yes I've come off Citalopram before and would definitely wean myself off as I still still felt weird even though I'd done very slowly.

      K x

    • carl58303
      carl58303 katecogs

      Posted

      Nice one, Kate. At a quick scan, it looks very American in style - but that does not lessen what is to be learned.

      They are certainly talking my language about the connection between depression and learned thinking patterns.

      £350 is a bit steep but there is a chance of NHS referral. Doctor! Oh Doctor!

    • katecogs
      katecogs carl58303

      Posted

      Yes I agree with learned thinking patterns too - quite interesting isn't it.  Ooh didn't see the figure of £350 ...... is that per session?  Blimey!

      I like the link you found too about weaning off this medication.  A great one to follow for people coming off them.

       

    • carl58303
      carl58303 katecogs

      Posted

      It's £350 for the eight two hour sessions and a weekend session. Plus homework, of course, and a book.

      Besides liking life on Flu and thus not wanting to stop, I'd be scared of stopping incase I needed it again and would have to go through the nightmare of getting started again! 'Tis a high price to pay!

    • katecogs
      katecogs carl58303

      Posted

      Oh I see :-) (silly me)

      Mind you, having to pay for a course is a bit much to ask of people.  I didn't read into it fully ... must go check it out.

      Yes it's quite a lot coming off medication doing this course.  I do wonder if the people who came off the meds felt better anyway because they'd been on the meds.  I wonder if they have results for people who've done this course who haven't taken SSRI's ... would it work for them?  Often when you've been on SSRI's and come off them, it gives you a start to staying well anyway.

      Will be interesting though to see if this is course takes off.

    • carl58303
      carl58303 katecogs

      Posted

      They accept NHS referrals as well - £350 is the private, and no doubt, quicker, route.

      Who would it work for? Folk like me, I suspect. Some have clinical depression which I understand as being caused by 'abnormal' chemicals in the brain. I'm convinced I learned depression as a survival technique (and believe I know where, when and why it started) and this therapy woud help that no end. Armed with this new found knowledge - and being on Flu - I handled the last bout of depresssion at Easter very differently and it lifted in a couple of days, without me going anywhere near the depths.  Talking to friends about how I was feeling and entertaining myself, distracting me from my thoughts. Talking was the best help. I think the course could teach us a lot about how not to get into it and how to get out of it.

      I'm definitely going to talk to my GP about a referral.

    • carl58303
      carl58303

      Posted

      It is no longer 'my' depression - I was put into a position as a five year old where internalising my emotions and locking myself away inside myself was the only logical thing to do. I suffer from a five year old's reponse to something that happend to me - it is 'their' depression and I reject it.
    • katecogs
      katecogs carl58303

      Posted

      Oh bless you ... at 5 years old?  Yes sounds like you definitely learned depression ... and absolutely not yours.  Children find ways of coping in their own way, and as you so rightly say it's a way of survival. xxx

      I also know when mine came about too - from a prolonged stressful relationship when I was a teenager and I eventually crashed when I was 20.  Silly when I look back now, but I was too immature to cope with it all at the time.

      I also recovered a couple from depression a couple of times before I started on SSRI's and at the time I didn't really know how I had.  I do now but it's a question of applying it I suppose.  All too easily said, because once in the grip of it all it seems impossible to get out of.

      I will watch this new treatment unfold more I think.  Looks interesting.

      Glad you found this could be for you :-) xx 

    • carl58303
      carl58303 katecogs

      Posted

      There is the secret! Staying out of thhe grip - recognising the entry tell-tale signs and doing something about it before it is too late. Easier said than done, indeed!

      Can there really be a permanent fix to stop us sinking into the mire? I doubt it - but a good box of tools would not go amiss!

    • katecogs
      katecogs carl58303

      Posted

      Indeed :-)

      Im waiting to see what this new box of tools holds confused

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