A lack of energy and a depressed mood will likely make exercise the last thing you want to do. Exercise can help keep depression at bay by increasing the release of feel-good endorphins and providing a positive outlet for stress. But doctors have dismissed or downplayed such symptoms, often attributing them to the recurrence of underlying mood problems. Tracking your moods in a journal, calendar, and app can help you identify when your symptoms were worse and when they started to improve.
- To be in a position where you feel ready to come off antidepressants is a good thing.
- Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that promotes positive feelings and stabilizes mood.
- You may want to taper off antidepressants because you feel better, but that could also mean the medication is working for you.
- These symptoms, which are often referred to as withdrawal symptoms, usually begin within two to four days and can last for as long as one to two weeks.
These individuals can help you devise a plan for discontinuing your medication while limiting or avoiding the negative effects of withdrawal. Prozac, or fluoxetine, is an antidepressant in a class known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Because Prozac affects your brain chemistry, it should never be stopped without consulting your doctor.
How to taper off your antidepressant
Certain antidepressants are more likely to cause withdrawal symptoms than others. Let her or him know about any physical or emotional symptoms that could be related to discontinuation. If the symptoms are mild, you’ll probably be reassured that they’re just temporary, the result of the medication clearing your system. If you’re taking an SSRI with a short half-life, switching to a longer-acting drug, like fluoxetine, may help. Besides easing the transition, tapering the dose decreases the risk that depression will recur.
Some people can taper off an antidepressant in a matter of weeks, while others may take months. The withdrawal effects of different antidepressants can vary among people. However, withdrawal symptoms are more common in antidepressants with a shorter half life. This means drugs that stay in the body for a shorter period of time.
Stopping or coming off antidepressants
Your provider may recommend a short taper of one to two weeks (given the long half-life of Prozac, in some respects, it tapers itself) or a longer taper that plays out over the course of several weeks or months. Recent research suggests that a longer taper (at least one month) that continues until your dose is down to zero is the best way to minimize SSRI withdrawal. Below is an example that can help you to understand the principles of diluting liquid antidepressants to taper off your medication. It is best to discuss this with your prescriber or pharmacist so you feel confident to undertake a process like the one below. If you have no trouble at all making reductions, then you may be able to speed up your tapering plan. You might be able to leave less time between dose reductions or take less steps.
In general, drugs with short half-lives require a longer tapering period compared with drugs with long half-lives. If your symptoms are severe, it may be recommended that you go back to taking your medication at your original dose temporarily. The next time, the plan may involve tapering off the medication more slowly. Whether or not you have withdrawal symptoms during your taper, you might want to add talk therapy to your treatment. One analysis showed that only 20 percent of people taking antidepressants also undergo psychotherapy. Once your doctor knows why you want to stop using your antidepressant, they can help you chart the best path forward.
Many of these medications impact your levels of serotonin, a naturally occurring substance that helps regulate your moods. If you’re wanting to stop your antidepressant because of unwanted side effects, consider discussing other medication options for your symptoms with your doctor. Every medication works in a unique way and has different side effects. For example, if you’re in school, you may want to plan to start your tapering off schedule at the end of the semester instead of at the beginning. This gives you time to manage the effects without worrying about your grades slipping. You should schedule monthly appointments to check in about symptoms, adjust the taper when necessary, and make sure you’re not having any depression relapses.
Warnings associated with Prozac
But it’s vital that you do so carefully, with the help of a doctor, says psychiatrist Andrew Coulter, MD, MA. He shares considerations for going off your meds and what to be sure to communicate to your doctor. In your situation, where you are decreasing ecstasy withdrawal and detox your Prozac dose from 30 mg to 20 mg, your doctor may recommend simply dropping down to that new dose, without tapering. In fact, it is difficult to taper Prozac by 10 mg or less, as 10 mg is the minimum dose increment commercially available.
Having antidepressant withdrawal symptoms doesn’t mean you’re addicted to an antidepressant. Addiction represents harmful, long-term chemical changes in the brain. It’s characterized by intense cravings, cbt for alcoholism and drug addiction the inability to control your use of a substance and negative consequences from that substance use. If you’re thinking of getting off your antidepressant, there could be benefits to you.