1st Prozac Update - Feeling Poor

"Feeling poor. Been having bouts of anxiety and emotional blunting. Got about three hours sleep last night. Feeling terrified this morning." — @MLew

That sounds really hard MLew, I'm so sorry. Please be assured that you're not permanently damaged. It takes time after a reinstatement for things to stabilize. I'm really glad you have a supportive family; that really helps! And if anyone can give us hope to keep going it's Angie Peacock. I'm glad her videos are helping you. Our staff member Jules is another person whose been through a lot with being overmedicated and then going through withdrawal. She's doing much better now. She's another one I look to for hope and encouragement. It sounds like you're doing the very best you can to deal with a challenging situation and are using some great coping skills. Have you ever tried EFT tapping? Many have benefited from it. Remind yourself you're safe, loved, and cared for. You're going to get through this!

"mindful meditation" — @MLew

One of my favourites! Sorry to hear youre struggling MLew. Having a supportive family is so amazing. Rarely is anything permanent, especially in the brain. Trust the process, were here for you.

I really understand this fear „it might be permanent“. It realy feels that way, sometimes for a longer time and can lead to deep desperation. I experienced this with Prozac and later with Venlafaxine. After a crash in withdrawl and reinstating, it might indeed need longer than expected to get better. I have just been in such a situation 3 months ago, today i can say the symptoms i feared so much seem to have mostly resolved and i slowly start thinking about tapering again, this time with a smaller step. This process can be so harsh! Stay strong and don‘t loose hope. Tell us about your progress and taper steps and give yourself time.

Thanks for your input, Steve. Just to clarify: You reinstated three months ago and it has taken you that long for symptoms to resolve?

More detail: Yes, normally my tapering sessions were 2-3 weeks and i was good again, while withdrawl always felt harsh. Last tapering i wasn‘t and decided to dose 2/3 of last taper step up again after 4 weeks (thought of getting bipolar, depressed, „mindpain“, sleep problems) and another 1/3 of the taper step another 2 weeks later, so like fully reinstated the last taper step. Then i needed 2,5 months to stabilize. I have read of this happening to other taperers aswell, but not all. If it happens and you decide to reinstate, i suggest it‘s important to hold the reinstated level and stabilize. I would suggest not to panic and get an even higher dosage and believe me, i often played with that thought. And yes, sometimes it needs longer than expected. So i want to encourage you to not loose hope! Sadly tapering these meds is like a new profession, an art we need to get a hold of and have to master. Take care of yourself and know you are not alone in this fight! I feel better again and slowly thinking about trying the next (smaller) taper step, but i‘m still taking it easy.