[channelI]

Hello, I am attempting to get off both Prozac and Xanax. I have been taking some form of SSRI and Xanax for 15 years, although SSRIs have never worked for me long term and I had to constantly swap them out for other SSRIs. I was most recently on 20 mg of Prozac and stopped on 4.29.16 and I stopped 1 mg of Xanax (which I took at night for sleep) on 6.24.16. When I stopped Prozac I would get an occasional panic attack and after I have stopped Xanax I have gotten panic attacks constantly, sometimes lasting hours. I never had a problem with panic attacks before so it's very hard to claim "well the medicine was working and that's why you're getting panic attacks." My questions is do I continue with this withdrawal? It has been 3 weeks off Xanax so I should be past most of the agonizing withdrawal symptoms? When I read online about benzo/SSRI withdrawal, some sources claim it can take months or years?? Is this true? Any advice, or personal relevant stories are welcome. P.S. Sometimes people ask "Did you not respond well to SSRI's because you are bipolar?" I am not bipolar, nor have I responded to bipolar medications, as I was happy to try them as a last resort. I tried Lamictal, Lithium, and Zyprexa.

[kecanoe]

I have heard that if you are having withdrawal symptoms that are as bad as yours it sometimes works to start taking the med again in a smaller dose than you were on before you quit.

[Skeezyks]

Hello channelI: I'm sorry I am not really able to offer any guidance with regard to your dilemma. However, I see this is your first post here on PC. So... welcome to PsychCentral… from the Skeezyks! I hope you find the time you spend here to be of benefit.

PsychCentral is a great place to get information as well as support for mental health issues. There are many knowledgeable & caring members here. The more you post, & reply to other members’ posts, the more a part of the community you will become. Plus there are social groups you can join & chat rooms where you’ll be able to connect with other PC members in real time (once your first 5 posts have been reviewed & approved.) Lots of great stuff! So please keep posting!

[bintuae]

Originally Posted by channelI

Hello, I am attempting to get off both Prozac and Xanax. I have been taking some form of SSRI and Xanax for 15 years, although SSRIs have never worked for me long term and I had to constantly swap them out for other SSRIs. I was most recently on 20 mg of Prozac and stopped on 4.29.16 and I stopped 1 mg of Xanax (which I took at night for sleep) on 6.24.16. When I stopped Prozac I would get an occasional panic attack and after I have stopped Xanax I have gotten panic attacks constantly, sometimes lasting hours. I never had a problem with panic attacks before so it's very hard to claim "well the medicine was working and that's why you're getting panic attacks." My questions is do I continue with this withdrawal? It has been 3 weeks off Xanax so I should be past most of the agonizing withdrawal symptoms? When I read online about benzo/SSRI withdrawal, some sources claim it can take months or years?? Is this true? Any advice, or personal relevant stories are welcome. P.S. Sometimes people ask "Did you not respond well to SSRI's because you are bipolar?" I am not bipolar, nor have I responded to bipolar medications, as I was happy to try them as a last resort. I tried Lamictal, Lithium, and Zyprexa.

I'd say no. I haven't taken benzos but I took a couple SSRIs and upon discontinuing, I went through terrible WD. It was hell on earth. The scariest period of my life. Stupid doctor said the symptoms will go away after 2 weeks or a month max after stopping, but they never did. The WD continued for more than 3 months and it was actually getting worse by the day. I suffered severe social anxiety during that time (along with other horrific symptoms) to the point where I couldn't step out of my room. My SA was never EVER this severe. My mood was all over the place. Eventually, I couldn't stand it no more so I went back to taking meds.

Btw, I heard benzo WD is even worse than SSRIs'. I don't know how doctors deal with patients experiencing benzo WD given that they know benzos are addictive and SSRIs are not which is ********. If the doc happen to deny the possibility of prolonged WD syndrome, then don't be surprised. For me, doctors were completely useless when I was experiencing withdrawal. Each one of them told me along the lines of "that means your original SA is very severe. The meds were helping and thus, you can't live without them." Also, because I had anger fits and mood swings caused by WD, one of them commented: "maybe you have depression or bipolar." Utter crap!!

[Monteiralis]

I was on Xanax 1mg 3 times a day for 1 year. With that being said, it was hell on Earth for 3 months when I stopped my Xanax (without Dr. recommendation). I found out later that you can die from abruptly stopping your benzos. Talk to your Dr. before stopping Xanax, please.

[apples_]

I was on Klonopin for a year or two up to 2 mg and I tapered off it in about 3 or 4 months. I went really slow I was taking .025 mg at the end then just decided I have to do it. I think I had problems for a month or 2 after that but it slowly went away. If you went from 1mg to 0mg i'm not sure how big a xanax is but it seems like you could take .5mg or maybe even a little more. Sometimes I would go back up on my klonopin if I really had to it may take longer to withdraw and if you can handle it without if affecting your life, job whatever you should do it but I think you know best what you can handle and what is right and what feels like it's not okay where you should be worried about it. Talk to your doctor but for me my doctors advice was Okay go ahead and try. >.>

[LucyG]

Do you want to get off meds, or just take a lower dose? You need to decide what your goal is.

I went off meds 9+ years due to serious side-effects from being on them for 13 long years. I now use amino acids and the mineral supplement lithium orotate to control my bipolar 2. I'm amazed at how well they work because they give the brain what it needs to produce the neurotransmitters needed to keep my mood stable.

If you want to get off meds, this is a good book that will tell you how to do so without becoming deathly ill:

Break Your Prescribed Addiction by Bille Sahley, PhD-painstress