Quitting Prozac Cold Turkey: SIDE EFFECTS?

I know they may vary from person to person, but I was just wondering if anyone could tell me what the side effects are if you discontinue Prozac abruptly (cold turkey).

My boyfriend stopped taking Prozac on January 22, 2008, because of the sexual dysfunction side effect. Now, it's been a month not taking Prozac, and he's telling me that he's "confused" about our relationship, and he's depressed, he can't sleep, and he's a little weepy. He has NEVER acted this way before to me. He used to be cheerful and happy. Do you think this strange depressive state he's going through could be due to abruptly discontinuing Prozac?

Gaby, I quit Prozac cold turkey over a week ago and, honestly, I can't tell a difference either way.

Hey I quit prozac cold turkey about a month ago and my moods are all over the place. I was fine for a few weeks and then it hit me. I am dizzy all the time and it seems like I have a mood swing every 5 minutes. Don't take it personal, wait it out. His brain hasn't had time to recover from the shock of dropping the medication.

Gaby wrote:

I know they may vary from person to person, but I was just wondering if anyone could tell me what the side effects are if you discontinue Prozac abruptly (cold turkey).
My boyfriend stopped taking Prozac on January 22, 2008, because of the sexual dysfunction side effect. Now, it's been a month not taking Prozac, and he's telling me that he's "confused" about our relationship, and he's depressed, he can't sleep, and he's a little weepy. He has NEVER acted this way before to me. He used to be cheerful and happy. Do you think this strange depressive state he's going through could be due to abruptly discontinuing Prozac?

the problem is not the withdraw, it is that he needs it to function properly! the sexual side effects might not be fun, but depression is the alternative! some people just need to be on anti depressents! until science comes up with an alternative your boyfriend should stay on his meds and work with a psyctrist M.D. to get were he needs/wants to be!in the meanwhile do not guilt him off of his prozac and or let well meaning but, mis guided family members shame him into staying off either! sadly, society treats mental illness as a mark of shame instead of a health issue which is what it is!

I stopped taking prozac about a month ago because I didn't get around to refilling my prescription. Over the last few weeks my mood swings have been all over the place, my anxiety has returned, I feel very flaky at times, my sex drive is next to nothing, and I think it is because I stopped taking prozac overnight. It made me a little nervous and I plan to refill the prescription to see if that will make a difference.

I was on 20mg of Prozac a day for 3 months. They sort of worked but in the end I felt really anxious and sick all the time. I started to wean myself off them by reducing dose but after a few days just gave up taking them. I know my GP would not advise this but I was tired of feeling terrible.

I have since felt fine and have been off them for a month. I have just had a chest infection, which is unrelated, but I have started to experience a dizzy feeling when I move my eyes left and right and feel the need to lie down and close them. I feel this is more than likely related to the chest infection as it started at the same time and I do suffer from sinus problems when I get colds etc.... Could it though be possibly a delayed withdrawal side effect from stopping taking Prozac. If it is how long is it likely to take before this fades away? Any advice?

Bupropin or Wellbutrin, as it is commercially known, causes far less sexual side-effects, and may even increase libido. It did for me. Tell your boyfriend to give it a try.
I hope this helps somebody out there. Please, please, if you are depressed and therapy doesn't work, take the medication, it will improve your quality of life one-hundred fold!

I have been on and off prozak for some time now. I recently decided that I was going to "quit"

It's been a bitch! I was watching the movie "The Perfect Storm" and was crying about the damn fish that they caught!

I am afraid about who I am on and off the drugs! THere has been no clarity about what in the hell I am supposed to do. I have a refil due but I feel that with the holidays I want to "feel" something this year!

Prozak is a drug and therefore addictive!!!!!!

i just stoped and like some one has said above i have no sex drive and hate being touched at all i dont seem to have any emotions either !!!

Hi!
I've been asking myself the same question!And experience the same feeling that u desecribed (i feel i have to cry a lot since i withdrawn!)
So..i am of Prozac for about a month..but only recently started to feel the side effects of it..i feel these "brain zaps" (usually experienced with the withdrawal of Seroxat..).I wonder when my body will feel "normal" again.
I used SSRI'S for 11 years...i decided that i had enough of it..and honestly it realy wasn't a miracle drug.
I took it for obsessive thoughts..
Well..my poor body lost his long lost friend (SSRI's) and i can understand that this might take some time to adjust living without it..
Would love to receive comments

I have been on prozac for 5 months, i recently stopped taking them because i "thought" i felt better, when i would read something my eyes would be fuzzy and i couldn't understand what i was reading. Finally people someone had said to me that i was being very aggressive lately. I felt more as if i wanted to fight, or i would get mad over something so stupid. Now that i have stopped taking them i have been more messes than i was when i had been on them. I had restarted to take them, which when i get back on the i went manic. i didn't know what i was doing... i was lost...

My Daughter was on a small amount of prozak for about a year. I still found her violent, rude, and just plane mean. Since she is a very loving child it really bothered me. She has been off for about 3 weeks notice a differnce but now i think she is going through withdrawls. does any one know how long before this is over, I realize eveyone is different but roughly would be great.

In an effort to find out "who" I really am, I went off Prozac cold-turkey about a month ago. I had been on it since 1999 (10 years) 40 mg. a day. So far, I have felt nothing but BETTER. I feel energetic, happy and very clear headed. This approach probably won't work for everyone, but I feel like myself again, and hope I will never have to be on anti-depressants again. Good luck to everyone who takes Prozac and to everyone trying to get off it.

I have been on various antidepressants for nearly ten years...effexor was the only one that really worked for me, but for lack of a generic option and tired of spending the $130+/mo on it, I switched to generic prozac... wasn't really happy with it and fed up with taking medications at this point, I stopped when my prescription ran out. I feel so much more energetic and motivated than I have in years, so I'm trying to live with the "brain zaps" and occasional light-headed/dizzy spells. They happen at night usually, but I only feel better laying down. Have no idea how long this could last, it's been over a month and they're still going... I've heard that some medications' side effects can last up to six months or so after you quit. Just checking if this could be what I have to look forward to, but I can't find any definitive answers; I will just continue to suffer through it ;)

Gaby, I stopped taking Prozac a few months ago (3), after taking it for 3yrs. Lately I cry at the drop of a hat, feel lost, vague, waves of isolation. I never felt that before. It occurred to me all this emotionalism may be from stopping the Prozac. I took on this morning, and a bit later felt like myself.
I see a taper-off is in order. I began Prozac for OCD, not depression. I regret having begun it at all, and will respect the 'withdrawal' syndrome.

During my last stay in the you-know-where, the doctor took me of Prozac cold turkey, after I've been on it non-stop since 1990! I haven't had the electrical shocks and insomnia I did with stopping Paxil, but I am so depressed I feel numb. The only medications that weren't taken away or changed were my Klonopin and Topamax (the latter used mostly to prevent migraines). I hope I feel better soon, because this frickin' Abilify makes me so groggy during the day I've had to give up driving!

I have been on Fluoxetine for the last couple of years (dosing every two weeks out of the month) for PMS. It is clearly causing weight gain in my stomach. I have the same diet and work out 6 days a week.
If I discontine using the meds, will the weight gain go away in time?

I have taken prozac for nine months. I feel I got worse not better. My feeling I thought got better at first. Then I still had anger I started getting so tired and depressed more. It was horrible and I felt strange. You take a pill once a day then you fell you need a higher dose and it just gets worse with the higher doses. Then I had enough of the feeling ect.. Then I wanted to come off this medicine I had enough. What you don't know is it's very hard to come off. It takes at least three months to come off. First you go down doses 20mgs to a 10mgs each takes thirty days. Then there are no 5mgs so my doctor told me to split 10 mgs in half and take the 5mgs for thirty days and then I don't have to take anymore I'm done. There are many side effects coming off so think long and hard about taken this drug. This is way I feel about this drug.

ksp wrote:

I have been on various antidepressants for nearly ten years...effexor was the only one that really worked for me, but for lack of a generic option and tired of spending the $130+/mo on it, I switched to generic prozac... wasn't really happy with it and fed up with taking medications at this point, I stopped when my prescription ran out. I feel so much more energetic and motivated than I have in years, so I'm trying to live with the "brain zaps" and occasional light-headed/dizzy spells. They happen at night usually, but I only feel better laying down. Have no idea how long this could last, it's been over a month and they're still going... I've heard that some medications' side effects can last up to six months or so after you quit. Just checking if this could be what I have to look forward to, but I can't find any definitive answers; I will just continue to suffer through it ;)

I have been off prozac cold turkey for 3 months now after taking 60mg for 12 years.I felt fine and liberated and thought I was doing great. Now 3 months in I think I am starting to suffer withdrawal or a relapse to the old condition. Doees anyone know if because of the duration of taking the drug the half life is longer and this is my withdrawal. I know I should probably see my GP but I really don't want to be put back on the tablets again. They affected my personality, my sex drive and my emotions. Any help would be greatly appreciated

I'm taking my last Fluoxetine 5mg or a 10mg cut in half. I love it. I'm the happiest person in the world I never have to take one more those pills. Good if it works for others but not me. Side effects are horrible. Coming off the meds are worse. I feel what I did was right for me.