weaning off Cymbalta & onto Prozac...

hi jade, and welcome to the hw depression forum. weaned of many a med over the years, so follow the doc's advice. if you feel comfortable maybe you can tell us a bit about you. me, live with major depression and severe borderline personality disorder. i have had 28 acute admissions, ECT, did a 6 month stay in a inpatient treatment program for borderlines, countless yrs of intense psychiatric therapy-battled being homeless for 2 yrs, family breakdown, etc. happy to report that i am coming thru the darkness and into the light my friend, and may you too. with compassion. jamie. thx for posting.

aloha again,
as far as the drs. advice goes, i feel that it is too quick a taper. i am on 30mg 2x daily & the doc, said to go to 30mg 1x a day for 7 days then to 0mg for 7 days 7 then start on the prozac.

i told her that i think that is too quick a taper & i rather do 30mg for 7 days, then 15mg for 7 days & then 0mg for a week, then on prozac. she said that would be even better, but that i would be without a therapeutic dose for longer than she would initially suggest, as the prozac will take a while to get up to a therapeutic dose on that med.

my thinking = of course she's not going to suggest 15mgs. because that means i would be splitting my pills myself, as 20mg is the lowest - which i don't have.

anyway, i don't know if I am having withdrawals as i had a couple of headaches this week, but it could also be because i was undereating a bit.

let me know if you have any other questions or comments & thank you for your time...







mini-background: i've been suffering with depression since high school. was on paxil for years, then weaned myself off. a few years later, started paxil again, then switched to Cymbalta 2 years ago at 30mgs 1x a day - increased about 6 months ago to 30 mgs 2x a day. now, i am feeling that my OCD has increased & that my depression is still the same even after the increased dosage. i have been researching fluoxetine's effects on depression & ocd & i think it's time for a change & my doc agreed immediately.

Aloha, (I LOVE Hawaii!) :) .... Actually that doesnt sound so bad of a taper... I made the very same transition. I took cymbalta for 3 days and then the next day I started Prozac.. it was easier than my other transitions. I think the prozac is very similar so that you dont experience so many side effects and such. I didnt have any symptoms. I was relieved because I was on cymbalta for 4 weeks. The 2st to weeks I lost my appetite. The next 2 weeks I spent throwing up.. it made me VERY sick... I didnt have any side-effects or anything starting the prozac. I have been doing much better. I think I finally found something that helps.. which is a big deal for me. Nothing has ever helped me. Im also taking trazodone now to help me sleep and to keep my mind from wondering. Im also supposed to be taking Focalin to help me focus and give me more energy, it was too expensive so I am most likely switching to adderall. I felt bad that I needed 3 meds just to have a decent day, but... anything that helps I am okay with it..

I hope your transition goes smoothly and take your doctors advice.. good luck! Take care and keep us informed on how you are doing!T

Hi there Jade,

I am glad that you are seeing your therapist tonight. Let us know how it goes, okay? I hope that you are doing well on your new medication. Keep us informed if you could. I am glad that the transition is going well for you.

Keep posting, have a good night.

Hugs, Karen