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Healthyagain: Getting off Prozac and Wellbutrin XL

Healthyagain
Healthyagain
in Introductions & Ongoing Recoveries

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  • Author

Has anyone experienced severe headaches or bloating after reducing their Wellbutrin dose? I’m having trouble telling whether mine is related to the dose drop, my switch to a different Wellbutrin formulation in June, or my switch to a different Prozac formulation in August.

Interestingly, when I reduced Wellbutrin to 75 mg for three days, my headache disappeared. I’d be grateful to hear if anyone has experienced something similar.

2004 to Jan 2025 - Prozac long-term, mostly 40 mg/day

2012 to Jan 2025 - Wellbutrin XL long-term, up to 450 mg/day

2019 - cold turkeyed Prozac 80 mg, Wellbutrin XL 450 mg, Adderall XR 30 mg, and Synthroid → severe crash with panic, akathisia, DPDR, and intrusive SI; Prozac and Wellbutrin were later reinstated

Jan to Aug 2025 - tapered Prozac 40 → ~5 mg/day equivalent and Wellbutrin XL 450 → ~75 mg/day, with several large cuts

Aug 2025 - severe panic/intrusive thoughts → reinstated Prozac 10 mg/day and Wellbutrin XL 150 mg/day

Oct-Nov 2025 - brief increases to Wellbutrin 300 mg and Prozac 15 mg worsened symptoms → returned to Wellbutrin 150 mg and Prozac 10 mg

Apr to Jul 2026 - Prozac tapered 10 → 4 mg with multiple cuts and holds

8/4/26 to present - Prozac 4 mg commercial liquid, HOLD

6/15/26 - Wellbutrin XL 150 mg → IR 150 mg/day

8/13/26 - briefly dropped Wellbutrin to 75 mg/day, then returned to 150 mg

Wellbutrin IR HOLD

Also taking Tirosint 88 mcg and metformin 1000 mg/day. Ozempic last dose 11/6/25; Xanax last tiny dose 1/10/26.

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  • Go2zero
    Go2zero

    @Healthyagain be kind and forgiving to yourself. Most members here and (on SA then) have made these moves up and down. I do not call them mistakes even. Most of us desperately want to get away of thes

  • Go2zero
    Go2zero

    I understand why the uncertainty is so hard, especially after 13 months of dealing with this. But perhaps there is another way of looking at the intrusive thoughts that might help you in the meantime.

  • Some0n3
    Some0n3

    I think that itd probobaly be good to atleast limit how much youre searching for stuff as that can make you feel worse and more stressed out based on my own experience. Its hard but absolutely possibl

Posted Images

14 hours ago, Glimmery said:

Hi @Catbird :), nice of you to reply. I did several blood tests, but Iam not sure if the serum sodium was checked. Is that a regular or special examination? Thank you anyways, I will look it up.

How did you get rid of it?

btw I opened a topic for this theme

https://antidepressantrecovery.org/topic/673-water-retention-and-not-able-to-lose-weight-or-weight-gain-duringafter-a-tapermicrotaper-anyone-else/#comment-32116

Hi @Glimmery They are standard test. You need to get osmolality done too. Some doctors will check urine sodium as well. You'll need to find out if you actually have SIADH. And it's more complicated than just SSRIs, other medications such as blood pressure pills can contribute.

I haven't got rid of it, I just manage it by restricting fluid. I use ice chips most of the day, but you'll need your doctor to check everthing out before doing what I'm doing.

Take care🤗

Link to SA Profile: https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forums/topic/32414-catbird-introduction-a-long-and-winding-road/

1996 Commenced on Sertraline 50 - 100mg. Many ADs trialled -Fluoxetine 20 mg, Paroxetine 20mg, Venlafaxine 75mg, Escitalopram 10 - 20mg, Vortioxetine 20mg, Bupropion 150mg.  2019 Recommenced Escitalopram 2022 Mirtazapine 30mg - Rapid taper. Amitriptyline 20mg

CURRENT MEDICATIONS: Escitalopram taper from ~ 10mg commenced 2024, Amitriptyline 20mg at night, Diazepam 7.5mg total per day, Baclofen 10mg morning, 10mg lunch and 20mg night, Polaramine 2mg at night, Ketamine troche 25mg per day (Ceased early September 2025), Valsartan 160mg evening, HRT (Oestrogen 25mcg/day) 

ESCITALOPRAM TAPER: 5 April 2025 - started holding at 1.516mg. Escitalopram taper resumed July 2025; End Aug 1.364; End Sept 1.228; End Oct 1.145; End Nov 1.1 Early Dec 1.11; End Dec 1.082; 2026 End Jan 1.047; Feb 6 1.030; Feb 20 1.014; April 10 1.012; May 3 1.014; May 11 1.020 & still holding; Sept 19 1.014; Oct 4 1.006; Oct 8 1.010

Supplements: Mg++ glycinate, Omega 3s, Curcumin. Vit D3/K2 spray, Vitamin B12 spray, chelated zinc.

@Healthyagain do you have SIADH?

Link to SA Profile: https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forums/topic/32414-catbird-introduction-a-long-and-winding-road/

1996 Commenced on Sertraline 50 - 100mg. Many ADs trialled -Fluoxetine 20 mg, Paroxetine 20mg, Venlafaxine 75mg, Escitalopram 10 - 20mg, Vortioxetine 20mg, Bupropion 150mg.  2019 Recommenced Escitalopram 2022 Mirtazapine 30mg - Rapid taper. Amitriptyline 20mg

CURRENT MEDICATIONS: Escitalopram taper from ~ 10mg commenced 2024, Amitriptyline 20mg at night, Diazepam 7.5mg total per day, Baclofen 10mg morning, 10mg lunch and 20mg night, Polaramine 2mg at night, Ketamine troche 25mg per day (Ceased early September 2025), Valsartan 160mg evening, HRT (Oestrogen 25mcg/day) 

ESCITALOPRAM TAPER: 5 April 2025 - started holding at 1.516mg. Escitalopram taper resumed July 2025; End Aug 1.364; End Sept 1.228; End Oct 1.145; End Nov 1.1 Early Dec 1.11; End Dec 1.082; 2026 End Jan 1.047; Feb 6 1.030; Feb 20 1.014; April 10 1.012; May 3 1.014; May 11 1.020 & still holding; Sept 19 1.014; Oct 4 1.006; Oct 8 1.010

Supplements: Mg++ glycinate, Omega 3s, Curcumin. Vit D3/K2 spray, Vitamin B12 spray, chelated zinc.

  • Author
1 hour ago, Catbird said:

@Healthyagain do you have SIADH?

I have no idea. I had a panel of blood tests done a couple of months ago, but I’m not sure if that was included. I’ve heard that drinking salt water can help reduce cortisol. I’m not sure if my body craves salt when I’m in a wave or what.

2004 to Jan 2025 - Prozac long-term, mostly 40 mg/day

2012 to Jan 2025 - Wellbutrin XL long-term, up to 450 mg/day

2019 - cold turkeyed Prozac 80 mg, Wellbutrin XL 450 mg, Adderall XR 30 mg, and Synthroid → severe crash with panic, akathisia, DPDR, and intrusive SI; Prozac and Wellbutrin were later reinstated

Jan to Aug 2025 - tapered Prozac 40 → ~5 mg/day equivalent and Wellbutrin XL 450 → ~75 mg/day, with several large cuts

Aug 2025 - severe panic/intrusive thoughts → reinstated Prozac 10 mg/day and Wellbutrin XL 150 mg/day

Oct-Nov 2025 - brief increases to Wellbutrin 300 mg and Prozac 15 mg worsened symptoms → returned to Wellbutrin 150 mg and Prozac 10 mg

Apr to Jul 2026 - Prozac tapered 10 → 4 mg with multiple cuts and holds

8/4/26 to present - Prozac 4 mg commercial liquid, HOLD

6/15/26 - Wellbutrin XL 150 mg → IR 150 mg/day

8/13/26 - briefly dropped Wellbutrin to 75 mg/day, then returned to 150 mg

Wellbutrin IR HOLD

Also taking Tirosint 88 mcg and metformin 1000 mg/day. Ozempic last dose 11/6/25; Xanax last tiny dose 1/10/26.

2 hours ago, Healthyagain said:

I have no idea. I had a panel of blood tests done a couple of months ago, but I’m not sure if that was included. I’ve heard that drinking salt water can help reduce cortisol. I’m not sure if my body craves salt when I’m in a wave or what.

Sodium is standard on Electrolytes, urea and creatinine (EUC) panel. Sorry can't help with the salt craving.

Link to SA Profile: https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forums/topic/32414-catbird-introduction-a-long-and-winding-road/

1996 Commenced on Sertraline 50 - 100mg. Many ADs trialled -Fluoxetine 20 mg, Paroxetine 20mg, Venlafaxine 75mg, Escitalopram 10 - 20mg, Vortioxetine 20mg, Bupropion 150mg.  2019 Recommenced Escitalopram 2022 Mirtazapine 30mg - Rapid taper. Amitriptyline 20mg

CURRENT MEDICATIONS: Escitalopram taper from ~ 10mg commenced 2024, Amitriptyline 20mg at night, Diazepam 7.5mg total per day, Baclofen 10mg morning, 10mg lunch and 20mg night, Polaramine 2mg at night, Ketamine troche 25mg per day (Ceased early September 2025), Valsartan 160mg evening, HRT (Oestrogen 25mcg/day) 

ESCITALOPRAM TAPER: 5 April 2025 - started holding at 1.516mg. Escitalopram taper resumed July 2025; End Aug 1.364; End Sept 1.228; End Oct 1.145; End Nov 1.1 Early Dec 1.11; End Dec 1.082; 2026 End Jan 1.047; Feb 6 1.030; Feb 20 1.014; April 10 1.012; May 3 1.014; May 11 1.020 & still holding; Sept 19 1.014; Oct 4 1.006; Oct 8 1.010

Supplements: Mg++ glycinate, Omega 3s, Curcumin. Vit D3/K2 spray, Vitamin B12 spray, chelated zinc.

    •
    • Like 1

    Hi @Healthyagain ,

    You are dealing with a lot of different issues. I’m sorry things are so rough for you right now. I noticed that you are also taking Metformin (for diabetes?). When I looked it up, common side effects are:

    • Bloating

    • Gas

    • Diarrhea

    • Belly pain

    • Constipation

    • Little appetite

    I found that when I tapered one drug, it affected others. It is very difficult to figure out what affects what. I’m just saying that every symptom may not be related to WD. I don’t know and unfortunately, most doctors don’t know.

    The lab tests mentioned above may help plus perhaps have your A1C checked.

    💞🙏

    2025 / Current:

    Bupropion (Wellbutrin) (at least since Jan. 2019) 150 mg -> 131.5 mg on 4-22 -> 112.5 mg on 5-26 -> 93.75 mg on 6-21 -> 87.5 mg on 8-7 -> 77.5mg on 9-1 -> 69 mg on 10-15 -> 61 mg 11-12 -> 60 mg 11-28 -> 54 mg on 12-13-25 -> 53 mg on 4-8-26. HOLD

    Escitalopram (Lexapro) 20 mg (consistently since July 2018) -

    Gabapentin 100 mg once daily (since June 2014?) -> 90 mg on Oct 10, 2026

    Clonazepam As of Jan. 2019 1.5 mg daily in 3 divided doses as needed. Decreased as I didn’t need as much. March 2025: 1/8 of 0.5 mg tablet (0.0625 mg), 2-3 x daily (0.125 mg - 0.1875 mg daily). -> 2 x daily (0.125 mg daily), -> 1/8 morning0.0625 mg & 1/16 tablet evening (approx. 0.094 mg daily ) March 2026.

    Cross over to liquid 0.125 ODT evening dose 0.028125 mg Apr 18; morning dose 0.04375 mg Apr 25, -> 0.040625 mg Apr 26, -> 0.034375 mg May 1, -> 0.028125 mg twice daily (0.05625 mg daily) May 4, -> 0.053125 May 13, -> 0.050 mg May 14, -> 0.04375 mg May 16, -> 0.040625 mg May 19, -> 0.0356 mg 6/2, -> 0.03125 mg June 8, -> 0.0275 mg June 14. -> 0.025 June 16, -> 0.0187 mg June 21, -> 0.0125 mg July 7, -> 0.006 mg July 14.

    July 21, 2026 ZERO!

    Compounded Bio-Identical HRT: Cream Bi-Est 0.5, Progesterone 150 mg/ML (0.5ML)

    Compounded Bio-Identical HRT: Capsule 150 mg each evening 

    Metoprolol ER Succinate -> 1/2 of 25 mg tablet 1 x daily on 5/31/25 -> 1/4 tablet on 1-09-2026 -> 1/2 of 25 mg tablet on 2-19. Switched to

    Atenolol 4 mg March 4,2026 -> 3 mg Mar.26 -> 2 mg April 18 -> 1 mg May 1, -> zero May 11, 2026.

    Supplements:Calcium,D3,K2,Magnesium,Omega3,B-Complex,Biotin,Quercetin,Zinc,C

    My profile at Surviving Antidepressants is:

    https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forums/topic/32343-golden-introduction/

    “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12

    •
    • Like 2

    @Healthyagain Just to follow up what @Golden suggested, if you do need to check for diabetes and/or insulin resistance HBA1c is a good test but you should also get serum fructosamine, fasting insulin and fasting BGL. You need fructosamine to make sense of A1c.

    Link to SA Profile: https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forums/topic/32414-catbird-introduction-a-long-and-winding-road/

    1996 Commenced on Sertraline 50 - 100mg. Many ADs trialled -Fluoxetine 20 mg, Paroxetine 20mg, Venlafaxine 75mg, Escitalopram 10 - 20mg, Vortioxetine 20mg, Bupropion 150mg.  2019 Recommenced Escitalopram 2022 Mirtazapine 30mg - Rapid taper. Amitriptyline 20mg

    CURRENT MEDICATIONS: Escitalopram taper from ~ 10mg commenced 2024, Amitriptyline 20mg at night, Diazepam 7.5mg total per day, Baclofen 10mg morning, 10mg lunch and 20mg night, Polaramine 2mg at night, Ketamine troche 25mg per day (Ceased early September 2025), Valsartan 160mg evening, HRT (Oestrogen 25mcg/day) 

    ESCITALOPRAM TAPER: 5 April 2025 - started holding at 1.516mg. Escitalopram taper resumed July 2025; End Aug 1.364; End Sept 1.228; End Oct 1.145; End Nov 1.1 Early Dec 1.11; End Dec 1.082; 2026 End Jan 1.047; Feb 6 1.030; Feb 20 1.014; April 10 1.012; May 3 1.014; May 11 1.020 & still holding; Sept 19 1.014; Oct 4 1.006; Oct 8 1.010

    Supplements: Mg++ glycinate, Omega 3s, Curcumin. Vit D3/K2 spray, Vitamin B12 spray, chelated zinc.

    2 hours ago, Catbird said:

    you should also get serum fructosamine, fasting insulin and fasting BGL. You need fructosamine to make sense of A1c.

    Actually HbA1C in itself is sufficient to diagnose diabetes. Fasting BGL can be useful but fructosamine and fasting insulin rarely give additional information, and are not required to make sense of a HbA1C result. They are wasteful tests IMHO.

    Apologies, but I am anti-overprescribing, anti-overdiagnosing and anti-overtesting so need to continue beating this drum.

    November 2024 Elvanse for ADHD. Anxiety and jaw clenching, stopped after 4 weeks. Felt fine.

     

    January 2025 Medikinet XL

    Made me depressed and suicidal so stopped after 3 weeks. Felt fine

     

    March 2025 Concerta XL Made me depressed and suicidal so stopped after 2 weeks. Felt fine

     

    April-May 2025 Amfexa and Methylphenidate instant release, both only worked for an hour so stopped.  Felt fine.

     

    June 2025 Atomoxetine started slow taper. Immediate hot flushing and feeling sluggish.

     

    July-September 2025 Tapered up to 70mg Atomoxetine. Constipation, insomnia, muscle spasms, weird thoughts, mood swings, night sweats, hot flushes, brain fog, dizziness etc

     

    October 2025 rapid taper off Atomoxetine. I also had a GA for shoulder surgery the same week I finished meds.

     

    Ongoing symptoms ever since, but now also trouble swallowing, difficulty passing urine, muscle twitches, depersonalisation, heavy limbs, emotional blunting, apathy, feeling "wired" and robotic, PGAD.

     

    New symptoms February 2026: Nausea and burning head

     

    Supplements: B12, folate and Vit D as all were bordering on deficient. 

    Bad reactions to CBD oil, Mag glycinate, Mag L.Threonate and Fish Oil

    • Like 1
    1 hour ago, Sminismoni said:

    Actually HbA1C in itself is sufficient to diagnose diabetes. Fasting BGL can be useful but fructosamine and fasting insulin rarely give additional information, and are not required to make sense of a HbA1C result. They are wasteful tests IMHO.

    Apologies, but I am anti-overprescribing, anti-overdiagnosing and anti-overtesting so need to continue beating this drum.

    Depending on how quickly RBCs turnover it can affect HbA1c and may give a false low reading. Fructosamine measures glaciated proteins like albumin and they both measure different time frames. Increasing insulin can precede a diabetes diagnosis by decades. It's useful to have baseline measurements. Not suggesting these are are done with any frequency.

    Link to SA Profile: https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forums/topic/32414-catbird-introduction-a-long-and-winding-road/

    1996 Commenced on Sertraline 50 - 100mg. Many ADs trialled -Fluoxetine 20 mg, Paroxetine 20mg, Venlafaxine 75mg, Escitalopram 10 - 20mg, Vortioxetine 20mg, Bupropion 150mg.  2019 Recommenced Escitalopram 2022 Mirtazapine 30mg - Rapid taper. Amitriptyline 20mg

    CURRENT MEDICATIONS: Escitalopram taper from ~ 10mg commenced 2024, Amitriptyline 20mg at night, Diazepam 7.5mg total per day, Baclofen 10mg morning, 10mg lunch and 20mg night, Polaramine 2mg at night, Ketamine troche 25mg per day (Ceased early September 2025), Valsartan 160mg evening, HRT (Oestrogen 25mcg/day) 

    ESCITALOPRAM TAPER: 5 April 2025 - started holding at 1.516mg. Escitalopram taper resumed July 2025; End Aug 1.364; End Sept 1.228; End Oct 1.145; End Nov 1.1 Early Dec 1.11; End Dec 1.082; 2026 End Jan 1.047; Feb 6 1.030; Feb 20 1.014; April 10 1.012; May 3 1.014; May 11 1.020 & still holding; Sept 19 1.014; Oct 4 1.006; Oct 8 1.010

    Supplements: Mg++ glycinate, Omega 3s, Curcumin. Vit D3/K2 spray, Vitamin B12 spray, chelated zinc.

    •
    • Like 1

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