I'm 23 years old and I accidentally went cold turkey off my fluoaxtine 60mg for 2 months I KNOW VERY STUPID and I want to get back on my med and fix my stuff I don't wish to EVER taper off here's how this went down

Was fluoxatine 60mg) for 11 years (ages 12–23).

The Timeline:

• Nov 20, 2025: Started Pregabalin 75mg.

• Dec 10–14, 2025: Took 9 tablets of Ciprofloxacin (500mg) for a UTI.

I felt fine during taking it but after the doses I got senstive to temperature and even got hives on hands but those went away.

• Dec 19, 2025: Stopped 60mg Fluoxetine "Cold Turkey" (after 11 years of use).

• Dec 2025: Started Magnesium (545mg) and Multivitamins.

• Jan 9, 2026: Stopped Magnesium.

• Jan 26 – Feb 9, 2026: Stopped Pregabalin 75mg.

• Feb 9, 2026: Restarted Pregabalin at 25mg (Current).

• Jan 29 – Feb 17, 2026: Tried Omeprazole (20mg/40mg); had a bad reaction and switched to Pepcid (20mg).

After the two month mark goin from Dec 19th to Feb 21st I did this 

20mg for 2 days

0mg for 2 day (i got scared) 

10mg for 23 days 

 

currently back on 20mg day 18

I cant stop freaking out cause i dont wanna take years to heal im trying to get back on the med and need HELP PLEASE

• Current Meds: * Morning: Estradiol (8mg), Pepcid (20mg), Fluoxetine (Restarted/Currently at 20mg).

  • Night: Guanfacine (5mg), Pregabalin (25mg).

Hi @Jacky Rose

 

Welcome to the forum!

 

This is a volunteer-run, community forum aimed at helping those who are tapering and/or experiencing difficulties with psychiatric medications and withdrawl syndrome. We are not medical professionals and cannot offer medical advice. We simply offer support and opinions which you could use as talking points with a medical provider knowledgeable in withdrawing off psychiatric medications.

 

Please familiarise yourself with the forum rules and the disclaimer located here: Guidelines

 

Please make sure your signature is kept up to date with your drug history. This will allow members to see some basic information about your drug history and situation so that they may help you best. Information on how to do this is located in the FAQs section above, but here is a direct link: Update Signature

Once this is done, future posts made by you will have this signature turned on by default. For this reason please keep it clear but condensed as possible.

 

15 hours ago, Jacky Rose said:

'm 23 years old and I accidentally went cold turkey off my fluoaxtine 60mg for 2 months I KNOW VERY STUPID and I want to get back on my med and fix my stuff I don't wish to EVER taper off here's how this went down

Was fluoxatine 60mg) for 11 years (ages 12–23).

Im sorry you have been through this. CTs are very tough on our nervous system systems, especially after long term use .

 

Can I ask you redo your signature please? We only need to see you drug dose changes that is all.

 

Write it like this please, include all drugs and changes:

 

01 Jan 2026 Fluoxetine 10mg

02 Feb 2026 Fluoxetine 20mg

And so on.....

 

15 hours ago, Jacky Rose said:

Nov 20, 2025: Started Pregabalin 75mg.

Can I ask, why did you start on the Pregabalin?

 

15 hours ago, Jacky Rose said:

• Dec 10–14, 2025: Took 9 tablets of Ciprofloxacin (500mg) for a UTI.

I felt fine during taking it but after the doses I got senstive to temperature and even got hives on hands but those went away.

When our nervous systems are sensitive antibiotics can cause us problems, which is what I suspect has happened here.

 

15 hours ago, Jacky Rose said:

After the two month mark goin from Dec 19th to Feb 21st I did this 

20mg for 2 days

0mg for 2 day (i got scared) 

10mg for 23 days 

Chopping your dose around is not a good idea. The nervous system likes stable, predictable.

 

15 hours ago, Jacky Rose said:

currently back on 20mg day 18

I cant stop freaking out cause i dont wanna take years to heal im trying to get back on the med and need HELP PLEASE

• Current Meds: * Morning: Estradiol (8mg), Pepcid (20mg), Fluoxetine (Restarted/Currently at 20mg).

  • Night: Guanfacine (5mg), Pregabalin (25mg).

It is realiy important to be calm. I know this is scary.

 

I have two main thoughts here:

 

The first is your Pregabalin. Im not sure why you started it? I am concerned you were trying to treat symptoms of Fluoxetine tolerance. Have a read:

Tolerance or "poop-out" or Tachyphylaxis

 

If I am right, the way to deal with this would have been to start to taper your dose down slowly. This gives you some idea of what a safe taper would look like. Tapering Information

 

With the Pregabalin. I think reducing the dose was a good move. It might now be best to hold the final 25mg here I think. You have probably gained too much dependence, to reduce this any quicker than the normal 10%. You could try to get this dose down and get of it quicker, which might be good, but I don't know how well you would tolerate that at this stage.

 

With the Fluoxetine, I know it has become your safety net. You have been on it many years, and Im sure during this time you felt well. However, it isn't simply possible to return to those days. Reload that setting. As I said above, I suspect it may have started to 'poop out' on you. Adding in extra drugs, switching doses, and so on, causes nervous system bruising and all this takes time to heal. Hypersensitivity and kindling

 

ReInstating was a good move IMO, Fluoxetine has a very long effective half life (of many, many months), this means WD can be very delayed on onset. RI dose advice varies depending on circumstance. You were on a high dose of 60mg, so if it had only been a short time, going back to the full dose may have been best.

 

Reinstating an Antidepressant

 

However, most commonly prescribed 'therapeutic' doses of ADs are way too high. To give you some idea 20mg of Fluoxetine has around 80% effect on the brain, 60mg is simply floading the brain with way more drug than it can use.

 

Your timeline is a little confusing (I am hoping, you redoing your signature, will help clear things up) but from what I am reading, due to the time since you CTd, and all the dose shifts you have made since then, plus the Pregabalin, I would hold your Fluoxetine at 20mg and the Pregabalin at 25mg, and wait many months to stablise, making no further changes, if it were me. If you were in 'poop out' hopefully being on this lower dose will help your brain accept the drug, and again, help to stablise you. This process will likley take many months. During this time you can experience symptoms and worsening of symptoms in a windows and waves pattern.

 

The Windows and Waves Pattern of Stabilization

 

What you do after stabilising, is a conversation for another day I think 🙂 

 

In the mean time this is what I would do if I were you:

 

-Stay Hydrated 

 

-Eat a good clean whole food diet, avoiding processed foods and sugars.

 

-Stay away from caffeine, alcohol and antihistamines and any other psychoactive substances.

 

Supplements are to be avoided initially, as they often irritate our nervous systems. Try to get your nutrition through food.

 

Down the line, you may wish to introduce Fish Oil and Magnesium. Those who can tolerate them have found them calming to the nervous system. Be careful try one at a time and start low and see how you get on should you choose to try them.

 

A daily walk is very important as much as you can manage, if you can manage it. Gets you your fresh air and Vitamin D does wonders for your mind!

 

You are very welcome here and I hope you find the site supportive.

First of all THANK YOY VERY MUCH 

Second thank you alot for taking the time to say this all 

 

For the pregablin ya I don't wanna change that anymore and for the fluoxatine I do wish to go back up tho? How long do yoy think it will take to stablize and I am trying kot to freak out but it's hard. Would I be able to dm yoy and I apologize for my very bad signature 

4 minutes ago, Jacky Rose said:

First of all THANK YOY VERY MUCH 

Second thank you alot for taking the time to say this all 

 

For the pregablin ya I don't wanna change that anymore and for the fluoxatine I do wish to go back up tho? How long do yoy think it will take to stablize and I am trying kot to freak out but it's hard. Would I be able to dm yoy and I apologize for my very bad signature 

Absolutely my pleasure! We are here to help. 

 

I think it’s fair enough and probably right to hold the pregablin where it is now. 
 

I wouldn’t recommend increasing your dose further personally. More isn’t better with ri and your current ri if anything was too much. 

22 minutes ago, Jacky Rose said:

fluoxatine I do wish to go back up tho

Hi @Jacky Rose and welcome. As @Chippymentioned, once your CNS is sensitized, you can't just go back to before because this can cause kindling or a bad reaction to the drug. These drugs were not designed for long term use. We have what is called an allostatic load...once we reached a threshold, the body just says no more... and we have to listen. So putting too much of the drug in our system at this point is not wise.

You will need time to stabilize. Patience and acceptance is important. 

Glad you found us. ❤️🙏

Do yoy think ill get better? I'm scared im so so very scared and I can't stop crying 

@Jacky Rose

 

Just putting this here so we can continue our chat in your topic rather than a pm. 
 

“

Thank yoy very much ok so here's the symptoms I have

- brain fog (sometimes more intense) 

- crying spells (to be fair im terrfied) 

- brain zaps (rare)

- leg vibrations (rare) 

- limbs aching (comes and goes)

- joints being stiff

- things feeling heavier pick up

- Broken sleep and sometimes sweating 

- anxiety worse“

Chippy

Just now, Chippy said:

@Jacky Rose

 

Just putting this here so we can continue our chat in your topic rather than a pm. 
 

“

 

Thank yoy very much ok so here's the symptoms I have

- brain fog (sometimes more intense) 

- crying spells (to be fair im terrfied) 

- brain zaps (rare)

- leg vibrations (rare) 

- limbs aching (comes and goes)

- joints being stiff

- things feeling heavier pick up

- Broken sleep and sometimes sweating 

- anxiety worse“

Chippy

These are all typical wd symptoms. I’m sorry this must be very hard for you. 

Hiya ok im here

I just am so scared I donr wanna die and become nothing and slowlt not be able to function at all just be a vegetable im nlt good with this and everyone says it gets worse and I won't heal EVER. I feel like I have to mourn myself 

I'm so scared I feel so helpless...I just wanna be better.. I dont wanna die

3 minutes ago, Jacky Rose said:

I just am so scared I donr wanna die and become nothing and slowlt not be able to function at all just be a vegetable im nlt good with this and everyone says it gets worse and I won't heal EVER. I feel like I have to mourn myself 

You won’t. You will be ok! 😀

 

Your body needs to settle down. You’ve seen improvement already since you ri 20mg. That is good!

 

The improvement will happen in waves and windows (we call it). Ups and down.

Yoy mean it? I just get so scared im only 23 years old and I stupidly made stupid decision im an idiot. I just wanna make sure I can get better. I just got scared and I panic so I made all those changes 

 

This all started when I got scared about gettin a stupid wisdom tooth removed and worried I had spesos and I serially but never thought I'd make such STUPID decision

8 minutes ago, Jacky Rose said:

Yoy mean it? I just get so scared im only 23 years old and I stupidly made stupid decision im an idiot. I just wanna make sure I can get better. I just got scared and I panic so I made all those changes 

 

This all started when I got scared about gettin a stupid wisdom tooth removed and worried I had spesos and I serially but never thought I'd make such STUPID decision

It’s not your fault! You weren’t to know! 
 

The body is amazing and you will recover!

 

Now it’s just time to be calm and learn as much as you can about withdrawal and this whole process. Main thing is to not jump doses around or add in extra things. Brain like consistency 😀

I dont wanna learn the more I learn the more I cry and CRY I'm so scared people don't heal all I see is even after 10 maybe 20 years ill never get back. What's the point 

2 minutes ago, Jacky Rose said:

I dont wanna learn the more I learn the more I cry and CRY I'm so scared people don't heal all I see is even after 10 maybe 20 years ill never get back. What's the point 

You will heal. It’s ok. Just concentrate on one day at a time. 😀

 

We are all here for you!

I just don't wanna get worse symptoms I don't wanna get emotional blunting or be tired 24/7 I just wanna be me. I feel hopless. I can't stand the thought of losing who I am....

3 minutes ago, Jacky Rose said:

I just don't wanna get worse symptoms I don't wanna get emotional blunting or be tired 24/7 I just wanna be me. I feel hopless. I can't stand the thought of losing who I am....

It’s really important to not worry about the future. You can’t know what will happen next!

13 minutes ago, Jacky Rose said:

so scared people don't heal all I see is even after 10 maybe 20 years ill never get back. What's the point

We have been where you are. Here is the deal...you are young, that works in your favour. Trust me, doing this at 65 is no fun!

 

Now is the time to work on non drug ways to manage life. Life can be hard, we react and feel...this is normal. Drugging our feelings away isn't living. 

 

Prozac/fluoxetine has a long half life and it metabolizes into norfluoxetine which is an even longer half life....this means it takes a decent amount of time to build up in your blood and affect the body. You will need patience to see the results of the reinstatement. 

 

The body is designed to heal. Try to work on distraction to calm your mind. 

Here are some links to help:

https://media.invisioncic.com/r138344/pages_media/1491703620_WDchecklist.pdf?_cb=1733760981

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/4244-how-long-does-it-take-to-stabilize-after-reinstating-or-updosing/

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forum/8-symptoms-and-self-care/

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forums/topic/28492-neuroemotions/

 

 

 

Edited April 6Apr 6 by LostinCanada

26 minutes ago, Jacky Rose said:

 

But that's the terrifying part what if new symptoms show. I'm terrfied to deal with being disabled for like years to come and never feeling or brain fog so bad I can't think anymore...or fatigue so bad I can't have a life.

Edited April 6Apr 6 by Jacky Rose

10 minutes ago, LostinCanada said:

We have been where you are. Here is the deal...you are young, that works in your favor. Trust me, doing this at 65 is no fun!

 

Now is the time to work on non drug ways to manage life. Life can be hard, we react and feel...this is normal. Drugging our feelings away isn't living. 

 

Prozac/fluoxetine has a long half life and it metabolizes into norfluoxetine which is an even longer half life....this means it takes a decent amount of time to build up in your blood and affect the body. You will need patience to see the results of the reinstatement. 

 

The body is designed to heal. Try to work on distraction to calm your mind. 

Here are some links to help:

https://media.invisioncic.com/r138344/pages_media/1491703620_WDchecklist.pdf?_cb=1733760981

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/4244-how-long-does-it-take-to-stabilize-after-reinstating-or-updosing/

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forum/8-symptoms-and-self-care/

 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/forums/topic/28492-neuroemotions/

 

 

 

Do yoy think ill improve or downward spiral to worse? I worry ive ruined my life for good and become disabled for years..

21 minutes ago, Chippy said:

It’s really important to not worry about the future. You can’t know what will happen next!

But that's the terrifying part what if new symptoms show. I'm terrfied to deal with being disabled for like years to come and never feeling or brain fog so bad I can't think anymore...or fatigue so bad I can't have a life.

28 minutes ago, Chippy said:

It’s really important to not worry about the future. You can’t know what will happen next!

Hello? You still their..

22 minutes ago, LostinCanada said:

Now is the time to work on non drug ways to manage life. Life can be hard, we react and feel...this is normal. Drugging our feelings away isn't living. 

 

Hi @Jacky Rose  This is great advice from @LostinCanada.  At best, the meds blunt our feelings but do nothing to alleviate the underlying cause of our anxiety.  Creating a toolbox of coping strategies is the best way to handle whatever symptoms may appear during WD.  

 

7 minutes ago, Jacky Rose said:

But that's the terrifying part what if new symptoms show. I'm terrfied to deal with being disabled for like years to come and never feeling or brain fog so bad I can't think anymore...or fatigue so bad I can't have a life.

Anxiety loves the "what if" game.  It finds your greatest fear and turns it into a future reality to keep you locked into an loop of anxious thinking.  I was a member of two other community groups before this one and I can assure you nobody incurred permanent damage no matter how bad their situation was. It takes time and work, but you can recover. You've already taken the first step towards recover by joining this site.  We're all here to help you get through it!

5 minutes ago, Jacky Rose said:

But that's the terrifying part what if new symptoms show. I'm terrfied to deal with being disabled for like years to come and never feeling or brain fog so bad I can't think anymore...or fatigue so bad I can't have a life.

As @LostinCanada said. It’s really important to learn new coping skills. 
 

We don’t know the trajectory of your healing. But we do know your body is working really hard to put things into balance for you. 
 

Your job now is to keep calm. Keep your stress levels as low as possible. Eat well. Drink plenty of fluids. Get outside and walk as much as you can. 
 

Learning how to accept our symptoms when they are there is really important. A big part of the suffering is fighting them. There are other things you can look into as well. But for me acceptance and distraction are the most important. 
 

If you worry too much about what might or might not happen that won’t help. In fact, you become your own worst enemy. All that extra worry is just more stress for you nervous system.