Hello,

I am new to these parts.

I have been on antidepressants (mostly SSRIs but a few others in the mix) for 30+ years.

I have had maybe 3 very unsuccessful tapers historically that have launched me into quite depressed and debilitated states and have been very disruptive to my life. At the times, I didn't know enough about how to safely taper.

Most recently in 2024 I was on Prozac 30mg and began my taper process yet again. I am working with a psychiatrist who lets me call the shots/guide the process/go as slowly as it suits me.

I have been working with a compounding pharmacy using capsules. In the future I will switch to a liquid formulation through the compounding pharmacy.

I was doing 5% tapers decreasing every month usually but earlier this year I started to become symptomatic in withdrawal and switched to 2.5% decreases and then more recently 1% decreases.

In hindsight, I think some of my symptoms were part of the a cumulative withdrawal effect versus the most recent decrease.

I recently went on a vacation and was surprised and concerned to find that I destabilized quite a lot during the vacation and experienced irritability, anger, depression, and anxiety which I believe was related to my taper. Even though I was on vacation (!!!) I still think there was some stress to my nervous system in being in a different place, outside of my routine and driving a lot.

Upon my return I decided to stop drinking alcohol to see if that would support my nervous system in my Prozac taper.

I should also mention that I am navigating perimenopause which is a bit tricky as some of the symptoms of that can mimic my Prozac taper.

My focus right now is on supporting my nervous system in all the ways that I can and simplifying my life, to the degree that I can to have as much ease and calm in this very long term process as possible.

In addition to stopping alcohol, I am trying to spend a lot of time outdoors, walking, doing strength training, eating a lot of protein, hydrating with minerals, supplementation, spending a lot of time with my dogs, reducing stimulation when I can, trying to keep my home as tidy as possible, spending time with people who are supportive and kind, and trying to be patient.

I find I am vulnerable to getting obsessive about/fixated on the taper process which can take me away from being present in my life. I am trying to accept that I will be tapering for the next several years and I don't know if I will be able to successfully taper off of this drug. I have made some progress thus far. When I look at the SERT occupancy of my current dose and rate of taper, it feels like it is going to be a long road.

2024 Prozac 30mg

Decreased by 5% monthly, then 2.5% monthly, then 1% monthly

06/14/26 Decreased to Prozac 4.653 mg (1% decrease)

I am hoping that I may be able to increase the taper percentage to 1.5% or 2% as I go forward now that alcohol is out of the mix.

Besides working on managing my impatience with the taper, and obsessing about what other strategies I can implement to support the process, I am also concerned about the impact of my withdrawal symptoms on loved ones (irritability, anger, moodiness). Outside of mood symptoms, I am also navigating some neuropathy in my feet which I believe may be related to the taper (after having ruled out other causes).

I am hoping that by being a part of this community, I can support others, get ideas/resources about how to better support myself in the taper, find community in navigating the harder parts of the process and find inspiration in others' success stories. Thank you!

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.

Please use the format outline here Preferred signature/drug history format

16 hours ago, Winnie76 said:

Hello,

I am new to these parts.

I have been on antidepressants (mostly SSRIs but a few others in the mix) for 30+ years.

I have had maybe 3 very unsuccessful tapers historically that have launched me into quite depressed and debilitated states and have been very disruptive to my life. At the times, I didn't know enough about how to safely taper.

It is great you found! You are very welcome here. :)

It's a very common story, there is so little knowledge out there still about safe tapering.

16 hours ago, Winnie76 said:

Most recently in 2024 I was on Prozac 30mg and began my taper process yet again. I am working with a psychiatrist who lets me call the shots/guide the process/go as slowly as it suits me.

I have been working with a compounding pharmacy using capsules. In the future I will switch to a liquid formulation through the compounding pharmacy.

I was doing 5% tapers decreasing every month usually but earlier this year I started to become symptomatic in withdrawal and switched to 2.5% decreases and then more recently 1% decreases.

In hindsight, I think some of my symptoms were part of the a cumulative withdrawal effect versus the most recent decrease.

That is great you have a professional who is accommodating this and letting the taper be patient led. So so important.

It is very common to need to go much slower than 10% and as the dose gets lower slower still. The body sets the pace. We have also found that symptoms can appear to 'stack'.

16 hours ago, Winnie76 said:

I recently went on a vacation and was surprised and concerned to find that I destabilized quite a lot during the vacation and experienced irritability, anger, depression, and anxiety which I believe was related to my taper. Even though I was on vacation (!!!) I still think there was some stress to my nervous system in being in a different place, outside of my routine and driving a lot.

Yeah I think even though a holiday is supposed to be relaxing, even for 'normal' people it is often actually stressful. When we are in WD/tapering the nervous system certainly benefits from calm and routine.

16 hours ago, Winnie76 said:

Upon my return I decided to stop drinking alcohol to see if that would support my nervous system in my Prozac taper.

I should also mention that I am navigating perimenopause which is a bit tricky as some of the symptoms of that can mimic my Prozac taper.

My focus right now is on supporting my nervous system in all the ways that I can and simplifying my life, to the degree that I can to have as much ease and calm in this very long term process as possible.

In addition to stopping alcohol, I am trying to spend a lot of time outdoors, walking, doing strength training, eating a lot of protein, hydrating with minerals, supplementation, spending a lot of time with my dogs, reducing stimulation when I can, trying to keep my home as tidy as possible, spending time with people who are supportive and kind, and trying to be patient.

100% alcohol should be a no go for you. In fact anything psyco-active inc coffee should be considered on the ban list too, although if you drink coffee regularly and want to stop it I would 'taper' it down rather than stop it suddenly.

It is great you are focussing on healthy things to support your nervous system. IMO this is the no.1 thing we can do to help ourselves.

16 hours ago, Winnie76 said:

I find I am vulnerable to getting obsessive about/fixated on the taper process which can take me away from being present in my life. I am trying to accept that I will be tapering for the next several years and I don't know if I will be able to successfully taper off of this drug. I have made some progress thus far. When I look at the SERT occupancy of my current dose and rate of taper, it feels like it is going to be a long road.

I think we can all obsess over these things, it is completely normal. One of the key coping skills to learn is acceptance and taking this journey one step and one day at a time. It helps reduce the stress and find a little peace for our nervous systems. Acceptance is key - Why does acceptance feel impossible?

Happy you are here, there are many in the same situation as you and Im sure you'll get lots of support. 

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.

Thank you.

@Chippy , why should I abstain from antihistamines during my medication taper?

Just wondering as I have a Functional Medicine doctor who has prescribed them. Thanks.

9 hours ago, Winnie76 said:

Thank you.

Pleasure

4 hours ago, Winnie76 said:

@Chippy , why should I abstain from antihistamines during my medication taper?

Just wondering as I have a Functional Medicine doctor who has prescribed them. Thanks.

We find they can cause issues in WD, people can react to them, so we find they are best avoided.

Ok thanks-I'll try to look into this more.

Welcome to the forum.

On 6/14/2026 at 3:52 PM, Winnie76 said:

In hindsight, I think some of my symptoms were part of the a cumulative withdrawal effect versus the most recent decrease.

I've seen this said by quite a number of people- they tolerate dose drops but it all adds up over time for them. This might be managed with some strategic holds even if you feel ok, just to put the brakes on from time to time.

You may wish to look at this tapering method:

The Brassmonkey Slide Method of Micro-tapering - Tapering - Surviving Antidepressants

Instead of larger, fixed drops, it involves breaking those down into smaller ones to make up the 10% monthly drop. Of course, the amounts can be decreased to suit you/anyone else, you'll note that BM specifically mentions doing smaller drops.

You'll see that his method involves a small drop each week for 4 weeks, and then a 2 week (minimum) hold.

You don't have to follow this exactly, but it's worth you having a read of it and seeing if a method like that would be more tolerable for you, with regular holds to allow your body to catch up.

On 6/14/2026 at 3:52 PM, Winnie76 said:

My focus right now is on supporting my nervous system in all the ways that I can and simplifying my life, to the degree that I can to have as much ease and calm in this very long term process as possible.

In addition to stopping alcohol, I am trying to spend a lot of time outdoors, walking, doing strength training, eating a lot of protein, hydrating with minerals, supplementation, spending a lot of time with my dogs, reducing stimulation when I can, trying to keep my home as tidy as possible, spending time with people who are supportive and kind, and trying to be patient.

It's good that you're trying to take care of yourself overall as well.

Thank you Luke-I will check out the BrassMonkey Slide Method of Microtapering! I appreciate the suggestion.

I should have mentioned, there is also an informational post on microtapering on this site as well:

Micro Tapering - Tapering - The Antidepressant Harm and Recovery Forum

I'd suggest looking at both and considering whether a micro tapering method of some kind might suit you. Maybe you'll conclude that it won't, and that's fine, it's just worth considering.

Thanks I will read it.