In this blog post, we are going to talk about stopping prozac after just one week of treatment. Prozac is an antidepressant which is used to treat a variety of mental health related problems.

This med takes at least 3 to 4 weeks to start producing noticeable therapeutic results. This blog will cover the dangers of stopping your antidepressant just after a week.

Should you stop taking prozac after 1 week?

It is not recommended to stop taking prozac after 1 week, unless it produces an allergic reaction or unbearable side effects. Discontinuation of prozac just after a week may result in the following consequences:

Therapeutic failure
Withdrawal syndrome
Chances of your mental health condition getting worse

Therapeutic failure

Therapeutic failure is a big concern when it comes to stopping your prozac just after a week of your treatment. This is wrong on so many levels as you will not gain any benefit, whatsoever. Antidepressants, including Prozac, take around 4 to 5 weeks to work.

Prozac is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). These agents work by inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin from the synaptic cleft by blocking serotonin transporters (SERT).

This way, prozac increases the serotonergic activity in your body to counteract the symptoms of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder and eating disorders. This process takes time and you can’t simply expect your antidepressant to work overnight.

Depression and other mental health problems take time to progress and so does their treatment. It’s not just the time taken by the drug to produce its effects, but the time taken by your body to adjust to the medicine.

Yes, it is a known fact that antidepressants may make you feel worse before they make you feel better.

This is because the side effects of prozac and every other antidepressant arise way earlier than the beneficial effects, but it doesn’t indicate that you should stop your treatment.

This is a common fact to bear the side effects, which start to subside within 2 to 3 weeks of treatment. Just hang in there, give your body enough time to adjust and opt for a better and healthier lifestyle. This way, I’m sure you’ll achieve better results.

Withdrawal syndrome

Abrupt withdrawal of prozac leads to withdrawal or discontinuation syndrome. When you start taking antidepressant, it increases the amount of serotonin in your body.

Over time, your body gets used to this increased amount of serotonin. When you suddenly stop using it, it creates an unannounced serotonin deficiency, to which your body reacts in a negative way. You may suffer from the following symptoms:

Emotional stress
Nightmares
Irritability
Agitation
Confusion
Delirium
Nausea and vomiting
Headaches
Constant crying
Inability to concentrate or think clearly
Forgetfulness
Awkward behaviour
Dizziness and lightheadedness
Chills
Feeling suffocated with excessive sweating
Insomnia or somnolence
Relapse of symptoms associated with mental health conditions.

These symptoms may vary from person to person, depending on the dose. This is why it is recommended to never stop your prozac abruptly because these withdrawal symptoms may become much worse than the side effects your antidepressant was giving you.

If side effects are the reason for your discontinuation, make sure it was worth it. If you’re allergic to fluoxetine or any other excipient present in the formulation of prozac, then stopping prozac is a good option.

Antidepressants are meant to be used for a longer period of time and if yours is making you sick or causing an allergic reaction, then it’s not worth using it. If you’re suffering from mild side effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, insomnia, drowsiness or muscle pain, don’t worry.

These side effects are not good enough reasons to stop your prozac as they will begin to fade away within a few weeks, when your body will become adjusted to it.

Chances of your mental health condition getting worse

If you discontinue your prozac before giving it even a chance of producing beneficial effects, chances are that your mental health condition, for which your doctor prescribed prozac, will start getting worse.

The symptoms that disturbed you enough that you ended up in your doctor’s office, may become much more intense and difficult to bear. You have got to give prozac a chance, unless you can’t tolerate it or it causes an allergic reaction.

Several studies suggest that non-adherence followed by people is one of the most common causes of disease relapse.

However, stopping prozac just after a week without any valid reason will produce no beneficial effects and will not treat any of the symptoms associated with your mental health condition.

Make sure you take your treatment seriously in order to get rid of your condition for good. If your condition becomes worse, you will regret stopping your prozac.

Why is prozac withdrawal a big problem?

Prozac belongs to the class of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). These meds work by blocking the serotonin reuptake from the synaptic cleft, which results in increased serotonin availability in the synaptic cleft.

Now, if you take away such meds rapidly, the availability of serotonin reduces. This results in serotonin receptors craving serotonin as they have been receiving it for quite a while now, and you start experiencing withdrawal symptoms.

It’s basically because of the sudden deficiency of serotonin within the synaptic cleft. This is why dose tapering is important. It is a safe and effective method to withdraw SSRIs. Your healthcare provider simply just reduces the dose of your antidepressant.

It enables you to start taking medicine in lesser quantities without completely depriving your receptors of serotonin. Half of the dose keeps decreasing gradually over the period of 7 to 8 days.

After spending a week or two, the med is on its lowest possible dose and now it is considered safe for you to stop using it.

Unfortunately, a lot of people choose to take the process into their own hands and either try and reduce the dose themselves gradually or stop it all together.

Now this is the worst thing you can do to yourself. Never stop or start any sort of medication on your own. There are medications, called over-the-counter meds, which can be taken without prescription.

But meds, like antidepressants, antipsychotics, CNS stimulants etc, which affect your brain, your cognition, memory, feelings, decision making abilities, how could you possibly think of starting or withdrawing such meds on your own? It is something for you to think about.

Conclusion

In this blog post, we have discussed the risk associated with the discontinuation of treatment with prozac just after one week. Prozac is an antidepressant which is used to treat a variety of mental health related problems.

This med takes at least 3 to 4 weeks to start producing noticeable therapeutic results. It is not recommended to stop taking prozac after 1 week, unless it produces an allergic reaction or unbearable side effects.

Therapeutic failure is a big concern when it comes to stopping your prozac just after a week of your treatment. This is wrong on so many levels as you will not gain any benefit, whatsoever.

FAQs: stopping prozac after 1 week

What happens if you stop taking Prozac after a week?

Discontinuation syndrome usually happens when you stop taking prozac after a week. It is not recommended to stop taking prozac after 1 week, unless it produces an allergic reaction or unbearable side effects. Therapeutic failure is a big concern when it comes to stopping your prozac just after a week of your treatment.

This is wrong on so many levels as you will not gain any benefit, whatsoever. If you discontinue your prozac before giving it even a chance of producing beneficial effects, chances are that your mental health condition, for which your doctor prescribed prozac, will start getting worse.

Can I stop Prozac after 6 days?

It is not recommended to stop taking prozac after 6 days, unless it produces an allergic reaction or unbearable side effects. Therapeutic failure is a big concern when it comes to stopping your prozac early. If you discontinue your prozac before giving it even a chance of producing beneficial effects, chances are that your mental health condition, for which your doctor prescribed prozac, will start getting worse.

How long does it take to feel normal after stopping Prozac?

Time taken to become normal or adjust after stopping the use of prozac may vary from person to person. Some people start recovering much earlier than the others. It might take up to 3 to 4 months to completely flush prozac out of your system.

What happens if you stop Prozac cold turkey?

Abrupt withdrawal of prozac leads to withdrawal or discontinuation syndrome. When you start taking antidepressant, it increases the amount of serotonin in your body.

Nightmares
Irritability
Agitation
Confusion
Delirium
Nausea and vomiting
Headaches
Emotional stress or constant crying
Inability to concentrate or think clearly
Forgetfulness
Awkward behaviour

Can you take fluoxetine every other day?

Fluoxetine is supposed to be taken every other day. Prozac increases the serotonergic activity in your body to counteract the symptoms of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder and eating disorders.

This process takes time and you can’t simply expect your antidepressant to work overnight. Depression and other mental health problems take time to progress and so does their treatment. It’s not just the time taken by the drug to produce its effects, but the time taken by your body to adjust to the medicine.

Does your brain go back to normal after antidepressants?

Your brain does go back to normal after you stop using antidepressants, but it takes time and this time taken depends on the duration of your antidepressant therapy. It could take up to 10 months to go back to your normal serotonin levels, after long-term antidepressant therapy.

References

C S Berlin. J Clin Psychiatry. (1996) – Fluoxetine withdrawal symptoms https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8591980/
Prozac Withdrawal: Symptoms, Relief, and General Information https://khealth.com/learn/antidepressants/prozac-withdrawal/
James M. Ferguson, M.D. – SSRI Antidepressant Medications: Adverse Effects and Tolerability https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC181155/
Withdrawal Symptoms after Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Discontinuation: A Systematic Review https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/370338
Matthew Gabriel and Verinder Sharma – Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome https://www.cmaj.ca/content/189/21/E747
P Haddad 1 – The SSRI discontinuation syndrome https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10958258/

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