Dad died from SSRI - I need off!

Hoping to taper off my Zoloft and Xanax. I have been on an SSRI for 15 years for anxiety. Xanax has been daily for about 3 years. In July my dad died from a side effect of Prozac, despite warning doctors of his symptoms. I need off. Hoping for some guidance here. Is there one I should start with? It doesn’t seem wise to go off both at the same time. Thanks in advance!

I'm so sorry to hear about your Dad, how are you doing, I'm sure you're still feeling pretty raw.  Most of our members choose to taper one drug at time, starting with the benzo, some feel it's advantageous to have an A/D on board. 

 

If you'd like some suggestions on tapering the Xanax, you can start a thread here for suggestions.  Planning Your Withdrawal (Taper Plans)

Thank you, yes it’s still extremely raw. His birthday is tomorrow  I thought it might make sense to start with the Xanax - thank you for the resources!

Darn it, birthdays are especially tough, I'm sorry.    But what a wonderful way to honor his memory by taking such a positive step for better health. 

Hoping to taper off my Zoloft and Xanax. I have been on an SSRI for 15 years for anxiety. Xanax has been daily for about 3 years. In July my dad died from a side effect of Prozac, despite warning doctors of his symptoms. I need off. Hoping for some guidance here. Is there one I should start with? It doesn’t seem wise to go off both at the same time. Thanks in advance!

I am really sorry to hear about your dad. You said he died bc of the side effects of prozac. Can you elaborate if you do not mind sharing? How long had he been on the prozac? What SX's was he having prior to his death? How old was he?

 

If I were in your shoes, I would tackle only one drug at a time. I would slowly wean off the benzo 1st and only start to taper the SSRI after I felt stable enough after the benzo w/d.

Please accept my and our condolences.

Welcome. Take your time to look around

This resourceful site. You are not alone.

Condolences on your Dad. Have a friend with long term SSRI use, and they are struggling as the drug's effectiveness wears off. 

 

Found a study about weaning off SSRIs done in 2019. It lists the drug and how to taper.  I warn you it's by the medical community who seem to fail to ask actual patients and rely on studies of only 20-30 days in most cases, but it's something.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4919171/

 

You need to acquaint yourself with the Ashton Manual by Dr. Heather Ashton of the UK regarding a Benzo taper.  https://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzsched.htm#s5.    Of the information I've found, all agreed to taper the SSRI after the Benzo. I don't know of anyone doing it the other way.

 

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(19)30032-X/fulltext

All classes of drug that are prescribed to treat depression are associated with withdrawal syndromes. SSRI withdrawal syndrome occurs often and can be severe, and might compel patients to recommence their medication. Although the withdrawal syndrome can be differentiated from recurrence of the underlying disorder, it might also be mistaken for recurrence, leading to long-term unnecessary medication. Guidelines recommend short tapers, of between 2 weeks and 4 weeks, down to therapeutic minimum doses, or half-minimum doses, before complete cessation. Studies have shown that these tapers show minimal benefits over abrupt discontinuation, and are often not tolerated by patients. Tapers over a period of months and down to doses much lower than minimum therapeutic doses have shown greater success in reducing withdrawal symptoms. Other types of medication associated with withdrawal, such as benzodiazepenes, are tapered to reduce their biological effect at receptors by fixed amounts to minimise withdrawal symptoms. These dose reductions are done with exponential tapering programmes that reach very small doses. This method could have relevance for tapering of SSRIs. We examined the PET imaging data of serotonin transporter occupancy by SSRIs and found that hyperbolically reducing doses of SSRIs reduces their effect on serotonin transporter inhibition in a linear manner. We therefore suggest that SSRIs should be tapered hyperbolically and slowly to doses much lower than those of therapeutic minimums, in line with tapering regimens for other medications associated with withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms will then be minimised.

 

Look up the resources already available on the forum or referenced here before beginning.  You need a plan; do not blindly jump in. You're highly motivated which is the first step.  Good luck.

 

I'm so sorry about your father!!

 

I'm also interested in knowing what side effects he had. I'm not on an AD, but I have been on bp pills for a long while and now have kidney problems. It worries me that there are so many side effects to pills!

 

Thank you!