So I went to see my psychiatrist almost a month ago. My depression has been worse lately, so she thought it was time for a med change. I had been taking Zoloft at a maxed-out dose for a few years now and maybe it had stopped being as effective. She gave me a couple of choices and we decided on Prozac, which I had never taken before. She gave me a schedule of increasing Prozac and decreasing Zoloft for several weeks.
I left feeling glad to have a plan and hope of things getting better, but also a huge sense of dread. Anyone who is familiar with either stopping or changing psych meds will tell you it is no fun at all. That's really putting it mildly. There are withdrawal symptoms to deal with no matter how slowly you taper the withdrawal... some meds much worse than others. Then at the same time there is a huge possibility of side effects with the new med, possible interactions with other meds, etc. They all react differently for each person.
So when you encounter a side effect, there are decisions to make. Is it a withdrawal symptom of the old med or a side effect of the new one? Is it a side effect you can live with if it never gets better? Is it one you can deal with if it only lasts a few weeks? What if you push through and suffer through just for things to not work out with the med and you have to start all over... again?
I started itching soon after changing meds, but I decided to push through. I was also dealing with some stomach issues, pretty bad headaches, some soreness, a lot of depression, and worsening of some types of my anxiety. But thankfully, no brain zaps, which can be a big withdrawal symptom. (Effexor can be a huge cause, and yes, I know from experience!) But things seemed to get a little better or at least stayed fairly stable for a couple of weeks, even though a couple of red spots appeared on my back. I started to get a little nervous since I don't usually deal with many skin issues. But maybe it was just a coincidence and was just a couple of pimples.
Then this Tuesday, my schedule was to increase Prozac and decrease the Zoloft again. The last couple of days things have escalated rapidly. The itching is pretty bad and more welts appeared... I now have my first ever case of hives. Yay... (That was sarcastic, by the way!) 😊
I called my psychiatrist today and she does believe the Prozac is the cause. I am to stop it and take Benadryl for a few days so hopefully the hives will go away. Then I will start a new med next week. We're going with Lexapro this time, which I was on for several years with no issues, and hopefully will work again. Adding Prozac to my "can't take" list!
So now I get the fun experience of watching for signs of Serotonin Syndrome due to so many meds in my system, while trying to balance keeping enough in my system to not mentally spiral downward any further. Serotonin Syndrome is when you have too much Serotonin in your system and can be fatal if not treated. Nausea, vomiting, shaking, and fever are some of the symptoms.
Prayers are appreciated. Hopefully the Prozac was the culprit, the Benadryl and stopping the Prozac will help my reaction (and all the itching!!!!), the Lexapro won't cause issues and will end up helping, I won't have issues with too much Serotonin but will have enough to keep me as level as possible until my next appointment. Prayers also that I will have the strength and patience for starting over again.
