How to wean cat off prozac

How long should you take to wean off prozac?

How long does Prozac stay in a cat’s system?

There are active metabolites of fluoxetine for four to five weeks after discontinuing the drug. Some animals appear to stop responding to an individual SSRI medication. This also occurs in humans but it has not been studied widely in dogs and cats .

What is the best way to stop taking Prozac?

Quitting Prozac doesn’t have to be a nightmare. If you are worried about withdrawal , your doctor may recommend tapering your dose. When you taper your dose, by taking progressively smaller doses over a period of time, you can often prevent or reduce withdrawal symptoms.

How long after stopping antidepressants before I feel normal again?

Symptoms of antidepressant withdrawal depend on the specific medication you have been taking. Symptoms most often occur within three days of stopping the antidepressant . They are usually mild and go away within about two weeks.

Can I take fluoxetine every other day?

However, this study clearly demonstrated that the same amount of fluoxetine can be administered either daily or every third day .

Do you have to wean a cat off Prozac?

If planning to discontinue fluoxetine , a tapering course is not necessary unless the patient has been taking fluoxetine for more than 8 weeks. In that case, tapering the dose over a couple of weeks is a good idea.

Will Prozac stop my cat from peeing?

If the stressor can be avoided that is the best solution, though sometimes issues between cats can be addressed by desensitization. Often urine marking is not resolvable by behavioral means alone, however, and pharmacological treatment with an anti-depressant like Prozac has been shown to be highly effective.

Do you have to wean off prozac?

It may be possible to discontinue a medication more quickly if the dose was low to begin with. Discontinuation may take longer if the patient has been on the drug for an extended period of time. It may be possible to stop Prozac ( fluoxetine ) without tapering , due to its relatively long half-life.

Can I stop Prozac cold turkey?

Stopping fluoxetine abruptly may result in one or more of the following withdrawal symptoms: irritability, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, nightmares, headache, and/or paresthesias (prickling, tingling sensation on the skin). Depression is also a part of bipolar illness.

How do I wean myself off antidepressants?

Discontinuing an antidepressant usually involves reducing your dose in increments, allowing two to six weeks or longer between dose reductions. Your clinician can instruct you in tapering your dose and prescribe the appropriate dosage pills.

What are the long term side effects of fluoxetine?

Clinical studies have shown that there are many side effects upon chronic administration of SSRIs, like sexual dysfunction,⁹ suppression of rapid eye movement sleep,¹⁰ nausea,^{11, 12} decreased appetite¹³ and deterioration of symptoms (for example, aggression ),^{14, 15} indicating that optimization of chronic treatment of

Do Ssris permanently change your brain?

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors ( SSRI ) such as Prozac are regularly used to treat severe anxiety and depression. They work by immediately increasing the amount of serotonin in the brain and by causing long term changes in brain function.

Will I lose weight if I stop antidepressants?

So if weight gain is caused by the medication, then weight loss should follow its discontinuation. And it does, for many people: Once the medication is out of the body, normal appetite returns, fatigue diminishes, and the patient returns to eating and exercising normally.

What does antidepressant withdrawal feel like?

Overview. Antidepressant withdrawal can make you feel edgy and out of sorts. You may feel like you have the flu (sluggish with a headache and nausea), have trouble sleeping and concentrating, and experience anxiety and even thoughts of suicide.