Taking one SSRI to wean off of another??

[Limonada]

I was weaning off of Celxa (20 mg/day that I've been taking for just over a year) about a month ago, and it wasn't going well at all.  I felt like garbage overall for a week after stopping the medication - I went down to 10 mg/day for a week and then stopped....my GP's recommended regimen.   There was no end in sight of my symptoms from this (dizziness, brain "rushes", irritability, fatigue - so he put me back on the meds and had me come back in to see him after a month.  

My follow up appointment was on Tuesday.  He indicated that he was surprised that I'd had trouble weaning off of Celexa because it's usually one of the "easier" ones to get off of.  His recommendation now is that I stop taking it, taking Prozac in its place for 3 days - and then stop the Prozac.  

It seems like a bit of a strange approach to me, but hey:  he's the professional.  Has anyone else been advised to take another antidepressant to wean yourself off of another?  Was it successful?

So far so good with the Prozac:  I don't feel any different, really.  I just have one more dose of it tomorrow - I guess I'll really know if it's going to work after that!!

[Limonada]

Just to clarify.....I have been in therapy since last June - and only recently stopped going (a mutual decision by my therapist and I, we both felt that we'd done the "work" we needed to do, and had success).  While I think that the initial Celexa weaning process was too fast for me, it was me who initiated it since I felt that I was ready to go off it.  You're right, though, about my GP not being very well versed in SSRIs -he didn't seem entirely sure that stopping the Celexa and taking Prozac for 3 days then stopping it was the best approach...even pulled out this big medical book and checked something while I was in the office.  (Yeah, that's something you like to see...haha)

Anyway...I took my last Prozac today.  Here's hoping for a withdrawal symptom-free weekend!!!!!

[Paxiled]

First, a GP is not an expert on ssris.  Even most psychiatrists haven't a clue.  Second, all ssris have withdrawal problems, and although it's true Celexa has been easier on the whole than, say, Paxil, or Effexor, if you go on withdrawal websites you'll still see plenty of severe withdrawal problems.  He's put you on Prozac because it's a long-lasting ssri, whereas all the others are very short lived in the body; usually they'll use liquid Prozac so they can wean slowly.  It might work, but it sounds to me like he took you off Celexa too quickly for you -- since everyone's different.  The protocol would call for you to go back on the lowest dose of Celexa where you didn't have severe withdrawal and wean more slowly.  Go to the Celexa website and it'll probably say it right there, as the FDA finally required it after Paxil settled a bunch of lawsuits about this.  And see a good psychiatrist or psychopharmacologist, if you can afford one, and good luck finding a good one.