Hi - I'm recently weaned from Prozac and am having a difficult time. Besides the emotional side effects, I've been experiencing many physical side effects; some that scare me. Yesterday, I swam 10 laps in the pool and then went for a run (training for a mini-triathlon aka sprint). During the run, I suddenly started feeling like I was getting shocked. Not like when you are shocked by static but more like I touched an electric fence (one that they have to keep animals in a yard). The shock runs through my entire body, my muscles get weak, I get very dizzy and feel as if I'm going to faint then it suddenly goes away. This happened for 30 minutes every 15 seconds or so while I was running and lasted for at least 2 hours after I ran. It happened again this morning a bit and has been occurring randomly while I sit at my desk working. I'm worried about this new issue and not sure if I should go see a neurologist. I have an appointment with my primary doctor in 2 days to see what he says but I also wanted to ask others what type of doctor they think I should see, if any. Should I wait a few weeks and see if it goes away?
Here's a full history for more details about the other side effects and my other unwelcomed medical conditions:
I started weaning from Prozac in early May 2010 after being on the medicine for 2.5 years. My doctor suggested halving my 20mg dose and then removing it all together but I took a more conservative approach to reduce the emotional side effects:
Week 1 - 20/15 mg every other day
Weeks 2&3 - 15 mg every day
Weeks 4&5 - 15/10 mg every other day
Weeks 6&7 - 10 mg every day
Week 8 - 10 mg every other day
Week 9 - none
I've been completely off the medicine since June 28th and since then have been experiencing many physical side effects including:
- painful headaches
- RLS
- insomnia
- muscle pain (not like I worked out, more like aches as if I was sick)
- restless body (like RLS but all over my body)
- twitching
- brain fog (I seem to zone out and not know it - like this morning, I spilled steaming hot coffee on my hand and it took me about 30 seconds to realize it as I was in a daze. Now I'm icing my hand b/c it hurts!! ouch.)
- dizziness (constant)
- nausea/vomiting
Prior to weaning, I didn't have many of these symptoms except for the dizziness. I have a very low resting heart rate (ranges from 40-50 while resting and in the 50's when standing) and low blood pressure. I was diagnosed with bradycardia, mitral valve prolapse and orthostatic hypotension back in January 2010 after being tested because I was fainting while running. I also have a hypothyroid and take 75mcg of levothyroxine per day. To keep my blood pressure up, I drink 48 oz of water per day and more when I'm exercising. I add in Gatorade when it's hot out and eat lots of salty food (at doctors orders). My cholesterol is within range and I'm 131 lbs, 5'4". I eat healthy and workout at least 4 times a week, mostly running.