These symptoms are known as antidepressant discontinuation syndrome and while not life-threatening, they can be quite uncomfortable.
Your provider can help you stop antidepressants in a way that reduces withdrawal.
Never stop taking your antidepressant without talking to your doctor first.
Verywell / Hugo Lin
Antidepressants don’t cause these long-term brain changes nor do they lead to cravings or addiction.
Symptoms of Antidepressant Withdrawal
Symptoms of antidepressant discontinuation syndrome tend to be mild.
Because of this, it’s important to distinguish between discontinuation syndrome and relapse.
With discontinuation syndrome, the symptoms eventually go away, usually within one to three weeks.
Tapering means gradually decreasing your dose over an extended period of time.
Your symptoms will likely go away within a few hours.
And because of Prozac’s long half-life, it will help smooth out the taper.
Ask your doctor about this option if your symptoms are bothersome.
Do Antihistamines Help With Antidepressant Withdrawal?
Frequent follow-ups may be necessary at the beginning of your transition to verify that you haven’t relapsed.
Start small and slowly and set reasonable expectations.
For example, consider committing to a 20-minute walk two days a week.
Make it social and enlist a walking buddy to help keep you accountable.
If you have been staying active, keep it up.
Aim for at least three times a week.
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Bhat V, Kennedy SH.Recognition and management of antidepressant discontinuation syndrome.J Psychiatry Neurosci.
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Gabriel M, Sharma V.Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome.CMAJ.
2017;189(21):E747.
2017;2(2):127-152. doi:10.3233/BPL-160040
