I have been on 20mg Prozac for over 5 years now and it really helped me in the beginning and been a quite a gentle SSRI to get on/forget a dose.

It still works for anxiety (although I had a glitch and the weirdest head, a couple of weeks ago felt like I was going mad and scared of suicidal feelings and part of the reason I am here) compared to how I was before I was taking them.

The issue is the glitch I had scared me and I have developed depressive tendencies, lack of caring, no motivation, low mood. This has been for the last 6 months (maybe longer), I lost my job, I sleep at erratic times.

The doctor and Psychiatrist have agreed to change my meds (though I am a bit nervous as I always have bad side effects with a new SSRI and Prozac is still kind of working for anxiety it's just the depression). The plan in place is to try Venlafaxine and if that isn't for me then try Pregabalin.

I have read so many bad reviews and it has the bad rep of side effects and withdrawal, some people going as far as to say avoid this at all costs.

I have started taking them, just a quarter of a tablet for a couple of days then maybe half a tab for a few more days increasing it thereafter.

TLDR: Been on 20mg of Prozac for 5 years or more (still kind of working for anxiety but now I have depressive tendencies). Now cross-tapering to Venlafaxine 37.5mg and I have a couple of questions.

Here are my questions:

  • Is starting with a quarter of a tablet and increasing by a quarter every few days pointless?
  • Is it true that it is a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor at higher doses such as Paroxetine?
  • Does anyone else get a weird head sensation on taking SSRI/SNRI?
  • Is it true cross tapering from one SSRI to another (such as Prozac to Venlafaxine) could mean less harsh side effects?
  • I have read this drug can increase blood pressure?
  • Is there any scientific merit to an article I read that long-term usage of SSRI's/SNRI's such as Prozac and Venflaxine can cause brain damage. Found here?


Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Nathan