Hello @rd57.

Welcome to SA.

 

Thank you for doing your signature.  That will make it easier for people responding to your questions.  As you probably have read, fluoxetine has a longer half-life, so it's not unusual that your withdrawal symptoms didn't show up in the first week.  I'm happy to hear that they've mostly subsided.  The fact that you've gone off fluoxetine and restarted, as well as the switching with sertraline, may have sensitized your nervous system.  Did your doctor explain the likelihood of that happening?  Here is a link that may help with talking to your doctor:

How to talk to a doctor about tapering and withdrawal?

This is a link that you might want to share with your doctor:

What I have learnt from helping thousands of ... - PubMed

 

I think you're smart to question how fast you want to move with your taper, especially, it would seem to me, if you're in a new job.  What are the other symptoms?  What times of day do you get them?  What time of day do you take fluoxetine?  You might find this article interesting in relation to your time running more slowly, since the psycho-drugs, including the CBD, also affect dopamine:

Dopamine, time perception, and future time perspective - NCBI

7 hours ago, rd57 said:

My question is are the side effects that I'm currently experiencing down to the major stressor I talked about and my brain repairing itself in response to the stressor, or is it that my brain cannot tolerate a 10% taper? For this reason I am currently still taking 90% of the original 20mg. 

I think it is likely to be both.  If it were me, I would hold for now.   When you feel more stable, you might consider a micro-taper to see how it affects you:

The slowness of slow tapers 

 Micro-taper instead of 10% or 5% decreases

 

I am not a doctor, but I recommend not stressing your system as much as possible, in general, but especially at this point, since moving too quickly could set you up for a much longer recovery.  

 

 

Here are some techniques to cope with symptoms:  

Non Drug Ways to Cope with Withdrawal Symptoms

  

We don't suggest many supplements, but 3 that many of us find helpful are magnesium, omega-3, and melatonin. Here are the links for info about those. It is suggested to add one at a time, and start with a low dose to see how it affects you.  

Magnesium

Omega 3 Fish Oil

Melatonin

 

This is your Introduction site where you can ask questions, record your progress, and connect with other members.

I'm glad you've found us. 

Arbor

 

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