Criterion A: A 4-week or longer course of treatment in which an SSRI or SNIR is stopped or
interrupted or the dose is reduced.
Criterion B: Two or more of the following symptoms develop within 1 to 10
days of criterion A (except for fluoxetine in which case the symptoms must
develop within 28 days):
(a) dizziness or light headedness
Criterion C: The symptoms of criterion B cause clinically significant
distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas
of functioning.
Criterion D: The symptoms are not due to a general medical condition or
the direct physiological effects of another substance (e.g., a
medication or a drug of misuse) that has been recently commenced, stopped,
or altered in dosage.
Criterion E: The disorder is not better accounted for by an exacerbation/
relapse/recurrence of the psychiatric disorder for which the SSRI /SNRI was
prescribed.
The following criteria define the SSRI /SNRI withdrawal syndrome:
(b) nausea and/or vomiting
(c) headaches
(d) lethargy
(e) anxiety and/or agitation
(f) tingling (paresthesias), numbness or "electric" shock-like sensations in the head or limbs
(g) tremors
(h) sweating
(i)insomnia
(j) irritability
(k) vertigo (dizziness)
(l) diarrhea
Adapted from:
Haddad PM The SSRI discontinuation syndrome: literature review and
provisional diagnostic criteria. Presented at: XXIst Collegium Internationale
Neuro-Psychopharmacologicum Congress. July 12-16, 1998; Glasgow, Scotland.
Reprinted in International Drug Therapy Newsletter. 1998, 33, 46.
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