Prozac effectiveness?

Thank you...I sincerely appreciate it. I've just felt so off for so long and so wanting myself back to normal. I'm terrified by the feelings I have but I will try and give it longer. I appreciate your response!

Could I also ask if these feelings; spacey, not feeling myself, agitated, crying spells....are customary with prozac or any ssri and will that eventually subside? Thanks!

Hi Kim..

I am on 40mg as well and around the 3rd and 4th week on the increase I was not feeling the best. I have now been on the 40mg for almost 7 weeks and feel great. It seemed like that 3-4 week mark was when my side effects became the worse then they got better. I am also unsure of your age but suggest you ask your doctor about doing a full set of hormone tests on you.

Thank you...I'm glad to hear it's working for you. Do you think these effects I'm having are temporary? I just feel so off and unlike myself. I can do a few things but am overall, not functional. I had my hormones tested at a clinic; not sure of the validity of the tests but it showed that the only abnormality is low testosterone. I am 44, female and so desperately in need of  getting well. I 've never had anything like this in my life. Thank you again.

Can you tell me some of the side effects you experienced? Every day I feel worse; today, I had shakiness, bleary eyed vision-kind of a hyper awareness. I'm just so desperate...I haven't felt well in forever. I'm afraid of what's to become of me.

Yes those feelings are all normal with these meds.  They're often worse for the first few weeks.  It often seems like these effects last forever, but they don't.  Many people give up the meds before they've taken effect, so yes it's really beneficial to persevere on them.  The end result is really worth it.

Yes the side effects will subside in time.  Count recovery in months, not weeks.  Might sound a long time but it's not really.  It often takes a long to become ill, and so it'll work the other way too with recovery.  You may feel despondent many times whilst you wait, but just keep going.  You will get there.

I was ill for 16 years and nothing helped me.  I longed to be back to what I was.  I started on SSRI's and within 6 months I'd recovered and have stayed we'll ever since ... many years now.

K xx

Thank you...I sincerely appreciate your encouragement. Today, I'm so shaky and tearful, feeling unlike myself...feeling crazy. I so long to feel better. I hope I can hold out for months. Days are like an eternity.

I've been there so know exactly how you feel.  Weeks, months sound a long time, but you won't be feeling so ill all this time - it does ease.  Recovery often comes in waves too - you feel better and then it can disappear again.  That's normal.  It's just your body adjusting.  It shows the meds are working.

You will get over this.  xx

I so appreciate your encouragement. I can't express my thanks enough....I feel so alone and different in this process. Life just doesn't look or feel the same to me. I'm a single-parent and it's so necessary I get well. I pray I can hang on..

Could I ask if you thought there was anything the doctor might add to the prozac to  help? Today, I have heightened fears and high anxiety. I just feel so frustrated. I'm afraid I won't ever feel normal again.....feel so anxious and paralyzed with fear. 

Hi Kim..

Are you doing any exercise? Even if you do not feel like it push yourself to walk.. run as fast as you can.. do some star jumps. I found that helps me when anxious. Sitting in one spot and ruminating over things makes things worse. I know it is tough to get moving but I think you know this is your brain feeding you a whole lot of non truths and you are stronger than the stories it is telling you.

Thank you...No, I haven't done any exercise. I think now, I'm overcome with fears-irrational ones. I just feel so bad physically and mentally. Thank you for your support. I've never experienced anything remotely close to this.

I can relate to that too - when I was ill so many years ago now, I also felt alone.  I'd never experienced anything like this and didn't know what had hit me.  I was scared and very emotional all the time.

I know some people take other meds that their doctor prescribe to help in the early weeks, but there's not much that will take the feelings away in an instant, though it's worth having a chat with your doctor to see if there's something that can take the edge off for now.  I know how hard it is to live with this daily, every second of the day, but it will get better with the meds.

It is frustrating, but do try and relax as much as you can as a tense body just feeds the anxiety.  I agree re exercise.  You may not feel like doing anything, but even just a daily walk will help - exercise helps to burn off excess andrenaline which feeds anxiety.

You may see not see your way out of this yet - but you are recovering even though you don't feel it yet.  Tick each day off - each day means you're nearer to feeling well again.  I can assure you, you will feel better as time goes by.

These meds are no quick overnight fix, but they really do in the long run.

Patience is the key.

Chat anytime - there's many of us here who'll help too.

K x

Thank you...I'm sorry I sound so down and negative. I truly have never had such horrific side effects or feelings. I can't imagine this being the norm. I feel so off every day and super anxious; odd, odd feelings and irrational fears. There are most days where I stay on the couch b/c when I get up, I'm dizzy or feel spacey; some dr; just things don't seem the same as they were before the meds....I'm afraid I've done damage to my brain; I can't work now...my mother who is elderly takes care of my son and me.....I just feel really helpless. I thought at 4 weeks, if you saw no improvement, it was time to try another...I really don't want to....feel these just aren't right for me. I thank you much for your encouragement.

Hey, you're allowed to sound down and negative, it's natural ... because you're not well.  No apologies needed ??

You will feel negative and you won't see a way out ..... not yet anyway.  That's the nature of the illness.  Don't try another meds yet - it can often be 3-4 months before you start feeling better - often before then.  Many people make the mistake of not seeing any improvement after a few weeks, swap meds, see no improvement again, swap meds or change dose and because changing meds / increasing doses gives you side effects and reducing meds gives withdrawal, you end up making yourself worse.  You need to stay on the meds for a long time as it'll take that long for your body to start adjusting.

Also when you start feeling well you may find it'll disappear again and you'll feel ill again.  That's normal too as recovery often comes in waves.  It'll settle  and you'll feel well all the time eventually.

My son took these meds and couldn't work for 4 months.  He went through hell, and stayed in bed a lot but persevered, walked every day with me, started doing things and eventually the meds kicked in and he recovered completely.

You will get irrational fears.  It's part of the illness and part of the meds.  Just think of them as side effects, they're not real, they are scary but they will disappear as you recover.  Everyone in the world gets weird thoughts, but because they're not accompanied with anxiety they don't bother people and are quickly forgotten about.  When you're ill, your mind becomes very tired and scary thoughts stick to a tired mind and bounce around in your head, and because you're already anxious, these thoughts can seem scary, producing more anxiety, and so you get caught in a cycle of anxiety, scary thoughts, anxiety etc.  Your mind may also go looking for scary thoughts and irrational fears - mine did.  But that's the illness.  The scariness will go as you get better.

Things can appear different to what they used to be - again that's the illness and the meds.  You can feel detached from everything.  You're so spent up with emotion and anxiety that you think inwardly which is tiring, and that can make everything seem different.  It'll all be back normal in time.

You haven't done any damage to your brain.  Anxiety is a physical illness and yes it can also bring about mental suffering too.  It did for me.  Fix the anxiety and the mental suffering heals too.  You get so wrapped up in the illness you can't see any way out, and any thoughts about being stuck like it fill you with yet more anxiety.  You won't be stuck - you will get better, and your thoughts and fears will turn lighter, less fearful, and the anxiety and anxious thinking will get less and won't bother you.

I had 16 years of it - I thought I'd never get well, couldn't see how I ever could and thought I was doing it to myself.  I wasn't - it was anxiety, and your body is simply reacting to it as mine was.

Try practicing relaxing, not just when sitting, but as you move around.  Stop holding your tummy tensely, stop clenching your teeth and jaw, walk and drive slower - it really does help.  When you're asleep your body is deeply relaxed, and in the morning you often get a jolt as you wake and the anxiety hits you again.  Your body has gone from being relaxed to it normal tense state again.  So try practising to let go of tension - you won't feel the benefit overnight or for quite a while, but with continued practice it'll help towards sending that anxiety packing.  The meds will also start working too.

You'll get there.  I know you will.

K x

Thank you so much for your insight. I sincerely appreciate the encouragement. I read what you wrote to my mother and she told me to print it out to read when I'm discouraged. I honestly appreciate all of the good and inspirational words. I'm super worried and have a lot at stake with a 14 year old to raise. The last time I gave a med months to work, it failed-the Lexapro. I'm finding some similarities with prozac-the endless and erratic crying...I'm so desperate to return to my old self. I wish I had never taken anything b/c now it's going to be hard if not impossible to get back. I will refer to your words when I'm feeling despair. I'm glad you and your son are better. I pray the same for me. Thank you again and please, continue to keep in touch, offering words of support for I need them so.

That's a good idea to print out words that you find helpful to refer to them when you feel discouraged.  

Meds often fail because they haven't been given time to work - though you did give Lexapro months.  It took me 6 months and my son was 9 months .... I did have times when I thought they wouldn't work for my son, but have always trusted this type of meds and knew it would come alright in the end.

Sometimes though you think you've been on them a long time, you have to then give them even more time.  Just when you think you can't take it any more, the next week it starts happening.

There are many different types of SSRI's around and they all suit different people.  Stay on one meds for a long time - don't swap from one to another as you can't get an overnight fix on any.  To keep swapping meds makes your body confused, and it needs time to adjust to the meds.  There is no magic switch to turn off the symptoms ..... but that magic switch will turn on if you give the meds time.

Whilst you wait for the meds to work you can help yourself too - again not an instant fix, but it helps towards being well.  Relaxation and exercise.  I can't stress this enough - your nerves are all haywire at the moment and they need to calm down, so relaxing/letting go of any tension as you move around, sit or whatever you do really helps.  At the moment your body is sensitised, wound up, tense, anxious and a desensitised body is calm and relaxed, so help it to desensitise by letting go.  If you check yourself, you'll probably find you're holding your stomach tight / tense, and your jaw is clenched?  Let it go.

Exercise.  Just a daily walk, ambling along, will help too.  Exercise releases endorphins (our feel good hormones) and will help you feel better, help you sleep, and will help burn off excess adrenaline.  My sons doctor said he had to step outside his comfort zone a bit, do things.  We went walking or cycling with our son every day and he walked along not looking at anything, just staring at the ground, but we went anyway.  I got him to join an African drum group and guitar classes and went with him.  He'd sit on his own and not talk to anyone.  After about a month he decided to go on his own and has now been drumming and playing guitar for nearly 2 years and is now in the drum troupe.  For me it was dance, which I still do today and am now a dance teacher.

Music and movement are really good for the soul.  An absorbing hobby can fire up enthusiasm and help heal too.

So stepping outside your comfort zone, pushing a tiny bit is the start to helping yourself as you also wait for the meds to start working.

I've seen many people on this site saying exactly the same you've said, and have seen them starting to recover too when they thought they wouldn't.

Talk to your mother too or someone you feel can with - I talked everyday with my son and told him he could tell me anything, however stupid he might think it was, I didn't mind and wouldn't think anything silly and wouldn't be alarmed by whatever he said.  So he told me all his worries and fears, he cried and cried, shook, hid under his duvet at times, didn't eat, didn't sleep and I just held him.  We walked every day and he returned to work after 4 months being off sick, I went to everything doctors appointment with him (though often sat in the waiting room), he took up music, exercised and the meds began working after about 5 months which came and went ......... and he recovered.  He's now been well for over a year, is off meds, goes out, has a girlfriend and is happy and back to normal again.

You can too.  Keep taking the meds ..... It will happen for you too.

K xx

hi kim i am in the same boat as you and its not nice! x i am on my 5th week since they upped mine from 20 mg to 40mg am just starting and hopefully feeling a bit better x you are not on your own x

Thank you and I'm so glad it worked for you and your son. I pray I'll get back to my life too!

Thank you for sharing your story too...I'm glad you're seeing results. I hope that I will too soon. Prayers your way.

hi kim,

​i feel the same, 5 weeks or so on fluoxetine small dose, high anxiety and irrational fears too, you are not alone, my mother is taking care of me also, hope it will go better for us soon

Hello and thanks for the repl. I'm sorry you're having this too. It does seem impossible to endure. I pray for us that we can endure and come out well on the other side of this trial.

You will ??😊

Thank you...I sincerely hope so; saw the doctor today and he thought that taking l-methyl folate might help with the prozac but I'm not sure. My gene test shows incompatibility with ssri's but compatibility with things like Pristiq, Effexor, Wellbutrin, Cymbalta. I'm worried to try another b/c as you said, it would be like starting over...I'm going to hang on with the prozac a little longer, but still feeling so off...and unlike myself; super anxious and tearful; spacey. Thank you again K

What kinds of side effects are you having? Can you describe some of how you feel? I just feel so off....every day. Thanks again!

Vivienne...what types of side effects are you having? I'm curious b/c I still feel so off and unlike myself...thanks again!

i think i also tolerate much snri it is what i feel , tried many, afraid to stop again and try something ese, my brain cant hande all these changes

feel panicky and feel anxcious but it is not as bad now so must be working slowly now xx

Thaat' good that it's working...I feel anxious all the time...

K...are dry heaves common with taking prozac? I awakened this morning with those and high anxiety...

Also...shaking/trembling...having that a lot lately...just feel maddening...

Hi Kim

Yes shaking / trembling is a common side effect - I had an inner shake for many weeks when I first started on the meds.  

Didnt understand your first post - 'Dry heaves'??

Common side effects are headache, dull head, sweating, muscle aches and pains, flu like symptoms, shaking / trembling, anxiety, depression, dry mouth, lack of concentration, agitation, sexual dysfunction, crying, feeling cold ..... and a whole host of other things.  The leaflet that came with your medication lists many side effects. 

But ..... this doesn't mean you'll get all these ..... they're just listed as possible effects.  I didn't get all of them, only some.  For me though, the side effects weren't much different to what I was already suffering from having anxiety, and I'd have done anything to have been rid of years more of suffering.  Getting through the side effects was a small price to pay for the end result for me.

The first few weeks are usually the worst.  

 

Thank you Kate...I counted up and I started the Prozac on Thanksgiving so it's not quite been a month; almost there...Today, I just woke up feeling awful-sick stomach and some feelings like I would throw up but didn't...just feel odd and have some intrusive thoughts; like my thinking is off. I hope this passes. I do  so want it to work....

Kate,

Your statement really resonated with me "For me though, the side effects weren't much different to what I was already suffering".  I'm on my 5 week and still having dull head, headaches, lack of concetration and weakness.  My outlook is much better emotionally, but these physical symptoms are still debilitating.  Since my diagnosis came because of physical symptoms more than emotional (although there were those), I think my 'side effects' are really the physical symptoms of depression.  I know everyone is different, but i was hoping to see less physicial symptoms by the 5th week.  I know prozac is working because my outlook is much brighter - but as far as the physical, it can be crushing and it always seems like it's 'wait til next week' - Well, I'm ready for next week.  WHen did you really see a change in all the 'side effects'?  Thanks!

Kim, That's exactly when I started.  We'll hang in there together!  Still fighting through side effects - ready for 'next week it gets better' to actually be next week!

Ron...you think it will be better the 5th week? I just can't imagine much more torture...I think the mental is worse than the physical for me. What side effects have you had?

Kim,

I can say for sure that the mental has gotten much better for me, so I think you are about to turn a corneer with that - it's different for different people, 5 weeks, 7 weeks, etc. - but it does happen!!.  The side effects I'm having are a dull head, headaches, slight dizziness, and leg weakness.  However, I'm not convinced that these are side effects as much as they are the physicial symptoms of depression that the medicine still has to kick it fully to eliminate.

Hi RonVis

I was actually on Citalopram, another type of SSRI, but my son was on Prozac (family eh)!! 🙄 All SSRI's basically have the same side effects though.

Yes the meds can cause mental anguish, amazing how powerful the mind is at times. When I recovered on meds it took 6 months before I could say I was better, and from there on I continued improving even more, but around 3 months it started happening for me. It often happens so slowly you hardly notice it.

I started getting glimpses of feeling normal - calmer, lighter, brighter, content ..... and these glimpses only happened in the evenings. It was like someone had turned on a lightbulb. I'd wake every day feeling dreadful, and again by the evening I'd feel 'it' lifting. Slowly these glimpses got longer even though every started with morning anxiety. This normal feeling increased into my afternoons, then mornings until finally I started waking anxiety free. During this time though I had dark days followed by these glimpses. This wave effect is normal for most people, so though you may start to feel well be aware that 'it' often comes back (blips). The blips will go though.

Anxiety is physical, but it brings on mental anguish because of an over active mind.

My son took 9 months to recover, and he also went through the wave (blips) phase.

I've been on meds twice and both times I had a different experience starting up.

You really need so much patience on these meds. Relaxation / letting go of tension in your body as you move around during the day, exercise, sleep and eating healthily are also key in helping your body whilst you wait for the meds to work.

Try not to over analyse every little thing that happens whilst on these meds - it's just side effects, and ones that will ease in time.

Keep on going, through it all and you'll find yourself in calmer waters eventually.

K x