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3 weeks on Prozac. How long do I give it?? Need some hope.

Posted , 4 users are following.

jenna93888
jenna93888

Hi everyone. Iv had an anxiety disorder and been medicated since I was 10. It college along with generalized anxiety I was diagnosed with OCD. I had previously been on lexapro for 13 years. Lexapro was a wonder drug for me. It worked so well up until I became pregnant and gave birth to my son. I suppose pregnancy did a number on my hormones and lexapro just wasn't working as well anymore. The past 3 weeks Iv been weaning off of lexapro and onto prozac. I'm currently at 60mg prozac and have been completely off lexapro for 3 days. my anxiety has been significantly worse since last week. I'm having more intrusive thoughts, I feel very zoned out and tired. I don't have much energy and I'm jittery. I'm starting to worry I'm never going to feel normal again. That my life is always going to be this anxiety and fogginess forever. Can anyone give me any hope? Do I stick it out with prozac or is it not working for me?

0 likes, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • vanessa10102
    vanessa10102 jenna93888

    Posted

    Hi, Don't give up, Prozac takes several weeks to kick in and you often feel worse before you feel better, but you will feel better . X
  • Sazzles84
    Sazzles84 jenna93888

    Posted

    Hi Jenna,

    I was prescribed fluoxetine a few months back and came on here too because I couldn't understand how something that was meant to help could make me feel so much worse. I wished at that time I had just kept quiet as I felt that I was no longer functioning as a person. I felt groggy, unmotivated and tearful and like my brain was made of fog and I'd never feel human again. I promise this does pass, but it took me 6 weeks or so although I did gradually start to feel better. To me it was like being reset and felt significantly worse before better. It does pass. How you're feeling was the specific reason I signed up to this site. People did tell me, and I didn't believe them, so I'm replying to you to say that you can believe all the reports that you will start to feel better.

    All the best and look after yourself x

    • jenna93888
      jenna93888 Sazzles84

      Posted

      This was very encouraging. My biggest fear is that I'm going to go through all of this only to find it doesn't work for me and be back a square one.
  • Ferneyhough01
    Ferneyhough01 jenna93888

    Posted

    Hi. 

    I have been taking 20mgs Prozac for 10 weeks now and I'm still experiencing the extreme fatigue and bouts of anxiety.  I am managing to get out and about but I'm only managing this by really pushing myself and guzzling proplus!    I start a new job tomorrow and I really worried about my energy levels!     How long do people think that it will take for things to fully kick in and take effect?   Many Thanks 

  • jenna93888
    jenna93888

    Posted

    Thank you all! Iv read so many mixed things about how long to give it. Some say six weeks but Iv also heard six months! I just want to stop waking up anxious everyday. I have a one year old son and by the afternoon im completely wiped out. I need energy to keep up with him. We want more children but are at a standstill until I can get to a place with my anxiety and medications where we can try again. I'm starting to think it may be years before that's possible. 😞
    • Sazzles84
      Sazzles84 jenna93888

      Posted

      It's so hard to tell because a lot will depend on how things were before starting the medication etc.

      With me I was feeling increasingly agoraphobic and would get so anxious and nervous walking down the street or in shops I would just cry and would hate leaving the house. The fluoxetine certainly helped with those symptoms after about 6 weeks of feeling awful. Energy wise I would wake up feeling groggy and hungover (without booze) but I stopped waking up at 3am with feelings of dread.

      I don't think the fluoxetine will be enough to also have energy to go about day to day by concentrating on things like diet/ exercise. All I can say is the first few weeks I couldn't look after myself very well but after it 'kicked in' I could at least contemplate exercising and facing the supermarket and food planning.

      If it's mainly anxiety that's the problem then the Prozac will certainty help that; energy wise it's not ideal first thing or in the evenings (or at least it wasn't for me) but once you start to feel less anxious you'll hopefully be able to look at other ways to increase energy without being held back by the anxious thoughts and feelings.

      Xx

    • jenna93888
      jenna93888 Sazzles84

      Posted

      Hi sazzles,

      It is mostly the anxiety that bothers me because I do feel the prozac has atleast lessened the intrusive thoughts at this point. I already exercise 5 days a week and eat gluten and dairy free. Unfortunately I'm still anxious. I could be fine with going through all this if there was a garuntee that the Prozac would work.

    • Sazzles84
      Sazzles84 jenna93888

      Posted

      I genuinely reckon then that once the fluoxetine kicks in your energy levels will return to normal except for possibly a slightly groggy wake up which didn't last long for me...after I was out of bed it was fine.

      I can only say that it did work for me and my anxiety was preventing me going to work and it did get so so much worse before it got better. I was nervous and twitchy and cried when leaving the house and it sorted that out. I became much more laid back and rationale but for the first few weeks as I described I felt like I'd been beaten up and stripped of any joy which was really awful. If your main issue is anxiety then it should totally help resolve that and your healthy living should look after your energy. Has your GP recommended CBT etc? I was put on this as a short term measure until issues could be addressed through psychology but I was getting married and honestly felt like I'd have refused to walk down the aisle without medication. I really hope this works out for you. It really really will get better xx

    • jenna93888
      jenna93888 Sazzles84

      Posted

      That's very encouraging to hear! I have been in CBT once a week for several years now. My psychologist is very good and it has helped me make tremendous progress.
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