Do i need to give fluoxetine longer to work?

Its now week 17 for me on 20mg, My anxiety is a bit better but i struggle with low mood and bad thoughts too,

I just want to feel ok again and it doesn't help not knowing if this is as good as it gets or if i need to hang in there and give it more time.

Thanks for your reply, you're a couple of weeks in front of me so i'll stick with it for now. xx

hi lindsey have tried to send u and paul a message tonight but it wont let me post it tried several times but nothings happening going to try yours and see if it posts if not will try tomorrow.xx

got this one bazza, speak soon xxx

hi lindsey how are u have u been back to the gps.i think ive picked up a bug or something cant do right at the moment went out a bit last wk cause i felt really good so if ive picked something up from being among people i cant win .its made me feel down againso i wasnt as good as i thought.how have u been this wk better i hpoe ithink we all want putting in a bag and shaking up to see if we come out anybetter.xx

only just seen this message, so sorry you're not feeling well, maybe your mood will pick up when you're feeling better.

I'm about the same, trying to stay positive but its easier said than done at times.

speak soon xxxx

hi lindsey just to say im still feeling ropey not had a good day so disappointing after feeling so good last wk.not a lot i can do still taking meds not seeing my psychiatrist till the end of next month.has anything changed for u.will be in touch.xx

hi bazza/lyndsey been reading your posts to each other!my god its like reading about myself,was on sertraline for 20years id say 90%intrusive thought/badthought free until early last year then started with the unwanted unfounded doubtful repetitive thouughts .was weaned of sertraline then 1week 20mg fluoxetine up to 40mg for 5weeks(had 1 day where i thought were starting to work)then downhill doc upped to 60mg nearly 3 weeks ago because i was in a desperate dark place,still waiting for some light at the end?you do count the days dont you?i just thought after 8 weeks surely id be back to my normal self? but from what ive read these meds really take time(whitch i understand)but it can be so frustrating cant it?reading what one of you said"youve got nothing to worry about"?me too?got a wonderful understanding wife,healthy kids,nice home and regular work but it doesnt stop the dark thoughts does it? which makes me so angry and frustrated with myself.hope things are good for you both

Hi Anthony, welcome to the chat, it does help to off load on here!!

I think i'm on week 19 now (starting to lose count) and it was me that said i should be grateful for what i have, great husband, healthy kids and a roof over my head.....but still i'm not happy and it makes me feel so selfish and angry with myself, i feel like i constantly have a grey cloud looming over me and don't know why, but i suffer with anxiety too and thats much better.

I'm on 20mg at the mo and back at the doctors in a week and i'm going to ask them to up my dose, if that doesn't work i look like trying something else as i can't go on like this, but that terrifies me! so i'm praying the upped dose will give me the kick up the bum that i need!!!

And yes i agree its so bloody frustrating isn't it, but i've read so many online comments about how long it can take for fluoxetine to work that i'm going to stick it out for a while and keep my fingers crossed.

Keep in touch, talking on here helps me loads xx

hi anthony it does sound like we are all in the same situation at the momemnt i felt much better till i picked this virus or bug up and it has sent me almost back to square one.feel slightly better today but nowhere near were i was last wk i had only 3 wks before i was down again but have got to think it will come back up.enough about me did u have much in the way of side effects when your gp increased u to 60mg.ive found the side effects bad this time on prozac dont remember being as bad before i do wonder some times if the manu factors mess with the meds when ingredients get more expensive but we cant do anything about it only hpoe for the best .lindsey is struggling with her meds to her gp wont increase them.please keep in touch dont read to much in me going down again im not good with illness it sets me back again.speak soon bazza x

hi lyndsey firstly do not feel guilty!i totally understand your anger though,ive felt guilty in the past but its this horrible cruel illness thats the problem,im gonna stop counting the days from now on as well as it can be an added way of thinking"is it this week?i know from past experience that ADs do work ,its justsuch a long time ago since i felt this bad and cant remember the early days of starting off on ADs.it is sort of comforting knowing we are not alone and there are worse off than us but it doesnt make it any easier when youve got this cloud over you?we all react and recover in different timespans im sure? but if youre like me(impatient)lol i just need a glimmer/sign that the meds are adapting to our brains?keep chatting cos it does help?honestly some of the things that go through my(overactive at times)mind makes me feel sick to the stomach!but knowing im not insane and its this bloody illness can be of help.hope your visit to docs is progressive.ive got well before and will get there again as im sure you will x

hi bazza yep seems like we all in this together.the only thing ive noticed since dose increase is basically(nothing)really,maybe repetitive thoughts lessened?and felt more dark to the point of i sort of missed the repetitive thoughts?if that makes sense?my wife couldnt get her head around that either but this illness can play cruel tricks on you as you probably know?ive had one day of (feeling normal)on about 4 weeks in and then a couple of days on about week 6?just hope they become more frequent and longer and will continue to post progress as and when it happens m8

Hi guys, had such a crappy morning, really didn't want to get out of bed and face the world, somehow i managed to put my trainers on and go for a run which has helped a bit, but i've been on these bloody tablets nearly 5 months now, am i just kidding myself that they will ever work? Really praying the doctor will increase my dose next week and something will kick in or i'm going to have to start all over again aren't i!!!

Sorry for the moaning post, just wanted to get it off my chest!!

Hope you're both having a better day than me, and hope you're feeling better bazza xxxx

Feeling the same lindsey. Just want to feel like myself again. This is so draining

Hi postaldogg, it bloody is isn't it!! Have you ever tried any other sort of antidepressant? I'm really starting to have my doubts now, which really isn't helping my head, and scares the hell out of me!! xx

hi lindsey,firstly well done for going for a run(done the same after work today)i know wot its like when you really dont want to go?but pushing yourself proves youve got fight in you?felt a little bit panicky this morning(irrational thoughts)but took a 5mg diazapam(my doc gave me some for odd occasions(do calm me a bit)not good with pills ie co codomol but ok with these)been having a glass of red wine with my evening meal past few days(docs happy with this)as i used to drink quite a lot,at least a bottle of wine a night?not gonna drink tonight though,gonna have maybe every other night as a treat as it does chill me.i dont need a drink as ive gone weeks without just feels i do enjoy a glass or2 as i work hard and train hard on a regular basis?gotta have one vice i suppose lol.surely your doctor should consider upping your dose as you are obviously finding it hard and you are trying your best from what ive read?feel free to moan it does help to let off steam!

hi sarahrinaz,what dose are you on now?from20mg to now?at what stage did you feel normal?so glad to hear someone improving on fluoxetine,seems like a waiting game?

hi anthony, i love a drink too!! But have started to have a cider shandy instead of just cider to see if this helps my mood any, i do drink most nights too and work in a pub so find in hard to resist lol 🙈.

I only started running just over a year ago as i know it can help with depression/anxiety, and it really does help my head, its just sometimes such hard work just getting out the bloody door even though i know i'll feel better when i get back, crazy isn't it!!

You sound like me, doing the stuff you know you should be doing to help yourself feel better but its still a bloody waiting game isn't it?

Its a different doctor i'm seeing next week so hopefully they'll listen to me and up my dose 🤞🤞

Going to pour myself a shandy now and heres hoping tomorrow is a brighter day, for all of us!! xx

good for you lindsey!have that shandy lol,i know you read some of these posts and some same alcohol is a deppreesant and blah blah but like most things done in moderation its fine?i was on sertraline for 20years and always drank(just makes you more sedated tbh but meds still worked for me?running does help cos you can think as you run and get the natural high that comes with it too!keep at it and enjoy your well deserved shandy x

No this is the first one I've tried

hi all its moaning minnie again first chance ive had to reply to u all .got to go for dental checkup this afternoon have put it off twice already i cant not go today but im panicking already i know its only a few minutes in the chair but i dread him asking me how i am just hpoe i can hold it together till i get out again.will report how i got on really dont know why the panick has set in again keep telling myself i will be ok but its not bloody working.went to my aunties funeral on monday didnt make my mind up till the morning but pleased i made it another hurdle over .my hairdresser came yesterday and cut my hair at home couldnt face the salon gotpanicky again but was ok when he was here.something else ive managed to do it like a tick list done this done that.im supposed to be meeting up with girl friends tomorrow at lunch time dont know whether i can do that yet ill leave the disision for thar till later.i dont know why we cant all take the pills and immediatly feel great it doesnt happen like that sadly.we need to all get our heads together and invent a med that works straight away wouldnt that be wonderful no more low moods etc.hope u all are not to bad good of u lindsey and anthony doing your running dont know what i would do with out this sight it gives my husband and girls a bit of respite.has anyone heard from paul lately i havent.dont know whether my pc not working properly but on your link lindsey the messages seem to be all over the place i thought they followed on or its perhaps just me .have the best day u can maybe even have a laugh. be in touch soon.bazza xx

Hi bazza, its so bloody up and down isn't it!! Just take one day at a time, thats all we can do, and don't feel bad if you have to cancel an appointment, its not the end of the world, you can always make another when you're feeling up to it, i think we put to much pressure on ourselves to do these things that it only makes us worse!

Today i woke up feeling a little brighter in myself, and i'm still feeling ok, about time after 5 long months!!! Fingers crossed tomorrow will be ok too.

Let me know how you get on at the dentist, and try and stay positive, we're all in this together!!! xxxx

hi lindsey ihave just replied to u and touched the wrong key and lost it all.pleased to hear u feel a bit brighter wont say any more dont want to jinx it for u.thanks for the encouragement the other day we do put to much pressure on ourselves dont we.i think it is part and parcel what we have makes us do this.i did go for my check up and it was ok really panicky till i got there weve known him for a long time and he knew why i cancelled it before told me not to worry my teeth are ok for now so that put me at ease.i go next tuesday for another dental app to another dentist cos i fell a couple of years ago and smashed my front crowns and had to have them replaced with implants to cut a long story short two failed and the dentist who did them retired so ive had to go to someone he recommended to get them sorted so lots of money spent we could have done without spending im hoping i will soon be sorted.

sorry i did not see this until just now...... I am still on 20mg and have no plans to increase the dosage. its been a long journey, but id say at the 14 week mark i felt much improved. im now in week 23 ( aprox) and while i still have a bit of what i call morning jitters, its 90% better than what it was. I have been on prozac for 17 years, and last fall they stopped making the brand i have always taken and my body went into withdrawl, or i had aome kind of allergic reaction to the new generic, so i had to start all over again..... in the US they add colors and weird additives into the drugs, and some people like me are super sensitive.... so when the Drs say fluoxetine is all the same, they are full of BS..... its not the same..... my Dr was very understanding and helpful, and got me on the Brand name Prozac from Eli Lily.... and it took a while to work, but it did..... i think the biggest mistake i made was starting right back on the same dose i had been on, which was 20mg....... i should have started at 10mg. Not all generics work the same, and depending on which country they come from, the actual dose in the pill can be very very different. I will only take the one made by Eli Lily now, as they have to be exactly the same as they have always been, and they test the pills for accuracy far more often in the US than they do in places like China and India.....I read somewhere that in india only 1 out of 1000 pills were tested for accuracy..... thats pretty scary..... I was suicidal for the first tome in my 47 years because of a bad reaction to something in the pills i took that were manufactured in India......never again....... if anything has come from what happened to me its that i have learned i need to get off this stuff ..... im terrified of going through what i did again because a generic manufacture decided the drug was no longer profitable and quit producing it. Im confident the brand name will not have the same issues because i know they cost 10 times more than I paid for the generic....... therapy and cleaning up my diet should help me reduce my dose in the future and eventually get off the meds all together. I have discovered a you tube channel called the lovely grind, and it is so encouraging knowing that its possible.

hope you are doing well, and feeling a bit better...... this board was my lifeline for a while..... KATECOGS is also very helpful and knowledgeable. Hope your having a wonderful day, and if not today, i hope tomorrow,......:-))

SARAH