fluoxetine side effects - day 6
Posted , 5 users are following.
i'm 16 and I've been struggling with anxiety for nearly two years now. On Monday i was put on 20mg of fluoxetine. It's made my anxiety feel worse. My arms keep feeling tingling/burning and my chest feels weird. i keep shaking and having internal vibrations. I will have moments where i feel movement in my chest or little bits of pain. i also have a lack of appetite and nausea . Sometimes my head feels stuffy and it's like i can't breathe when i actually can. I went to A&E on Friday night because i was so scared. They did blood tests and an ECG and it all came back fine. IT just stresses me so much. is this just anxietyand the side effects of the fluoxetine.
0 likes, 8 replies
BARBRN jemima39198
Posted
Jem... if you started all this after starting this med you need to contact the ordering physician and get guidance. I am surprised the emergency staff did not address this. Medicine is supposed to help you, not make you feel so awful . There are other antidepressants that may be better for you. Good luck to you. It hurts me to know someone so young is having such emotional trauma. I hope you also have good adult support. I will be thinking of you.
jemima39198 BARBRN
Posted
i think a lot of it is just me stressing and the side effects. I want to try and get through this.
I just worry that there is something wrong with my heart or i that i have some sort of physical illness. My parents are quite reluctant to take me to the doctors because they want me to keep trying with the medicine for now because it has only been 6 days. I've read a lot of stories on here which sound similar to the side effects i'm having but it only gives temporary reassurance.
jemima39198 BARBRN
Posted
i also had a lot of the chest pain and other problems before it just feels different now i'm on the medicine. The only thing i didn't really have was lack of appetite and the tingly arms but i've read that other people have had the arm thing or similar when taking SSRIs.
george23939 jemima39198
Posted
how is your breathing now?
beleive it or not my doctor prescribed me this medicine to help me with my complusive thoughts which i focus on my breathing and am having trouble with my breathing as well
i had a major panic attack in which i was hyperventialtong non stop for over an hour, this was before i took any medicine
i was prescribed lexapro for a month and that has done nothing for me
i also take klnopin and that does nothing for me
reading about side effects such as breathing issues while taking prozac that some people have experienced makes me even more anxious to continue this medicine and im on day one
has anyone had their symtopms thay have affected their breathing pass
i dont want this issue to continue for years
I HOPE YOUR CONDITION GETS BETTER
ANYONE WITH GOOD NEWS WITH HIS MEDICINE?!
jemima39198 george23939
Posted
my breathing is good. I have a stuffy face and a bit of a cold i think which is probably causing me to think that
I know deep down that it's just side effects from starting the medicine.
i went to A&E on friday and i had blood tests and an ecg and everything was fine physically and i'm not having an adverse reaction.
I just have to try and cope. The main effects i'm having is just shaking and tremors, chest tightness and sensations, a bit of pain every now and again as well as my arms feeling tingly sometimes.
Reading these forum help quite a lot because reading stories about people having things that are the same or even worse are motivating me to keep taking it because eventually it will work.
Most of the side effects are quite like my normal anxiety except it just feels a bit different because it's heightned a bit .
jemima39198 george23939
Posted
Don't be worried, read some of the forums about fluoxetine on here because they really are helping me. This medicine might have some distressing side effects but keep trying and it should work eventually. If you have anything severe and crippling then go back to the doctor.
I was worried about some of my side effects because i thought at first that they were rare and adverse but after reading up on here and when i went to the hospital it's made me realise that it's just side effects and that it will go away eventually. My theory is that it's not causing me constant distress, it's more just in waves and even then, it's not crippling so i'm trying to keep that frame of mind
katecogs jemima39198
Posted
Hi Jemima
Yes this is the side effects of Fluoxetine (and any other SSRI’s). The meds will heighten anxiety before it gets better.
My son took these meds too when he was 20 and it also affected him bad, and couldn’t work for 4 months. Slowly he got better though - and 5 years to now you wouldn’t think he’d been in that dark place once.
All the feelings ie movement in your chest, pain, nausea, stuffy head etc etc are all side effects of anxiety and the meds. Nothing will happen to you - its all perfectly normal. When you don’t have anxiety you won’t have any of these feelings. Promise.
Do you have anyone you can chat to at home and are you seeing your doctor regularly?
thez1234 jemima39198
Posted
Hi! We have exactly the same side effects. I have been on flouxetine for 4 weeks now. From what i feel right now, its starting to dissipate. So keep going, they say it will go away.