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FLUOXETINE UPDATE .....HOPE

Posted , 118 users are following.

sharon_22416
sharon_22416

Hi

I thought i would just write and share my experiences to give a little hope to those who have just started fluoxetine and are suffering from the awful side effects... Hang in there! i am 6 months in now and i cannot believe how my life has changed, im laughing every day, i love my job im enjoying my wonderful children and my beautiful granddaughter, im moving house and i just feel my old self again, my friends are so happy for me they said i got lost for a while but they have been so supportive, and say that its great to have me back ! something i didnt think would happen 5 months ago believe me i had no motivation and suffered every side effect felt totally disconnected from the world, i have been where you are now! this site has been my life line and people who came through the other side gave me hope so by sharing this post with you i hope it will give you the encouragement and strength to carry on with the tablets, good luck to everyone and thank you all who have replied to me when i needed advice and reassurance. good luck love sharon xxx

32 likes, 334 replies

334 Replies

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  • pmen
    pmen sharon_22416

    Edited

    All of you are big support for people going through different trials and tribulations.The kind words and encouragement do help people pull on until they are better.

    Many thanks for your words  of hope.

    P

    • sharon_22416
      sharon_22416 pmen

      Posted

      your very welcome, i know how i felt when i first started fluoxetine and if it hadnt been for this site i would have come off them after a few weeks im so glad i didnt because they have changed my life good luck xxxx
    • mockingbird
      mockingbird sharon_22416

      Posted

      Hi Sharon

      It's true this site has kept me going over the last few weeks. I had a good weekend felt I turned a corner but quite anxious again today and have feeling of anger. It's just going to take time. It has helped so much with my OCD though

      Xx

    • sharon_22416
      sharon_22416 mockingbird

      Posted

      PM me i will give you my facebook info it may give you the belief you need when you see how my life has changed love being on these tablets i really cant believe how much difference 6 months makes its great to be back it will happen for you too im sure of it just hang in there honey (i know that is easier said than done) keep in touch love sharon xx

       

    • sharon_22416
      sharon_22416 mockingbird

      Posted

      ive just been away for the week end with friends something i never thought possible 6 month ago especially a fancy dress 80s hen weekend haha but i havent laughed as much in ages and it felt great xxx
  • lesley81304
    lesley81304 sharon_22416

    Posted

    Thank you so much for posting your story of hope Sharon, it means so much to me.  I've been on fluoxetine for 2 weeks now (my Dr just upped it from 20mg to 40mg yesterday) and aside from nausea and increased anxiety, I've felt no effect.  I desperately needed to hear that it gets better, because even though I know that rationally it must, it's so hard to believe right now. 

    My depression was triggered by a very stressful work situation and has been amplified I think by the fact that I'm in a foreign country, far way from my friends and family, and where everything feels so strange and unkind.  My partner has been enormously supportive but it has taken a huge toll on our relationship.  It was like I looked around one day and my feelings for her had just dissappeared, along with with my enjoyment of all my hobbies & interests - I feel flat, hollow and unexcited about anything, not at all like myself.  I don't know whether this is the depression, or whether I've fallen out of love with her (overnight?), but my confusion & guilt about this is just killing me and only adding to my anxiety and saddness. 

    In short, your post, and the hope it made me feel, have been the highlight of an otherwise hopeless day. Thank you.

    -Lesley

    • sharon_22416
      sharon_22416 lesley81304

      Posted

      Hi Lesley

      i know exactly how you feel im afraid i felt so differently about my partner too im guessing that its because you see things so differently when your depressed, i too have a stressful job which added to it but mine all came to a head when i had a car accident, thank fully i was ok but things could have been very different, 12 years ago my wonderful mum died of a cancerous brain tumor at the age of 58 i had the same symptoms and it brought it all back, i was lucky mine was due to the menopause!! but it just brought on my depression, i am the last person to have thought id get this dreadful illness but it doesnt discriminate and can effect absolutely anybody. its taken 6 months but im a different person, i have just been away on a hen weekend and im in love with my job again, im laughing and enjoying every aspect of my beautiful granddaughter growing up, i never thought i would get to this stage in the early days of fluoxetine i had no motivation i was tired all the time and too be honest lesley felt worse on it than before i started taking it!! but with the advice of my GP and the support of all the fantastic people on this site i stuck with it, im so glad i did i feel i have my life back, my relationship hasnt recovered but i think if im honest it was probably in trouble before i became depressed so we will have to see, good luck Lesley please keep in touch it does get better i promise i remember writing exactly the same as you 6 months ago and look where i am now it will happen for you too love sharonxxxx

    • lesley81304
      lesley81304 sharon_22416

      Posted

      Thanks so much for writing Sharon - you've made me feel so much more hopeful than I was a day or so ago.  I'm so happy for you that your life is back on track! Thank you for the support. xx
    • jeckleunhyde
      jeckleunhyde lesley81304

      Posted

      Hello lesley.

      I too questioned whether wanted to be with my girlfriend when my anxiety and ocd where at its worse. Thing is with anxiety it makes you think irrationally, its a bully and you will overcome it.

      Be patient with flu as it doesnt exactly start like usain bolt. 10 weeks it took for me to start dfeeling really good again and my ocd is none existant, I still get obsessive and intrusive thoughts but I dont really get the compulsions anymore.

      I love my girlfriend dearly and I can now have proper conversations with her without being angry and upset, I used to give her so much hassle and I always thought she was hard work but in reality she has always been there for me. I love the feeling of being able to relax now and enjoy my wife and kids around me.

      Sharon is right, fluoxetine can change your whole perspective of things, it feels surreal for me sometimes, nut remember we will always have good days and bad.

      Good luck lesley and take care.

    • lesley81304
      lesley81304 jeckleunhyde

      Posted

      Thanks so much for the encouraging words.  It's such a confusing time - it's so hard to trust your gut or feelings when *nothing* feels right.  I will hang in there though, and hopefully things will become a little clearer and calmer soon! 
  • carl58303
    carl58303 sharon_22416

    Posted

    Hi Sharon and everyone else

    I just swollowed my first Fluoxetine 20mg and then found this site. Ouch! sounds like it's going to be a rougher ride getting settled on this drug than my GP let on! Which means I'm very glad to have found you all and the support you so obviously offer each other. I am pleased to join the club. Hm! given that I need to be in the Fluoxetine club and have some negative feelings about that, I am pleased to be in your support group.

    This time, depression was triggered by losing three more teeth to gum disease and that lead to staring old age - I'm 70 - in the face with a crumbling spine and imagining all sorts of horrors. I'd rather have euthanasia than Fluoxetine - I'm sure my depression would lift if I knew there was a way out and I'd be happy to live on till things really got too bad, which they aren't yet. So Fluoxtine it is, try not to worry about what might be.

    A day at a time! I've organised counselling which I think will be CBT. I've found Depression Alliance and intend to go to a meeting next Tuesday. Today I might try getting out of the house - can't walk far but up and down the street might be good. I'm worried about driving with Fluoxetine newly in my system.

    Please that this stuff helps me get out of this trap of depression. Thanks for reading and understanding - I guess you wouldn't do the first if you didn't already feel the second. Here goes on Fluoxetine ............................

  • carl58303
    carl58303 sharon_22416

    Posted

    A thought about taking this stuff - as depresssion comes to me in bouts rather than being a constant in my life, how will I know whether I am feeling better naturally or by Fluoxetine? Are there any other people here who suffer depression in bouts rather than as a constant, day in day out thing?
    • sharon_22416
      sharon_22416 carl58303

      Posted

      Hi Carl

      i would have better days than others to be honest but 6 months in i do now wonder if i should see the dr about coming off them as i feel great havent had a bad day in months im not sure if its fluoxetine or that im over the worst thats making me feel totally myself again ..... ill let you know what the Dr Says love sharon xx

    • carl58303
      carl58303 sharon_22416

      Posted

      That is a good point! How do you know which is you and which is the drug? I suppose the only way is to make the decision to come off and see how you fair.

      Good luck and thanks for your wonderful suport to us beginners. It works if you keep at it - I shall remember.

  • susan05302
    susan05302 sharon_22416

    Posted

    Hi sharon 7 weeks into fluoxetine side effects horrible am still feeling anxious do the side effects wear off have seem some improvements but feel i am never going to be normal again but looking at your post made me have some hope thanks sue x
    • mockingbird
      mockingbird susan05302

      Posted

      Hi Susan,

      sorry your still feeling anxious. I am on 40 mg just used them on Thursday from 20 as on them 12 weeks and still anxious.

      feel awful today. Feel like gone back to the beginning and really down so I know how you feel

      linda x

    • sharon_22416
      sharon_22416 susan05302

      Posted

      Hi Susan

      i, afraid my side effects didnt completely dtop until week 16 love but thankfully now i dont have any so try and hang in there i used to get a couple of good days and think i was through the worst and then a week of bad days ..... it will get better sue hang in there and keep in touch message me if you need any advice love sharon xxx

    • susan05302
      susan05302 sharon_22416

      Posted

      Hi sharon

      Did you find that you had a dry mouth as a side effect I now feel that i also have dry eyes im into week 9 am feeling lots better but am still worrying were you still like this at week 9 sorry to be a nuisance.

      Sue x

       

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