Fluoxetine: will this get better?
Posted , 5 users are following.
Hello, I've started fluoxetine 8 weeks ago:
First 4 weeks: 10 mg. Almost no side effects. Anger subsided. Feeling down.
Next 2 weeks: 15 mg. A few days of dizziness feeling down
Last 2 weeks: 20 mg. Nausea and diarrhea. Still feeling down
I still feel so sad and down all the time. When I will start to feel better? My depression is even worse than when I was not taking it.
I'm tired of the side effects, and I'm tired of feeling depressed. It's 2 months already.
1 like, 6 replies
pipk02 anamuro
Posted
Hi 👋 I'm sorry to hear you are having a rough time, you are not alone. We are in the same boat. I have been on flux for about 9 weeks now, starting on 5mgs and gradually building up. Today is my second week on 20mgs. It's been really up and down. I have a lot of hormone troubles.
I haven't really felt like the meds are working yet either. But as my psychiatrist has told me I basically need to treat it as though I have been on flux for only two weeks as I've only just got to 20mg. She said it's going to take more time. I know it's so hard. I def thought I'd be feeling better by now. I'm going to try and be patient and stay on 20mg for at least 6 weeks to see if it will work.
I hope you are okay. I know how hard it is to keep the faith but try and keep hopeful that it will work. Do you have a supportive Dr? What do they say?
Aquin anamuro
Posted
You've come so far! Hang in there a while longer. It's very common to get worse than you were before you get better unfortunately. I tapered up slowly like you, and i found i would go downhill again at every increase. I think 6 weeks minimum is a good time frame to see if the dosage and med is working for you. The bad side effects should die down a bit before then though
anamuro
Posted
Hi Pipk and Aquin:
Thank you so much for your replies, it really mean a lot to me right now.
I don't really have a supportive dr, I've never really met him as our consultations were by phone and email. I trust best this forum than what he says, to be honest.
I'm trying to make an appointment with a therapist as well as I know I have a lot of issues.
But ugh, really 2 months... I also thought I was going to feel better by now!
I forgot to mention that I've started to have panic attached as well as my anxiety went up since I increased to 20 mg.
It's awful.
deborah93854 anamuro
Posted
I can sympathise with you. I have been on flux 20mg for over a year now. I went through exactly the same as you are going through now. It was awful. Side effects were excruciating. I had panic attacks, anxiety and stress levels went through the roof. I was prescribed Mirtazapine for anxiety and sleeping, which took a while to all kick in. After 6 weeks everything subsided and i was back to normal. I tapered off mirtz, but am still on fluoxetine. I also had therapy, CBT.
You will feel better soon.
TAKE Care
D
anamuro
Posted
nick24901 anamuro
Posted
I just want to share something someone wrote in response to me when I posted about my own struggles with Fluoxetine.
"This is a normal part of recovery - don't worry it will even out eventually. Your mood will be up and down for a while - some hours, days or weeks feeling great followed by feeling low again. It means the medication is working. Don't rush to up your meds either, as you'll still need to go through this process.
Lots of patience and perseverance. It took me 6 months, and even after that I still continued to improve."
Also, I hate giving this advice as it sounds so obnoxious but exercising outside (for me specifically jogging) helped alot. Don't push yourself harder than you need to, get plenty of sleep, and don't fret about the lack of progress. Recovery is a long road that takes time and patience and even though that can sound daunting it is also a very well travelled road with lots of folks to help pick you up when you have fallen.