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Going on 3rd week with floxetine, when is it gnna get better?

Posted , 6 users are following.

vicki31901
vicki31901

Hi, been on floxetine going on 3rd week is there any advice that symptoms get better, I just wnna feel myself again.

0 likes, 25 replies

25 Replies

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  • Littlebluedog
    Littlebluedog vicki31901

    Posted

    Hi vicki I Am in week 3 too you get good and bad days it can take up to. 12 weeks to feel true benefit I've been told and symptoms
    • Littlebluedog
      Littlebluedog

      Posted

      Go in a few weeks aparently we should stick together through this 😊 Message me anytime xx take care
    • Littlebluedog
      Littlebluedog vicki31901

      Posted

      Hey vicki , past few days haven't been too bad to be honest moods are up and down and dry mouth is horrendous and nausea and panicky in the Mornings and so tired but I'm hoping the side effects will wear off eventually how are you have you been feeling any better ? Or worse?? Xx
    • vicki31901
      vicki31901 Littlebluedog

      Posted

      hey littlebluedog, it has been alright i guess, mornings are sucky when i brush my teeth i feel nauseas and yea panicky as well, i have some good days where i start feeling good,but im just ready to feel great EVERYDAY! lol xx
  • anne276
    anne276 vicki31901

    Posted

    Hi Vicki, I know exactly where you're coming from - total nightmare for, I'd say, the first 9 weeks... My sleep pattern improved the first (I take my 20mg tab in the mornings), dry mouth has improved a bit but still not good.  I was having morning jitters and afternoon total lethargy and that seems to have finally resolved over the past 2 weeks (so weeks 10 & 11) That horrible zombie - emotional-flatlining has finally disappeared - total nightmare - like smoking cannabis!  I'm just starting week 12 and can finally say that I'm beginning to see the old me, eg joking with work colleagues and 'phoning friends.  It's not easy, I gave myself the target of 12 weeks before making up my mind whether to stop or carry on. I think some folk find relief quicker than I did.  Good luck Vicki, try keeping a diary - jotting down your symptoms so you can compare how you're feeling over time and check for improvements, yeah?

    Anne x

    • vicki31901
      vicki31901 anne276

      Posted

      Yes Anne I will try but just the constant thninkng of me feeling like this is just horrible I feel as I'm never gnna get back to my old self, I just want to cry and cry, I want to enjoy the simplest things n life but right now even that is hard.
    • anne276
      anne276 vicki31901

      Posted

      ooooh, I am sorry Vicki but I do know where you're at - promise.  Try to be patient and be easy on yourself, don't beat yourself up and convince yourself that this is it, because it's not.  It really DOES get better... it just takes time.  Try and spoil yourself whenever you get the opportunity - or at least distract yourself. 

      Hugs Anne x x

    • Meeps
      Meeps anne276

      Posted

      Hi Anne.

      read your post ..just finished the nine week mark...hope I experience the lifting of my afternoon lethargy in the following two weeks like you did.

      I am on 40 mg. Thanks for the post . Meeps

       

    • anne276
      anne276 Meeps

      Posted

      Hi Meeps, yep, that afternoon lethargy is a nightmare! It sounds like you're gonna be like me, I felt no benefits at all really, until week 12. I still tend to yawn more in the afternoons, but that's all, I've lost that faint-on-the-spot lethargy. 40 mg eh? Did you try the 20 mg first?

      Anne

    • Meeps
      Meeps anne276

      Posted

      Yes, actually was on 100mg sertraline for like 3 years for OCD worked great then like an idiot quit taking it, had a life change ...became depressed , GP put me back on Sertraline 50 then 100 mg didn't  work then Lexapro, 20 mg ..then back to  sertraline at 125 mg ......way too strong had not only lethargy but tremors switched to a psych dr and he bridged me over to fluoxetine ,so tapered off sertraline and slowly transferred to flu. ...20 mg , then 30 now 40 mg ..Been fooling with this for a little over a year. Hope this dose is the ticket back to Normal! Thanks again.
  • katecogs
    katecogs vicki31901

    Posted

    Took my son 6 months to feel well, after going through an absolute horrendous time.  I take Citalopram (oh joy, a family thing)..... and it took 3-4 months for me to start feeling well.  

    Mark progress in months, not weeks.  Keep persevering, I know it can be a long time - but the wait is so worth it.  

    It's not a straight forward 'take a pill and get better' process either.  Your mood will be up and down for a long time and at times you may feel like you're back at the start.  Don't worry, that's normal.  Don't rush to up the meds either as whatever dose you're on you need to give it months before you can tell if it needs increasing.  Upping a dose will not speed up recovery and you mood will still be up and down.

    You'll get there though - keep on going.

    K x

    • anne276
      anne276 katecogs

      Posted

      Such sound advice Kate - GPs could learn from your comment "It's not a straight forward 'take a pill and get better'" - patients really need to understand that it can be a long, drawn-out process with some surprising side effects.  On a cheerful aside, one of the surprising side-effects for me has been that I'm less sensitive to cold - plus no more migraines!

      Thanks for the post Kate

      Anne x x

    • katecogs
      katecogs anne276

      Posted

      Thanks Anne

      Yes, taking this medicine is a completely different experience than just prescribing it and reading a text book.  Patients are often dismayed to find they're not better after a few weeks and the GP happily ups the dose without fully understanding that it's all about time.  How can a dose be upped so soon before the first one has settled in.

      Hey that's good you've found you're less sensitive to cold now and no more migraines!  Wish I wasn't so cold sensitive.

      K xx

    • anne276
      anne276 katecogs

      Posted

      Haha! Do you work for our NHS too then?  Totally agree re GPs upping the dose too quickly - tough job tho' - constant throughput with what's often the 'worried well', and mental health has always been the poor relative in our NHS.... under-researched and under-funded etc. For myself, I find I'm fascinated by the physiology of raising the serotine levels within the brain and the myriad of effects that result.  More google, I guess!!

      A x x

    • katecogs
      katecogs anne276

      Posted

      Lol No I don't work for the NHS, but my sister does :-)  ... I read a lot about this illness etc when I was ill.  I'm also fascinated by the  physiology of serotonin being raised - I like finding out how things tick smile

      A good book to read is 5-HTP The Natural Way to Overcome Depression, Obesity by Michael T Murray ........ it's a really interesting read.  

      biggrin 

    • anne276
      anne276 katecogs

      Posted

      Thanks Kate!  For what it's worth, I've got a PhD in psychology, but it hasn't helped me to a) recognise my depressed state, nor b) to get myself out of it, without meds... !!  I guess my case is a mix of genes and environmental crap++ - as for a lot of folk I suspect.

      A smile x

    • katecogs
      katecogs anne276

      Posted

      Fascinating subject to study - I find it so interesting.  Yes, must be strange to have studied it then find yourself battling with this and finding a different view on it.  The actual experience is so very different from what people can ever envisage.  I always say this illness would bring the strongest man in the world to his knees.

      K x

    • anne276
      anne276 katecogs

      Posted

      Haha!  Reckon that's an image to play with... 'the strongest man in the world'' on his knees.... !!! 

      On a serious note, your advice about not being too quick to up the dose before giving your present regime time to kick in, is SO sound. It's probably part of our 'instant/ready-made' culture nowadays.

      A x

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