Posted , 6 users are following.
Hi there, 19 y/o girl suffering anxiety, DP and OCD. I am just on my first week of fluoxetine seeking any helpful advice. Going into this I had a very irrational fear of taking any medication and took weeks of refusing to take it, until my boyfriend finally helped me one morning. I would appreciate everyone offering positive feedback as anything negative will trigger my anxiety. I've manged to get through my first week and I didn't expect to notice side effects this early on but have been experiencing insomnia over the past couple of nights. My sleep routine is fall asleep around midnight and then sleep until 3-4am, I wake up and can't get back to sleep. I will be awake until 9-10 am and then I fall back asleep until 4pm and wake up feeling incredibly tired for the whole time I'm awake. I know the insomnia might not be entirely related to the flu considering I have a very poor sleeping pattern at the moment but I'm not normally one of those people to keep waking up throughout the night and once Im alseep I stay asleep. I was just curious if experiencing insomnia was a common side effect to feel after a week and it ever goes away? I recall a year ago when I first started taking this that my sleeping pattern was similar in the sense that I slept mostly the entire day and couldn't sleep at all during the night but it didn't really effect me and I never gave much thought about it. I find it very irritating because I want a healthier lifestyle and need to wake up early and not fall asleep during the day 
can I expect the insomnia to fade in time?
As for the Depersonalisation, Well I had already been experiencing that for a about 2 months before I started taking flu and have had it on and off over the years since I was about 16. It mainly effects me through the 'floaty' feeling However, I felt over the past few days that it has been pretty intense and I don't know if I have ever experienced it to this extent before. I don't think flu causes DP but I'm assuming it makes the symptoms worse? It's really frightening to experience when I do and I really hope this medication can help subside this in the weeks to come. Has anyone had any similar expierences with DP and the 'floaty' feeling.
Last topic to touch on. I have been experiencing quite erratic and intrusive thoughts which I randomly will get from time to time. I feel this is just the flu worsening my OCD which has been very flared over the past weeks now. Needless to say it scares me and can be disturbing. I wondered if this was also common? And if anyone suffering OCD thought that flu improved theirs?
I'm not an impatient person and I understand this medication quite well. I'm not expecting a miracle after a week and I know I need to give it time but I think positive input is what I need right now. I have been through a lot over the past 2 or so months with my anxiety and a taking this medication was a step in the right direction but at the same time my fears and thoughts make me think otherwise.
0 likes, 39 replies
pamela45517 kasey80086
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Hi there firstly well done on taking the medication as I know all too well what a struggle it can be! And I could of written this post myself I we sound so alike! I also have anxiety over being ill and it's made me near enough house bound I have had this since I was 11 now 27 and it's worse than ever now
I'm sorry I can't give any advice on the medication as doctors have also prescribed me the same medication as you but due to the side effects and the fact I suffer emetaphobia (fear or being sick) I literally can't physically take it as I'm riddled with fear it will make me vomit and I can't handle that 
all I can say it hang in there it may get worse before better but there will be light at the end of the tunnel and I wish and hope to god I soon get the courage to take the medication and sacrifice a week fews of the side effects to gain a bit more quality of life back for me and my child 
but a huge well done keep going and if it helps keep a diary to note your progress :-) hope u start to feel better soon xxx
kasey80086 pamela45517
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Hi there Pamela. I'm so sorry for how you're feeling. I hope the side effects I have mentioned didn't put you off. I completely sympathise with your fears although for me personally I was more afraid of the actual concept of taking the medication not so much how it would physically make me feel. I know it's a thought and fear you cannot help so me telling you to "just take it" won't change much but that is exactly what I did. For weeks I had built this irrational fear in my mind that this medication was horrible for me and it wasn't going to help. I think reading about bad experiences had something to do with that but at the end of day all you can do is atleast try. If you think about it like this; your anxiety has been effecting you for a very long time and so what exactly do you have to loose by taking it? It's either going to help or it's not. I know that's a very blunt way to put it but that logic is very true and it did help me. I mean the amount of anxiety I have endured over the last few months has been so intense that taking a medication that might temporarily make me feel worse is worth the positive outcome in the long run. Speaking from experience, last year when time I took this medication it took about 10weeks until I felt 100% like myself again and the side effects totally subsided. The only reason I stopped taking it was because I felt So much better and decided I no longer needed it. Fast forward to now a year later my anxiety is back pretty badly so I realise now that I really do need to stick with it and it was a pretty naive decision. I really hope you can find the inner strength to begin this journey. Of course medication isn't the only method for anxiety but a lot of time when the anxiety is so severe it is a chemical imbalance that only medication can really stabilise which might be what you need! I really recommend atleast trying it and if I can do it trust me you can too! I wish all the very best for you and your child
<3
beth14381 kasey80086
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I wish I could give you better support unfortunately I'm going through a bad about my myself. I am going to see a psychiatrist to see if there is something else out there that can help me. I have given us three and a half weeks I believe but it keeps getting worse. I'm more afraid of losing my job than anything
kasey80086 beth14381
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Hmm I don't think you should switch medications yet because it's still very early stages. You need to give it at least 8-10 weeks to see improvements. Thats how it was for me last year. Is there a possibility of taking leave from your job? I hope you can feel better soon!!
mikayla1226 kasey80086
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Hey Kasey,
I'm Mikayla. I'm 21 years old and I started flu about 4 ish months ago. Before it I moved out and started experiencing bad panic attacks and extreme anxiety constantly. I had a horrible fear as well of taking medicine .. It took me a month to take it. I took it once for two days and hated it so I stopped and tried to better myself by going to therapy and the anxiety left cause I was so worried about the medication and I thought I was getting better but it came back pretty bad again so I tried it again and stuck it out. I also am taking a very low dose of Xanax with it and it has helped with the side effects ALOT. I experienced increased anxiety, DP to the point where I was scared to death I couldn't do anything but sit on the couch and be terrified. I experience crazy crazy thoughts. I had severe depression where I thought I wanted to kill myself. Sometimes I thought I'd drive myself off the road not knowing so I had people drive me everywhere. Anyways what I'm getting at, is I'm still on it after 4 months and all that has gone away. I had to push through it hardcore. I had such bad days to the point I wanted to die then I had great days... But like I said I take Xanax and it helps get through it a lot and now I'm too the point where I barely take my Xanax anymore cause I have no more side effects. The DP got better but it got worse before it got better everything got extremely worse before it got better.;( sorry to say but it'll take a bit to get used too. I literally didn't feel okay until about 2-3months. But I promise it does get better. If things don't then maybe you need a different med or ask about being on something like Xanax to help you through. I was completely against taking Xanax as well but I realized its goin to help me more than if I were to not take it. Message me if you have any questions or anything and want to talk!
kasey80086 mikayla1226
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Always good to know I'm not alone in this and a lot of things you mentioned I can really relate too. Thoughts can seem all to real sometimes and it hard to see the logic with anxiety. I might talk to my docotor about taking Xanax again. She first prescribed me them a little over a month ago, I took it a couple of times when my anxiety was really bad and I honestly didn't feel it overly helped me. I mean I would take it and I could still feel the anxiety pretty badly. I'm not sure if that's to do with my fears of medication though. DP is definitely one of the worse things with my anxiety. It's one thing to think anxious thoughts but then to feel the symptoms it makes it so much worse. I really do hate it. that makes me feel quite unsettled that I could have sucidal thoughts. I hav had them before but i never thought "I wana kill myself" I more thought about how terrifying it is and things like that. I'm not sure if that's what people mean when they say have sucidal thoughts.. I really hope I don't experience that. Definitely the last thing I need. Thanks for your response. I'm glad you're feeling a lot better now and I wish you the best and happiness in life!
jacqueline48380 kasey80086
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Are you taking Prozac? If you started on a high dose get you Dr.to lower your dose.Im taking 5mg.prozac is a very powerful drug.I'm struggling with that small of a dose because I'm very sensitive to all medicine .l been on it a month feel so tired work with your Dr.is best advice I can give you.It takes a while to work.I also take Xanax 2mg a day it helps with the anxiety.Keep in touch this is a awful way to feel,maybe we can help each other it help to have someone who knows how you feel. I know I'm there now hope we both will feel better.
jacqueline48380
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kasey80086 jacqueline48380
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I think Prozac and fluoxetine are the same thing just different names. I'm on 20 mg which is what my doctor has recommended and that was the same dose I took last year which worked for me. I think the most effective medications are not the quick fix ones but the ones that take awhile to change the chemical imbalances in the brain like Prozac. I feel for you. You may even notice some positive effects in 2-3weeks. It's hard to say since everyone is different but it's something to stay optimistic about. I hope you start to feel better soon! X
kasey80086 jacqueline48380
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pamela45517 kasey80086
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becky1983 kasey80086
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What dose are u taking? I have done a lot of reading and have found that ppl taking higher dose have had more problems. There is only a 10% increase of ppl doing better from 5mg to 20mg smaller amounts at first have less side effects. I started at 2.5 for two weeks and felt Horid the first 3 days but things got better after that I'm now on 5mg for 3 days now and doing better then I was on the 2.5 my side effects were tired ness and some bad thoughts but those went away. You have to learn to try to keep your mind busy. Anxiety is a powerful thing and I have to push through and re train your brain that the thing making your anxiety act up is not gonna hurt u it takes time but it works. Watching happy tv and even just sitting outside helps
Jae72 becky1983
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As Becky said it can help just watching some nice TV without violence etc. I often with my partner just sit down and watch some nice shows about people doing up their yards and houses and renovations, it's the Living channel here where I live and it's just.....nice.
Aquin kasey80086
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Hi Kasey
I have quite a similar situation going as you! Today is my 10th day of fluoxetine and im taking it for severe anxiety and OCD (pure obsessional OCD with upsetting intrusive thoughts).
Knowing how sensitive i am right now, my doctor and I agreed to start me on 5mg and gradually build up. I think this is a good tactic especially for people who have bad anxiety because it's common that the anxiety will get even worse to begin with. Ive also experienced more sleep disturbances than usual. If your side effects are becoming bothersome to you perhaps you could talk to your doctor about lowering your dose to gradually get back up to 20mg.
I know how hard it is right now ? i made a pact with myself to give it at least 4 weeks if not longer before i decide it's not for me. My life has been a living hell for the past 2 months so i figure i don't have anything to lose! Ive done 5mg most days but i did 10mg for 3 days and made the mistake of taking it on an empty tummy on the 3rd day and i had a panic attack so i went back down to 5mg but today i will start 7.5mg to work back up.
jacqueline48380 Aquin
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I'm trying the 5mg also been 4weeks it's rough I know how you feel I wished you would keep it touch. I'm going to my Dr. tomorrow maybe I can get some information that will help us .You are the only person I have talked with that has tried 5 mg. Please keep in touch.I don't think I can give email on here.
jacqueline48380 Aquin
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Aquin jacqueline48380
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No it says it's being moderated unfortunately!
jacqueline48380 Aquin
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Ok I want you to know your the only other person I've read about that takes 5 mg Prozac Iknow how you fee 4weeks for me still feel rough going to Dr tomorrow maybe I will find out something. Please keep in touch, we will work on this together.
jacqueline48380 Aquin
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Stay in touch I'm on 5mgs also.Maybe we can help each other.
jacqueline48380
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Aquin jacqueline48380
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Another message being moderated up there ^ ill come back and check. What condition are you taking prozac for? You dont feel any benefits yet?
i was hoping to see something by 4 weeks..
becky1983 jacqueline48380
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I am almost to three weeks and I'm feeling better I got worse b4 better tho but that only lasted three days were I was really bad. I also started out at 2.5mg for two weeks then just bumped up to 5 on Friday first day I was high as a kite the next two days I just felt blah but my anxiety was better
jacqueline48380 Aquin
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Depression, anxiety. No better may haven't taken it long enough.
jacqueline48380 becky1983
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Aquin jacqueline48380
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jacqueline48380 Aquin
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Your friend was right the Dr,said it just takes time so I guess that's what we should try to do .Let me know how you do.I sure hope we get better,it's a awful feeling.
becky1983 jacqueline48380
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When I went from 2.5 to 5 I felt high as a kite but the next three times I didn't feel any extra side effects from the meds. I don't think any way lol I am starting my period so my hormones are all over anyway so I feel kinda crapy and I think it's from that.
Aquin jacqueline48380
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jacqueline48380 Aquin
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Aquin jacqueline48380
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Very true.
Every day i wonder if this will be the day i freak out and get my partner to drive me to hospital, lol.
But good things are coming I'm sure!
jacqueline48380 Aquin
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I feel better just talking to my psychiatrist today.He is very reassuring you need that someone to tell you that things will get better.Ive read so much since I got sick everyone response different to meds.I decided today other than being on here I'm going to quit getting on I pad and reading every symptom I get you can read yourself sick.I will stay on this site it has made me realize I'm not the only person going through this,that help me a lot.Do keep in touch .
Aquin jacqueline48380
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Awesome, thanks for sharing that
becky1983 jacqueline48380
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I too am taking 5mg and today I'm really tired. Started 5mg 5days ago. I feel better then when taking 2.5mg but still feel crappy. Not sure if it's the meds or me anymore. When I first wake up I feel fine but the closer to 11 it gets the worse I feel. Then by 5-6 I start to feel better then by 10pm I feel perfect. This happens everyday
jacqueline48380 becky1983
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I was taking 5mg for 4weeks felt awful,It's even 5days since I have taken any Prozac,felt half decent yesterday,today I feel like I'm going to die I might start taking a few drops every day to see how that works.My Dr.told me one time I could do that I don't want to take it anymore.I take the liquid.I don't know what to do.
Aquin jacqueline48380
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jacqueline48380 Aquin
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No today not a good,tried to do much yesterday went shopping cleaned house if you do have a good day you will do that .l've done it before.Tomorrow will be better!
becky1983 jacqueline48380
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