Just started fluoxetine

hello Pete,

I can reassure you that the side effects you are going through are entirely normal, they are pretty horrible for a few weeks in most cases and a lot of folk think of giving up in the early days, but from my own personal experience I would ask you to persevere because the end results are so worth it. In these very early days your mind is working overtime and thus raising the anxiety levels which is of course a vicious circle, try distracting yourself with reading, crosswords, television, going for a walk if you are able to get out and about. I hope your sleep quality improves, I was lucky as I slept well from day one. Have a snooze during the day if it helps, I was nodding of mid afternoon to begin with. Sadly with Fluoxetine it is not a quick fix, it takes time, they reckon between 8-12 weeks before it works 100%, but as we are all different you could be earlier, some benefit should be felt after the first couple of weeks but it is so gradual you will despair en route. I did 8 weeks of 20mg and eventually my doctor decided that I needed 40mg which I'm now on day 9, and truely feeling better. There is some brilliant advice to be had on here from various people some newcomers just starting their recovery, and others who have years of experiencing the side effects etc. So please have faith and patience, you will be so glad you did in a few weeks! Regards, David

Hi.

I've been on flu for 5 months and it is normal to have these side effects. Try and take one day at a time and I know it's hard but try and concentrate

On other things. It will get better eventually.

Good Luck

Linda

Hi Pete

Yes it is normal. I had strange thouggts, felt outside of my body, sweating , nausea. I am on my 5th week and feel great with some anxiety here and there. It's hard not to give it thought but like others tell you, try to distract yourself, don't stay home, go for a walk, be around other people. The ugly feeling went away in two weeks. Good luck..it will get better.

Hi Pete.

You are in the right forum for help, advice and support regarding Fluoxetine. The members of this forum are extremely helpful and supportive, and are probably going through, or have been through exactly what you are.  From my own experience of Fluoxetine, you are at the start of a long and sometimes difficult road to recovery. Don't be put off, you will get there.  I posted my first post in this forum earlier this week, stating that I am on week 11 of Fluoxetine and still suffering.  I've just had my dosage increased to 40mg so hopefully this will make a difference.  Don't get me wrong, not all of the 11 weeks have been bad.  I seem to be able to go for a while feeling ok, but then have set backs of feeling anxious for a few days.  It feels on these days that I've gone back to square one.  The responders on the forum say this is normal and that the gaps between good days and bad days increases to the point where you don't get bad days.  The down side of this is that it can take quite some time.  On my bad days I use Diazepam to relax and Zopiclone to sleep, but only as a last resort as they both are addictive.  Other advice both from members on here and on the Internet is to try and accept your feelings and not fight them.  Personally I find this very difficult.  Hope the Fluoxetine works quickly for you.  Regards, Chris.

Hi pete

Dont know whether its good news or bad news  :-) but yes sounds like typical side effects tho mine didn't start til about a week into it.

People all react differently but my physical side effects got much better around wk 6-8.it can be a long slow process so dont expect a quick fix but you will get there! (Im just coming to week 10 and am million miles from where i started so its all worth it).

If the nausea continues in the mornings eat dry crackers before you get out of bed n sip ginger ale (sounds daft but it helps! ).

Heres hoping yours is a speedy recovery path ;-)

Best wishes

Vix

dear pete,  i hope you are starting to feel  bettter!  i undersatnd  as many on this forum do, the wired feeling.   Most have said it ends around week 8.....i have beeen on for 20 wks,and cant make it to 20mgs.....still  around 15mg  with anxeity  pretty severe, aprk thoughts, and wired feeling casuing pacing, ....but i have a brain injry also......when i waas on flu several yrs befre barin injury,  it was aorund week 14 that i truly did feel normal at that was at 20 mgs a dn was able to function very well for well over 8yrs no side effects ....up it to 40 and had some side effects but was good at this for several more yrs....until brain injury....sending good thoughts your ways!

hi pete, 

Don't worry, these side effects are normal. I have been taking fluoxetine for 6 days now and am still experiencing the same side effects as well as a few others. However, my doctor and psychiatrist have both said that during the first few weeks you will start to feel worse before you start to feel better. Also looking at other threads this seems to be right. Just make sure you keep in contact with your doctor and discuss the side effects you get as some are worse than others. 

Good luck to you pete, and everyone else. I hope things get better. 

Matt

Hello everyone, i know this is an old post but since im going through anxiety i ended up here. Im taking fluoxetine for the 5th week and was wondering how you guys are doing