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So, I've decided to document my journey with this anxiety. I'm starting a little late as I'm on my 16th day of fluoxetine but I'll summarize the first couple of weeks.
Week 1 -
I actually felt pretty good after starting fluoxetine but had a few issues with anxiety in the mornings. Some days were tolerable but others were not so good. I also had some major headaches and no appetite. My doctor says I should start to feel the effects of the medicine in 2 weeks. So I'm keeping my hopes optimistic.
Week 2 -
More of the same thing but now I am starting to feel the headaches go away a little. Still feel a little anxious throughout the day but I started eating healthy food and only drinking water. I used to drink soda every day plus also a few cups of coffee. Also, started working out which seems to have helped with my sleep. I did have one episode one night when I woke up around 3 am extremly scared. I had a major panic attack but was able to calm myself after a few minutes. I was able to go back to bed. There were some days when I felt completely normal throughout the day but not many. The walking in the mornings has helped a lot.
Present day - Day 16th
Today I woke up with anxiety as usual. I did my normal routine. Had oatmeal for breakfast and took my 20 mg of fluoxetine. Then I went to the park for my daily walk. I try to do anywhere between 3-5 laps. It helps me get through my day. My midday I was feeling a little low so I decided to go back to the park and walk a few more laps. I also started listening to a motivational CD that focuses on anxiety. It's helped me with self talk and to understand my illness. The rest of the day has gone ok with minimal anxiety but I still feel the butterflies in my stomach. I might still head to the gym later on today but we'll see how I feel. It helps that I live in nice sunny state. The sun also helps with the anxiety and feelings of depression and worthlessness.
I will add that my wife and family have been super throughout this whole thing. They have been very supportive. I don't think I could have gone this far without them. I hope these posts will help others who are going through the same thing. I will keep updating each day and hope that in a few weeks I will have better results. Thanks for reading and God Bless you all.
2 likes, 22 replies
BigTexas
Posted
Okay, as I mentioned earlier today was a mixture of good and not so good. I woke up feeling pretty good. Nothing too major. I did have a little anxiety in the morning but overall it was fine. But shortly after getting home from my daily walk I started to feel a little nervousness. Not so much anxiety but rather just a little shaky. It didn't last too long. Maybe a few minutes but I had this same feeling throughout the day. I can't complain because I've had much worst. I guess the medicine has not kicked in but not 100%. I would say closer to 80%-90%. And I'm fine with that. I'm focusing on understanding how to live with it. Sure it doesn't feel good but little by little it's going away. I think part of the reason I got a little shaky was because I got a text from my boss as I return to work on Monday after being off for a few weeks. I guess I'm a little nervous. But it is what it is. Just have to deal with it. Maybe by Monday I will feel a little better since the medicine would have had a little more time to work.
I really hope these updates are helping someone. I'm thinking that maybe after a week I might stop unless something changes. Have a great weekend everyone.
keysersoze BigTexas
Posted
Your updates have helped me and many others rest assured. Have a great weekend too!
BigTexas
Posted
So, I'm going to try and do weekly updates instead of daily because now I've reached a point where I'm starting to feel pretty much normal. I will say that since my last update I've had some nice days but there were times where I felt like the anxiety wanted to come back. I just did my best to ignore it and go about my life. It would usually go away after a few minutes. But last night I actually felt really anxious. I could really feel it. I was still able to sleep for the most part but not really sure what triggered it. I did go back to work this week and as expected it has been pretty stressful. I had a lot to catch up on. I worked out this morning and it helped a little but as I type this I still feel a little anxious. I'm hoping that as the day goes by it calms down. I will note that it's nothing like I used to have. It's more like how you feel after drinking a lot of coffee. haha
People who said the medicine takes time to work were spot on. I'm on my 31st day today. Besides the small episode I had yesterday night and this morning I have felt pretty normal. I was even happy on most days. I can only pray that this improvement will continue. I have noticed that whenever I have a session with my counselor I feel anxious afterwards. It's almost as if talking about my issues sort of releases these toxins. Maybe it's my body's way of cleansing.
Anyway, hoping everyone is doing better. And if you started taking Fluxotine give it time to work. Waiting is the toughest part but do whatever you can to keep your mind busy and not thinking about how you feel. Cheers!
dee16718 BigTexas
Posted
BigTexas dee16718
Posted
But it's not all bad news. A few days later I felt better again. I noticed that the healthier I ate the better I felt. So, I went back to my old routine of eating healthy food and only drinking water.
A few day ago my friend who is also going through the same thing told me about this doctor she visited. She specializes with hormone issues among other things. I decided to visit her too and let me tell you. It was the best decision I ever made. After reviewing my charts she noticed I was low in a few vitamins and other things. She prescribed some high dosage of vitamin D (which is one of the things I was low on) and a few other vitamins. I was a little worried about taking anything with Fluoxetine but I did it anyway. Today was the best day ever. I don't know if it was all in my mind or what but a few hours after taking the vitamins I felt amazing. It was like night and day. I had energy and felt normal. She said that she noticed a few things were off so she wanted to quickly get them back to normal. That's why she prescribed the high dosage. You can't get these vitamin dosage over the counter.
Anyway, we are going to keep working towards getting all my levels up to par. Plus she wants me to lose a few pounds. Hopefully it all works out. I'll try to keep everyone posted. But just in case anyone is reading this make sure to have your doctor check your levels and blood to make sure the anxiety is not being caused by something else.
My doctor told me that the stuff I was low on could actually be the reason I was feeling this anxiety. I love that she targets the root of the problem and not only put a band-aid on it. Here's hoping to more good days like this.
Hj88 BigTexas
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BigTexas Hj88
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