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On fluoxetine 20mg now for 47days?

Posted , 9 users are following.

Bigmant
Bigmant

It's been a roller-coaster ride, 1st few weeks had bad nauseous sickness, feeling tired lots, high anxiety insomnia,, gurgling tummy bowel problems,and fuzzy foggy head, end of week 5 into week 6 started to feel good seeing light at end of dark tunnel. Now last 4 days feel so down no motivation depression feels worse than ever, the side affects have returned with a vengeance, just wondering does this happen at nearly 7 weeks in, I'm thinking this is not going work for me I just feel horrible, should I stick with it?advice greatly appreciated

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  • cathrine50028
    cathrine50028 Bigmant

    Posted

    I stopped after 3 weeks...same things were happening to me. Once that anxiety hit me, I was like, no thank you!!! I was SO unmotivated it was crazy...foggy head was bad too..I'm like, who can push through this crap to gamble on feeling better?? So for ME, I quit. I felt better right away after stopping and I guess that was the test. I will stick to a bit of Ativan when I need it. Doc quit my Ativan as I thought I was getting relief from my anxiety. But I read that the dose just keeps increasing and increasing and the anxiety keeps hitting...not for me. I was on 10 mg a day for anxiety. Ativan doesn't take weeks or months to MAYBE make me feel better, so I won't put myself through the GAMBLE of will this drug work or not for me. Not for me. I guess you have to ask yourself the same question: are you feeling better or not? Take care. X0

     

    • cathrine50028
      cathrine50028 anne92030

      Posted

      I tried Effexor and now Prozac....this drug is just not for me, I guess. I stopped after 3 plus weeks with no side effects at all except feeling better with much less anxiety!

       

  • lookingonwards
    lookingonwards Bigmant

    Posted

    I am going to take a guess and say 20mg is not enough for you. I had the same timeline and fell back in to a bit of a hole around week 7. My Dr increased me to 30mg for 10 days and then 40mg. You do get some side effects when increasing but as my Dr said 20mg is a low dose and it can help to start with but then you may need just a bit more juice. Go see your GP again.
    • Bigmant
      Bigmant lookingonwards

      Posted

      Thanks lookingonwards was with gp last week she said persevere a few more weeks on 20mg, then consider upping it to 40 mg 9_12weeks, how are you feeling now, how was side effects,do you sleep good
    • lookingonwards
      lookingonwards Bigmant

      Posted

      I feel great now.. Sleep great.. no side effects at all anymore. I think people get to worried about side effects.. they are crap but what is worse not getting help and staying miserable because you may get nausea or headaches or sleepless nights.. or suffering thru those things knowing there is light on the other side. The side effects seem big at the time because of the depression.. at any other time if you had nausea or a headache etc and were chemically balanced it would not become such a paranoid thing.

      I would not go straight up to 40mg..increase to 30mg for 10 days then go up. It might be a bit kinder to you.

    • Bigmant
      Bigmant lookingonwards

      Posted

      Thanks lookingonwards it's day 49 now for me on 20mg end of week 7 my depression feels worse today, I'm going try see Dr tomorrow and get 10 mg increase

  • RonVis
    RonVis Bigmant

    Posted

    Found this on the web, maybe it will help with some piece of mind. It did for me when I struggle, just finished week five and I have to say, it is pretty accurate so far.

    so, this is a typical timetable for those who do not change their dosage. Changes in dosage seem to lengthen the time for recovery, almost like starting over.

    So, in short, here is what I have read to be typical:

    Week 1: This week can go either way. Some find almost immediate improvement while other see the side effects (see weeks 2-3) after the first day.

    Weeks 2,3: These are almost always the most difficult. Anxiety and depression can get worse than before the medication. Side effects kick in, these can include sleeplessness, nightmares, diarrhea, nausea, hot flashes, excessive sweating (especially at night), dry mouth, muscle twitches, overall muscle weakness and pain, zero appetite, and very negative mental outlook. My advice is, take these one day at a time and try not to get discouraged, not every day will be bad and better times are ahead!

    Weeks 4,5: Some improvement. The side effects lessen to some point, and there are moments when you start to feel normal. Typically evenings are the best and mornings the worst. Many start playing around with dosage at this point because they are told that the Prozac should be working, my advice: hold the course!

    Weeks 6,7: More improvement. Maybe 50% to 70% better than before starting. There are often blips where you feel just terrible for a few days, but not usually over a week. Some side effects lessen, but also you may get new side effects. Hang in there, you are getting ready to turn a corner!

    Weeks 8-10: Even more improvement. There still are blips, but they are less severe and shorter, maybe 1-2 days. Not normal yet, but getting better day by day. The side effects are usually 75% or so gone. Light at the end of the tunnel!

    Weeks 10-12: Maybe this is wishful thinking for me (I'm not here yet), but this is where most see the best results. Some quotes from this time period: "best in months", "Amazing", "Feel good", "brilliant". Again, this is for the people for whom the prozac did work, not everyone, and for those who stuck to their original dosage. For some, this happens at 7 weeks, for some, 3-4 months. But, from what I have read, 10-12 weeks is the payoff time.

    I hope this helps, please let me know if it does! Others, please feel free to offer differences, or additions to this summery. The purpose is to give those struggling an idea of what to expect. I feel for everyone struggling through this terrible disease, it's truly awful, but you will get through it! There are many great posters here willing to help with questions and are very supporting. I am grateful to them all!

    • andrea49412
      andrea49412 RonVis

      Posted

      Thanks for this . I'm on 6 weeks now , feeling so dizzy today . Think it's tension in my neck top of head.

    • Bigmant
      Bigmant RonVis

      Posted

      Thanks 😀 for this RonVis, had a good day today but this evening started feel sick nauseous, some prickly heat feeling s in arms and back of neck, it's a roller-coaster ride, hopefully turning the corner soon and straight ahead, cheers

    • lookingonwards
      lookingonwards andrea49412

      Posted

      When I told my doctor of 35 years I was feeling this and that side effect.. he gently reminded me that not everything is related to the medication. You may just have a virus.. or a general headache etc. As he said you can scare yourself into feeling sick from the fear of being sick.
  • louise35199
    louise35199 Bigmant

    Posted

    Hi guys X glad you're all out there... Feels like you're the only one suffering

    I started fluoxetine on recommendation from my GP Jan just gone after a severe anxiety and panic attack spell Christmas 2015

    I too found it wasn't working and went to my Drs in such a state she put me on diazopan for a few days to reset my system.

    I took one, two a day for 2-3 days and hated it. It was scary

    In July I stupidly stopped my fluoxetine as I felt OK and felt I didn't want to rely on anti depressants!!!

    Silly mistake as month by month, I started to get anxiety

    December I went back on them 20mg and have been on these for 3 weeks now

    I survived Christmas Day but last night had the most almighty panic attack from no where!

    My partner had to take me for a drive to calm me down. I was frantic

    I slept a lot and don't know why??? But this morning the anxiety is still there 😭

    Hate this feeling

    • lookingonwards
      lookingonwards louise35199

      Posted

      Exercise helps. Just get outside and walk.. or grab a ball and throw it against a wall.. anything where you break your thought pattern and have to focus on something else.

    • lookingonwards
      lookingonwards louise35199

      Posted

      By the way the 3rd and 4th week are usually pretty crappy. I had one really anxious day like you described at that time and then it became less and less.
    • andrea49412
      andrea49412 lookingonwards

      Posted

      Yes my 3 rd and 4th and 5 th week where the worse for me also . I think with having Xmas here too has bought more anxiety to me . My doc and counsellor has said you may see improvements from 6 weeks .
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