1. Community
  2. Mental health
  3. Fluoxetine

Prozac day 6 feeling dreadful, don’t what to do :(

Posted , 10 users are following.

lucy57040
lucy57040

Hi guys,

I came off Citalopram 8 weeks ago as it was not effective and I was feeling terrible on it.

I have severe anxiety and have not been functioning and so was started on 10mg Fluoxetine 6 days ago. Anxiety has shot through the roof and I have awful agitation that is unbearable (also had this on the Citalopram). I'm awake at 4.30am in such a state I want to curl up and die. I'm just crawling through each day. It's torture. I have diazepam but I'm worried about dependency.

Do I keep going with the fluoxetine? Any advice?

0 likes, 41 replies

41 Replies

Next
  • Danielle1919
    Danielle1919 lucy57040

    Posted

    I went through exactly what you are going though, and so many others have too. I was put on fluoxetine 10mg back in september for panick attacks and general anxiety disorder. the first week on it my anxiety was 100% worse, i could not sleep, eat, or leave the house. It was by far the worst week of my life. my doctor warned me it would get worse before it got better and gave me xanax to get through the first two week. I didnt take it or only take half the dose because i was scared to be dependent too, but looking back i should have taken it to reduce the side effects of fluoxetine. I promise you, you will get better, your body is just getting use to the medication. by day 14 i was begining to sleep again and feeling like i was going back to normal. I am now 10 weeks in and am so happy i stuck with it.

    dont be affraid of the diazapam, it will make this inital period less painful and by week 2-3 you wont be reaching for it as the fluoxetine starts working

    • Danielle1919
      Danielle1919

      Posted

      what helped me through the days was writting in a journal. i would write down everything I was feeling, how much i was sleeping , etc. , It was a good way to track my progress. Another thing I did was read positive reviews of people who took prozac/fluoxitine and would screenshot the ones that gave me hope. that way when i woke up in the middle of the night i could go back to those reviews to motivate me to stick with it.

    • lucy57040
      lucy57040 Danielle1919

      Posted

      Danielle, thank you so much, you have no idea how much your reply helped me (or maybe you do!). Only someone who has been through this understands. It's hell on earth. I have been regretting my decision to start it, as it's so hard to believe I will ever feel better when I feel THIS awful. I was already feeling terrible before I started it. I feel exhausted but with constant high anxiety. I barely know what to do with myself. So thank you for giving me some hope and some reassurance to keep going.

    • barbara79178
      barbara79178 Danielle1919

      Posted

      I totally agreeDo not feel frightened to use xanax or any benjo at this time! You NEED IT! You will not get dependent on it as long as you take it as prescribedI also used it to get thru the awful first side effects IT WILL GET BETTER!

    • lucy57040
      lucy57040 barbara79178

      Posted

      Thank you Barbara! Your support is appreciated. It's just so hard to know how long this really awful bit will last, it could be days/weeks or even months according to some posts, and I can't use the diazepam that long in case I get dependent (i.e if the fluoxetine doesn't 'work'?!). Ugh. It's so tough. Thanks for replying.

    • barbara79178
      barbara79178 lucy57040

      Posted

      Remember ---we are all here for you. We've been thru the SAME. It WILL get better.Smile please.:)

    • Danielle1919
      Danielle1919 lucy57040

      Posted

      i stayed on 10mg. I never had panick attacks and anxiety until this past summer, september is when it got really bad that i went to see a doctor. My doctor and I agreed we would take it slow with the prozac as this realm of antidepressants was new to me plus my side effects were so bad. I am happy we took the more conservative approach and didnt rush into 20mg the second week as the guidelines suggest.

      I am not sure if 10mg is enough as i still have some blips of anxiety (however not nearly as bad as it was) , my doctor did mention if we were to up my dose she would bump me to 15Mg and not jump straight to 20mg as im pretty sensative to the medication.

  • donna0609
    donna0609 lucy57040

    Posted

    HI Lucy

    Im sorry your feeling so rough , my experience with fluoxetine was exactly the same i started on 20mg and for a full 2 weeks i couldnt function or do anything i also took diazepam and propranolol to get me through but it does ease off you just have to stick with it. im afraid each time you increase the dose the anxiety goes back to being dreadful again dont worry about the diazepam just take it when you really need it. i have started vaping CbD Oil which has helped my anxiety im now on 40mg of fluoxetine and i also take quetiapine at night too to help lift the depression and anxiety . Try and stick with it you can do this x

    • barbara79178
      barbara79178 donna0609

      Posted

      Donna----I bought CBD oil to vape also & then starting seeing all of this bad stuff on TV about vaping & since then, I have been scared to use it. I spent a ton of money. I wanted to Vape because I am a smoker & thought that vaping something like CBD oil might help me give up the tobacco. Has it really helped with your anxiety?

    • donna0609
      donna0609 barbara79178

      Posted

      Hi Barbara

      i used to be a smoker and i gave up using e cigarettes i still smoke an e cigarette with low nicotine in but i have a seperate e cigarette just for the CBD vape oil i started low on 100mg cbd now im on 300mg cbd vape oil and i will keep going up till i dont have to anymore, it has definately helped i used to have to take diazepam everyday now i dont it also helps with sleep etc i would definately reccommend trying it x

    • barbara79178
      barbara79178 donna0609

      Posted

      Thank You Donna for responding & the info!I will put mine back in my purse from the drawer I stuck it in.:)

    • lucy57040
      lucy57040 donna0609

      Posted

      Thanks so much for the encouragement Donna! I'm due to increase from 10 to 20 tomorrow which is making me more nervous. I don't know how I'll get through this. My doc has also mentioned quetiapene, how have you found it? How are things for you now?

    • donna0609
      donna0609 lucy57040

      Posted

      Hi Lucy

      i have been taking quetiapine for around 6 months now as an add on to the fluoxetine i take 300mg at night it helps me sleep and it does help anxiety but it takes a while to get used to , because i havent responded as well as they thought they are thinking i may have Bipolar disorder as i keep going up and back down again , its all trial and error im looking into adding Lamotrigine which is a mood stabiliser . Its so hard isnt it trying to get better but we need to be hopeful , the quetiapine also acts like a mood stabiliser on the right dose it has worked to some extent but not fully x

Back to top
Next

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.