Starting week 7 of fluoxetine 20mg, felt ok last week but awful this morning, side effects back!

oh thanks for your quick reply Nataliya, it's very reassuring right now! I've read most of the posts you've kindly sent for others in need and they are so helpful, I wish I was a year in like you are, it just seems endless and very unsettling, I can almost feel things changing in my head, such strange and bewildering emotions - I have to admit I had a good old cry last night, which just came out of nowhere suddenly, can't remember that happening before, but it felt pretty good after strangely! May I ask why you increased your own dosage up to 40mg please? I'm still feeling in a pretty low mood even after 7 weeks, but felt brighter back in week 6, but now down again. Do you take the pills all together in the morning or evening or space them out during the day? I'm trying to find a balance at the moment as I went up from 10 to 20mgs last week. I'm feeling very different today, only a little bit of anxiety, but a strange feeling of aloneness which I've not been aware of before. I've got an appointment with the doctor and clinical pharmacist at my GP early December so will discuss meds then. I also feel so tired out, I'm hoping this will go too, did you get that as well? Well thanks again for listening and take care.

Hi Phil

7 weeks its still very early, give enough time for same dose to work before any increase, give at least 12 weeks or even longer, it works differently for everyone.

Recovery is not happening as incline line, its more like a zig-zag. Feeling good, bad, terrible, good, awesome - like rollercoster.

Those "down" moments as we call them blips are keep happening during recovery, and you will go through whole range of feelings - scared, depressed, upset, flat, lonely, but it will slowly go away as you recover.

Crying is normal way to release stress and anxiety. So if you need to cry - than cry, i used to bowl my eyes out.

The reason i have go for increase, because i was on 20mg for 10 months and still was having pretty bad blips and morning anxiety. So by than i decided to increase and it was right decision.

Because i was always feeling bad in the morning and very good in evening, when i increased i was taking 20morning and 20 evening, but now i am taking all 40 in the morning and there is no need in splitting the dose.

One way to recover is patience, understanding how this meds works. People change meds due to severe side effects or not recovering after giving a fair go. But many people just dont give enough time to meds to balance and start working, they jumping from meds to meds, coing through withdrawals and side effdcts over and over again saying meds are nots working. They are, just give them time.

If you need to chat - i am here any time.

So many thanks again Nataliya, it's been such a great help to talk with another sufferer of this awful illness! It's amazing how a bit of support helps right now. I'm hoping you're feeling better and more content after your increase in dose, and the terrible anxiety does start to go away - I never would have imagined how bad it feels, or that it's been in me for at least 20 years along with the hidden stresses etc. I don't think anyone can ever know what it's like unless they've had it, and it's changed my life and outlook completely. I will carry on with the 10mgs like you said, hopefully by Christmas 🎄 will feel more confident and all. I'm going to the supermarket when I can as the bright lights and colours cheer me up in these dark days and with all the bad news and stuff, sounds mad really!! I can't imagine taking 40 mgs in one go, I think I'd be orbiting the moon after that, did you get any more side effects when you started the new dose? Thanks again, brilliant, be in touch again, take care.

Hello again Nataliya, sorry to bother you again but I'm having a really awful day today, my body just aches, but the anxiety and panic went through the roof earlier this morning. Done a Covid test I thought it might be that, but negative. Can I ask you how long the "blips" can last for, I've been struggling since last Thursday really and felt ok last night, but I thought I must be dying this morning! I started a new box of the tablets which are made by a different company than the previous ones so wondered if that might contribute although I doubt it? Hope you're well and still happy.

Hi Phil

actually i have came across some posts that people was having side effects while changing meds to different company. Actual tablet is the same but maybe coating a bit different and your body reacting. What dose you are on ?

Blips can last from few days to few weeks and they are very discouraging because they make you forget good times you have and make you think you are going backwards.

But just remember thats how recovery goes until your body and brain get used to it and level up.

It will pass soon and you will be fine again.

Thanks so much for your message Nataliya, it's very encouraging and supportive right now so hopefully I'll sleep better tonight. I am taking a 10mg capsule, one in the morning and one in the evening. The pharmacist said it's quite difficult to get the 10mg capsules so they get what they can, these generic ones are made in Cyprus, so they're not called Prozac from the original manufacturer. They are usually a dark green colour, but these are green and white! I just took the second one about 2 hours ago and no side effects yet so looks like it'll be ok. I think I'm getting stressed going to bed because I'm worried about how I'll feel in the morning, it's such a vicious circle that feeds itself and it's hard to break. I had a message earlier that I'm going to talk to a Social Prescriber tomorrow morning which should be interesting as I'm not sure what that is! It's through the GP surgery by the NHS. I think if I have another period of time where I feel good like the other week then I'll be more confident that the medication is working, and it'll be easier to cope with and overcome the next blip. My work have been really good so far but I've had quite a lot of time off since August as I've been quite unwell with some other things which delayed the treatment. I'm going to carry on as you suggested earlier at the current dose and see what happens, I've seen a lot of posts saying that around 12 weeks has been a positive turning point for many of the contributors on here so I'm hopeful as I'm not far off that now. I'd love to be happy with my sister's family at Christmas as we've become much closer recently because of all this and she's all I've got left now. I really thank you for your encouragement, your confidence and support is a great boost to me. Best wishes for your good health too.

Hi Phil

just checking how you doing ?

Its long process and looks like right dose is the main factor in recovery. So stay on same dose and give time to work.

its a crazy ride and we are together on this rollercoster ... BUT we will get there and this is going to be just a distant memory

Hiya Nataliya that's very nice of you to ask, and I hope you're all well too! I had a strange morning of anxiety and some sickness but I actually felt my mood and body physical state start lifting this afternoon, it's amazing how much the mind affects the body and how we feel physically, it's a real living education for me, how strange this journey is, and it's changing me in a challenging way! I'm taking the second tablet later tonight to see if it makes any difference to how I feel in the morning so playing around with timing rather than dosage. Did you have very strange dreams on your meds? I had such a vivid and bizarre one last night which was almost worth taking the tablets for!! How on earth does the brain work, complete madness!? I think it's trying to rebuild itself or doing like a computer disk cleanup thing, rearranging all these past fragments of memories into some order, and I'm watching it on a screen, but it's in a dream. You're very right about the crazy rollercoaster, it's awful and painful to get through I know but oddly enough quite a unique experience, which I have to laugh at, because it can only be my own brain that's causing it! I'm curious about what happens next which is weird, but I always try to get something positive from any bad experience, kind of makes the badness worth it in a strange way. I just want this so much to be a memory, but I don't think I'll ever forget it, and hope I don't, so I can try to help others, there's a lot of them out there. Well, it's a comfort to know there are people out there who do care, and this forum is amazing, I'm glad I found it. Take care yourself, hope to be in touch with good news on progress soon!

Hi Phil

oh yeh dreams.. my god .!!! I could have write a thriller or movie based on them..haha.. So vivid, and so many different dreams at one night !! But it will pass as well..

I think you are safe to take all dose in the morning, because fluoxetine is activating and it might affect your sleep, but its totally up to you.

I hope you get better soon 😃

Hi again, oh these tablets! Woke up earlier feeling not too anxious but then it started at the time it usually would around mid morning! I feel so worn out now. The weather is so dull and cold here which does not help much either, so I'm feeling pretty down tbh. Obviously I was brighter when I posted last night, there's just no consistency to any of this, I feel so disconnected from myself if you can see what I mean, with some really strange and disturbing intrusive memories which are so atmospheric in nature I can almost smell things in them,, like am I going mad. Really feeling sad and hopeless, dammit. And sorry for myself which is even worse. I'm going to force myself to go out for a walk but it's not very nice where I live, oh well. Hope you're ok.

Hi again Nataliya thought I'd let you know that on Friday I had a massive panic attack about 2am I phoned 111 here and they sent an ambulance! I messed up the time and I accidentally took 2 in the morning about 30 minutes apart. I felt fine by the afternoon. I slept well and woke up with no side effects, and quite lively, better than for weeks. Did the same yesterday and was fine all day, just a little bit of anxiety this morning but nothing like it has been. Maybe this is the key, but I'm going to see the doctor next week to review meds , and might suggest going up to 30mgs which seems a sensible and cautious increase as I feel it's not lasting just long enough to get to the the the next morning's tablets. The paramedics spoke to the doctor who said to stop taking them until next Thursday's appointment but I don't think that's right, even the ambulance crew were surprised at that saying I might start getting withdrawal symptoms for that length of time. I sometimes think the doctors aren't that knowledgeable about these tablets, so I'm going to keep on going and see what happens next week. What a journey. You said you had stopped splitting the dose morning and evening, is that for a similar reason to mine?

Hi Phil

dont stop taking meds, it will settle, sometimes GP has no idea.

i was taking 20mg in morning for 10 months. I went through side effects and than my evenings start to be nice and normal and in the morning back to awful anxiety. So after 10 months of ups and downs, doctor increased my dose to 40mg and advise yo take 20 morning and 20 afternoon hoping to stabilise my mornings. And it changed everything, ut after one months when meds settled i started to take whole dose in the morning and it didnt affect me in any negative way.

Dont rush to increase yet, give more time, but try to take all dose in the morning

Hi again, so far so good. I'm taking the 20mgs in one go about 8am, waking with a little anxiety and shaking, feeling a little fluey about 6 hours later for a hour or so. This is so weird, up and down, but i think I came out of the blip finally. Still feeling a bit low mood, not as happy and energetic as I had hoped yet. Talking with the clinic pharmacist tomorrow morning so will discuss the dosage, and with the doctor on Thursday, probably keep on going with the 20 and see how it goes.

Hi Nataliyaa, hope you're still well and doing ok!? Did you start feeling better with the side effects starting to go, but still feel a bit low for a while? I can't seem to get to that really happy week I had around week 7, do you think it's still early days or not enough fluox. Seeing the doc tomorrow, but the clinical pharmacist wants me to stay on the 20mgs for a few more weeks. Hope you're having a good day, I'm having a rest now as I suddenly felt tired, but the sun's out and I'm thinking of driving down the beach, first time I wanted or could do that for 5 months. Vitamin Sea!! Thanks for helping me get to this point, and for your support to others in need.

Hi Phil

thats true what they say - on this meds first you start doing things and later on feeling them, so yes feeling numb and not much interested in things you doing, feeling down - its all normal, specially so early on meds. It takes us time to get sick, so it will take time to recover. If you have broken leg you are not expecting to run after few weeks right ? Step by step

As i can see you have very good moments, so meds are working. I would advise you to keep going on 20mg at least 16-20weeks. Give time mefs to work, it is not a magic pill

I doing very well, thanks for asking, very excited about Christmas.

You are on right path Phil, dont put time frame on recovery, everyone is different.

Live every day to the full as much as you can, even its very very hard, but you much stronger and soon you will be happy self again