stopped Fluoxetine after 5 days,awful side effects.1 week later & still ill
Posted , 49 users are following.
I was on 20mg for 5 days. On the 4th day I was completely hyper,bad dreams,sweating,uncontrollable shaking which ended in an awful panic attack which I had never had before. 2 days later after another attack I ended up in A&E and apparently its a bad reaction.
Anyway I've been off them 6 days now and not feeling much better-nausea,dreams,anxiety,sweating. After taking them for such a short time shouldn't these side effects have stopped now? Thank you
2 likes, 151 replies
amy75785 claire64797
Posted
Hi, I need help...
I have been on a low dose of fluoxetine and I've been taking it for two weeks and I was wondering, should I see my doctor before I stop taking it because it makes me feel not like myself I feel like a robot. I feel like I have no emotions, I keep waking up every night at the same time and my mom thinks it's me getting off of my birth control but this started the day I started taking it. My doctor diagnosed me with general anxiety and I told him I wasn't comfortable taking an anti depressant because the last one I took made me feel sick. I want to take clonazapam because I know it helps a lot better than what I've been getting. How are you getting through this? I don't know what to do...
danilo45459 amy75785
Posted
Hello Amy,
I have been taking fluoxetine medium dose (40 mg) for more than a year and I feel zero depression symptons and zero side-effects. So don't give up on that prospect of a very good outcome!
Having said that, my second week on Fluoxetine 20 mg was the worst week of my life. I had terrible nights, days, cries, side-effects. In summary, it was nearly unberable.
From the second week on the side-effects subsided very very slowly, but the depression per si took more than a month of Fluoxetine use to diminish. In fact, I reach the point where I could clearly say "I have no depression symptons and not side-effects" after three months on Fluoxetine (40 mg by that time) and on Bupropion together to counter-balance the sleepness that Fluoxetine brought to me.
Another information that will help you a lot in my opinion: there are literally hundreds of medication approach to tackle depression, as there are dozens of medications that have been succesfully tried to fight depression (and anxiety, they are usually treated in very similar ways) and hundreds of combinations of those medications (and dosages) to achieve the best outcome. (For example, only one third of moderate to severe depressed patients will achieve total remission using a single strategy).
nixgg71 claire64797
Posted
Hi Claire, Hope you're all ok and happy now. Did you take any other medications again, if so, how did you get on? I was on and off flu for around 20years and came off 3-4 years ago. Sadly had a year of hell so went on them again stupidly for a week, well never ever again! Suffered terribly with sickness, gi issues, insomnia, panic, agitation, rapid heart rate, no appetite, no energy whatsoever! Been off for 3 days now and still suffering! How long was it until you felt reasonably ok? Thanks, Nicki, xxx.
danlowe69 claire64797
Posted
Hi Claire. I know it was over a year ago you posted this. And I hope your ok now. I'm having the exact same problem., I took fluoxetine for 5 days and had such a bad reaction, drowsy,dizzy,headaches,sick feeling. Anxious about nothing, muscle pains, insomnia and I can usually sleep for England. Only having 3 hrs sleep a night, that's been for a week now. I have panic attacks and bad tremors. I didn't have any of this before going on the fluoxetine. I've now been off them 4 days and still having all these problems. Does your body go back to normal or how normal it was before the meds. How long did it take you to recover from these symptoms?n did you recover?
amy91286 claire64797
Posted
danlowe69 amy91286
Posted
Hi. It took about 3 weeks. Still left with a muzzy head and headaches odd days. Doctors won't blame the medication though. They won't when they make multimillion from them. Theres some tablets called 5htp, natural/herbal serotonin and melatonin, I'm gunna give these a whirl, the reviews are good, I'm no doctor but I'm sure a natural source is better for you than chemically made. I'm not advising on taking them, that's just my next step, i'll take a low dose and see how it goes. I hope you get well soon, just shows how many peoples been like this from this medication. Anti d's just don't agree with me had the same problem with citalapram, I suppose tablets aren't for every one.
amy91286 danlowe69
Posted
Well it's been over three days since I stopped feel slightly better but I just want to be able to go to work and not be so dizzy and out of it
Gata13 danlowe69
Posted
Matt612 claire64797
Posted
Just wanted to add my experience to this thread. I had been on fluoxetine (started at 20mg and tapered up to 40mg) for about 3 or 4 months and decided to stop because I missed a few doses and I had been feeling a lot better. Then the depression came back so after 2 months off i decided to starting medication again and stupidly i went straight back on to 40mg for about 3 days, then thought that's probably not a good idea and I missed a dose so I reduced my dose to 20mg for the next couple of days.
The next day I woke up feeling awfully shaky and dizzy and with the worst anxiety ive had for 7 years and like I couldn't breathe properly. I stopped the medication immediately but this feeling lasted for about a week and a half. It's been two weeks since then and I'm only feeling slightly calmer, I'm still feeling a bit dizzy and very anxious. Like I'm constantly on the verge of passing out. I started cbt yesterday for my anxiety and I hope this won't last much longer
Jaynx claire64797
Posted
sabrina9017 claire64797
Posted
Hi everyone. I just wanted to add my own experiences and piggy back on what everyone else has been experiencing. I was put on 10mg of Prozac last week and found it very agitating. Vs e me worse anxiety, so I stopped and wrnt right back on my celebs that I was on in november. After 1 day I had panic attacks all day long, chills, hot/cold flashes, couldn't eat anything last night and I can barely sleep. Now today is day 2 and I still had panic attacks. I slept pretty well last night but not long after I woke up and the panic started. Granted I have anxiety to begin with, but this is completely ridiculous. I'm used to the occasional panic attack, not this. I'm hoping that with the addition of my celebs again and no Prozac that this settles down quickly. I was supposed to start a new job this week and I can't even go. Thank God I worked for them before and I told them I have the stomach flu.
Anyone else feeling better? How long did it take?
Jaynx sabrina9017
Posted
I am into my 4th day of finishing 20mg (only took them for 8 days). It has been hell. Only just started eating nearly properly today. I have been feeling very emotional and almost an itching inside me wanting to breakdown and cry. What you are describing seems to be quite normal. Those things are evil!
Ohman sabrina9017
Posted
Hey!
I was on these for 4 days & my body was shaking, tremors, coughing, vomiting, diarrhea, clenched jaw, heightened anxiety & the list goes on....
I stopped taking them & I was still experiencing the same feels for days...
the doctor told me to go back on & I couldn't even last a day .... it's been 2 days since I took that one dose & I can't eat, vomiting, dizzy, dehydrated, anxiety (which I was prescribed them for) this drug is insane!!
He chemist told me it will take 6 weeks to fully leave my system, but I should see some improvements in the next few days
leanne96735 Jaynx
Posted
Hi, I've just stopped taking fluoxetine as I also took it for 4 days and felt terrible. I was put on it for anxiety and depression but it left me bed bound. It made me so Ill. I stopped taking it 2 days ago and was wondering if you could shed some light on how long it took for you to start feeling better? I'm able to eat a little now, anxiety has mildly settled but still overall feeling terribless. Leanne x
Jaynx leanne96735
Posted
It took 7 days for me to feel pretty much normal again. It is awful as I did not think I was going to recover.
Ohman leanne96735
Posted
Hey!
My doctor tried to put me back on FLU.. I had 1 dose and BOOM!!! Throwing up, anxious, shaking, doctor said to stop.... it's been 5 days and I still can't eat.... the doctor put me on Endep 10mg on Friday and I still can't even sleep properly after 2 doses!