Strange Fluoxetine side effects

George 123 - i've sent you a private message.

MP

Hi everybody just started to take this tablet... After 2yrs off being in denial

Anyway I am on day 2 don't feel like eating much

I have heart burn.... I take 20mg everyday at 11am and by 5pm I am so tired

But on the positive note I feel more myself today...

I had been on fluoxetine before but prob lower dose and no real side effects but I am on day10 now and feel so sick, having panic attacks and like a jelly. How long do these side effects last?

I've been on Fluoxetine for just under one month now but am convinced that my side effects have got much worse rather than getting better! I'm sure I should be on the 10mg dosage but my GP advised that the UK's lowest permitted dose is 20mg.

Has anyone on here had any luck with a lower dose (in the UK)?

Thanks in advance - such a great forum, reassuring to hear everyone else's experiences.

Hi

Ive just started in fluoxetine (day 4 currently) and feeling really low today. I've been on it before, but don't remember having any real side effects. I've been signed off work for 2 weeks to let the tablet 'settle in' in to my system. If anyone has any hints of tips with how to deal with the side effects please let me know. I'm home alone most of the time as my husband works long hours. I'm seeing a counsellor on a 1-1 basis which is good but doesn't help with wanting someone with me every minute of the day. Its been prescribed for anxiety - and i'm determined to get it sorted this time rather than take the tablets for 6 months come off and hope it won't happen again so i'm going to try life coaching and NLP and hypnotherapy …. trying to throw everything at it in the hope that something will work. Just so hard to keep going when each morning I wake up and seem to feel worse. Last time i took these they seemed to work within the week with no real side effects… any idea how long I should leave it? Doctors said 1-2 weeks. I know i'm being impatient but I battled with going on then tablets and felt like this for about 9 weeks, so feels like I've been going through this forever.

I'd really appreciate any feed back / help/ advice/ just some one to talk too …. thanks

Hi everyone,

I have found this forum and other to be so helpful to me during my first few weeks. I am now in my 4th week and had my worst few days ever at the end of my 3rd week. I was sleeping very little anyway, but was awake for 2 nights with only 2 hours sleep during the day when I was so exhausted, I had terrific headaches, nausea, dizziness and hot flushes, the restlessness was so bad I could have screamed. It was my worst point and I really thought that I wouldnt take another tablet again. However, I did perservere and took it in the evening instead of the morning. Since then I have had probably my best days since being on it. Still waking a few times in the night but going back to sleep, wake up with nausea but not as bad, no shakes, very little 'restlessness', no headache, and feeling generally quite good. I hope it lasts!

Hi

I have found taking it in the evening helps too. Other forum say that it kicks in between week 1-2, does anyone have positive stories about it?

Hi to everyone who has commented recently. Hang in there! You're not alone in feeling the side effects. Read back through this thread, and you'll notice there's a pattern of others commenting on the same issues. I reached out when starting this discussion as I felt so lost. Please be assured that for most, the side effects subside after a few weeks. For some, it can take a little longer. It's not for everyone either. Don't be ashamed to go back to the GP if you're convinced after a few weeks, they're not for you. Please don't feel alone. There are many others who feel / have felt the same, and it's good if people are coming here to discuss it. Best wishes... Gaz.

Thanks Gaz,

As i said I've been on them before so know they do work just need to hold on, I always feel better in the evening - did anyone else feel this?

I did take mine at night for a while, but found that I had very restless sleep. I think maybe at night, the tablets have gone into your system more if you're taking them on a morning.

I take them just before bed, but even before the tablets I was feeling much less anxious in the eve, maybe because the day is out the way. Did you do anything along side the tablets? CBT etc?

Yes CBT, which I really recommend. Hope you start to feel yourself again soon. If not, have a chat with your GP? I'll check back soon. Away training with work. Take care. G.

Thanks - I am going to talk to my counsellor about CBT in the next session - thanks for the advice.

I considered things like hypnotherapy but just not sure I believe it will work

Hi J

I had hypnotherapy in the early days and found it to be very helpful. I now have counselling as and when required now. In fact i have had appointments for the last 2 weeks - mind a bit more in focus now. Need someone detached of all problems to talk to and that works too.

Best wishes.

I am just starting to take flu for work related depression and anxiety (9 days). I have to still work and the side effects of flu have not made work any less stressful...actually more stressful! I am coping though (prayer, deep breaths and multiple trips in the sunshine.I have a wonderful assistant who is aware of what I am dealing with and she makes me get up and change my environment for a few minutes during my depression/anxiety attacks (meds have definitely made them more aggressive along with negative thoughts). It is good to hear that this is normal and I plan on enduring to see the positive changes this med can make.

I have always been emotional and suffer from what I call a super conscious. I blame myself for everything, even if it is working out for me. I always think worse case scenario but I am working on changing my thinking process through mediation and prayer and allowing the meds to assist me in that process.

Questions:

* I get heartburn almost immediately when I take Flu. Anybody else?

*Does anybody suffer from severe anxiety being out in public and around ? This started once I began flu?

*Tingling all over body...numbness in toes and fingers, breathing issues, shakes?

* Do you think a short leave of absence from work would assist in my progression (since it is work related)?

I am desperate for a happy change for myself, husband a child. I have strong faith in God and I've taken the first step in the natural to get my happy back. I am elated now to hear the stories of others. It is a relief to know there are others who understand.