Very anxious today

Thank you so much L. Sometimes distraction works for me but sometimes the bad thoughts are like a little fly buzzing around inside my head getting louder and louder. It's so hard not knowing if it's the medication or just my anxiety. Doctor said I should be feeling better by 4 weeks so, any time would be great!

Thank you lovey ... I keep reminding myself we are all in it together and ask for encouragement when I need it! It just feels like I will never get adjusted. How are you feeling today?

I most definitely understand that feeling. I don't know anything about the warfarin, but the fluoxetine alone is rough. It was at 4 1/2 weeks that I was ready to quit. It just seemed like things were never going to improve. But all of the lovely people on here told me to stick with it, and I'm glad I did. I still have so many side effects but there has been definite improvement. There is a timeline on here that explains how you'll feel each week. If you've never seen it, let me know and I'll send it to you. 4 weeks is awfully early to start feeling better. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel, in another week or two you'll hopefully start to see some positive changes. Xxx

Yes I did see the timeline at some point, thank you. I also thought 4 weeks was awfully fast to feel better too but of course I never guessed I would have all this heart stuff going on. I know I'll feel better after I see the cardiologist next week too.

Hi there, I know how anxious you must be feeling, I was on warfarin too a while back for around a year as i'd had a pulmonary embolism. Its not easy but try your best to stay as calm as you can and i'm sure everything will be just fine x

Did the warfarin make you feel awful as well? It makes me feel very wobbly and "out of it", not exactly dizzy or lightheaded but like my mind/perception is really off. And I am only taking 2.5mg. I was taking it around 3pm but didn't like that I felt this way by dinner time so I started taking it later in the evening, now I feel like that when I wake up which is even worse I don't see a cardiologist until next week and I have been too anxious about exercising to go to my physical therapy (for my back). It just seems like set backs all around. I keep trying to tell myself once this all gets straightened out I'll feel myself again but it's so hard in the meantime!

I know, and I really do feel for you. Its not easy at all. I honestly can't remember how I felt on the warfarin as it was a few years ago now, but maybe that and the fluoxetine are just taking their toll on you just now with side effects, and then of course you'll feel that's exaccerbated because of worry about next week, I know its very much easier said than done...but just try to remain as calm as you can and be easy on yourself. You're going through a lot right now so be kind to yourself, you will get there X

Thank you so much. I try to relax and not be too hard on myself but I know I should be exercising, plus my husband is very nonchalant about all this so he gets frustrated easily with me, which only makes the anxiety worse. I don't know if he thinks I am making it all up or he just doesn't think it's a big deal or what ... I try to give him the benefit of the doubt but it's like he just can't see that I'm not a non-worrier like he is. To have someone minimalize how you're feeling (even if they're not doing it on purpose or to be malicious) is just the worst. Bad enough I already haven't felt like myself for weeks. Ugh. That's why I turn to you guys, it's just so nice to have people who really and truly understand xo

I understand and that's the tough part, because really nobody can know how you feel but yourself and it can be a lonely place, you know everyone here will do all they can to help and that you're not alone. It'll get easier and you can look back on all this as a distant memory X

Is it possible to put up that time line ? I would be very interested to take a look at that. Thanks.

Sure! I've copied the whole thing, here it is -

I thought it would be useful to provide a typical timetable for the journey to recovery. I have been on fluox for over 8 weeks and have read many, many posts of people's experiences here. Though everybody is different, it seems there is a common path for those where this medication has been successful. Many people seem to give up too soon, or change their dosage too soon because this is a very, very slow acting drug. My hope is, this will help those who are questioning their recovery by giving hope that, with time, this is a magnificent med when it does work.

First, the disclaimer: I am not a doctor nor am I capable of giving medical advice to any one specific person. This is merely a summary of the experiences I have read about. Further, there are many exceptions to this typical experience. Many claim success the first week while many others find that prozac just is not the right medication for them.

Further, this experience is typical for the person who has taken fluox in the past. For some reason, first time users seem to get much faster results and usually less side effects.

Also, 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.

Hi Pip - thank you for your kind thoughts. As I said before it's hard to tell if I feel crappy because of the fluoxetine, my anticoagulant or my heart condition. It's so hard when everything piles up at once. Hope you feel better with your increased dose. All we can do is take things one at a time and know that we are doing the right things to feel ourselves again. Hopefully we can all have nice and relaxed holidays this year!