Week 4 20 mg. cant stop worrying

Hi! I am on 20 mg and I just hit the 8th week. I have been better but experiencing some lows since last evening.. Just waiting for it to pass, However there is definitely an improvement.

Yes head fog is common.

Hi Chris,

Yes headaches headfog all pretty common. It's very early still. Hang in there you will

Definitely feel better soon.

Hey pinkrozez. Sorry your low. I am also. I'm 21 weeks and 40 mg. I've had some good days weeks and a month but now just in a blip. I switched time of day at about the time I think I started to feel better. And I think I messed that up. I'm sure ready to feel better.

Danny I hope things improve for you. It's sooo up and down but the support here has really helped. Try going for daily walks listen to music .. Try to keep distracted I do the same. It's those idle times

That are hard and in those times I remind myself that I am recovering and it'll be ok soon.

Hey Pinkrozez, how is everything going? 

Craig,

I had two very low flat days. But I am

Much better today! It's still up and down but I went to see a doctor yesterday and we discussed a plan .. I will take these until October and then if I am feeling ok will slowly wean off over a few

More months. I have come a long way and been through a lot last few months so if I look at the entire progress it's good. How are you doing??

Hi Pinkrozez 

I am the same. Had a cracking weekend, then last night and today I have been really flat with side effects i.e. nausea which is odd. I think I have come a long way too, but days like today make me want off the medication. 

Do you still get side effects?

I have a review tomorrow also, so I will let you know how I get on =). 

Cheers, Craig 

Hi Pinkrozez

I had my review today - all went really well. I'm similar to you, going to review later in the year then hopefully slowely wean off. 

I had another really good day today =). 

I am very proud of you and happy for you. I remember when we first came on this blog how upset and worried we both were and you weren't even sleeping. Very happy and I hope you go up from here .. I am sure your wife and daughter are also enjoying time with you more now. So important for us to be stable in these stages of our children's lives right.. I too am cherishing my babies' childhood .. They're growing up too fast. I am feeling better also .. I think we will be ok.. And of course the support here has been wonderful.

Luci, hope you're good and just busy because I haven't seen you in a few days. Sending love and prayers your way!

Hi guys!

Sorry, I didn't log on for a bit.

Wonderful news about both of you, I am so pleased to hear, we are all making such great progress! Craig, these blips are normal!! It will still get better I think! I no longer have any physical side efffects.

So I had some rough days over last week, especially Sunday and Tuesday. It was partly hormonal due to my PMS, but also I experienced a little the same anxiety like maybe in weeks 6-8 or so, with some shivers in the spine and arms and just generally feeling low and quite 'unsafe'. I was really emotional. But I stayed with it and it brought so many new realisations for me on the stuff I need to work on myself to get mentally stronger. This weekend I am doing an intense self development workshop and it is really healing. I feel very positive about the future. It will take hard work still but I know I am improving.

I wish you a lot of good days!!!!

xx Luci

Hey Luci 

Good to hear form you and I'm glad you are well. I'm doing really well; just about to start week 9 and I'm sleeping with no meds - yay! Still a bit up and down, but I'm really positive too. 

Work is going really well and I'm making really good progress personally - loving spending time with my daughter - she is really cute and hilarious at the moment. 

The SE seem to be lessening week on week and seem pretty minor now. I think the best is yet to come over the next four weeks or so, so I look forward to that. 

Take care and no dobut we will catch up in the near future. 

Cheers, Craig

Hey Luci and Pinkrozez, hope you are both doing really well. 

I meant to ask; I have a heavy head at times which makes me feel a bit foggy and slower than my 'normal' self. It comes and goes a bit, but is a bit frustrating at times - kind of feel a bit disoriented. Did either of you have this and does it pass? It's not like the heavy head fog I had ealier on the meds (much more bearable). Seems to get more notable as the day goes on. 

I'm just starting the 9th week. 

Cheers, 

Craig 

Hi Craig,

I actually have not experienced this so sorry I cannot help you. I did get extreme tense muscles behind my head in the past few weeks from stress and anxiety and a Tylenol helped with that. I hope it gets better for you. I've had some good days. It's still up and down but improvements. Sleep is better and that alone makes me happy. At least I know at the end of the day I can sleep. Last few months even nights weren't relaxed.

Hi Pinkrozez 

I'm going really good now - this seems to have passed and I've had a couple of really good days. I'm still sleeping really well too. 

Hope you are doing well. 

Cheers 

Craig

How many weeks are u at now Craig

How have you been holding up? Currently Day 6 for me

Hey guys!

How is everyone?

I am doing really well. No physical side effects and have had a really good week. Lots of anxiety a week ago on the weekend, but I managed it by reaching out for help to friends and let myself 'be ok with not being ok.

Sleep sometimes still disrupted, but perhaps just because of the hot and sunny days we have had in London recently and because my mind is a bit busy.

Otherwise I have plenty of optimism about my life, future and I engage in activities, socialising and I have lots of physical energy suddenly.

All in all I am quite well, close to 4 mts into the meds.

Let me know how you are coping.

Hugs

Luci

Hey Luci 

Glad to hear you are doing so well. I'm going really really well. All SE seem to be gone and I'm right back into life =). Sleeping very well too, which is just great. I'm not quite 3 months. 

I'm so happy to hear you going well. 

Chees, Craig

Hi Spice 

Starting week 10 today. Cheers 

Hi luci and Craig,

I am very glad you Both are doing better! I am good also. I actually forgot how many weeks I am at today I believe it's 13 or 14 I guess that's a good sign right? I had a lot of family in town over weekend I hosted two very large parties and my sister told me I was the most calm host she's ever seen. That made me happy. I still get little anxious and tension headaches but it's rare and I think everyone gets that. Still on 20 mg I think it has helped me immensely along with you alls support. Best part is sleep and appetite has returned and I plan to resume my gym. I'll be out of town next week for a wedding which is what I was super anxious about but now I feel more confident with the medicine helping me. Thanks for checking in I will check in also next few days again.

Hey Pinkrozez, that's great news! 

Hi Pinkrozez,

really glad to hear you are feeling better too! That must have really reassured you, having succeeded with the hosting and receiving the compliments how well you managed!

It looks us all three of us followed quite a similar path with the symptoms and time of recovery. 3 months ago I was really at such a low with the side effects making me even worse than before the medication and it felt impossible it would ever get better. Do you remember that?

My sleep has also improved. I must say I even took little naps this week like every day in the afternoon, haha! And I still run every morning full 5k followed by 1 hour of yoga and I feel really great. Occasional stress and anxiety are managable. I don't want to be like a zombie and medicate to a point of not feeling emotions; I want to learn to manage them.

Have a great weekend both of you and catch up next week

Luci

Hey pinkrozez. I am at week 5 tomorrow. I good changes but still anxiety and insomnia. How long before u felt much better and back to normal

Hi angel,

That sounds pretty normal. I think I began to feel better around the 8-9 week point. I still have slight anxiety but it's also a very busy and stressful time right now with a lot going on in my life. Keep positive, read people's posts here, we are all here to support each other .. It will get better.

This thread has given me hope. I am on third week of 40 mg increase and I swear they last few days have been worse! Hoping to feel better soon! Just can't stand to do anything by myself because my anxiety has been so bad. I'm lucky I have a great supporting wife and family

Hey Luci and Pinkrozez 

I hope you are both really well. I'm in the process of weaning off - 2 to 3 weeks in now and all seems to be going ok. Pinkrozez, I know you planned to when off about now, so was just wondering how you both we going? Cheers Craig 

Hi Craig,

long time since we were in touch some 8-9 months ago with our first months on Fluoxetine! How is it going Craig for you with coming off the medication?

So I stopped the medication at the end of July, about 5 months after starting it. It went completely fine, I felt strong enough...I was making positive changes in  my life, was running, being creative and in a new relationship, and having a great therapist. I didn't notice any side effects at all and I continued to feel great for most of the year, minus some occasional struggles and anxieties.

However since January I feel very bad again, feeling very anxious, and having thoughts of not being able to take these up and downs in my life anymore, and really not knowing if I can continue living like this for much longer. The differences between feeling great and feeling low are too big at times, I can have one great day and be buzzing with excitement and then feel completely hopeless all of sudden. A lot of it gets activated by abandonment I can now see, as my relationship has fallen apart. Nevertheless my therapist suggested to explore bipolarity, because of the constant up and downs, but it will take months before I can get a psychiatry appointment, unfortunately. In the meantime she gave me Sertraline to take, which is another of the same group like Fluoxetine. I was too scared to go back on Fluoxetine and having the same side effects as last year, but I fear Sertraline will not be any different. I am very worried. I have not started it yet.

I hope you are doing much better!!!

Looking forward to your news, Craig.

Luci