What does it feel like if Fluoxetine is actually working?
Posted , 123 users are following.
What are the common symptoms/feeling of improvement? Do you just wake up one day feeling normal?
2 likes, 359 replies
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Notes on What does it feel like if Fluoxetine is actually working?
rlewis54936 moises79
Posted
Hi, I'm a 56 male who has battled anxiety & depression off & on my whole life. My Dr & I believe its driven by OCD so we decided to try generic prozac, (this is my 1st time, used effexor in the past). I'm currently on day 6 at 10 mg & my anxiety is definitely worse. I'm also taking buspirone 7.5 mg twice a day. Mornings are bad & midday seems to be even worse since beginning these 2 drugs. Evenings level out "somewhat". I sleep pretty good & more than I probably should. I want to believe these will work but these side effects are really bothersome. I'm supposed to up the prozac in a day to 20 mg & I'm fearful of the side effects getting even worse. Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated!
kristine33693 moises79
Posted
i am on day 5 i cant sleep and wake up every one to two hours i have diarea in morning. i have no appetite. im on 20 mg i thinking of having dr move down to 10 to see if feel better. I also get really hot sensations. does anyone have any advise.
t70809 kristine33693
Posted
I just started my 1st week and having anxiety every morning and it gets better in the afternoon but still very tired. I'm looking to anyone who recently started this medication and hoping to get your advises and recommendations. Please help!!!!!! Thank you
Oussie moises79
Edited
hello everyone!
i could use some support. i'm 28, and am going through a though time.
i tried quitting paxil/paroxetine after 5 years gradually using taperingstrips. everything seemed to go well. however , two weeks after my last dosage i completely lost it. started screaming, shaking, flashes, headache, insomnia, anxiety, depression, i was so lost, and had to go to the emergency psychiatric hospital.
I was directly put on Fluoxetine. symptoms of paxil kept going and fluoxetine gave extra symptoms that lasted extremely long. i vomited and had diarrea, had anxiety, insomnia, extreme suicidal thoughts, sweating, stress, depression, crying, irrestability, severe headache, tiredness, cramping, it was so extreme they checked my blood to see if anything was wrong or i was allergic. personally i think it was this severe because paxil still has its withdrawal effect on me.
i am now 8 weeks on fluoxetine, i have kept strong, and most of the complaints are starting to disappear.
i sleep with lorazepam and slept better the last two days, is this a sign of improvement?
my main issues right now are:
when and how will this improve? Am i almost there? I am so afraid this will never end....
Oussie moises79
Posted
hello
i have had paxil for 5 years i tapered but it went wrong. terrible hell symptoms of suidicial thoughts shaking anxiety depression, crawling on the floor.
now 8 weeks on fluoxetine. i am extremely exhausted and muscle tension and headache.
when do i feel better again? these 8 weeks (with extreme other symptoms have been hard).
can someone motivate me. i have to go to emergency psychiatric care weekly and its a though experience.
kristine33693 moises79
Posted
Hello i dont know if helps anyone but before i started medication i was having panic attacks could not eat lost 10 lbs. it was making me so scared. i thought i had an intestinal problem or a heart attach. went to emergency room. they gave me ativan and helped for about 2 weeks but got extremely depressed crying throwing up diarea still no appetite. my husband took me back to emergency room and they put me in mental hospital and gave me prozac 20 mg . i instantly had side effects, hot flashes could not sleep up every hour or so no appetite extreme anxiety in morning and diarea . went back to dr and she dropped my dose to 10 mg of prozac and effects were immediate. only after a couple of days could sleep and appetite slowly coming back. i actually felt hungry and that was new to me bevause hadnt felt it in so long. so anyone starting out maybe dose to strong for you. talk to doctor. my medicine was to high and lower dose gave me major improvement. i think start slow and ease way up. helped me and feel 1000 percent better because the side effects were horrible.
t70809 moises79
Posted
1 week into the medication and feeling anxious every morning but gets better in the afternoon but still tired throughout the day. Anyone can share your early experiences and thoughts? Thank you
sharon84357 t70809
Posted
please spread the word around that taking a cold shower for about 3 minutes brings down the anxiety and deppression
C-Kat t70809
Posted
Hey, how is it going now?
sharon84357 moises79
Edited
guys please spread the word around that taking a cold shower for about 3 minutes helps bring down the anxiety and deppression
C-Kat moises79
Edited
This thread has been very helpful to me Thank you, Moises79 for starting it. And thank you to Katecogs for all your helpful comments! These posts have kept me going, especially when I wanted to just stop taking the Fluoxetine. But I now know that after 7 weeks, I still have to be very patient & just keep going. God bless you all.
katecogs C-Kat
Posted
Hi C-Kat
You messaged me, but I can't reply to you as you haven't enabled your messaging. You can do that if you go to the very top of the page to your name, click on it (or hover) and a drop down menu appears. Select Settings and change the messaging.
K 😃
C-Kat katecogs
Posted
ok i will do that thank you!
C-Kat
Posted
ok hopefully I did it right (allowed messaging) Not sure if I did...if not, can you just respond here instead? Thanks. ☺
katecogs C-Kat
Edited
Have managed to reply to you via messaging though your 'message ability' still doesn't appear on your post here?
Anyhow - this is what I said on messaging 😄
Yes I took an older antidepressant for 16 years which didn't help at all - the reason I didn't change meds was because this was back in the 1980's and SSRI's hadn't been invented then, so there were only the older style tri-cyclic medicines instead. It was about 1996 when I was having a bad time and was put onto a newer style medicine which had just come into use - that was the SSRI. I never had any thoughts this little pill would help me at all, so was absolutely stunned when 6 months later I'd recovered.
I stayed on the SSRI's about 20 years - started on 20mg for 10 years, then 10mg for about 8 and reduced to 5mg for the last year or so.
K x
C-Kat katecogs
Posted
thanks, Katecogs. I have one other question...did you have anxiety & depression or just anxiety?
katecogs C-Kat
Edited
First time round anxiety and intrusive thoughts were my main issue - I was depressed too but only because I was so fed up feeling anxious 24/7.
Second time I wasn't well I had depression as the main issue.
Whatever symptom you have though they're all part of the anxiety condition. Anxiety can show itself in many guises with many different symptoms. If something is bothering you 24/7 then put it down to anxiety (whatever it is).
C-Kat katecogs
Posted
Katecogs,
I have one more question....☺ What made you decide to finally stop taking the SSRI med. after 20 years? (If you don't mind me asking) I'm just thinking way ahead to one day when I may not need it any more. And I'm just wondering how & when someone knows they don't need it anymore.
katecogs C-Kat
Edited
C-Kat
Why did I stop the meds? Over the many years I took them I’d reduced and still felt great, then wondered how low I could go with the meds and still retain my well being, so I experimented and got down to a tiny amount so stopped (logic was I can always restart if things went wrong). I also fully believe in the acceptance method which I applied too.
You know when you feel ready to come off the meds when you’re fully recovered, happy, no anxiety, confident etc. For me I found it best to reduce first and live on the lower dose for a time before lowering again.
When withdrawing you also need to do it very very slow - about a year, reducing by tiny amounts each time.
nova945432 katecogs
Posted
Hope you're still around:)))
katecogs nova945432
Posted
Hi Nova
Yes I am ❤️