What does it feel like if Fluoxetine is actually working?

Found this bulletin a couple of days ago and I am really grateful to moses79 for starting this thread and katecogs for her experiential insights. they have been a source of great comfort and solace.

I started consuming fluoxetine 20mg 17 days ago and this was about a month after moving to college in a different city. I am a literature student and a writer so creativity and (A LOT) of brooding/thinking has been a part of my life for a very long time. I used to be able to manage my emotions fairly well, and would just take everything in my stride. I was exposed to public speaking at about the age of 7 and was always very sure of myself and my credibility. When did I exactly start having anxiety is something I am not able to put a finger on. Maybe a few years ago or maybe my whole life. However, the last couple of years of high school were especially tumultuous, I had a terrible heartbreak, issues with my parents, a fallout with my best friend and then this pandemic came about. I slowly began to notice I'd start fumbling while speaking and getting brain fog. I knew what I wanted to say but was seized by a gripping fear of something going wrong every time I tried to. This began hindering my public speaking commitments at school and eventually even daily communication with people I didn't know so well. I began to think I was stupid or I'd forgotten how to comport myself like a normal person and that just made things worse. But I kept pushing and pretending nothing was wrong and trying to put up my best image. A couple of years passed. Last month, I was under immense pressure with the wave of college forms and applications to fill out, and the expectation of making it to the best institution. Thankfully I did end up making it, but a few days in my anxiety went out of control. I'd get panic attacks almost every other day, racing thoughts, morning anxiety that made me want to kms and I'd cry for hours during the day. Evenings were a haze through. I wasn't able to process that I was actually breaking down in my first month of college, after working so hard to get where I was. It was then that one of my friends in college who'd been through the same convinced me to stop ignoring this and I went to see a psych. Its been more than 2 weeks now. The first week was horrible. My anxiety was heightened, I was puking, crying, racing thoughts, all that stuff. The second week has been an oscillation essentially, between feeling okay sometimes and really hopeless the others. Morning anxiety is still their. I fear having conversations or asking questions in class. I get brain fog during speaking too. The panic attacks have stopped though. Meditation, journalling and exercise help a lot, so does music sometimes.

Would love some insight/encouragement and advice if any.

This thread is a great initiative, please keep this going. so helpful

ive been taking this for a week and the sickness and dirrehea is terrible, nausea is unbareable and anxiety feels terrible in the morning! praying this goes away soon?!

hi Moses been on Prozac 40 mil for 5 weeks

please tell me when does the depression and anxiety get better .

i was good for 4 days and now i have been feeling like crap for 2 days.

how can this be ?

im day 20 the anxiety is crippling im about to give up ..is there something i can take with the fluoxetine to take the edge off the anxiety

Hi everyone,

Ive been reading everyones comments and opinions on fluoxitine including side effects/ how long it takes to get better etc for a while now. I promised that If I get better I would share my thoughts/story with you all so here it is. I am more than happy to answer questions give support to anyone that needs it too 😊

I have been taking fluoxitine 20mg since I was 22 my first episode started after I had my daughter This was more of a depressive mood than anxiety though ( although anxiety was defenetly there I just didn't understand it like I do now) I didn't follow my journey of getting better as well as I did this time so can't remember much.

I'm now 38 and have continued to take fluoxitine . I then found a love for spin class and decided that I didn't need fluoxitine as much due to the endorphins of exercise so stupidly I cut down my dose and would take maybe one every 3/4 days I continued to do this for about 5 months whilst working in an extremely stressful and volatile environment anyway jump forward 5 months and I began to have pain in my lower abdomen and other symptoms I also googled these symptoms HUGE MISTAKE! anyway no doctor could find anything wrong with me I even had a scan to reasure me . There wasn't anything seriously wrong. Welcome to my life health anxiety! I had all these symptoms that was very real to me ,I cried all the time , didn't sleep properly, lost over a stone in weight in a matter of weeks I was very poorly indeed. I had to be signed of from work. My mother collected me from my house and moved me in with her and after a couple of days she sat me down and informed me I was having an episode of depression and anxiety and that she was convinced all these symptoms with my health was because of depression and anxiety.I contacted my doctor who prescribed propranolol I also took 20 mg of fluoxitine every day from this moment 4 weeks later I was still very low and the anxiety was very bad. I contacted my doctor who increased my dose to 40mg . The first 3 weeks of this was horrendous the side effects was awful they consisted of a fuzzy head , twitching in my legs and sometimes arms , hot flushes , waking up at a night and the worse anxiety that would come on for no reason this was particularly bad in the mornings I had such awful thoughts and at one some points I thought I was going insane ( this was so frightening) If anyone else has that thought please believe me if you are becoming that poorly and you think you will become insane you wouldn't be having this thought you wouldn't know somebody who looses control doesn't know or think there is anything wrong! I had some good moments but then it would come back and I'd get even lower because I thought I'd never get better It took a lot of reading about anxiety/depression and conversations with my mum to get me through these 3 weeks of side effects then week 4 happened my mood had lifted slightly and the anxiety was not as strong. I went back to work and faced people again I felt able to cope better don't get me wrong I was nervous but not in an uncontrollable way. I am now week 6 and still going strong... I'm not 100 % but I'm getting there and I'm in a completely different head space to before.

Please be patient these tablets work in a strange way and sometimes take months to work and everyone is different. Depression and anxiety can affect anyone and does not discriminate. Please surround yourself with people who understand and care . People who tell you snap out of it need to be cut out of your mind until your better ( I have people i love but I cannot communicate with until im better as they dont help with my recovery) Kate coggs posts helped me a lot too ❤️

What im trying to say is stick with it, be kind to yourself and don't rush the process! you will feel like you again and see life though clear eyes. Please believe me that moment you realise you are getting better is the best feeling in the world and worth the wait!

❤️ Becca ❤️