Teen prescribed Prozac and anxious about starting, any positive experiences?

[PositiveProzac]

My 16 year old has been prescribed Prozac - we haven’t started it yet as he is anxious. Is it fast acting ? We were told it doesn’t always help immediately, also told he should make sure he has something to eat regularly as it can cause some nauseas?
Any positive experience would be very helpful. Starting anti depressants seems like a big step to him

It’s not fast acting, I believe it can take a couple of weeks or more to have an effect. However, it was a lifesaver for my DD.
Eating regularly is good advice, regardless.

I’m hoping he will start tomorrow I’m trying so hard to reassure him that it’s the right thing to do.

My DD started fluoxetine (generic name) at about the same age. It was life changing for her. The psychiatrist was careful to titrate up slowly, but you do have to be careful in the first few weeks as mood can drop before improving. It took a couple of months to see a difference. She worked up to 40mg and was on that for a long while, and slowly dropped as therapy assisted her, she is now on 15mg.

(There is a children's mental health board on MN you may like to look at.)

I took it in my twenties and was told it would take 3-6 weeks to take effect. I actually felt significantly better within a week, and was completely recovered after three months.

I had been in a very dark place, self harming, reclusive and just very lost in the depression.

So it worked brilliantly for me, and at age sixty, the depression has never returned.

Same for me. It started to work within a few days and I started to feel ‘normal’ again within the week (for the first time in 2+ years having been suffering from anxiety and depression for about 6 years — culminating in a very sudden nervous breakdown eventually).

It was like a miracle for me.

Both my children (daughter and son) took/take fluoxetine for several years now. Daughter started at 14 and son at 11. It has been excellent for both of them getting them both through some very difficult times. They are both autistic in case that’s relevant. No particular side effects for either of them and an improvement in mood in a short time (about 2-4 weeks from memory). The psychiatrist kept a close eye in the first few months just watching for a drop in mood (possible side effect pp mentions) but that didn’t happen.

I don't want to rain on your parade, but be very vigilant. By all means encourage your teen to try, but watch them like a hawk because in a significant percentage of younger users, fluoxetine and its sister drugs have been shown to increase suicidality. My DS was put on Duloxetine at age 20 amd made a serious attempt.

It may be the right drug for your teen, but be alert for side effects.