Fluoxetine - Day 4 and NO sleep! Please hand hold, give your advice

[WazzaWoo]

Well after 13 long months I went to the GP, he prescriped Fluoxetine 20mg a day to help Anxiety/Mild Depression. Have been taking since Friday and have had a max of 4 hours sleep a night, just seem to wake up with everything whirring through my head and cant get back to sleep, did anyone else have this side affect and how long did it last??
BTW I am taking in the morning etc.
Don't know if I can keep taking if im not going to get any sleep!!
Your comments would be very much appreciated.

MTIA

I'd go back to the GP to discuss if I were you - not sleeping can be detrimental too.

I'd say give it a bit longe to settle down. Sleep is often disrupted one way or the other with antidepressants and you are getting some sleep. No sleep means zero sleep, not 4 hours a night. I suspect you just need for this side effect to subside.

I had this side effect (would sleep from 10-12 and then awake the rest of the night) and I'm afraid it made me stop taking them. I felt really unwell. But a friend of mine takes them and had no side effects at all except a slight dry mouth! So everyone is different and there are lots of different ADs around. I'd probably return to the GP if I were you if you feel really unwell. There might be a different drug you can try.

FWIW i'd give it 2 weeks....i had some fairly bad nausea (and other side effects) with Fluoxetine for 2 weeks and then it settled...
good luck

I started on Fluoxetine and they made my anxiety far worse which meant I couldn't sleep. I stuck with them for a few weeks but then couldn't bear it any longer and went back to the doctor. He said it was just a case of finding the right type of AD for me and changed me onto Citalopram which was far better.

I'd say go back to the doctor and have a chat about how you feel.

I had very bad experience with fluoxetine- i became totally nocturanl and felt as if I'd been banged over the head for the rest of the day. However I was advised to give it a minimum of 6 weeks for me to adjust to it. TBH it made me completely lose the plot.

I returned to the GP several times and one day eventually just broke down. Have been prescribed citalopram since which is better, though I have put on a bit of weight which I'm told is a common problem. Anybody with any useful tips on this??

I wouldlove tohear from anybody else who may have actually got thru to the other side of this.

Wazzawoo- don't worry all medication effects us all in different ways- it's simply a case of finding somthing that suits you and does the job.

Hi, I've been on this for 10 days with no side effects. I changed to flouxetine after taking sertraline for 5 days. Sertraline made me very ill, palpitations, night sweats, severe anxiety, restlessness etc. Go back to your Dr, as another AD may suit you better. I'm so glad I changed mine.

I had this side effect with citalopram. Im now on venlafaxine and fell asleep ok but would wake at 2 or 3 and not be able to get back to sleep without a sleeping pill. Now a few months on its a lot better, but it might be worth asking for some sleeping pills as a temporary measure