Help for antidepressants

[kingkax]

Hi I've been on fluoxetine 20mg for 3 weeks. The first 2 weeks I had very mild side effects and than after that I've noticed my depression is worse in the morning like am on week 4 now but every morning after I've dropped kids off to school I come home and cry a river..! I thought I was suppose to be feeling better by now? Or maybe I need to give it another few weeks? Any advice would be appreciated as I feel awful in the mornings and by night time am feeling better.

When is your next GP appointment due?

Hang on in there, OP. The tablets will take around 4 to 6 weeks to work. But your crying is actually a good sign. Depression tends to blunt and obtund your emotions - it can make you very numb. Starting to react, to be in touch with your feelings, to cry, is the beginning of an improvement. Motivation and energy often come back before the improvement in mood, so you’re going in the right direction.

I'm on a different AD (citalopram) but I found it got worse before it got better. Around weeks 2-4 I was feeling worse than I did before I started them, and was tempted to stop taking my medication. I actually left my children with my mum and went upstairs to cry which I have NEVER done or even been close to before!

Week 5, there was a definite turning point and now I'm 8 weeks down the line and only having the very odd bad day. For future ref, I have been told we should expect that during our recovery.

It takes a good while for the medication to build up in our system and for the chemicals in our brains to 'recalibrate' so to speak. Really do hang in there. If you're not feeling the cloud lifting by week 8 I'd think about another trip to the drs to try a different med as what suits one may not suit another

Thank you all for your support and kind words. My mums here to look after me at the moment. I just keep thinking am never gonna be normal again and panicking. Maybe I will stick it out a bit longer and see how I get on. Especially when I've gone through the side effects and come this far. I don't want to change medication and start all over again.

You will and I'm willing to promise that. You are suffering less with side effects so your body is tolerating the medication. There's no reason why you shouldn't get on with these.

Fingers crossed, you'll likely feel a pretty noticeable lift one day soon, seemingly out of the blue, and that will be a good day

Thank you so much for your kind words😊 It's really motivated me xxx

Youre only on the bottom dose of fluoxetine. Normally it can be increased to 40 mgs after 4 weeks at 20mgs.

Its very common for people to feel the worse in the morning.

Hope things improve for you.

Am to scared to increase the dosage even though my doctor recommended it but I can't go through side effects again. Sometimes even now 20mg gives me slight nausea.

You can ask for medication to take to help you cope with the increase till the nausea passes.