Fluoxetine, does it work?

[Dontknowwhatyoumean]

Hi all
Trying Fluoxetine for the first time, had the first tablet yesterday. I’ve had anxiety since I was a child but getting out of control now, so I really want this to work. No side effects yet except for feeling more tired... Can you please let me know if this medication has worked for you? Should I expect more side affects in the coming weeks? Cheers!

Thanks silverwire, I really hope I can sleep tonight because I feel exhausted!

TolpuddleFarter - I had to stop sertraline due to severe insomnia so I really hope this is not going to be the same!

fluoxetine saved me, I only justcame off it in October after almost six years

it really made a massive difference, but it did take a couple of weeks before I started to feel the benefits, so don't worry if you're not feeling better yet

good luck x

I'm with @CakeInMyFace it changed my life 100%.

I really struggled with it at first and didn't notice a huge difference until my consultant made me up my dose (despite me kicking off about it) and that was the turning point.

10 years of taking it later, to the day, last week I went through the final stage of withdrawing from it.

@ablisha, what dose were you on? I'm feeling worse than ever today, but I'm only 10 days in, and I know things can get worse before they get better.

@Flatwhite32 I went up to 60mg. Was mainly for OCD around food but I definitely had depression/anxiety surrounding it too

So, day 6, didn’t sleep very well last night either, and I’m starting to feel a bit nauseous

I slept immediately better after starting to take it. After about a week or two I noticed my mood had lifted aswell.
How are you feeling today?

Thanks for asking @Newyearnewme2020, I slept a bit better last night and don’t feel nauseous anymore. I still feel very anxious though, and my muscles really ache. I guess it’ll get better after a few weeks, it’s just hard because work is really busy at the moment and I’m struggling to concentrate. I’m hopeful it’ll get better soon x

I've been on fluoxetine for a couple of months and now up to 20mg per day, increased 2 weeks ago and it's having a much better effect.

Some side effects, but nothing crazy, has affected my sleeping, I find it hard to get to sleep and once I'm awake, I can't go back to sleep. However, I now get more sleep.

Hi everyone, how are we all doing? I've been feeling good since Friday after feeling terrible for ten days after starting. My appetite is back, and I feel mentally 'lighter' if that makes sense. Really hope this continues! My only concern is that DH and I will start TTC for a second baby at some point in the next year, so I'm not sure how that would work with fluoxetine.

I will be speaking to the Dr to see about increasing this week. I still feel better than I have previously, but have been struggling with my ocd again, which seems to get worse if I feel anxious. I've started finding myself fixating on things to worry about to the point where I get quite distressed, so I think a bit of an adjustment may help.

Hi all, day 9 and still not doing great. I’ve actually been feeling extremely anxious today, and the leak I found in the roof when I woke up this morning didn’t help! I still have my fingers crossed though, maybe I just need to take the meds for a few more weeks...

First week completed, last couple of days have felt........odd. Not feeling any positive effects yet but booked to see my GP near the end of the month so will persevere til then.

10 days. I think my mood is improving a little? Still struggling to sleep well though, but will definitely persevere.

@Dontknowwhatyoumean glad you think there is a tiny bit of improvement. For me, the meds really helped to lift my mood but not with the anxiety, I had to see a therapist around this

Op when do you take the meds? I found taking the tablet just before bed really helped with my sleeping patterns, and also I slept through any nausea which was really good.

Has anyone found a difference in how they're feeling in the morning compared to the afternoon? I take my fluoxetine when I wake up at 6am, but spend pretty much all morning feeling terrible, really tense, anxious and low. But by 1ish I feel ok, perhaps not quite back to my old self but definitely a lot better. Then in the evening I feel pretty great, to the point I think I'm cured . Then I wake up in the morning feeling terrible again. It's so frustrating, but I'm hoping it gets better. Perhaps the medicine just needs to build up in my system over the next few weeks before it makes a difference 24/7 and at the moment it takes a few hours from taking it to start feeling normal.

I've increased mine today, so fingers crossed it will kick in soon. Sleep has started to suffer, but hopefully that will get better when my anxiety drops.

Another awful night last night. I feel so exhausted that I had to leave work early. Luckily my employer is a big organisation with a lot of awareness around MH issues, and my line manager suffers from anxiety too, so I feel well supported.

• @MustardScreams* - interesting.... I take my meds in the morning because I read somewhere that it’s better for sleeping patterns, but maybe I should try in the evenings...My husband told me today that he’s also noticed a small change in my mood so fingers crossed. But difficult to tell at the moment cause I’m sooooo tired!

• @cakebythepound1234* - I haven’t noticed any difference in how I feel in the morning/afternoon, but to be honest, maybe that’s because all I can think about is sleep!

• @Katiet123* - I have my fingers crossed for you too!

@Dontknowwhatyoumean My GP and the prescribing pharmacist both told me to take them in the morning due to sleep reasons. Thankfully I feel fine throughout the day, although I have noticed a raised body temperature. My temp has consistently been between 37.5-37.8 for the last week, and I don't feel ill at all! Bizarre!

• @Flatwhite32* how are you feeling now? are you still feeling better?

@Dontknowwhatyoumean Fingers crossed, yes. My sleep hasn't improved (I have major sleep issues, and never get to catch up due to having a 17 month old! She sleeps well overall but a lie in for her is 6.30am!) but I've had sleep issues for so long, it's going to take a long time to fix that side of things. What I've noticed is that I'm a bit more chilled out and I'm more patient with my DD (which is great!). Really hope it continues. How are you doing @Dontknowwhatyoumean?