Fluoxetine/antidepressants

[Cloudd]

Hi. Need your advice/positive experiences...
Couple weeks ago I was diagnosed with severe depression and generalised anxiety disorder so started fluoxetine/Prozac for first time. It’s been 3weeks now, a did a week on 10mg and then to 20mg. I’ve seen an improvement in my mood and energy, from a 0 to a 4, but will this continue to improve over the following weeks or is this the best it’s going to get? I still feel down during the evenings, when did it start to work for you/noticeable improvements? Xx

Day 6 and there's so many tears tonight

Can someone talk me through what to expect when increasing my dose (currently 5 weeks in on a 20mg starting dose). Is it likely I'll have the initial side effects again?

@polelynn I've just gone up from 20 to 40 and other than the slightly dry mouth and bit of a fuzzy head, no other side effects to speak of. Certainly nothing that stops my day to day.

However as I said I was on 200mg of sertraline before so 40mg of prosac is still only the equivalent of about 100mg of sertraline

@ChampooPapi thank you. That's reassuring. The 20mg has made a difference albeit slighter than I'd hoped so I suspect I will need to go up a dose when I have a GP review next week.

Does anybody else get indigestion on fluoxetine I’m getting terrible pain between my shoulder blades which I think is indigestion

@cravingthelook sorry to hear how you have been feeling. Hope you're feeling better today?

@Proudnana3 I think the medication agrees more with my stomach when I eat.

@sugarlost thanks, I don't know, I'm just hoping things settle soon. I've another week off work. Tbh I've enjoyed doing nothing.
I've lost my appetite, which is not a bad thing, I'm overweight and usually do mindless eating when I'm down. I might go for a walk later.

@cravingthelook the first 2 weeks were definitely the hardest. It will get better. In the meantime look after yourself and the loss of appetite is very common (mine is starting to return on week 5).

@cravingthelook it will settle. Glad you're enjoying doing nothing.

I hope you had a nice walk if you went.

20mg of fluoxetine turned me into a total zombie, I would sleep roughly 20 hours a day. I totally could not function to do the simplest of tasks whilst on just 20mg. I had to come off them after just 1 week. It's so strange how meds affect people differently.

@klfahah I think for everyone it's a bit like that for the first week. It takes a good four weeks to start to feel less zonked out that's for sure

Hey ladies
I am joining you all. I have been prescribed 20mg of Prozac for major health anxiety (every news article on cancer or a child dying etc sets me off) and it got worse after recently finding a breast lump which was luckily benign. I also suffer daily panic attacks.

I have tried sertraline before but I had the weirdest down below feelings almost like a tingle whenever I yawned!! Then 5 days in I had the worst panic attack of my life where my whole body tingled and felt like burning so off I came from them. Then tried citralopam and the same bloody thing happened again re worse anxiety.

Then tried Trazadone but that knocked me out too much at night so now my last sort of hope really is Prozac.

I have been given 6 diazepam tablets as an emergency should I have another bad panic attack but I am petrified to try my first one.

Hi @emmajayn3

I've been on this medication for 5 weeks now. Minimal side effects which settled after 2/3 weeks and it has definitely turned the dial down on my debilitating anxiety and some new OCD traits. I'm not as petrified or fearful of everything constantly. I was on another SSRI a number of years ago and struggled on it so like you, was reluctant to take that first pill. Looking back over the last few weeks, I'm glad I did.

@polelynn thank you this gives me hope that someone has been on another SSRI which did not agree but this one does

I am on week 8 of 20mg Fluoxetine and the side effects (which i had terrible for the first week or 2) have disappeared- my sleep is now normal too. I don't feel particularly different if I am honest...my health anxiety and intrusive thoughts there of have calmed down. I feel i can dismiss what would have usually plagued me. This in itself is a big improvement as over the last year or two i have had issues with health anxiety worry. However, OCD wise it hasn't made much difference yet, albeit my OCD is managed/controlled. Eager to hear from other progress too!

@escape212 I've found it's not affected my OCD either. I'm still doing what I do and seem unable to stop, despite these tendencies/habits being relatively new to me.

Though they haven't got worse so that's a blessing.

I've been on 40mg now for nearly a week, I haven't had any night sweats for the last week either thank Christ. I don't really feel like I've taking anything which is a good thing but it also has meant I've been very up and down since switching from the sertraline 2 weeks ago. The last two days I have been feeling increasingly positive and capable for return to work next Tuesday, and sleep is so much better when not waking in a pool of sweat.

It's good to have this thread, it feels positive to check in. How is everyone doing? Is anyone else on 40mg? Has anyone else switched from sertraline?

It’s now been 14 days for me I too no longer wake in the night sweating and fighting with the duvet. I am sleeping so much better too even if I have a couple of glasses of wine which would usually keep me awake for hours when I woke up. I also feel more positive in the mornings. The only negative is the silent reflux but not even sure if that’s the meds as have had it before, I’ve been taking tablet after food to see if that makes a difference. Glad you’re feeling better ChampooPapi, hope everyone else is too.

It's good to hear these updates. Hopefully any side effects left will disappear and you will all feel much better soon.

@escape212 & @polelynn I hope your OCD also improves...keep your GP updated if it doesn't.

Some days I feel like I'm experiencing a high but then my mood can go low...I also think thinking about the future, what I'm doing and who I'm with or not with can affect my mood alot but the medication has made me feel better then before I was taking it.

Spoke to my GP today. I'm increasing my dose up to 40mg. He said 20mg is very effective at treating depression but anxiety/OCD requires a higher dose to treat. It's difficult to know how much to expect from the medication, as opposed to therapy, but being told this has helped me. Still waiting on starting CBT to tackle my thoughts/behaviours which will apparently be level 3 but could be waiting a while yet. I guess the service is overwhelmed.

Can I join? @polelynn I just went from 20mg to 40mg today too. I've been on 20mg for 7 weeks but still really struggling. How are you feeling with the dose increase?

Hi @Maidenpink.

I've not started yet as not got enough in my current pack to keep me going til the new prescription is collected. I'm hoping the side effects will be less than when I first started. How are you? Have you been prescribed them for anxiety?

@polelynn yeah, I'm hoping for less side effects too from the dose increase. I've been prescribed for depression and anxiety, I suffer dreadfully from intrusive thoughts which I reckon fall under the 'pure o' side of OCD. Not my first rodeo, I've been on 60mg before but had been really well on 40mg for a good stretch until I decided to try doing without out them. I couldn't. Anxiety has been through the roof and GP thought I should see how I did on 20mg but it's not been enough. Even though I've been up at this dose and higher before I'm still a nervous wreck because, well, that's what anxiety does! I will say when I went from 40mg to 60mg last time I didn't notice any side effects so I'm hoping this increase will be the similar. I felt rough as this time when I started on 20mg. Will you start today on 40mg? I slept ok last night, feel a bit headachey this morning but my period is due so ...