Fluoxetine/prozac - will it help?

[cantgoonlikethis]

I've been prescribed 20mg fluoxetine to help with my anxiety/depression which has been brought on again as im trying to decide whether to leave dh. I've suffered from depressiona nd anxiety in the past and it is often brought on in response to stressful events. I took seroxat about 10 yeara ago and whilst it levelled my mood (probaly too much) it also made me put on over 2 stone and was hellish to get off. tried citalopram which helpted my mood but agian made me put on weight - abput a pound a month for the 10 months i took it - not good. Doc has now given me prozac as she said less likely to cuase weight gain and fairly easy to come off, but question is will it help me? Will it "clear" my head of all the "clutter" and help me make a decison?

Well Im on my last batch so will have to go next week..
Funny you guys say it helps you sleep, I found it quiet hard to sleep at the beginning, but that settled down after a while.
Also, with regards the blurry vision, I have been having that a bit latley and thought i just needed an eyetest, I forgot about the medication so I will ask about that...

Has anybody had or heard of increased bruising while on the tabs? I have had this and was also going to ask doc if it was related or if I need a bloodtest...

Hope everyone is feeling well today!

I haven't noticed a change in my sleeping patterns that I think's due to the tabs. I have a 21 months old and a 12 week old, so I sleep really well if they do, and not if they don't
ASBM I also take mine first thing in the morning or I think I'd forget, but the tiredness kicks in alot quicker than lunch time! Maybe after 30mins.
They're also affecting my concentration. Dp says he said the same sentance to me 3 times before I even realised he was in the same room. Pure frightening that is! I hope the effects don't get too bad as they kick in, I need to be relatively on the ball to look after the boys.

3timer i also had a few days of disturbed sleep but saying that i've had it for months now on and off so couldn't necessarily attribute it to the med.
i had a look at the notes re:side effects and it does mention bruising actually,tho def.worth mentioning to GP
littleboyblue the sleeping patterns you have do make sense due to the ages of your dc,mine are all at primary school now but as a lp as i am now i still have half an ear so to speak.i know it's hard but do hope you're being kind to yourself there and taking time out when your boys are having their naps,i think this is vital really
'thou are domestic circumstances are v. diff.i am finding it a comfort to read that we're both at the same place with fluoxetine and hopefully we'll both benefit from it
do keep me posted

Thanks blonde Unfortunately, ds1 has just dropped his daytime nap. We find if he sleeps in the day, he doesn't settle in the evening, so he is up all day

oh that's hard,do hope you manage to take some time out for yourself tho
how are you feeling today anyhow?
i'm totally knackd already

I'm ok today. Dp did the night feeding last night so I had a whole night uninterupted which has made a huge difference I think.
I'm feling less overwhelmed too, so not sure if that the meds, as it's only been just over a week, or if it's all just getting easier on it's own.....?

actually maybe it is as i'm feeling alot brighter today too

Good. I'm having a nice, few calm and 'happy' days

Hi there all, just wondering if anyone has had noticed their temper being much worse when taking fluoxetine? i find now that i have no patience and am extremely irritable, the tabs have made me feel less depressed, but my mood swings are nasty! my poor dh is suffering. does this sound familiar to anyone?

I have terrible mood swings anyway, sometimes I think I am a frustrated 15 year old!!!
Although, I am finding that things aren't winding me up enough for me to get angry or annoyed, so I haven't thrown a strop now for a good few days.

Hi ya
I found when I was taking Fluoxtine I could keep my mood swings under control infact I felt quite calm and didnt get irritable as much as when I wasnt taking them. Having said that I did get bad days though mostly leading up to my period or if my DP annoyed me!!!
I would say keep a note of how you are feeling and if you dont feel better go back to your GP and see what He/She thinks.

Take care
P.S it does get better!!!!

how's everybody doing?
i'm still tired-ish but able to get thru the day,am still snappy but less so i.e have to be really pushed atm
am wondering what pmt time will be like tho
do so hope it's better than last month's which is the point where i recognised i needed help

Hi there, thanks for your responses. I am still finding I have a really bad temper but i suppose it could just be another symtom of my pnd, also i am due for pmt around about now so that is probably making me 10 times worse! my pmt has always been bad way before i had dd, my husband says i am evil! lol. I just find that for about 7 days of the month i am weepy, cant stop crying and feel like my world is going to end. Although since i started taking the fluoxetine, i am much less weepy, i dont cry anywhere near as much as i used to, even at really sad things! i am worried i am getting cold in my old age! i have been on fluoxetine for about 5 months now but still feel depressed some days, i definitely still have pnd, anyone have any idea when it starts to get better, I just want to be rid of this once and for all, I am desperate to feel like me again

newmummy sorry your still feeling a bit down at times. I've been on fluoxetine for 2 weeks, and am already feeling tons better than I did. I had pmt last week, which wasn't nice, but I have my fingers crossed for a better time next time.
I know what you mean about wanting to feel like yourself again. I think I had pnd after ds1 was born 21 months ago, but I never spoke to anyone about it, but now there's 2 of the little people (ds2 is 12 weeks) I can't really risk not being on top form iykwim. When there was just ds1, I had the energy to live in denial and kid myself that I was ok. I'm not sure if I ever recovered from that bout of pnd, but 3-4 weeks ago when I started to feel how I remember feeling after ds1 was born, you know, guilt, regret, general uslessness and so on, I knew I needed to get some sort of help to ensure my family stays together. If I'd continued acting the way I was 3 weeks ago, I don't for a second doubt that me and dp would be finished now and I'd be on my own with my sons in my mum's spare bedroom.

hi littleboyblue, i am so pleased that you have seeked help this time, it definitely helps once you have told someone and they confirm u actually have an illness and your not going insane! I am so pleased you are feeling better than you were. Fluoxetine is very good it made me feel better almost straight away, i have missed my counselling and cbt sessions (well actually i wimped out i was too scared)so i think thats why im slipping back now. Has your gp or hv referred you for counselling? i have been put back on the waiting list and will definitely go to the appointments this time. how are things going with your newborn ds2? i found the sleep deprivation made my depression worse, i thought i was never going to get a full nights sleep ever again and that i would never be able to cope! but as im sure u know, it gets better.

Yeah, the sleep deprivation has got to be the hardest part doesn't it? I keep telling dp that they use this as a form of torture at war! but he tells me to stop being silly
It's wierd, both my babies have been really bad with colic which makes the first 3/4 months so hard and the constant crying makes bonding hard too I think, but if you could deal with it after full night's sleep, it wouldn't be nearly so hard would it?
Also because there is such a small age gap between the 2, ds1 has been very frustrated and I think a bit angry, so he's been a bit violent towards the baby. It's getting alot better now and ds1 hugs and kisses the baby but is obviously quite rough with him, so I still have to 'tell him off' iyswim.
I felt so guilty about having another baby and not being able to fully explain it all to ds1 and have him understand. When I'd see the frustration and anger on his face, I felt awful because it was me that did that to him, he didn't ask for a baby brother, but I find reminding myself I did it for them, and that ds1 will now have someone for his whole life and they will have each other when me and dp aren't around anymore iyswim.

just checking in to see how all of you are getting on?
hope everyone's feeling alot better