Scared to take meds for Anxiety

[angelique]

Hi there. My doctor prescribed me Fluoxetine today (brand name Lovan) to deal with my anxiety. I am also starting CBT this week. I am so scared to take these antidepressants as I really don't like anything messing around with my brain. I believe one of the side effects of taking Fluoxetine is anxiety anyway which is a concern considering this is the only reason why I am meant to take this medication. Does anyone have any thoughts? I'm so very scared right now. Thank you.

[shaggyowen]

i take them 20mg daily they really helped me there fine it just ups the serotonin in the brain to make you feel happyer and better about things =] if you dont want to take them look into foods that increase your serotonin levels or try the hebal rout hope this helps =]

[angelique]

thanks for your reply. I've also been prescribed 20mg and am meant to take half a tab for the first four days and then move up to a whole tab from day 5 onwards. Do you also take them for anxiety?

[jen1983]

Hey there

I am taking medication for anxiety/depression but i am on citalopram.... however my friend is on Fluxoetine and she swears by them.... they have really helped her get her life back, good luck xxx

[anthrokid]

Hey Angelique,

I take fluoxetine and it is my wonder-pill! I first took it when I was 16 fo a very severe bout of depression and it worked wonders for me, that and my therapy. I came off it and was fine and dandy for 3 years, and then I had a very bad experience travelling and developed severe anxiety and panic disorder. I went back to see my psychiatrist who put me on another medication first, but it made me very sick so he suggested we try fluoxetine again and it's worked again!

The thing with fluoxetine is that it works very slowly, so for the first 4-6 weeks you may not feel any change at all, but because it works so gradually there are less side-effects and the changes it makes are less of a shock to the system

I've never had any side-effects from the fluoxetine except for a bit of a low attention span, but I also find that a lot of medications do that to me. It also makes me thirsty.

The reason they say it may worsen anxiety is that when you first start taking any medication your body has to adjust to it, and this means that the body notices changes, and with anxiety these changes can sometimes trigger our worries. Just thinking about what the side-effects could be can trigger our anxiety. But the good thing with fluoxetine is that it doesn't take too long to adjust, and the side-effects are minimal so you should be fine. You may feel a bit off for the first few days, but like I said it's normal for the adjustment period.

Your doctor has most likely prescribed it to you because it has the least side-effects and works slowly, which is really helpful fo people who suffer from severe anxiety and panic attacks.

Remember, no matter what medication you take you are going to be scared about it at first and you'll be quite anxious. When I started fluoxetine again this year I was terrified of taking them even though I'd already had a great experience with them previously. It's just how anxiety makes us!

[Geoff2301]

I have just started retaking fluoxetine after a gap of some 5 years when I was on Paroxetine..... that was getting onto a ridiculous dose of 60mg and to be honest, didn't seem particularly effective with still getting bad boughts of depression/anxiety. Don't remember any side effects last time but this time, seem to be getting very bad anxiety, anxiousness, tension plus lots of yawning...... in fact I feel bloody rough to be honest! This morning, took 3 x 2mg diazepam over a period of a few hours to try and calm me down a bit but they weren't particularly helpful....... feeling a bit calmer though this afternoon. Got to ration the diazepam out though as the gp reluctantly gave me a very limited supply and I'm prety sure he won't give me anymore!!
Was very tempted to chuck the fluoxetine in the bin this morning as I just seemed to be getting worse but after viewing other posts, will grit my teeth and persevere!!