Just started taking these

[panic_down_under]

Just spoken to the GP and he says to up the dose to 40mg. He'd have preferred 30mg but apparently there aren't 10mg tablets?

10mg tablets are available internationally. I don't know about the UK.

Probably a stupid question but if I took one tablet and then two the next and then one the next and then two and so on would that be the equivalent of 30mg's because of the length of time these take to work or would it cause problems by leading to an imbalance?

Because of the very long fluoxetine half-life this won't be a problem (I don't advise it for other ADs). However, it can lead to mistakes and I suggest you only do it for a couple of weeks before going up to 40mg. You're probably not going to get much of a boost from 30mg anyway. Plus, with antidepressants it is probably better to be a little over than under medicated.

[No Imagination]

I'm just going with 40mgs. If I could get the 10mgs here in the UK I may have gone up to 30mgs initially but as I can't it seems like it's better just to go up to 40mgs and hope for the best.

Thanks for taking the time to reply to all of this buddy. It's good to have advice from knowledgeable people, even more so when you're not necessarily thinking straight.

[worriedsoul]

My brother went from 20mg to 40mg and noticed a dramatic difference in a few days

[No Imagination]

So a bit of an update as I haven't posted in a while. I'm just over three months into them and I feel as though I've been making progress...until yesterday when I came crashing back down again

The last few months haven't all been plain sailing but it definitely felt like I was moving forwards and was able to be more active than I have in a long time. Whether that was down to the Fluoxetine, the beta blockers, the counselling, a more positive attitude or a combination of all of them I don't know but it was better.

Yesterday however things took a turn for the worse for some reason. I've had a few periods of intense sweating on the meds but yesterday took it to a different level, in fact I'm not even sure if it was the same thing or something different. My skin suddenly felt weird all over my body, almost like a burning sensation but not quite. Legs, arms, back, nether regions the works. Never felt anything like it before. It seemed to last for about 30 mins but went away and came back a bit during that time. It completely threw me to be honest especially as I have been doing so well recently. As a consequence I felt off all day yesterday. Then after a few hours sleep I awoke to feeling quite shaky, managed to drop back off to sleep after a while only to wake up feeling the same way again not long after. This repeated a few times. I'm still feeling off now and whilst I know that some of it is likely to be anxiety the whole thing has left me baffled really. I'm basically as bad (in a different way) to how I was three months ago. I was hoping that yesterday was some weird blip but the fact I'm feeling off again today isn't filling me with confidence.

It's so frustrating to feel as though things are on the up only to get slapped back down again.

---------- Post added at 13:27 ---------- Previous post was at 13:08 ----------

I think what makes it worse is that whilst I try and put everything down to anxiety, I just don't believe it. So that increases the worry further

So after about a month with nothing else happening, I find the situation repeating itself today

Similar thing to last time, I awoke with a slight tingling sensation throughout my body, not actually unpleasant or anything just there. Could have been a slight tension in my muscles throughout my body but it didn't feel horrible and I didn't feel anxious. Fast forward a few hours and I have a CBT session and I get the same sensation as a month ago while I'm in the car on the way to the session. I tried not to let it get to me and actually it came and went quite quickly. I got to the session and was sat waiting for 5 mins, no real issues but as soon as the session started it kicked off again. My session lasted for an hour and I had 5 or 6 waves of it throughout the session but I continued on with it anyway.

After finishing I left and it didn't happen again for 30 mins or so but then once again another weird wave throughout my entire body, even inside my mouth. It has now happened another couple of times. This has to be adrenaline surges right? I've had anxiety and panic attacks for years but never felt anything like this and it's unsettling. I also had a serious sweat on each time it kicked off, which is more like a typical blast of anxiety/panic to me.

Could the medication be changing how the anxiety itself feels somehow? I feel like I'm making progress but 'new' issues arising don't help with that.

[panic_down_under]

I got to the session and was sat waiting for 5 mins, no real issues but as soon as the session started it kicked off again. My session lasted for an hour and I had 5 or 6 waves of it throughout the session but I continued on with it anyway.

Did you tell the therapist about this and if so, what did s/he say?

This has to be adrenaline surges right?

Most probably. Trialling a beta-blocker would confirm it.

Could the medication be changing how the anxiety itself feels somehow? I feel like I'm making progress but 'new' issues arising don't help with that.

I suspect it isn't really a new issue, that it has always been there but that you were more focused on other anxiety symptoms occurring at the same time. The other symptoms may be less evident now which is allowing you to notice this more. And with each 'surge' you become ever more vigilant. This is something you and your therapist probably need to be focusing on now.

[No Imagination]

Thanks for the reply buddy.

Yeah I told the therapist and we based the session around what was happening so in that sense it was probably useful for her to see me at that exact point in time.

I am already using beta blockers. I take 40mg a day of Propranolol 4x10mgs. In so far as I didn't get a racing heart they appear to have worked at least in that sense.

It is definitely something new, whether it's simply a more exaggerated version of something that's happened in the past I don't know but the actual physical sensation is something I've never had before, with anxiety or panic attacks.

Is it possible that in taking the fluoxetine your body reacts differently to anxiety?

[Bike Rider]

[QUOTE=No Imagination;1677627]Just spoken to the GP and he says to up the dose to 40mg. He'd have preferred 30mg but apparently there aren't 10mg tablets?[COLOR="blue"

My GP got me to take 20mg one day and 40 the next, then 20, then 40, so that it leveled out at 30 mg, I was fine with this, no side effect and it has helped.

3 months to work is the norm, so it seems, certainly was with me and things got a little worse before they started to improve.

These sensations you are experiencing, could they just be severe anxiety? I have had some terrible days with anxiety when it first started, pins and needles, hot flushes, sweating, nausea, stomach cramps and this was before I started to take any meds.

As regards beta blockers, I found that Propranolol took at least 90 mins to get started.

---------- Post added at 13:15 ---------- Previous post was at 13:08 ----------

Propranolol does slow the heart down, which helps with anxiety and it does help relieve other physical symptoms of anxiety too.

This is why it is a banned substance for sports. But used for exam nerves or best man speeches etc.

But I found that it did help me with the other physical effects, even if my heart wasnt racing and if you do any sports, you may find your performance down because of them.

[No Imagination]

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah I think it's certainly possible that it could be anxiety. Let's face it anxiety can do all kinds of things to us. It was simply that it was a new sensation that made me wonder if it was just anxiety or something else. I've had anxiety for over 10 years and panic attacks within that period as well and this was different to those, not necessarily worse just different. But of course anxiety can throw new things at us and well all know that only too well. I'm also mindful of the fact that I'm a month into an increased dose of fluoxetine so potentially this could be having adverse effects as well. What a pain in the arse the mind is eh.

[No Imagination]

So Fluoxetine and alcohol...I stopped drinking months back when all of this started and I went on my meds. I want to know what the situation is with alcohol and Fluoxetine and also propranolol if possible before I start drinking alcohol again. It's not a big deal for me either way really.

For people looking in that are just starting out on these, I can't promise that you will get better but it has helped me. I've been doing things I haven't done in years. You will get side effects and they are annoying but I came out better the other side.

[hopelesspanda]

Hi no imagination,

I'm very glad to hear that Prozac has worked for you and you've improved. I am just now on 6 and a half weeks for severe anxiety. I am wondering, if you don't mind sharing, what types of things it enabled you to do?

I have moments where I feel more capable but as soon as they leave me I feel that I won't get better :( thanks xx