Is this a blip

[Bambithegirl]

Hi All,
Have read many posts on this forum in the last few weeks, but first time posting.

To cut a long story short, I have recently (3 months ago) been officially diagnosed with severe clinical depression and anxiety (the depression most probably caused by years of trying to ignore the anxiety and not deal with it), and I struggle with Pure-O too, most debilitating is ROCD.

After finally accepting I need help and deciding medication is needed, I started on Fluoxetine. I am now in week 8 of 20mg. I was on 5mg and 10mg before that but I am not counting those 2 weeks.

I had SEVERE anxiety about starting the medication and was terrified about how it was going to make me feel. I think more than anything, that is what caused me to feel so bad, more than the actual medication side effects, but I had it all. Severe increased anxiety, loss of appetite, weight loss, upset stomach, INCREDIBLY low mood, 'loose-brain' feeling, insomnia etc.

Not sure how I persevered but I did, and as the days roll by I keep thinking 'what if I need to change'. So scary. But I know that I have seen quite a few posts of people on Fluoxetine that said that they only felt a difference between 8 and 12 weeks and am hoping that will be me.

Side effects have almost all gone, appetite back to normal, and morning anxiety I had in the beginning is better.

In the last few days though my head does not feel great, slight headache and dizzy feeling. Sleeping has improved (I never slept well, even before meds) and I sleep 6 hours a night now with half an ambien.

I guess I am just looking for some reassurance from people who only saw benefits much later and decided to stick it out.

Struggling with the flat feeling. Doing weekly CBT so I'm sure that will assist me too.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much

[Bambithegirl]

Anyone have any thoughts? Now starting week 9

[panic_down_under]

Anyone have any thoughts? Now starting week 9

While there are no guarantees, there is still a good chance fluoxetine will work. The issue is it has a very long half-life, about 6 days for fluoxetine itself, around 16 days for its active metabolite norfluoxetine, which actually does most of the work. Consequently, it takes about a month just for fluoxetine plasma levels to stabilize, and nearly 3 months for that of the metabolite.

In the last few days though my head does not feel great, slight headache and dizzy feeling. Sleeping has improved (I never slept well, even before meds) and I sleep 6 hours a night now with half an ambien.

There could be any number of explanations for the headaches and dizzy feeling. Sometimes things just happen for no real reason or significance, but get is checked by your doctor if they continue.

As for the insomnia, Ambien (zolpidem) and the 'Z' class hypnotics are not good sleeping pills as tolerance to their sedation tends to build fairly quickly, often within a couple of weeks. A small dose - 25-50mg of immediate release trazodone (Desyrel) would be a better option. It has become almost the standard treatment for SSRI induced insomnia. Alternatively, a small 15mg dose of mirtazapine (Remeron) should work as well. Tolerance is not usually an issue with either.