View Full Version : feeling so ill help
2nd day on fluoxetine and I desperately want it out my system now. took one this morning and I felt fine, even one the first day. Got to 2 o clock and I can't keep anything down, I've thrown up so much in the past 6 hours that I want it out my system now. I don't feel like me, I feel so shakey and almost like I'm on class a drugs ( I know that sounds daft but that's the best way to put it) can't stop gurning and trembling. Can't see properly, almost like everything is blurry? How long does fluoxetine stay in your body? I just want to get back to feeling normal, this is absolutely horrible. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. I'm coming off it and trying herbal stuff instead cause I can't deal with putting up with this for a week or two. Anyone help? Please.
Hi there,
First, this is quite common so don't think there's something wrong. ADs can make you feel terrible for a few days before they start to kick in.
I've been through it and come out the other side feeling much better so it is usually worth riding it out. Many GPs prescribe diazepam or beta blockers for a few weeks to help with these symptoms. Has yours done this and if not, can you get an emergency appointment tomorrow?
I really feel for you as I know how it feels and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Make sure you've got someone there to support you.
Take care
Pip xxx
Hi Pip!
Doctor didn't give any beta blockers, he said there was a low chance of side effects. I was on citalopram and that's why I went back because I hated the side effects so much that I asked him for something that would be easier than the citalopram, but I think this is actually worse. I can't even begin to explain how I feel but I know I just want it out my system right now :( never felt this ill since I had tonsilitis. I don't feel like me at all, its like I don't even know what I'm typing I feel truly awful and confused
What were your side effects? Just so I feel at ease! And do you have any tips on how to deal with these side effects?
Thank you for your kind words Pip. Xxxx
Hi, I was very nauseous when I started taking fluoxetine. I found that eating small bits of fresh ginger helped with the nausea. And try to eat a biscuit or something when you take the tablet
You can get fluoxetine in liquid form - this enables you to build up your dosage gradually (e.g. start on 5mg for a week or 2, then 10mg etc). You can also open the pills and dissolve in juice or water and build up slowly from there.
I would see another GP if possible - all medications have side effects and the one you saw should have been aware of this. Perhaps mention the liquid to him/her and they'd probably be happy to give you it and build things up slowly.
Also, while 20mg is the standard dose, there is evidence to suggest that many people benefit from a maintenance dose of 5-10mg/day.
Yes, what Emphyrio says is good advice, start with lower doses:)
Hi,
My side effects were:
Terrible feeling of doom
Shaking
Sweating
Knotted stomach
Insomnia
Jumping at everything
No appetite
Feeling sick
Feeling like I was going mad
Completely irrational
I can't really describe how awful I felt - this was on Sertraline and I had to stop after 5 days as I couldn't cope with it. I switched to venlafaxine which was fairly similar but not as bad , and with some beta blockers, I stuck it out. I now feel better than I have for a long time.
You can either stick it out but you'll need something to help you through the first couple of weeks or you can stop. Either way, you need to go back to your GP ASAP as you shouldn't stop without consulting them though it's only been 2 days. Fluoxetine has the longest half life of all SSRIs so will take a few days to clear from your system.
Knowing what I know now, if I were you, I'd see the GP as an emergency in the morning and get something to help you cope with the SEs and then ride it out.
As for coping, I tried most things but just couldn't concentrate. I usually love reading but that was impossible as I couldn't concentrate at all. In the end, I just went out walking to try and burn off some of the horrendous nervous tension. That worked best though I had to be dragged out of the house.
Let me know what you decide to do. I'm around on and off tonight so keep posting and I'll support you where I can.
Look after yourself
Pip xxx
Piano, been given ginger all day to help but I keep bringing everything back up, no matter how small. Can't even take a sip of water without bringing it back up. Been eating the ginger and taking it in tea form but my body just feels so exhausted now :( the waves of nausea is just unreal, I'll feel right as rain, on the way to recovery from a poorly tummy to all of a sudden getting a fever and being sick, no matter how little is in my tummy.
Do you think I should see my gp? I feel like I've been a wet blanket about this all as I know so many others get these symptoms.
Having another bad episode as we speak, how long does this last for? I want it gone :( but I can't sleep feeling this awful, I'm so sweaty and have the exact symptoms you are saying pip.
Just been sick again, nothing can even come up anymore. Ah I really can't believe that you guys put up with this :( this is just the most sufferable thing we have to go through whilst feeling already so low. It's just so sad to hear you all having been through the same thing. None of you deserved this :( xxxx
I actually look back and see it as a positive. It makes me determined never to let myself feel like that again.
I would go and see your GP - the other posters may be right about the dose but I'm not familiar with fluoxetine so I can't comment. I certainly started venlafaxine on a half dose and it helped.
To be honest, it was the beta blockers that got me through. Within an hour, the symptoms got so much more bearable. Don't feel bad about seeing the GP again - we all have differing severities of symptoms and yours may well be far worse than ours were. It's impossible to compare.
Pip xxx
I agree either Pip I got through the horrible side effects from the flux with propane 160mg beta blocker and diazepam as and when I needed it and I don't think I would have got through without it, but it was worth it.
---------- Post added at 22:54 ---------- Previous post was at 22:51 ----------
Sorry it was meant to say propanohol slow release which meant they keep in my system
Thank you everyone you've all been so supportive at this time. If I didn't have you guys to talk to about it I think I'd be going insane right now.
It's so hard, this is just the most horrible thing. This has just woken up little amount of sleep just to retch and ive become all gurning and shaking again. I'm so exhausted as I have no food or drink in me now for nearly 24 hours but I can't eat or drink a thing :(
Did anyone else get this severe sickness on any of their medication? Is this a bad rtion do you think? Or is this normal? I don't even know if I can make it to the doctors feeling like this, I don't think I'll be able to make it without being sick. I want it out now :( xxxxxx
dottielottie
17-11-12, 07:51
Hi I was exactly the same on fluoxetine I stopped straight away I couldnt stand it. I went back on to cit 10mg then increased to 20mg.
I know exactly how you feel :hugs:
Hi dottielottie that's so sad to hear that you went through exactly the same thing :( I wouldnt wish this on anyone. What were your exact symptoms? Could you not keep anything down either?
I'm getting my mum to ring the doctors and ask for an appointment over the phone as I have no strength to even get up and go to the phone. I'm hoping someone will speak to her as I'm completely bed ridden.
How long lottie did it take for it to leave your system? Thats what I'm dying to know! Cause I can't cope much longer xxxxx
Morning!
Good idea to get your mum to phone the doctor. You think you won't be able to make it there (I thought I couldn't either) but you will. Try and go today and tell them exactly how you're feeling.
You'll soon be feeling better, I promise.
Take care
Pip xx
Yes I had days exactly like this, I think you need to have something to help you through but as Pip says he was on Cit and it seems that both these SSRI's have the same side effects, it is just working through them, I did not eat or sleep for 48 hours but diazapam did help me relax and get some sleep. I also had some sleeping pills for a few nights but my doctor quite rightly only prescribed me 7.
You will feel better eventually but only you know if you can stick it out.
xx
Supersal1984
17-11-12, 10:04
It will get better. I had all the symptoms you had and more. It appears to be the worst for days 2-7! It doesn't get magically better at day 7, but it seems to start lifting. I was so bad on the first week, I took a week off of work and went to stay with my mum! Every second was absolute torture! But it is just the side effects and once they go the benefits will start.
How long have you been on the tablets for now? X
:hugs: kitty's an
I hope your feeling better and the doc have given you some diazepam to get you through the worst of it, if he has, take them, it sounds like you need them and they will take the edge off the worst symptoms.
When taking citalopram or fluoxetine I get nausea, diarhoea, shaking, can't sit down, insomnia, electric shock sensations throughout my body and intense fear. I have tolerated fluoxetine in the past by starting at really low dose, 2mg in liquid form and slowly increasing. The side effects you have are horrible and looking back I don't know how I survived them but I did and diazepam will help.
I have recently stopped fluoxetine as I was having side effects even at a low dose, within 48 hours of the last tablet I started to feel better. I once took citalopram for 3 days but stopped due to the side effects and that took about 48 hours to wear off also, so it shouldn't be long now.
I don't believe you should have to endure these awful side effects, either change drug or start with a much lower dose, anxiety is hard enough without anything else
Love Sam x
Hi Kittihan,
How are you doing this afternoon? I hope you got to see your doctor and that you're a bit better. Try to do something to distract yourself tonight. I know all you'll feel like doing is staying in bed or lying on the sofa but make sure you have a shower, get dressed and plan something, even if it's just a TV programme you like. It doesn't sound like much but it makes a world of difference.
Take care and let us know how you are.
Pip xxx
Hi there guys! I can't thank you enough for your support last night and this morning, you wouldn't believe how much its helped me :) thank you thank you thank you!
Last night was terrible for sleeping, I was up all night being sick twice every hour. So when it got to 7am, I got my mum to call my doctors which was closed. Rang NHS direct and thankfully we got the most loveliest woman ever! Unfortunately I couldn't speak to her for very long (two minutes at most) without having to be sick, she decided to call my local out of hours gp for us and got a doctor to ring us up up, who said he would like to have me checked out at the hospital. Very eventful and not the most pleasant experience! Turns out my body is extra sensitive to Fluoxetine so I was initially having a pretty bad reaction to it.
After the ordeal at the hospital they have sent me home with cyclizine to help with the nausea and should help me rest.
Can't begin to tell you how great I feel now that the Fluoxetine has died down. I've had some water and a sip of some soup and I've managed to keep it down as for now! (Fingers crossed for me!) But no more fluoxetine for me says the doctor so looks like I'm on my way to finding something new and hopefully none will ever give me that bad of a reaction as that one did!
Going to just rest now and take it easy :) I literally can't thank you all enough for being there for me for the past 24 hours! I couldn't of done it without your help and support :) Hope you're having a lovely weekend you guys :) sending all my love xxxxxx
Glad you have got checked out and now feeling a little better, hopefully you will find something that suits you better and does not make you so sick.
That's really good news. Whatever you try next I'd suggest something that you can get in liquid form so you can start very low.
I hope you have a good evening
Sam x
Great news that you're starting to feel a bit better. The scenario you described is exactly what happened to me with sertraline. I had to go to the hospital to get checked out on a Sunday. It nearly killed me to get there but I felt much better afterwards.
Cyclizine should sort out your nausea and I'm sure it will relax you and make you drowsy too - not a bad thing when you can't sleep!
Have a nice, restful evening and I hope you manage to eat and get some sleep.
Take care
Pip xxx
You had to go to hospital too Pip? Were they understanding and helpful?
They thought I had the sickness bug that's going round or appendicitis so he sent me up to the emergency surgical ward first! But we had to tell them time and time again that it was definitely the fluoxetine because I was having all the side effects that the pill said it would bring, after blood tests they finally told me that I had severe reaction to fluoxetine (knew that all along...) Did they do this to you?
Went to bed last night at a reasonable time but my parents said that I was looking worse again as the evening got on. I looked like I hadn't slept in a week and I was very pale.
I got up this morning and I actually felt great! Managed to get some porridge down me but whilst walking round my kitchen I began to feel quite terrible. I actually feel terrible, I feel really spaced out and it feels like headache is coming along but its in waves again. This is what happened before all the sickness kicked in so I'm feeling a bit cautious again. I can feel my eyesight going all fuzzy again and feel like I'm unable to concentrate. I haven't taken any fluoxetine now since Friday morning as all the doctors at the hospital told me to come off it.
Is this just it leaving my body but still leaving me with not so nice side effects or is it about to start all over again? Did anyone else get this when they were getting off it/stopped taking it for a couple days?
---------- Post added at 11:33 ---------- Previous post was at 10:56 ----------
Definitely spoke to soon :((
Hi there,
I'm just heading out to walk the dog but when I get back, I'll give you the full story and how I got to where I am now, which is feeling very well. I just wanted to reassure you that it's normal to take a few days to get over the effects, especially as fluoxetine has the longest half life of all SSRIs.
Take care
Pip
Hi Kittihan,
Back from my dog walk with a filthy hound that needed hosing down. At least he's tired now and I can get a bit of peace for a while.
Long post alert....
My situation was very similar to yours. I'd been on Venlafaxine before, about 10 years ago but I'm not a great fan of having to take meds so I only stayed on it for about 8 months. It worked really well though. After a bad few months last year, I gave in and went to my GP for some help. He prescribed Sertraline - I maybe should have asked for Venlafaxine again but, in my naivity, I though all ADs would be fairly similar. I started on the Monday and by Thursday, I was climbing the walls with all the symptoms I described before. I have honestly never felt so ill in my whole life and was sure I was going mad. I stuck at it one more day but the weekend was unbearable and on Sunday I called NHS direct and asked for help. They sent me to the local hospital.
The doctor I saw was great and knew exactly what it was so I didn't get referred. He said this obviously wasn't the med for me and that I shouldn't continue (I'd worked that out for myself and hadn't taken one since Friday anyway). He didn't prescribe anything but told me to see my GP first thing Monday morning. I felt some relief after that but the symptoms were still just as terrible. I couldn't concentrate on anything and my partner was extremely worried. I hadn't eaten or slept for about 4 days and I looked absolutely awful. I went to my GP on Monday (who incidentally could see on the PC that I'd been to hospital) and I asked for Venlafaxine, which he gave me at a low starting dose.
I sat staring at the packet all night too scared to take one. I felt that I'd got myself in a complete hole as, at the back of my mind, I always knew that if things got too bad, I could go back to medication and now, I felt too scared to take it. I just couldn't bring myself to. I was still feeling terrible on Tues morning and whilst getting ready for work, I had a whopper of a panic attack and just sat crying. If you knew me, you'd know that that's as far from what I'm usually like as you can imagine. I booked in again to see the GP and I explained the situation.
His priority was to get my physical symptoms under control so he prescribed beta blockers and told me to take them for a couple of days and then start on the Venlafaxine. I was still terrified but I felt so ill that I knew I had to do something. About an hour after taking the first beta blocker, I felt a wave of calm which was the biggest relief I've ever felt. It was like when you've got really bad toothache and the pain killers kick in. This gave me the courage to start the ADs. The GP told me to increase my Venlafaxine dose as soon as I felt ready but I was wary as I still didn't feel great.
Due to my 'crisis' situation, the GP wanted to see me weekly and the following week he told me to increase the dose. From that point on, things just got easier and easier until I was feeling pretty good. I stopped the beta blockers about 4 weeks in and I now only take them in exceptional circumstances, which is very seldom. This was all back in January. I've since increased the dose of Venlafaxine again and now I'm feeling great.
In relation to your situation, I think you'll still feel anxious for a few days yet but it will start to get better pretty soon. If I could give you any of the benefits of my own experience, it would be to go to your GP ASAP and ask for help. Don't be put off trying another med (I think Venlafaxine is excellent but, as we know, everyone's different). The important thing is to start on the lowest possible dose and to get some short-term anxiety relieving meds to see you over the first few weeks. You might say that meds aren't for you and that you'll choose a different path. That's fine but please speak to your GP and get some other support. Don't try to self-medicate with herbal remedies - they may give some relief but they can't beat professional help. Of course, that's just my opinion and others may disagree.
Sorry if I've bored you with such a long post but I thought it might be helpful to see that someone else has had a very similar experience and has come out the other side feeling so much better. I really do know how it feels and you have all my sympathy. I wouldn't wish that type of crisis on my worst enemy. One positive is that I'm determined never to feel like that again and have spent a lot of time working on getting better. I've changed my lifestyle, I'm out a lot more and, as you'll have seen from earlier in the post, I got a dog which forces me to concentrate on something other than how I'm feeling. I might neglect myself and want to do nothing but stay in bed sometimes but I'd never neglect my little furry friend and it gets me out walking and, as I've found, meeting lots of other dog owners which has been a revelation.
I hope that's helped a little.
Take care and let us know how you get on.
Pip xxx
2nd day on fluoxetine and I desperately want it out my system now. took one this morning and I felt fine, even one the first day. Got to 2 o clock and I can't keep anything down, I've thrown up so much in the past 6 hours that I want it out my system now. I don't feel like me, I feel so shakey and almost like I'm on class a drugs ( I know that sounds daft but that's the best way to put it) can't stop gurning and trembling. Can't see properly, almost like everything is blurry? How long does fluoxetine stay in your body? I just want to get back to feeling normal, this is absolutely horrible. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. I'm coming off it and trying herbal stuff instead cause I can't deal with putting up with this for a week or two. Anyone help? Please.
I know exactly what you are going through and felt the same last week. I was prescribed Prozac for tension headaches I took it for 6 days and on the evening of day 6 I thought I was dying. I shook, had pins and needles, was awake all night, cried, vomited, ran around the house, had palpitations and felt more ill than I ever had in my life. I dont know if I did the right thing but I stopped it because I didn't think I needed it anyway. It was prescribed by the doc over the phone without even seeing me! It's now Tuesday and I feel slightly better, still dizzy and anxious, feeling sick and palpitations, hot flushes but I'm getting there, slowly. I do hope you start to feel better soon.
June Rose, that is so horrible to hear. You don't deserve to go through that at all. I literally can't stress enough how much I hate Prozac/Fluoxetine. Thats disgusting how your doctor almost gave it to you like giving kids to a sweet, this drug just gets thrown around like its this unharmful drug. Hand on heart I can honestly say wish I never took it.
I stopped taking it that night that I posted my first post asking you guys for help and two weeks have nearly gone by and I'm still having side effects from it. Went to the doctor today and was prescribed more cyclizine for my nausea and all the other side effects and was signed off work for two weeks. Doctor was a nasty woman though, said she "In the twenty years I've been a doctor I have never heard of this reaction to Fluoxetine"....... (not in a censorned way, almost in a bitchy smug way) But yeah way to make me feel great when I already went in the room having a panic attack, lasted for a good twenty minutes and was one of the longest, gruelling panic attack I have ever had. Even when I went in to the room I couldn't talk and had to excuse myself whilst I tried calm myself down.
I have no clue where it came from. Although it was the first time I had been left alone in two weeks so I have a feeling that it could of had something to do with that but I definitely blame the side effects of the fluoxetine as I've never had a panic attack like that in my life.
So whilst being signed off work I plan to relax and hopefully get over this. Been reading so many Prozac survivor stories and so many went through what I went through, some even worse.
This has EASILY scared me so much to the point that I never want myself or anyone I know to go near ANY anti desesperant. I know it works for some of you out there and I wish you all the best but I just don't believe that in order to feel good you must feel more worse then you already do for a couple of weeks or month. You don't deserve to feel worse then you already do I can't stress that enough.
Nor can I thank you guys enough for your support over these two weeks, without you guys telling me your personal stories and side effects etc I honestly can say hand on heart that it would of drove me crazy, and admitting that really scares me.
Everyone keep your head up and be strong, sending all of my love to you guys tonight XXXXXXXX
Three weeks have past on and I'm still having side effects. They think its either from my body going cold turkey or the fact that my body had such a severe reaction to it.
I've been dealing with a couple of severe panic attacks, I've never had any quite like this. Did anyone else coming off or whilst on the drug experience this?
Supersal1984
03-12-12, 12:47
sorry to hear you are having a rough time, and what was your doctor on about!!
anyway, why did you go on the anti depressants in the first place, was it for anxiety? as it may not be side effects but the anxiety coming back. If so, maybe cbt instead of drugs is an option. Also I found the symptoms page on here so helpful. I hope it helps you too.For me it is all about focussing on the outside rather than how you feel, it takes practice though.
Love and hugs,
Sally xxxxx
Thumbelina
03-12-12, 13:39
Hi kittyhan,
Now it might be that sideeffects are fading and anxiety increasing, so its true that you should see alternative treatments whether medicine or not. Just dont think that it will be the same everytime you will be taking medicine.
Hope you will be ok soon.
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