Help is this prozac or my anxiety?

[nutcasetom]

Hi i have been on prozac for 8 days and today feels really bad my arm has been a bit numb for 3 days and today i feel ill, weak , tired, heavy feeling, spaced out is this the pills even tho i took the last pill last night can i still feel this bad today i also feel very shaky and nervous, teeth chattering. I am thinking about stopping them im worried incase i get so bad i have to go in hospital or something? i feel like it ain't anxiety can anxiety make you feel this ill and can medication make it worst? i was a bit hungry but when i got my food i could not eat it?

[Baggs]

Unfortunately the bad side effects can last for a couple of weeks, but it should start getting better soon. All the best.

Baggs

[Princess2206]

Hi:) I totally understand how you feel. Unfortunately first weeks on Fluox are horrible:( it is my 16th day today and still feel like you. Please have a read of posts on this forum which are really helpfull. It is what I do when I feel I can't stand it anymore. Do you have any diazepam from your doc? Take care and you are not alone.

[nutcasetom]

Hi thanks alot for your help i just can't help but think there really is something wrong i feel drained , weak and numb im not sure if it is the pills or my anxiety?

[Princess2206]

I went to my GP 4days after starting Fluox because I start to feel worse than before taking them and she explained to me that Antydepressants are going to make me feel worse before I will feel better. She also give me diazepam which I can use up to 3 times a day when I feel very panicky or vary bad anxiety. I am much more anxious than before also I don't leave my house becouse I feel so bad. I don't sleep good and lost lots of weight in last few weeks. Sometimes I feel so weak that I struggle to take a shower. So I totally understand how you feel. Is it your first AD? The good thing is that on this forum I found fantastic people. They went through this and now helping others.

[nutcasetom]

Hi i tried citlapram for about 6 weeks and it made me feel awful i mean worst then ever... i stopped them and i tryed coping with how i feel but it is just one thing after another so i asked doctors to try me on another and they gave me prozac but im not sure if it is gonna work as people say to me it is just for depression when im having alot of symptoms which ain't nothing to do with depression. I can not believe how it can make the body feel. I don't even feel like eating... im bit worried in taking diazepam as i feel so numb and weak im frightened i won't be able to feel my body properly.

[Princess2206]

Fluoxetine is good not only for depression but also anxiety and panick attacks. I am off Work for 3 weeks now but i feel like i will need more time to get better. My anxiety has mostly coused by Work stress unfortunately. I have 2mg diazepam From my GP and they not very strong but helping to relax a little bit. Before i had them i was thinking to call hospital few times a day as i thought that i am having heart attack. You are going to feel better shortly but there is going to be a little bit like rollercoaster. I felt quiet good 2 days last week but last 2 days are bad again. Maybe you should take few days off and try to relax at home?

[nutcasetom]

ok thank you and unfortunately my anxiety has got so bad i had 2 leave college 4 months ago and can not go out ever since i am really in a bad way that is why im unsure if it is anxiety although people say i do have symptoms? Ive had a blood test , x ray, oxygen levels tested, blood sugar tested and blood pressure all was fine but i really wished i knew if it was anxiety or not?

[Princess2206]

If your doctor prescribed prozac to you it must me anxiety. Everything you mention before are typical anxiety symptoms and Fluox side effects. You just need to be patient as Prozac can really help you but it will take few weeks. I am not very patient too and feel desperate becouse I want old myself back. But there is no quick fix. I went through over a year very bad stress so it will take sometimes to be normal again.

[nutcasetom]

yeah that is true i have felt so bad today almost felt like not taking the pills but i will carry on i take mine before bed to try and sleep through some side effects. Also sometimes i guess we just all need reassuring from someone who goes through it .

[Princess2206]

Absolutely :) I am very often on this forum so can help as much as possible if you need support. I know how you feel and this is not nice. But I really hope this medication will help so we can enjoy life again. :yesyes:

[nutcasetom]

aww thanks alot it is so good when someone knows what it is like to go through i really appreciate it im only 19 and am still trying 2 accept it lol :) i miss how i use to be.

[Princess2206]

We just have to remember that anxiety is highly treatable and we are going to be ok again:) it is very difficult to be positive when you feel sh** but you are going to be fine :)

[nutcasetom]

thanks alot and yeah that is true try and fill minds with positive thoughts :)

[Dantastic]

These feelings will not last. It is your anxiety and the Prozac, it can be a really pain the neck but once the meds take hold you will be OK.

[nutcasetom]

ty Dantastic reassurance really does help as im kind of new to this anxiety. It has hit me hard as i suffer everyday from symptoms :(

[Arnie365]

Hi guys I'm on day 32 now and starting to level out. The first two weeks were the worst with really bad panic attacks coming in waves but my only advice is to take it one day at a time and you will get through it. I know it's hard an horrible but keep going and don't give up. I am feeling better now and my doc said this should get even better after I've been on them for 6-7 weeks.

[stormyok10]

Hi Tom,
I am also on day 16 today, & still not good, but keep saying to myself, that in 4-6 weeks I will start to feel better & just be patient, try & take each day as it comes. I know its hard but there are so many successful posts on here just keep reading them, it does help.
Keep posting on here, there is lots of good advice xx

[Janine]

Tom,

You will get better, all these symptons are side effects from anxiety and the pills making them worse.

My youngest son who is also called Tom started to suffer from anxiety and panic attacks around your age, I saw him go through hell and found out that a lot of young lads do suddenly start to suffer like this for some reason, he was always the most happy and outgoing of all my 3 boys so it was completely out of character, anyway to cut a long story short, he did eventually go to the docs and was put on Fluxotiene and he stayed on them for about 2 years, he is now 23, he weaned himself off, has a girlfriend and they have over the last 2 years been to all sorts of places (he never went out of the house only to work) including America, he still has anxiety and panic attacks but has learnt to deal with them.

When I started to suffer in the summer he has been my rock as he knows eactly what I have been going through and told me I would feel better when the meds started to work and he was right.

You will get better, I know this is a long post but I have been reading what you have been saying and I just had to tell you about my Tom. There is light at the end of the tunnel and it is good that you have started on the right road, he suffered for ages before getting help.

xxx

[nutcasetom]

thank you all for your help, we will all get through this. Also Janine have you or your son ever got a numb right arm for days because im not sure if it is the anxiety or something else and it is making me panic abit sometimes my face feels tight and numb a bit aswell are these common please. Im really happy for your son that he had the strength and is now living a life without anxiety ruining it and having the strength to ignore it xx

[Arnie365]

Hi Tom

numbness is a common symptom of anxiety though not one Ive had too much personal experience of. Have a good read through some of the older posts in the symptoms section and Im sure you will find people who have had it for days at a time.

Put it this way, I get chest pains as my main symptom and in the past have had them for a couple of days straight!

I did get to speak with a doctor about anxiety for an hour and a half last week which was amazing. What I learnt was that anxiety can mimic pretty much any symptom you can think of which is what makes it such a horrible illness. It constantly keeps evolving to trick you and make you panic more because its only fear which feeds it. As soon as you can stop the fear of whatever it is troubling you, the anxiety will go. Easier said than done I know and Im nowhere near there myself yet (why is it easier to dish out advice to others and not follow it yourself!? :))

I would always advise you see your GP with any new symptoms you are worried about as it would be irresponsible for me not to say that but I would be pretty damn certain it is just anxiety or some minor such as a trapped nerve. This should hopefully set your mind at ease that it isnt serious.

[nutcasetom]

thanks for your help really helps taking to people like you who understands and who don't panic as it makes it worst if someone was to go ... quick go doctors that don't sound good and i would non stop worrying but i have booked doctors and have got it monday just to tell him about the new symptoms but im pretty sure ive had this numb arm before. But anxiety likes playing tricks and the numb arm will probably go by monday when i got doctors lol thanks for your help.

[Janine]

Tom, I did not have a numb arm but one of my worst symtons was really bad jelly legs and sometimes that would just shake, it was horrible and was one of the last things to go as my medication kicked in. My Tom did have numb limbs though periodically he said, he has done so well and believe me he was very very bad but I don't think I comprehended exactly what he went through until I started to suffer in August.

I know I tried to help him as much as I could, do you have someone who can support you.

xxx

[Arnie365]

Oh yeah been there mate! Ive had about 9 or 10 ECGs over the past 7 months and not once have I had chest pains whilst Ive been wired up to it yet can have them all day some days! This isnt a co-incidence, this is my anxiety playing tricks with me to keep the doubt and fear going!

[Freebie]

I've just started back on Prozac again for the third time. I have been given it for PMS. I am now pre-menopausal and suffering from depression and anxiety, most likely triggerd from the death of a couple of close family members in the last year.

I wake up in the middle of the night and feel incredible angry, wanting to kill (although I know I won't - so don't worry). I don't want to do anything and just 'suffered' Christmas, which I hoped to enjoy, but frankly didn't. I'm on day five of the tablets, and thought I'd join this forum for mutual support.

I keep rejecting my husband, I literally 'hate' him. He is a non- accepting alcoholic and I have started to self medicate too. on the good side the tablets make me feel so bad after drinking, that I am cutting down, and hoping to stop drinking all together.

I feel very sad, as I am barely tolerant of my children, but love them very much. They are older and I'm sure don't understand why I spend most of my time in bed. :weep::weep:

Is anyone else suffering PMS/pre-menstrual syndrome with anxiety and depression. If so, when is it worse and when is the best time to take the tablets?

My doctor has mentioned HRT, but as the pill made me really depressed when I was younger, I didn't want to go that route.

[nutcasetom]

Janine i use to always have bad jelly legs and still do that was my main symptom i thought i had something neurological problem. It is very hard i think im on day 9 of the pills and i feel very run down like i got the flu and also tiredness and loss of appetite. I hoping they will soon work as im sure they will but citlapram did not for me. My mum is very supportive as she suffered with anxiety she is on prozac 20mg and has been years and she said they are brilliant. Although my mums anxiety was completely different 2 mine im having more symptoms she did not have the jelly legs ect and numbness it really helps go out at all. It is nice to know im not alone ive got support.

[Janine]

I am glad your mum is supportive and she obviously knows what you are going through even if her symptons are not the same, all the things you are describing are anxiety symptons and the fluxotiene side effects are making them all seem worse at the moment but it will al eventually calm down, my jelly legs took a while to go but they got so I could cope with them and then one day they just went away but it was the last thing to ease when my tablets kicked in and took from beginnning of Sept until October 23rd because I wrote the date down thinking they would come back but they didn't.

There is help for you here on this forum, I wish I had found it sooner, it was four weeks in when I found it and it really was a life saver.

xxxx

[nutcasetom]

ok thanks for your help im thinking of trying Xanax? i just can't bare this weakness and numbness im finding it so hard im dizzzy and can't stand properly. xx

[Ocean2]

Hello, I was just wondering if you're feeling any better. I have been on fluoxetine 20mg for 5 wks. I have good days and bad days but feel thankful for the good ones. If you're feeling dizzy, tingling or some numbness a benzo may help with those side effects. Iv taken Xanax in the past for panic attacks but now the doctor prescribed me klonopin which is another benzo but has a longer half life than Xanax and works well with the fluoxetine. I still wake up feeling shaky and anxious but I'm hopeful that one of these days, I'll wake up and feel like myself again. Hang in there. This too shall pass.

[tomtonyamy]

so i have this fear of black holes and i just recently switched to prozac 4 days ago, i feel heavy like a black hole is near earth, what should i do or think about this?