day 4 - feeling worse

[kleine]

Hi guys

I really need some advice!!!

I was previous taking paxil for anxiety, panic disorder, agoraphobia and derealization and it worked great but some pretty nasty side effects. I came off it 6 months ago and doing great up until a couple of week ago. I just couldn't cope so have now been put on Prozac..

It's day 4 and I feel so awful, anxiety, very VERY dizzy :wacko:, head aches etc etc.. I know this can be normal from reading other posts on here but I am worried also that I am going to feel like this for 6-8 weeks till it kicks in. will the side effects calm down?

I have taken this week off work and was hoping to be back on Monday but it's not looking likely at the moment, did anyone else need to take time off when starting these meds? I hate being at home alone, but I think I would faint if I was to go out like this.

I am also worried from online research that prozac is more for depression, will it help my anxiety and panic attacks or not?

One last question .. I was on 10mg of paxil before which worked is prozac as strong or would i need more ( doc prescribed 20mg) I've been taking 15mg because 20mg paxil knocked me out..

Thanks in advance

[aggiecuttler]

hi sorry you are finding things hard going at the moment.
prozac/fluoxtine does cause lots of side effects at the start but they definately do not last to long, so they will tapper off soon, it does take a while for them to kick in so hang on in there, prozac 20mg is quite a common dose i was on it then increased to 40mg you can go higher than this. i have always found it to be very effective for depression, and i was suffering bad panic attacks and they were stopped thanks to the meds hope this helps blessings

[BessieMae*candothis!]

I was on paxil for nearly 10 years(20mg) and it worked up until 2 years ago when I had a blip of anxiety that had me CONVINCED there was something wrong with me. Doc upped it to 40 and it seemed to be working (so I thought) I was planning on trying to have a baby this year so switched from Paxil to Prozac and had the WORST TIME, the withdrawals were damn near unbearable.I started on 20mg and the change was very apparent I wasn't feeling anxious at all, makes me think how much the Paxil really worked.... I just recently upped my dose from 20 to 40 and can't really say if I felt any significant SE besides insane insomnia(Which I have had on and off my whole life) I feel more focused and am able to talk myself down (most of the time) from having severe panic attacks, I sort of just make myself go on with my day...The only thing I struggle with is insomnia. Lack of sleep=very anxious the next day for me so I'm just working to get that under control

[Fras]

If it's any help I will describe my first three weeks of prozac use to you, for anxiety/intrusive thoughts relating to it etc. I took citalopram a few years ago for a short time and it did help.

Day 1 - 3: a mild, not unpleasant sent of detachment which distracted me from my anxiety and felt better during these days, may have been a psychosomatic thing as I knew I was taking positive steps to do something about it instead of just suffering.

Day 4 - 11: a return of the anxiety during this period which made me feel really quite down as it felt like a backwards step. I did the same thing you are doing and started coming to these forums for help! Specifically, I would say that while I did not have any serious anxiety attacks, there was a serious and fairly constant niggling feeling of not being able to cope for the whole of that week. Also lethargy.

Day 12 - 13: excellent improvements, and a lessening of the underlying anxiety. confidence beginning to grow and one or two extended moments of happiness and contentment which was a lovely feeling after so long.

Day 14 - Day 20(now): have not had the same sense of contentment during this time, and definitely do not feel 100% yet, but I believe the worst of the side effects are over and I have read that for anxiety conditions it is not uncommon to expect a waiting period of up to 6 weeks.

If you have any other specific questions please ask, my advice is stick with it and give it at least 14 days, the good news and it says it right on the leaflet, is that a worsening during the initial few days is a good indicator the drugs are doing what they're supposed to. just dig deep and find the inner strength you know you have to cope through this uncomfortable time for the sake of a better life. x

---------- Post added at 22:15 ---------- Previous post was at 22:08 ----------

referring to your other questions:

-SSRI's are PROVEN medically to work for anxiety/panic so don't feel disheartened. Remember most people only take to the internet with negative stories, you don't hear the millions of success stories.
-I know it feels horrible and that you won't be able to cope, but the best thing to do is to expose yourself to the things that are making you anxious (going outside or going to work I mean). Work is difficult I know, I felt very embarrassed when I had my worst time of it and ended up leaving after coming back too early. Only advice I can give is either approach your doctor for a short prescription of tranquilisers to use while the prozac builds up therapeutic levels OR and perhaps a better suggestion is to return to work and be open with people that you're experiencing anxiety and "please bear with me". Trust me, you will feel terrible and that you must flee but this will not last all day. Remember the dizziness/nausea is nothing that your body can't handle and you are not in serious harm. be strong.

[Speranza]

Hi, my first few days on Prozac were exactly like yours. I also fell asleep within an hour of taking it and seriously wondered why I had to take it in the morning. I've been on it for 6 weeks now and it is all settling nicely. The headaches only lasted for about a week, I took paracetamol a few times and told myself not to panic, it was normal, just as you are doing. The dizziness didn't go but it turned out I had an ear infection! :doh: So worth checking if it goes on much longer - but it is a side effect too, again quite normal.

My daughter is a brain scientist and gave me some really useful information about how it all works, and I used to get off to sleep by visualising lots of little cars queuing while they opened up extra toll lanes on a motorway. (The new Serotonin receptors being formed!) I just told myself that the headaches were a result of the new brain activity and were nothing to worry about, and they subsided really quickly after that.

[BIGMEANPOSSUM]

You should feel better within a 2-3 weeks. You'll be far from 100% but you'll see the progress you're making. There will be some very bad days for a while, but life will get easier to deal with as the meds "level" out in your system. It took me 15-20 days I think before I started believing I was making progress.

It is a very slow process but you WILL start feeling better if you hang in there and take the meds as prescribed. It can be tempting to skip a dose early on when you feel terrible, that would set you back in the long run.

[OncewasSupergirl]

Speranza,

Would love to read the info your daughter gave you, sure it would help lots of peeps on here :) x