terrified to start fluoxetine :(

[ddonaghey1989]

hi the dr prescribed me 20mg about 2 months ago for anxiety and stress and im still to afraid to take them. i suffered with rly bad dizziness in january and ive been unbalanced since (not inner ear). im afraid of my dizziness getting worse on them or triggering he dizziness by panicing. i really need some advice as im not getting any better. my vision is the worse i think its what people call brain fog...

any advice would be really appreciated. i dnt no where else to turn :(

danielle xx

[purgatory]

Hi Danielle

I was given fluoxetine about 3 months ago and was scared stiff to take them as I have had a rough time with ssri's in the past so taking this drug I thought it would be to same so I asked my doctor if I could start on a really low dose so I got my hands on some 10mg and took them for 4 weeks and it was fine no side effects at all.
So when I finished them I started the 20mg and felt more at ease about using them and still no side effects if anything I feel so confident that I have started to reduce my other meds on my own and it is working well.

I will be increasing to 40mg next month but at then same time decreasing my other meds further.

So I must say this drug has been one of the best things I have taken and I have complete faith on them.

[ddonaghey1989]

what side effects should i be expecting? like the ones uve had with ur other ssri's? thats my main concern. will i start experiencing side effects as soon as i take the first pill?

[BIGMEANPOSSUM]

Side effects are different for everyone. I purposefully have not looked at the list because I didn't want to manufacture it by thinking about them. If you worry about them it makes them more intense.

I started out on 5mg and was scared to death, I'm on 20mg now. Less than 2 months ago I couldn't leave my porch without panic attacks. I'm not "100%" but I've made a lot of progress thanks to this medicine and advice from this site.

It won't be easy for you, but you must take it day by day and you WILL get better. The first few days you may be tempted to skip your dose, don't do that. I had to make myself take it the first few days. After a couple weeks you will start to have good days. They will increase as time goes on. You may have 2-3 good days and then feel like you hit rock bottom a day or two, that is just part of this journey.

You can beat this if you can stay with it and keep fighting. Take the meds, keep your mind off how you're feeling as much as possible, talk to others going through this, and keep yourself busy.

[aggiecuttler]

hi i have taken fluoxtine for many many years and it has been most effective in combating my depression, the one thing with fluoxtine is it takes a while to kick in weeks infact but once it does it really helps. I realise its a big step to take but take the leap after all if you get any side effects you can go back to the dr, i am assuming that he/she does not know that you have not taken them yet? you could always talk to them about your worries. side effects are not extreme you may feel a bit tired or it could go the other way and not sleep so well, you may feel a bit panicy but remember side effects do not last they are only presant at the begining of taking the tablets and then they wear off so good luck and blessings

[evolve]

Hi, I've been on Fluoxentine for 6 weeks now. 20mg for 4 weeks, and then 40mg the last 2. I too, didn't look at the side effect list before taking them, but found reading about other's somewhat similar experiences comforting as I was going through them. They were *not* fun, especially when I upped to 40mg as the 'side effects' were less obviously side effects that time... but they passed. Completely! I am now feeling better than I have in a really long time. I'm really thankful I took the leap and started this medication. Just give your body time to adjust and remember that good things are worth waiting for. :D