Fluoxetine Blip??

[Dafyddjohndavies]

Hi folks,

Been a long time since i've used these forums... not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Seem to get out of my anxieties then the monster in my head eventually diggs his claws in a drags me straight back down that extemely slippery slope and I become a zombie again. It takes the light right out of my eyes.

Anyway so i'll give a quick step by step update as to what i've been through in the past year...

Step 1: Easy job, hide from responsibility and anxiety is manageable

Step 2: False sense of security, apply for a new job and get it... YAY!! :yesyes:

Step 3: New Job starts.... I'm in over my head > Anxiety starts to sky rocket

Step 4: Job is very hard and pushes me beyond what I can handle....Shit!

Step 5: Panic everyday in work, feel like im drowning, depression kicks in.

Step 6: Sleep decides to evade me... depressions keeps getting worse

Step 7: Not slept in 3 months... breaking down at work, at home etc.

Step 8: I've had enough! See doc, ask for Antidepressents... doc gives me a sheet to record how I feel... I complete this and realise that I'm clinically depressed and one step away from contemplating suicide (on their sheet)

Step 9: Fluoxetine hit's my system and BOOM!! No side effects other than pure joy!! I actually cried from happiness.. never happened before

Step 10: Feel "NORMAL" for the first time in years and life is amazing.

Step 11: Have many sessions with therapist and feel like im over everything.

Step 12: (6 months on meds and not one issue)

Present Day: Fluoxetine is not working as it used to.. I have had 2 weeks of blips, between feeling great and feeling shit.

WTF?

Is this normal? Do other people experience a blip with these meds? Should I ask for more. My brain goes straight to worst case scenario!! If there was a prize for thinking of the worst possible outcome then I feel I would rank pretty high.

I shit scared that i'm going to go back to that zombie who can't converse with people, and can't concentrate on anything. These meds have become my lifeline. Please tell me other have these blips and it's normal. I'm freaking out a bit...

If you've made it to the end then many thanks for taking the time to read this.. I eagerly await your responses.

Muchos gracias,

Dafydd

[aggiecuttler]

I used to have highs and lows on fluoxtine try not taking a tablet for a day and see if it helps to reset your feelings! what dose are you on? maybe talk to your dr if you think they are not doing their thing at the moment good luck, oh do you drink alchol, i always found the day after i would be really down in the dumps alchol and fluoxtine do not make good bed fellows, also reduce your caffiene intake as this can throw you off aswell blessings

[tonkaboy]

Hi Dafydd,

I too am on Flouxetine, 20mg daily. I too have ups and downs. In my experience, floux does not fix everything, it just smooths the ride a bit.

My biggest problem is overthinking everything. I find it impossible to just do something without automatically thinking the worst case scenario. For me, being busy at work is normally good, it keeps my active mind occupied. I've just had 2 weeks holiday and my anx is bad - too much time to dwell on things. That said, you have to strike a balance as I have a tendency to burn myself out.

I must admit to drinking alchohol - never during the day but once the kids are in bed, I do like a whisky (or dram), I always have since Uni and that was over 20 years ago. I find it helps me to relax and switch off. However, I have heard the advice about mixing meds and drink like aggiecuttler says and don't know if its making me worse. Perhaps I need to try it but its a scary thought.

So, I'm not surprised that you've had a blip, I think that is the nature of life, it has its ups and downs, which is true for everyone - trouble is, we anxiety suffers exaggerate the effect.

I don't know if this has helped but I can relate to what you're saying and rest assured you are far from alone.

Andy

[Darbysa]

Hi Dafydd
I can relate to this. Paroxetine is my poison ( actually my life saver) and most of the time I am fine. I do get the odd blip though when it seems I'm sliding back to where I started. Like Andy says, it's probably the nature of life and I do always end up back on top. That doesn't stop me trying to analyse why it happened and it's easy to let the worry take over. Sometimes I feel off for a day, sometimes it can last 2/3 days. I'm just coming through a 3 day blip. Try to remember that it's only a blip. You will get through it. Don't beat yourself up. Be kind to yourself for a few days.
Good luck
Sal