Prozac success stories ? [Archive]

dopey dave

02-10-13, 11:47

Hi there , im a newbie and looking for some help , ive suffered with social anxiety and depression for about 8 years . Ive been on various medication , sertraline , citalopram , mertazapine , venlaflaxine , and allthough some have helped my symptoms , the side effects have been too great to cope with in normal life . My doc is now going to try me on prozac , i was just wondering what to expect from the side effects and how long it will be before i get some benefits . Im getting to the point where i think nothing is going to help me , and im going to be in this hell forever . Im going to be cross dosing from venlafaxine to prozac from tomorrow .Wish me luck :)

Speranza

02-10-13, 13:29

I saw almost instant benefits. I had a bad headache on and off for a few days but it went. I was exhausted for about four days but that has largely lifted. I have noticed I am less fluent when speaking but I am a LOT LOT LOT calmer even though I'm going through a pretty hellish time.

Good luck!!

Tessar

02-10-13, 14:17

For me Prozac (fluoxetine) has always worked well. Inside a couple of weeks I have more energy & feel more positive. Recently I tried a break from it. Well, it made me realise how much it does benefit me & that I'm right to be on it. Needless to say I am back taking the full dose again. WISHING YOU LUCK!!

WantToFeelHappyAgain

02-10-13, 23:13

I was very apprehensive taking Fluoxetine to begin with because of the list of side effects. Anyway got to the point I couldn't continue how I was, just felt so awful. 7 weeks on, I am SO much better and friends/family have been telling me I've got a brightness about me again - my sister commented on me laughing which I hadn't done much of recently!

Had some side effects but nothing too bad. The worst was definitely the overwhelming tiredness I struggled with for about 2 weeks but that's now lifted.

So glad I started taking them and I've arranged counselling which I start in 2 weeks. I'm strangely looking forward to it, feel quite optimistic. Good luck to you, hope they work for you as well.

BIGMEANPOSSUM

03-10-13, 04:31

Took me 8-10 weeks for normalcy, but this drug helped me immensely. Took a while, but a lifesaver.

Speranza

03-10-13, 14:59

dopey dave

09-10-13, 10:08

Hi again , thanks for all your replies , its great knowing that there is people out there who have been through this . Im now on day five of just prozac after tapering from venlaflaxine , im feeling ok but having a lot of cold sweats , and getting a lot of anger problems , like getting upset at petty things . Is this normal ?

Otter13

09-10-13, 14:08

I was on prozac for years and I loved it until it started giving my really severe heart burn. Was a bit odd because I gave up drinking and the heartburn started. It can be horribly twitchy and anxious at first and I found it only worked for depression at the 40mg dose. I miss it and wish I could still take it. It can take a couple of months for the twitchyness to fade and the good effects to start working. good luck! :)

Bramwell

11-10-13, 22:40

Had over 30 sh*tty years of Anx/Dep - (with ALL its attendant crises), 18 months ago Prozac entered my existence...my life began. :)
I'm sticking with it. :shades:

Gotagetthroughthis

11-10-13, 22:48

Good to here some positive stories on Prozac :)

I've just started Prozac after coming off Sertraline nearly a year ago. I have tried to continue without meds and did actually make some small progress while med free but after months of bad anxiety episodes and not really getting anywhere and still with anxiety ruling my life I have decided to try Prozac. Fingers crossed it helps.

Bramwell when after starting Prozac did you notice a difference and start feel better? And what dose are you on if you don't mind me asking.

Bramwell

11-10-13, 23:40

Good to here some positive stories on Prozac :)
Bramwell when after starting Prozac did you notice a difference and start feel better? And what dose are you on if you don't mind me asking.

I uploaded a Blog a year ago which, in now seems, I foolishly deleted. I detailed most of my life from birth into my late teens when the sh*t hit me - this was in the 1970s.
From that date until 2012 I lived every sh*tty example of Anx/Dpression you wish to name.
Within a fortnight of starting Prozac (allied with Diazepam to alleviate insomnia), I was booking an appointment with the dentist, that's how good Prozac was for me.
18 months later, I'm not only the same, but actually enjoy being alive. I'm on 20mg per day, btw.
I may even upload my Blog to show what difference the RIGHT drug can make to an individual.

Gotagetthroughthis

12-10-13, 00:03

Wow sounds like such a great success story, glad you managed to find a med that works so well for you. At 20mg so your not on an especially high dose either so that's even better.

Yea would be great to read your blog sometime if you fancy uploading it :)

Tessar

12-10-13, 08:39

Bra well, that sounds really good, I am so pleased for you. Prozac works for me too :-)

Bramwell

12-10-13, 21:55

...that sounds really good,... Prozac works for me too :-)

I'm glad, Tessar. It has given me a joy-to-live. It should have been invented 30 years earlier.:)

scaredmother

13-10-13, 07:25

How long would you give it? I'm in my 9th week and my anxiety has come back tenfold! My therapist mentioned changing to sertraline but it's been so hard getting through the initial side effects I don't want to start all over again if there is a chance flux will still work for me. Xx

Bramwell

13-10-13, 12:13

ScaredMother - of course we are ALL different, but I would have thought that the drug would be working by now. Over the years I was on several A/Ds, and none gave me the feeling that Prozac has. Good luck. :hugs:

Gotagetthroughthis

13-10-13, 12:23

I had been feeling ok, for the first week on Prozac considering the start up effects I usually get with SSRIs. Untill last night, it hit me out of nowhere, I wave of panic and doom came over me and I felt so dizzy and had the worse derealisation. I forgot how bad derealisation is.

I really hope this is just part of the "worse" before "better" with these meds. As I really don't think I can handle the meds sending back into that dark constant derealisation state. Just don't know why its suddenly made me feel this bad after being on them for over a week already, I know its still early days though.

dopey dave

14-10-13, 12:20

Im on my tenth day of prozac today and im starting to feel ok , im still getting the odd panic and feeling misplaced in the world , but my anger has subsided and i feel really good in short spells .Hopefully the longer i stick with it the better i will get . Only been just over a week so im optimistic .

dopey dave

18-10-13, 19:44

Im on my 15th day ish and yesterday and today ive actually felt like a normal person :) no worrying, no overthinking, no anxiety , no paranoia !!! im so hoping that prozac is the one to make me feel better after 8 years and countless a/d and side effects . Please god please .

amiable

19-10-13, 06:22

That's great to hear Dave :). I'm just slightly ahead of you, today is my 24th day taking 20mg, and I've been finding my thoughts about myself are becoming much more positive, and my mood in general just feels better. As for the anxiety, I'm finding that I'm not overthinking so much either, or worrying about unnecessary things. I do still feel really tired, though that could be a result of not sleeping well over the past 6 months. But the difference is, I now have faith that my health can keep improving, rather than deteriorating. So I'm in a far better place than I was 3 weeks ago :winks:.

dopey dave

19-10-13, 12:43

So glad to hear that amiable , its a great feeling when things start to brighten up . I hope your sleep gets better , good luck with it all .

Andria24

09-11-13, 21:19

I'm on week five and take 20mg every other day (in effect 10mg per day) and I feel settled again. It's definitely redressed the balance for me and I'm going to continue with it up to and during my therapy. Unless it stops working for me of course :)

ddonaghey1989

30-11-13, 19:46

hows everyone getting on? id like to start on fluoxetine but im terrified of the side effects. x

Tessar

30-11-13, 22:21

My side effects have been almost non-existent. Perhaps a bit of a dry mouth in the fort 2/3 weeks but nothing father that. It has helped me enormously . I was really scared of taking it & kept saying no to my doctor and therapist, in the end tho I just needed something to help me. I would happily recommend it. I know not everyone is ok with it but personally the benefits have been good. It was scary bit so definitely the right decision to go on it.