Struggling on Prozac!

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Hi everyone,

Struggling with being on Prozac at the moment and not sure its right for me, although still early days....

I started prozac just over 3 weeks ago. I decided to go on prozac as I have tried most of the other SSRIs before and never did to well on them, although I think Sertraline did help a little. Anyway I came off Sertraline around 9 months ago and have made some decent progress since, I managed to start working again (although it is torture everyday) and ive manage to battle on through with some major blips but without having a full on relapse. Anxiety still rules my everyday life though and I didn't feel I was making any more progress, I've had CBT and Counselling but I didn't seem to be getting anywhere, my life is still ruled by anxiety and physical symptoms, mainly to do with dizzyness, head pains ect.

So after trying for months without meds I cant let this anxiety rule my life every day anymore and decided to try prozac.

Since starting prozac, ive generally felt a lot more anxious and on the verge of panic a lot, with a couple of severe scary doomish blips each week. At work im worse, I spend the whole day in a dizzy foggy headed mess and have to walk out of the office every half an hour as it gets so intense I feel like im going to pass out or die there and then.

I'm just hoping to see some improvement but it doesn't seem to be coming. I feel weak and ill, my limbs feel heavy and my head feels pressured, dizzy and foggy. Work is just making me worse as the distraction thing doesn't work for me, im better just being at home with no extra pressures. I cant exactly get signed off or anything as the job is through an agency so I would probably lose it if I had time off. So not looking forward to another week of work of me running myself down even more.

Anyway do you guys think it sounds like Prozac might not be the right option for me? I know docs prescribe it more for depression and OCD etc rather than anxiety these days. I know its still early so im not going to throw the towel in just yet but not seeing any improvements is dragging me down. By the way im only on 10mg a day as I seem to be sensitive to meds, so I take a 20mg capsule every other day and I wont be upping the dose if I cant even settle on 10mg.

Just wondered what you guys think? Please don't say ask your doctor because my doctors have no idea they just prescribe the meds and then let you do your own thing. This post got a bit longer than I expected, thanks for reading.

[kittikat]

Sorry you are still suffering.

You say you take 10mg and 20mg every other day...would it be an idea just to stick with the 10mg a day for now to wait until things settle down a bit more for you? Perhaps this up and down dose is not helping? Once you feel a little more settled, then you can slowly increase of you need to.

When I started Venlafaxine I would say it took a good 6-8 weeks before I really started to feel better although for me, the side effects were manageable.

Good luck with it and keep us posted on how you are getting on :hugs: Kitti x

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Thanks Kitti.

Just to clear up the dosage, I am on the equivalent to 10mg a day, by which I mean I take a 20mg capsule every other day, not 10mg one day and then 20mg the next lol.

They don't do prozac in 10mg tablets/capsules so I have to do 20mg every other day. Prozac has a long half life and stays in your system longer than other SSRIs so it is fine to take every other day.

So anyway, im on 10mg a day and still feel like total crap and super anxious. Hopefully things perk up soon.

[kittikat]

oh, ok lol....well it is still early days so I hope things settle down for you soon xx

[Tufty]

Hi,
It does sound like the normal Prozac start up effects, it feels horrible but it will get better. You're doing the right thing starting low and not increasing until the side effects settle, when we're not feeling well we question whether we should start, stop, increase, decrease the meds - try to keep going. I know how frustrating it is to see no improvement but try to keep working and keep your routine going and the days will chalk up and you will start to feel better.

I was on Prozac for 8 years and it was great for depression and general anxiety, I found 10mg a day was enough for me, I felt calm, confident and I was much less irritable when taking it. The improvement was very slow when I started taking it and it was 2 months before I could honestly say it was working. It has got a very long half life, I reduced the dose to 20mg every other day after the first year of taking it but when I mentioned this to a Dr he said it was 'useless' taking it this way, I disagreed, it worked well for me. As you are still in the loading dose stage of taking Prozac you may be able to reach a steady state quicker if you take 10mg daily, so your body doesn't react to the rise and fall in Prozac levels. One way to do this is the Cranzac method, google it - I did this when restarting Prozac, it's a bit fiddly but an accurate way of dosing and it stays stable in the fridge for 10 days.

Good luck and keep plodding, it will get better
Sam

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Thanks Tufty/Sam,

I am hoping 10mg will be enough for me aswell. If its making me feel this bad and is this strong to me then it must be able to do something good at that dosage aswell.

I just feel so fragile now, im on the verge of panic most of the time and keep getting really doomy dark feelings of im going to die or im never going to feel better. Its giving me derealisation aswell which is the worst, its not severe at the moment but I really cannot be dealing with that.

Please just hoping for a brighter day soon.

[Em.ma]

Sounds like a really tough time.
I don't know much about meds at all so cant really answer your questions :( but I know they take time. I hope you see improvements soon.
Is it not worth walking away from working for a while?. It must be quite a big thing for you. But sometimes your well being must come first and if it helps you then maybe that's the thing to do?

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Thanks Emma,

Yea I am thinking about leaving the job as I really do think its making me worse but I just worry that if I quit then I will get into a serious rut again and not get a job for ages because of my anxiety. I have worked so hard just to be able to get out and about again and working while battling the anxiety and if I leave it will be like ive thrown all that away and have to start again. Its a tricky one.

Im just hoping I can have one day where I think yea i feel ok or I feel good and then I will try and build from that.

[Em.ma]

It's a tough for one for sure.
I don't think you would be a faulire for walking away. You tried and by the sounds of it , it isn't for you right now and you sound like you would benefit from taking anything causing you any extra stress anyway, of course it is up to you. Just my thoughts.
Hope you will find a way :) Xx

[Janine]

Just try and get through another few weeks, it is the prozac making you feel like this, it does affect some people like this, I went through absolute hell for a few weeks when I started on it and it was not until just under 6 weeks that suddenly I started to feel better, it really is worth it and I know when you are feeling like this 3 more weeks feels like for ever but if you can persevere I am sure you will turn the corner.

[bab]

Hi there

Can you get it in liquid form? Im just wondering if that is equivalent to 10 a day or is it just 20 every other day? Maybe its messing with your system and you need to take every day, get through the symptoms and see if it works. Maybe give it 6 weeks and then if it doesnt suit you you will know for sure? It didnt work for me I found it made me very anxious but it works very well for others

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Thanks Janine, Good to hear it has helped you. I will keeping battling on through in the hope I start to feel better.

bab, I did ask my doctor for the liquid form but she said no that is for people who cant swallow and she told me to take the 20mg tab every other day.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Managed to get through another day of work, its so draining. Feel physically so ill. Head pains, dizzyness and feeling like im on the verge of throwing up or passing out all day. Then ive gone and forced myself to the gym tonight. Im trying to stick to a normal life routine as much as possible as they are the techniques that have helped me in floating through my anxiety before but at the moment it is just non stop bombardment of severe anx and physically symptoms. Im getting to the stage where I feel i will never get better. I feel like I have knowhere I feel good or safe or calm, I just want to give up an stay in bed all day and night, but I wont.

I keep getting these sudden moments where it feels like my brain does a flip, or the feeling of when you go over a hill quickly in a car and drop but i just feel it in my head, its really strange and hard to explain but I know its the meds as I had it last time while on SSRIs.

I feel no improvement and if anything I am feeling worse and worse still. At 3 and a half weeks in I was hoping id be getting over the start up effects not be having them increase each day. Anyone else had this sort of experience with prozac?

[Janine]

Yes definately as I said yesterday, I hit rock bottom lots of times at this stage and four to five weeks I was really really bad, I admire you for going to the gym as there is no way I could have done, I kept thinking I will never get better but I did, it just takes time, take it an hour at a time or even a minute at a time, you have got this far and every day is a day closer to them starting to work.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Thanks again Janine, it helps to hear you have been through it aswell and have come out the other side feeling better.

I will keep ploding on through each minute at a time :)

[Janine]

Another day closer, hope you have not had too bad a day today,

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Janine, yesterday was actually slightly better in terms of not having any really severe symptoms or panic but I have woken up today and I feel worse than ever, I cannot think straight, all my limbs feel heavy and my head feels so strange, I am freaking out. I cant go in to work like this. Things are getting worse and worse.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Haven't gone to work today, have let it all get on top of me. Cant believe the Prozac along with the anxiety has brought me back this low again. I feel like im shoving all the progress I made over the last 9 months off meds down the drain by taking prozac.

[bab]

Silly question - are you more anxious or more depressed. I found prozac to be stimulating and i was anxious so was making me climb the walls. I heard that prozac is more for depression and the others are beter for anxiety. I suppose its all trial and error. Dont be so hard on yourself x

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Hi Bab, Im more anxious than depressed and yes I have heard the same about Prozac being more for depression. I have tried Citalopram and Sertraline previously though; Citalopram didn't help at all, Sertraline helped me a little bit but at the same time my brain was in a complete fog constantly so thats kind of why im trying Prozac instead now.

---------- Post added at 15:47 ---------- Previous post was at 14:46 ----------

My emotions are all over the place, I feel anxious and depressed but am also getting severe anger rushing over me for no reason.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Forced myself to get up and go out. Went to the gym and then to get something to eat. Dont even think I should be forcing myself to do this stuff while im in this state but I cant let the anxiety or the bad effects im having from prozac hold my life back anymore.

Still just hoping for a good day to come along soon.

[Janine]

You will have better days, it is a very up and down road and it is hard especially to get through a day like you have had today, I was lucky that I have a job where I was able to go in if I could but on really bad days I just couldn't. You are at that horrible stage when yu think it is never going to work. I know what you are saying about prozac but I was suffering from anxiety and was only depressed because of that and it worked for me, you are another day on now and it would be such a shame for you to give up now, I know that it does not work for all but I would give it to at least 6 weeks, you will have better days and then bad days again but the better days will get more and the bad ones less.

You are right you should not be forcing yourself just do what you feel you can do and do not put any extra pressure on yourself.

[bab]

well done for going out - keep us posted x

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Hi Janine and babs thanks for the positive encouragement.

I wont be giving up on the Prozac just yet, not after putting myself through these past few weeks. I think at 6 weeks if there is still no improvement I will seriously consider quitting. Managed another day at work today but don't know if I can keep this up.

One more day of work this week and then I can rest up for the weekend in the hope I feel a bit better by Monday.

[Janine]

Well done for getting through work today, just focus on the weekend and the fact that there will be no work pressure for a couple of days, just do what you feel like doing and don't beat yourself up if you don't achieve much, I used to feel so guilty that I could not do what I wanted but in the end just did what I could and took it day by day.

[Brat]

I started Prozac 2 weeks ago and feel EXACTLY the same! The rising panic, anxiety hits me in the evening, the tiredness more pronounced in the afternoon. I've been taking it in the morning so tried taking it at lunch so these symptoms would hit while asleep but instead I wake up frequently and can't get back to sleep. I've also been getting headaches and a dry mouth so today I'm trying to drink a lot to see if that helps. The nausea appears to have settled thank god. I'm on 20mg a day but wondering if I should do every other like you.

Work is also an issue, i am on call some nights, have to be alert in my job and I don't feel safe but can't go off sick so just struggling through by the skin of my teeth and don't feel I can cope with another 4 weeks of this hell.

I have no choice though, it needs to work because it's for depression, anxiety, trichotillomania and disordered eating/body dysmorphia so my compliance with other meds with risk of weight gain is rubbish. Sorry for typos, I'm on my phone. Nice to know I'm not alone with these side effects, keep going with them, hopefully you will feel better soon and encourage me to keep going.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

4 weeks on Prozac today. No improvement whatsoever. Worse than I was before I started. Hate to keep moaning but I debated going back on to meds for so long and now it feels like it was the wrong decision to do so.

Anyway made it through another day at work feeling on the verge of death. So I have a couple days off now atleast.

Thanks again Janine, im trying to take it day by day but you know how it is, I just feel so fed up off feeling like this.

Brat - Sorry to hear your having a hard time on Prozac aswell. Hopefully things will get a bit better for you soon once the meds settle. Good luck and keep us informed of how your doing.

[Brat]

I also feel worse and am debating stopping. I can't hack the anxiety, panics and rushing feeling in my head. I'm so scared about the weekend at work I have ahead.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

I feel the same Brat, its so hard but try and stay strong. My head feels completely messed up with the head rushing feelings, dizzyness etc. The anxiety and panic is on the verge all the time im just trying to get through each day in the hope it will get better.

[Janine]

four to 5 and half weeks was probably my worst time, I hit rock bottom so many times and somehow got through each day and then things suddenly started to get better, it is so so hard and I know what you are going through, all I can say to both of you is just keep going, I was put on propanolol slow release 160mg which is a beta blocker which did help and also had diazapan which I just took when absolutely desperate, maybe worth having a word with your doctor to see if he could help.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Hope I suddenly start to get better to then :)

I have had propanolol before but I don't think its really a good idea me taking it as I have really low blood pressure anyway so it could make me extra dizzy lol but asking for diazepam might be worth a try. Although I feel like im just in a constant state of severe anx and feeling really ill and strange rather than having panic attacks.

How are you doing anyway in general now Janine? Would you say your good on a day to day basis?

[Janine]

I am good now, it was a year ago when I was really bad, I found this web site when I was desperate at 4 weeks, I did not know that the meds make you feel so much worse before better and it was reading the success stories and there was a couple of members at the same stage and we helped each other through, I have stayed so that I can help others if I can, also I think it still helps me so much to have the contact. I just get an odd little blip but mostly when I am feeling under the weather with something.

[Brat]

How strange - after deciding yesterday to go to 20mg every other day I have woken up from a terrible nights sleep (waking and not being able to get back to sleep) feeling really good, head swimming and anxiety gone!! Seeing as I'm working overnight and still feeling good I've decided not to take it today and will carry on early morning as normal. How very odd these tablets are!

[Gotagetthroughthis]

One month on Prozac.

Wouldn't say ive seen any improvement in my anxiety, its more severe than it was before starting the meds and im more on the edge of a major breakdown or anxiety relapse/blip. I feel more strange and a lot less in control. Apart from that I have had the odd 10, 15 minutes where ive felt a little jolly for no reason, which is a brief brake from the constant anx, so maybe that is the meds doing something but in general I feel like total crap.

I went out yesterday and tried to just carry on as normal without letting the anxiety and prozac effects hold me back. Anxiety was up and down but nothing major. I ended up having 2 and a half pints while watching the football, that wasn't a great idea as I feel like ive got a hangover just from that and drinking doesn't help the anxiety or the settling in process with the meds but I just wanted to try and chill out and have a bit of normality. So feeling crap today but lets hope this week I can see some improvements.

Glad to here your doing so well now Janine and Bab that's great to hear you are feeling a bit better.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Sorry to keep posting in here but I guess this has become my Prozac diary for now.

Anyway, I am really bored this evening and trying to think of something to do at home. So I guess that is a good sign that Im a bit less anxious as im sat here trying to think of something to do rather than thinking about struggling through the next 10 minutes of severe anxiety.

[Janine]

That is really good, I remember that horrible feeling of struggling through the next few minutes and then the next until I could go to bed and try and sleep which in itself was not easy either. Just think another week may make all that difference and definately in two. Try not to be disheartened if you feel really bad as I said before 4- to 5and half weeks was so so hard but you will come through.

You do not have to be sorry this was my lifeline for a while even though mt husband and family were brilliant just having people that understood exactly how i was feeling and that there was light at the end of the tunnel helped me so much.

[Brat]

And my good day was a one off!!! Today I was feeling ok until a full of panic attack in the car, cue pulling over, clammy hands, racing heart, thought I was going to vomit :(

My husband took me to the pharmacist who gave me anti-sickness and told me to see the GP for a different prescription as they obviously aren't agreeing with me!!! Now I'm so confused, I don't know whether all this is normal or not!!

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Curruntly at work typing this on my phone. Really struggling. My whole body feels so weak and floppy. Im really dizzy and my health anxiety is through the roof. Why am i at work i dont know. I just dont know what to do anymore.

[Brat]

I don't know what to suggest I'm sorry :( I have moved to every other day and I'm getting one good day, one bad in terms of side effects. I'm going back to GP next week and will get more advice. Perhaps you should also speak to your GP? Pills are no good if they don't allow you to function IMO.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Not much point speaking to my GP at the moment, they wont suggest much apart from to stay on them for a bit longer. I will keep going until the 6 week mark and if there is no improvement I will go back to the docs.

Today has been as bad as ever really, work was a major struggle. Then I had arranged to go for a run with a friend this evening, as im just trying to act normal but that was a very bad idea, went for the run then my head started feeling extremely strange, had a strange burning sensation and was getting very dizzy then the panic started to set in, fun stuff. Im just settling down a bit now. Feel fed up and completely lost in life, trying to stay positive but its very hard.

[Janine]

Just caught up with your posts and sorry that you have had such a bad day, I know how hard it is to go to work when you are feeling like you do and admire the fact that you are actually getting there and staying, at least I could stay at home on the really bad days. Just try and tell yourself that this is the meds working and it is the last couple of weeks when they really make you suffer, I know I did and lots of others that have been on here but you should start to turn a corner in a week or so so please just hang in there

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Thanks Janine, means a lot that you take the time to post and give me support. Helps to keep me going :)

I don't know how im surviving at work to be honest, I end up outside on the verge of calling NHS direct a gd few times a day lol :doh: .I really do hope I do start to turn a corner in the next week or so. Its just the fact that we never know if its actually going to help and it could be the wrong med after putting ourselves through this, but I keep the belief it will help for now.

Tomorrows a new day :)

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Another hard day. Strange random pains in head and major dizzyness most of the day. Some brief moments of not over analyzing everything but overall just feeling strange and anxious all day. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

[chrismanc]

[Since starting prozac, ive generally felt a lot more anxious and on the verge of panic a lot, with a couple of severe scary doomish blips each week. At work im worse, I spend the whole day in a dizzy foggy headed mess and have to walk out of the office every half an hour as it gets so intense I feel like im going to pass out or die there and then.

I'm just hoping to see some improvement but it doesn't seem to be coming. I feel weak and ill, my limbs feel heavy and my head feels pressured, dizzy and foggy[/QUOTE]
Your symptoms are exactly the same as mine, closer than any other post I have ever read on here. I have just started back on Prozac and had quite good success with it a year since. I really feel for you as I feel like crap most of the time, but stick with the Prozac for a few more weeks.
Chris

[Janine]

I really know what you are going through, just both of you hang in there, you feel like it is never going to work and you are never going to feel better and it does make you feel so so bad and just like you are describing, there is light at the end of the tunnel even if it seems so far away. Just take it a minute at a time and you will get through and in a few weeks it will seem like a nightmare that has gone away. You may get little blips but they will not last and you will be able to deal with them and get through them.

[polly81]

Thinking of you, hope you're alright x

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Thanks for the support guys.

Today is just a continuation of yesterday with some added weird feelings. My backs started feeling really strange and stiff over the past few days and my coordination seems off, along with pains in my neck and head and the usual dizzyness. Hope its just my health anxiety playin up or a side effect of the meds but i do not feel right.

Currently just struggling through another day at work. I dont even no what normal feels like anymore, i feel so weird and ill.

[hadenough]

hi, Thought I would add my story on fluox. I have just started week 8 and so far dont feel any better at all. Since I started them I have had crippling tiredness, no energy, no interest in doing anything, nausea, headaches and terrible anxiety. My anxiety is bad anyway due to my HA so not sure how much of that is definitely down to the fluox.

I really feel for you going through this as Ive found it extremely hard and Ive done more crying in the last few weeks than ever before. GP wants me to stick with it for now as Im waiting for CBT, I just want to feel better. I definitely feel physically unwell and to be honest have had enough.

I hope that we both feel better soon, take care.

---------- Post added at 10:59 ---------- Previous post was at 10:58 ----------

Forgot to add dizzyness to the symptoms.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Hi Hadenough, I was trying to reply to your post earlier on my phone while at work but wasn't having much luck. Sorry to hear your having a hard time too. It is a real living nightmare isn't it, every day feels like battle, struggling through each minute. Hope you start to feel better soon and keep us posted on how your doing :)

---------- Post added at 18:18 ---------- Previous post was at 18:09 ----------

Today has been one of the worst for a long while. I feel like this stuff is poisoning me now seriously. Every part of my body feels weak and drained which I can handle but my head is a complete mess it feels so strange and dizzy, its unbearable most of the time. I'm only on 20mg every other day, I know im sensitive to meds but didn't think it could make me feel this bad at such a low dose and coming up to 5 weeks on these now.

I feel like a moany idiot, just need somewhere to let out how im feeling I guess as I spend all day putting on an act pretending im ok, My boss even said to me I seem fine, what he doesn't realise is its all a front and inside i feel like im dying.

[hadenough]

You dont sound like a moany idiot at all, I know exactly how youre feeling. Its hard to carry on taking the meds when they make you feel so bad.

I had a call today to say that Ive been placed on a waiting list for CBT and have been told that it will be some months until I start. I have a gp appointment tomorrow anyway so am going to talk to her about whether I should carry on with these or not.

Keep hoping for the morning when I wake up feeling better.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Dont think i can take anymore of this

[hadenough]

Hang in there,youre not alone xx

[Gotagetthroughthis]

I cant believe I have let this drug do this to me. Every part of me feels weird and fked up. I cant talk properly, slurring my words, cant remember what i did 2 seconds ago. Every thing my body does feels strange and awkward, I have to actually logically think how to move parts of my body. I am so weak it feels hard to lift my own arms, that's even more frustrating as ive been back into my bodybuilding since i was off meds making progress. I feel more anxious than ever and so fed up, I am so ANGRY, I am getting urges to do some nasty crazy things. I hate everything and everyone.

[Janine]

I know that i keep saying it but i do know how you feel and you feel so desperated and do not know which way to turn, the stage you are at was my toughest time, i literally was rocking to get some relief and do not know how I got through a lot of the days, please use your diazapan to help, i wish i had used it more to help me. I do know at that stage my doctor did up my propanolol from 8omg slow release to 160mg, I did not think i could take it either as I suffer with low blood pressure at times but it did help me but i understand you not wanting it, please hang in there, have you got anyone to help you.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

I haven't got any Diazepam hun and I wouldn't take Propanolol, My heart rate is 40 Beats per minute anyway and the Beta blocker can slow it down even more so wouldn't want to take it. I tried it months back and didn't help.

Im ok, I can just about manage if im at home, I just try relax, keep my mind busy with tv and stuff on the laptop while I lay in bad.

Just hoping for a better day.

[Janine]

Hope you have had a better day today, understand what you are saying about the propanolol, at least it is the weekend and you do not have to worry about work, I am sure that you will start to turn the corner soon.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Over 5 weeks on prozac. Still nothing that might indicate this drug is going to help me. More anxious than before starting the med. My personality has vanished, I dont talk or say a word, I just don't have the motivation to do anything. When people try and talk to me I just want them to shutup and leave me in peace as trying to listen to what there saying just makes me feel more weird.

I feel dizzy and strange every day, my brain is a complete mess, I cant think straight, cant remember what i did 2 minutes ago, I stutter and slur my words. My body feels drained, weak and heavy.

Even if I get the half hour where im a bit less anxious its still filled with a severe foggy head. Maybe I just over analyse everything to much but I know im sensitive to SSRIs and don't know if im ever going to get better from being on a drug as I can feel that im on something, I feel drugged and that just makes my anx even worse. So it feels like a lose lose situation.

Should I really be carrying on with this drug or am I just holding my life back and messing my head up even more by staying on it?

---------- Post added at 17:24 ---------- Previous post was at 13:54 ----------

My head feels so strange, I am starting to freak out, I feel like im not going to able to take anymore of this. Really do not feel right at all.

[Janine]

Hope you are feeling a bit better than earlier, I have only just logged on as I have been at work today and seen your posts, you have come so far it would be a shame to stop now especially as you could be just a week from starting to feel better although I know when you are feeling like you are today it does not help, as everyone was saying that to me, 5 weeks is a horrible time and it is like it has to make you feel so so bad before it gets better.

At the end of the day though you have got to do what you think is right for you, a really nice out of hours doctor who I rang at the stage you are at told me to give it six to eight weeks and I am so glad I took his advice.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Thanks Janine :)

I am feeling slightly better than earlier. Felt so so strange. I have calmed down a bit now. Just in bed watching tv. I cant see it going from this bad to feeling good over the next couple of now but you never know, so at the moment I will keep going.

[Janine]

Good that you feel a bit better, it is so strange that this drug makes you feel so different so many times in a day, try and relax and hope you have a good night and feel a bit better tomorrow.

[mandshere2000]

Hi
Sounds like your having a hard time with the Prozac sending you:hugs:
it will get better but I'm sure you have heard this so many times but honestly
it will, I felt exactly like you on Prozac and now been on them 20 yrs on/off
Thinking of you, hang in there you will come out the other side and it will of
all been worth it:yahoo:
Manda xx

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Thanks Manda.

So here we are another day another struggle. The thing that is getting me is just feeling so strange, I don't feel all there in the head. Everything in my world is a big blurr. Anxiety is still getting at me with a few really bad feelings impending doom and the thinking that im never going to get better which always makes things feel so much worse. I try not to focus on that stuff.

If im honest I really cant be bothered with another week at work. Its not that I even dislike the job that much its just the thought and memories of the anxiety I endure while being makes going there a sickening thought.

Im not expecting magic from this drug, Im just wanting a reasonably good day or 2 so I can work on from that. It will be six weeks on this med on Friday, so lets see how things are then.

[hadenough]

I feel the same, very wooly headed and I get a lot of times when things just dont feel real, sort of dreamlike.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Couldnt sleep last night. At work with hardly any sleep, feeling like utter dog poo. Times are hard, getting better does not seem possible.

[Janine]

Sleep was really difficult for a while but it does get back to normal, the problem is when we do not sleep it makes it feel even worse the next day, usually when I had a really bad night I was so tired the next night that i slept well. Hope you have a better day tomorrow.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Thanks janine.

Had a better nights sleep with some vivid dreams but it hasnt made me feel any better today.

Really starting to think i have some sort of medical condition again. I am so lightheaded constantly, pluss getting cold numb fingers and toes so i know ive got bad circulation at the moment which no doubt the prozac is increasing. I am confused and disorientated a lot, i have sense of where part of my body are is really strange. My memory and cognitive function is fked.

I am physically and mentally ill and getting back to a state of anywhere near normallity does not seem possible. I could go on and on but what is the point.

[mandshere2000]

Hi
Am I right in thinking you should be seeing some sort of benefit by now
the doctor told me by 3/4 weeks I would start to feel better, would it help
if you went back to the doctor and asked if you might need to up them...I
was told that you can reach a plateau on Prozac and if you feel no better
after a certain time then it might be that you can need a higher dose
Manda

[Gotagetthroughthis]

No Manda, I will not be increasing the dose when it is making me feel this bad on a low dose. I have not reached a plateau, the drug just doesn't agree with me or hasn't settled down yet, I haven't had any benefit from the drug. Docs wont do anything apart from tell me to carry on taking it for a while longer, I take my own advice when it comes to these meds as my doctors know fk all about them, they just prescribe them and say good bye.

It can take 3/4 weeks but it can also take a lot longer, there's no specific time scale with these drugs, its different for everyone. I will take them until around 7 or 8 weeks and if there is still no improvement I will wean myself off them.

Thanks for the support.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

I honestly do not see 1 ounce of hope now. My day has gone from waking up severely depressed to now a few hours later to severe anxiety and panic, feeling like im gna pass out and various other pains and body symptoms. I had a slight amount of control over my emotions when med free. Now i have none. Tomorrow will be 6 weeks on prozac. Help.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

I have stop this drug now. My mind is going at 1000mph constantly and I feel like I am going insane, I cannot control my brain at all, every thought is double thought and over analyzed.

I have heard Prozac is a stimulating drug, maybe that's why im like this.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

More of the same today, the worst ive felt in months, as soon as I wake up the severe anx is there. On the Verge of panic constantly, my mind is still firing random thoughts at 1000mph. This drug is to stimulating.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

I still feel so crap and in a really dark place but not quite as bad as yesterday. I really dont know whether to take another pill tonight and give it another week. I do want to give it a fair chance but the way I felt over the past 2 days has really scared me and put me in a fragile dark state.

Never know what the right choice is.

[mandshere2000]

Hi
How you doing tonight, I would try and give it another week because you
have come this far and it would be suchlike a shame to stop now,I know how hard it is
I have been there many times, when I've come off Prozac to try other meds then gone
back onto Prozac....it sounds like you are one of the people who it takes a little longer to kick in, hang on in there thinking of you:hugs:
You will get there in the end
Manda

[Gracieday]

Sorry to hear of all your problems on prozac. I've been on it for the last 26 years. Decided to come off cold turkey with advice from my therapist in June this year. Didn't feel any withdrawals only my legs felt agitated. Did feel tearful more then usual, but 5 weeks ago I had a horrible intrusive thought out the blue in meditation and I've been back on fluoxitine. Should I be feeling any relief by no?,I don't remember having these side effects before. I wake every night 2.30am sweating, shaking, heart pounding and the thought is the first thing in my mind. I seem to calm down later on in the day. Can anyone help me with some advice as to change Meds or go on a higher dose?
Thank you

---------- Post added at 07:39 ---------- Previous post was at 07:35 ----------

Sorry forgot to say I'm on 20mg and I haven't been on the fluoxitine for 26 years, it's been 16 years.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Thanks Manda and Gracieday

Gracieday, that's surprising your therapist told you to stop the Prozac cold turkey, I don't think that was the best idea especially after being on it for 16 years. Anyway, its hard to say whether you should be feeling any relief from it yet as it varies for everyone, give it another couple of weeks and if you don't feel any better consult with your doctor.

I have been on it 6 and a half weeks and seen no improvement at all so I guess it can take a very long time, or its just not the right med for me.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

I am feeling so so low today. I would never say i usually feel overly depressed its normally just severe anxiety but i now feel so low, feelings of doom and despair waving over me along with the usual anxiety. what a mistake starting this drug was.

---------- Post added at 18:50 ---------- Previous post was at 15:43 ----------

:weep:

[Gotagetthroughthis]

So the pattern with me at the moment, is waking up with racing thoughts feeling like im going insane and then not being able to calm down and panicing, then I start to feel super low, doomy dark feelings of despair and no hope, then back to severe anxiety, all with feeling physically ill the whole time, I have brief bursts of extreme anger in between everything else. So as you can see me emotions are all over the place, I get the odd 20 mins where I feel a bit jolly and in a stupid mood but then that's followed by an extreme anxeity downer.

Strange strange stuff this drug has been doing to me.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

feels like this drug has well and truely damaged me.

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Actually had a slightly better day today. Manage to get through work without any major anxiety episodes. Of course the anxiety is still there in the background ready to creep up but I am glad I have felt somewhat better today.

I have been tapering down and am currently taking the equivalent to 5mg a day, so it has to be something to do with that.

[magic girl]

im sorry your having such a bad time with your meds i have been on venlafaxine for 10 years and was recently weaned off them,i think i managed 8 weeks med free then hit rock bottom and had to start taking them again:weep:most ante depressants have terrible side affects which is annoying as when your at rock bottom the last thing you need is to feel even worse but to get better that is what we have to do.i do think you need to ask your gp for some diazepam as they will take the edge off the side affects i would never start meds without them and also ask if you can be refured to your local crisis team as they are a huge help,you certainly shouldn't be suffering like this for so long and if your gp won't help i would think about changing to another gp as i know from experience that some are more helpful than others,i hope you feel better soon :hugs::hugs:

[Gotagetthroughthis]

Ive been tapering off it now magic girl. Still not doing to great but i am a bit better than when I was on prozac.

[Amandala]

Hi there,
I was wondering if you are completely off the Prozac now? I did about 3 weeks of 10mg and was starting to feel ok, bumped to 20mg and all hell broke loose for 4 weeks and I can totally relate to every post you've written. I was told to go back down to 10 this past week and I am wondering if what I am feeling is now withdrawal or still the stupid prozac not working? How long should I give this? I know its been 8 weeks now but playing around with the dosage is probably not helping my situation either. any thoughts? :)