View Full Version : Day 2 - is this normal?
Hi!
I’m been medication-free for a year, but my anxiety has been gradually getting worse again til I reached a point where I found myself “ugly crying” in front of the GP asking for help!
I’ve suffered with health anxiety for over 2yrs now. All consuming, crippling, terrified of my own body health anxiety!
So anyway...I’m on day 2 of Prozac, and both days have been hideous! The “obsessive checking” side of my HA has come out of hiding hugely! In fact, I hadn’t realised just how well I’d suppressed that aspect of my HA, til now! My brain is in overdrive with intrusive, catastrophic thoughts that I seem to have no power over!
I knew things would get worse before they got better, but I didn’t expect this so soon?
I’m not sure how to get through 12 weeks of this!
Is this normal?
Wow! This resonates so much. I was put on Prozac for severe HA as well and I can’t help but overanalyze every damn side effect. I am starting my fourth week on 10mg. Suffering from stomach issues, bouts of increased anxiety and insomnia, fatigue, and muscle pains/ache. I can’t stop obsessing over these “side effects” and thinking that are signs of some deadly illness.
Thanks for replying Sab!
I know there is a lot of negatives there, but have you noticed any positives yet?
This increased anxiety is destroying me!!
I’m worrying about the most bizarre things, and checking constantly and googling...behaviours I’d pretty much learned to control but now they seem in overdrive!!! Please tell me this calms down soon?
Unfortunately, I haven’t noticed too many improvements. I am also on a small dose because of my fear of side effects. The past two days my anxiety has decreased though but not by much. I am hanging on because Prozac did miracles for my sister and my parents who all suffer from health anxiety, depression, and panic disorder.
Hang on if you can!!! I am doing the same thing as you constantly googling etc driving myself into a hole. What is helping me from completely driving myself insane is CBT. Look into mindfulness. Try to distract yourself as much as you can keep reminding yourself that it is just anxiety!
Yeah, I’ve heard good things about Prozac helping specifically with HA. I actually asked my GP for this drug because of its good reputation for helping health anxiety sufferers!
Although it does seem that most people need to take it for 8-12 weeks before the miracles start happening!!
Have you noticed any difference with appetite, cravings or weight?
Yes, my stomach feels pretty empty most of the time even after eating. My appetite is a lot lower than before. No cravings at all. I haven’t weighed myself but I definitely feel and look skinnier. (Too afraid to get on the scale haha)
HA is truly a beast. I have suffered from HA for over twenty years and never sought treatment until this last bad bout. Sometime in January, I caught a bad case of the flu which left me feeling fatigued, congested, worn down for more than a month. As a result of the flu, I also had to cold turkey breastfeeding my almost three year old daughter. My hormones went insane and I had terrible PMS. OF COURSE, for some odd crazy reason my HA convinced me I had developed leukemia/ or lymphoma. I went insane. Started having terrible panic attacks. Went in for a blood test and almost died of panic attacks waiting for the result. LO BEHOLD everything was normal. My husband told me enough is enough and dragged me to the psychiatrist. I am now on my fourth week of prozac and CBT.
I have to constantly remind myself that this journey won’t be easy. Prozac and therapy and most importantly I have to rewire a brain that has thought the worst for over twenty years. In order to tame the beast, I have to confront it. The side effects will suck and the beast will try to tear you down but keep hanging on. There will be LIGHT at the end of the tunnel.
Wow, thank you for sharing your story!!! Your husband sounds like a good ‘in, and it’s great that you are finally taking control!
Things are a bit different here in the UK. The NHS is our national treasure, and we’re so lucky to be able to receive treatment without cost, BUT it means we have to endure crazy waiting lists! I’m currently on a 12 month waiting list for high intensity CBT, and the only other treatment I am being offered is medication because our mental health service is hugely underfunded in the UK.
Oh, it’s good to hear you havnt gained weight. I’m getting married in 6 months and am really worried about gaining weight, especially because when I was taking sertraline (Zoloft) I gained 28lbs in 10 months!!!
panic_down_under
04-03-20, 07:49
So anyway...I’m on day 2 of Prozac, and both days have been hideous! The “obsessive checking” side of my HA has come out of hiding hugely! In fact, I hadn’t realised just how well I’d suppressed that aspect of my HA, til now! My brain is in overdrive with intrusive, catastrophic thoughts that I seem to have no power over!
I knew things would get worse before they got better, but I didn’t expect this so soon?
I’m not sure how to get through 12 weeks of this!
Is this normal?
Unfortunately, just about anything and everything can be "normal" when first taking an AD, especially the SSRIs and SNRIs. :ohmy: They can be horrible meds which no one in their right mind would take, no pun intended, except that when they work they can greatly change lives for the better. The fact this is your second? time on a SSRI may be exacerbating the side-effects. For reasons that aren't really understood initial side-effects may become progressively more severe each time ADs are taken again. They may be different each time too.
The increased anxiety is usually short-lived, usually diminishing within a couple of weeks, though it may return for a while after dose increases. It is caused by the almost immediate increase in serotonin activity - despite the popular myths, serotonin isn't a 'feel good' neurotransmitter, just the opposite as you're discovering - but after a few weeks the body and brain respond by down-regulating its synthesis and expression and the side-effects then begin to diminish.
I suggest you alert your GP to the problems you're having asap as there are ways of limiting the anxiety spike. You shouldn't have to suffer.
What is the starting dose?
Thank you so much, that advice is really helpful!
To answer your questions, yes, this is my second time on medication. During my first round of medication I tried sertraline and Citalopram, so this is my first time on fluoxetine.
My starting dose is 20mg.
panic_down_under
04-03-20, 11:20
Thank you so much, that advice is really helpful!
To answer your questions, yes, this is my second time on medication. During my first round of medication I tried sertraline and Citalopram, so this is my first time on fluoxetine.
My starting dose is 20mg.
Sigh!! :sad: There is a reason they make fluoxetine in 10mg pills. It took years of campaigning to get Eli Lilly to make it in that dose for those with anxiety disorders. Your GP deserves a swift kick in the posterior, imunho! :sad:
Sigh!! :sad: There is a reason they make fluoxetine in 10mg pills. It took years of campaigning to get Eli Lilly to make it in that dose for those with anxiety disorders. Your GP deserves a swift kick in the posterior, imunho! :sad:
Oh!! What’s that all about? Was 20mg starting doses causing issues for people?
Oh!! What’s that all about? Was 20mg starting doses causing issues for people?
Yes! Prozac is one of the more stimulating drugs and it can initially increase anxiety as it starts to work its way through your system. This is why there was a big push for 10mg pills so that those of who suffer from anxiety can get through the initial adjustment period. As a lifelong anxiety sufferer, I am having issues with increased anxiety/insomnia and other side effects even on 10mg but I must say that I am starting to settle down a bit more. It’s a bumpy ride but my psych does not want to make any dose adjustments right now. If you can go back to your GP try to ask for 10mg pills or see if you can take 20mg every other day.
Oh yikes! I’d feel bad to question her judgement though...especially after refusing her advice for 6 weeks to try Venlafaxine!
I can’t get another appointment with her for 4 weeks anyway! Oh dear, I’m not sure what I should do about this now!!! I’m reeeeally struggling to cope with this level of heightened anxiety and it’s only day 3!
panic_down_under
05-03-20, 03:18
Oh yikes! I’d feel bad to question her judgement though...especially after refusing her advice for 6 weeks to try Venlafaxine!
Well, it deserves to be questioned, imho. I wouldn't worry about any hurt feelings. Doctors are only the hired help, someone you pay via your taxes for their expertise, not tin gods to be put on pedestals. And I think you were right about not taking venlafaxine.
I can’t get another appointment with her for 4 weeks anyway! Oh dear, I’m not sure what I should do about this now!!! I’m reeeeally struggling to cope with this level of heightened anxiety and it’s only day 3!
Before 10mg capsules became available Elli Lilly recommended dissolving the contents of their 20mg capsules in a measured amount of fruit juice (but not grapefruit juice), stirring vigorously and then drinking half-the mixture one day and the other half the next. The mixture can be stored in the fridge for up to a week without degrading the drug. However, you really should okay this with your GP first. Can you phone, or email her?
roseanxiety
05-03-20, 04:48
Pdu. Why do you think it was right to not take the venlafaxine? Just curious because that’s what i take.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
panic_down_under
05-03-20, 10:19
Pdu. Why do you think it was right to not take the venlafaxine? Just curious because that’s what i take.
Because despite what it says on the box it is really only a SSRI with no advantage over the others and, with the exception of paroxetine (Paxil), they are usually easier to discontinue. If a dual action, serotonin+noradrenaline (aka norepinephrine) reuptake inhibitor is preferred the older TCAs are better bets than the SNRIs.
That said, if venlafaxine is working well for you then stick with it. All ADs have issues.
Hi everyone. My doctor upped my dose to 20mg today. Feeling pretty anxious right now. Ugh!
Hi everyone. My doctor upped my dose to 20mg today. Feeling pretty anxious right now. Ugh!
Hi Sab. Hang on in there!
Im on 20mg too, and I take my tablet in the morning, and find I’m still really anxious all day til mid afternoon, but I’m noticing a pattern of then seeming to calm in the later part of the day.
The increased anxiety is crippling though! I’m on day 4, and I’ve literally found a different “cancer symptom” on each of those 4 days.
I dread what tomorrow will bring!
Although today, I noticed those first little pangs of common sense trying to fight through the anxiety. I’ve tried to distract myself with food shopping, housework, singing along to power ballads at the top of my lungs and reading about Anne Frank (educating the anxious brain!) So today has been a little better than the past 3 days! But still very anxious!!! And still finding symptoms! 🙄
How are you doing so far with the increase? Have you started the 20mg dose yet?
Ha! Story of my life. As a health anxiety sufferer, this is torturous. I am trying my best to distract myself as much as I can but I still feel super anxious even more so after taking the 20mg. It’s as if I consumed thirty cups of coffee without any sleep. Blah. Stomach feels off too plus it’s the first day of menstrual cycle. Sigh. Just trying to hang on. Day by day...
Yeah, I feel the same! Last night I woke at 1:30am and lay awake for 2 hours thinking scary thoughts. I normally sleep like a log! I hope this isn’t the start of the insomnia that some people get with this drug!
It’s annoying too, cos I feel ok-ish this morning, but I know as soon as I take that pill, the massive anxiety wave will come. It’s getting harder and harder to force myself to take it!!
Also...I’m feeling cold a lot, and forgetting words! It took me 2 hours yesterday to remember the word “squatter”.
panic_down_under
06-03-20, 09:35
I know as soon as I take that pill, the massive anxiety wave will come. It’s getting harder and harder to force myself to take it!!
Absorption of fluoxetine is usually slower than with other SSRIs typically taking around an hour to begin hitting the bloodstream with plasma levels peaking at around 6-8 hours so if the anxiety wave hits soon after you take it then it is probably mostly your mind, not the med. :weep:
Absorption of fluoxetine is usually slower than with other SSRIs typically taking around an hour to begin hitting the bloodstream with plasma levels peaking at around 6-8 hours so if the anxiety wave hits soon after you take it then it is probably mostly your mind, not the med. :weep:
That’s really interesting! Cos, as I mentioned earlier, I take the tablet at 7am and start to feel calmer at about 4pm which kinda ties in with the time frame you’ve stated. However, there is no doubt that my anxiety is definitely worse than pre-Prozac at the minute!!
That’s really interesting! Cos, as I mentioned earlier, I take the tablet at 7am and start to feel calmer at about 4pm which kinda ties in with the time frame you’ve stated. However, there is no doubt that my anxiety is definitely worse than pre-Prozac at the minute!!
It’s really hard to tell what is psychosomatic and what is actually being caused by the medicine. I definitely feel a lot more anxious too than before although my anxiety does wax and wane. Who knows? Maybe I am reading too much into it as well but all of our collective experiences point towards heightened anxiety during the adjustment period.
I’m so far feeling like every day is hell....but a little less hell-ish than the day before!
But I’m fully aware that week 2 will probably kick my ass (based on what I’ve read on other threads)
But on a positive note, today I cleaned my teenage daughters bedroom and the bathroom! I basically spent three hours cleaning! I cannot remember the last time I had the energy or motivation to get up off the sofa for more than 20 mins at a time,so I’m seeing this as a good thing!!
I’m so far feeling like every day is hell....but a little less hell-ish than the day before!
But I’m fully aware that week 2 will probably kick my ass (based on what I’ve read on other threads)
But on a positive note, today I cleaned my teenage daughters bedroom and the bathroom! I basically spent three hours cleaning! I cannot remember the last time I had the energy or motivation to get up off the sofa for more than 20 mins at a time,so I’m seeing this as a good thing!!
For me, week 3 was the worst so far. Week 2 was actually the best. It’s so unpredictable and varies according to the individual. I hope you feel better soon! Good to hear you had the energy to clean for that long. I also get those bursts of energy here and there.
panic_down_under
06-03-20, 22:31
I take the tablet at 7am and start to feel calmer at about 4pm which kinda ties in with the time frame you’ve stated.
No, because ADs have no direct affect on anxiety (or depression) in the way, say, aspirin does on headaches with relief beginning as soon as the med hits the bloodstream. They work by stimulating the growth of new brain cells (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC60045/) (neurogenesis) to replace cells killed, or prevented from growing by high brain stress hormone levels. The therapeutic response is produced by these new cells and the stronger interconnections they forge, not the meds directly, and they take time to bud, grow and mature. For a more detailed explanations see: Depression and the Birth and Death of Brain Cells (PDF (https://www.americanscientist.org/sites/americanscientist.org/files/20057610584_306.pdf)) and How antidepressant drugs act (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3025168/).
Anxiety isn't usually a constant throughout the day. Some find mornings easier, others afternoons, or evenings, and I suspect this has more to do with what you're experiencing. Peak plasma levels are more likely to produce a peak in anxiety/depression.
However, there is no doubt that my anxiety is definitely worse than pre-Prozac at the minute!!
Unfortunately, ADs often makes anxiety (also depression) worse at the beginning. Talk to your GP about this as there are ways of minimising the anxiety/depression spike.
Hi everyone. Surprisingly my anxiety is a lot more manageable on 20mg but I have only been on it for three days. Today marks a month since being on prozac. I realize this still could be a rollercoaster so I am just trying to enjoy each moment of relief.
Hi everyone. Surprisingly my anxiety is a lot more manageable on 20mg but I have only been on it for three days. Today marks a month since being on prozac. I realize this still could be a rollercoaster so I am just trying to enjoy each moment of relief.
Oh Sab, that’s great news! I’m so glad for you!
I’m currently riding this extreme rollercoaster too. Yesterday was SO good! I taught my little boy to ride his bike with no stabilisers...we were out in the countryside for hours, laughing and cheering! Came home and watched a movie. Still symptom spotting, but not panicking. I felt good...and hopefully a sign of things to come.
But today, awful!!! Symptom spotting, freaking out, over-eating, sitting around, messy house, no motivation....
Urgh.
Oh Sab, that’s great news! I’m so glad for you!
I’m currently riding this extreme rollercoaster too. Yesterday was SO good! I taught my little boy to ride his bike with no stabilisers...we were out in the countryside for hours, laughing and cheering! Came home and watched a movie. Still symptom spotting, but not panicking. I felt good...and hopefully a sign of things to come.
But today, awful!!! Symptom spotting, freaking out, over-eating, sitting around, messy house, no motivation....
Urgh.
Sorry to hear!! Hang in there. I had a lot of those extreme ups and downs in the beginning.
I’m having a somewhat of a bad day today as well. Woke up feeling as if I was coming down with something. My daughter has a cold so I am assuming I caught something from her ugh. I am definitely experiencing less anxiety since increasing my dosage but now I find myself feeling a lot more drowsy, sleepy, and tired despite sleeping better. And of course, I am trying not to symptom spot but my health has been so erratic.
This truly is a rollercoaster but I am hoping for the best.
So, I’m on day 11 now, and feeling ok. BUT I just got my period 8 days early!!!!!! (Cycle day 17)
Could this be because of the medication?!
So, I’m on day 11 now, and feeling ok. BUT I just got my period 8 days early!!!!!! (Cycle day 17)
Could this be because of the medication?!
Hi Lime. Yes, this definitely could be the meds, specifically the heightened anxiety. Anxiety in particular can throw your cycle off so it’s certainly possible that this is what is happening. I have read of this happening elsewhere as well.
I had a panic attack yesterday and today I have been feeling a bit off. Blah. This is fifth week and I have been on 20mg for a week now. I have heard that the clock starts when you start taking a therapeutic dose and not a sub therapeutic dose which means I have a long way to go before any substantial improvement : /
panic_down_under
12-03-20, 22:11
I had a panic attack yesterday and today I have been feeling a bit off. Blah. This is fifth week and I have been on 20mg for a week now. I have heard that the clock starts when you start taking a therapeutic dose and not a sub therapeutic dose which means I have a long way to go before any substantial improvement : /
You may have built up some 'credit' before increasing the dose to 20mg, but there is no way of quantifying this. It comes down to how quickly/slowly you metabolise the med.
Urgh.
I’m having such a wobble today! But it has made me realise how well I’ve been doing recently!
I think the early period spooked me, and made me paranoid about potential causes...then that snowballed into other health-anxiety related behaviours!
I’m also ill with a cough and lethargy (corona?) which is fine, but the self isolating is giving me too much time to think, which is never good for my anxiety!
Hoping tomorrow will be better again.
What a rollercoaster
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.