View Full Version : Someone tell me I'm not going mad please
I have been on Fluoxetine for 5 days now for anxiety and to ward off post natal depression (am 29 wks pregnant). Been managing it with CBT up to now. Felt fine until yesterday when had a panic attack lasting ages at home. As i was going through this, my psychiatrist rang to see how i was getting on and said she thought i would be starting to feel a bit strange about now. All i want to know is is it normal to feel a bit like a zombie and feel so weak. Also feel quite nauseous and lost appetite. All i want to do is go to bed and sleep, but then that's no good either cos for the last couple of nights have been awake for hours. I know there are side effects, but any hope would be good.
Hi Just read your post. Yes this is all normal, I suffered all of these things for the first few weeks on fluoxetine. Hang on in there it does get so much better x I have just come out of another blip too but slowly feel a little better. I have also just increased to 40mg. But yes all of these things happened to me that you have stated and it was all side effects you just have to try and get through them hope you are feeling better soon.
:hugs: Maddy xx
Hi
I have been on 20mg Fluoxetine for 3 weeks now. To start with I wasnt sure if it was side effects or my anxiety but I certainly felt horrible/anxious/ill.
After 2 weeks I started to feel alot better in myself as if someone had flipped a switch inside my head - i am finally starting to feel normal again - hang in there it will be worth it in the end
Thanks so much for your replies and words of encouragement. It's Day 12 today and zombie state has lifted, but anxiety still bad. Doesn't help that baby is now making me breathless, which fuels the panic anyway. Night time panics started up again, as have ectopic beats, but am putting all this down to the medication making the anxiety worse. Will hang on in there and hope it calms down soon. Thank you again. Nice to know there is support out there.
hi - i was on this medication in my early twenties and i felt horrific for the first 15 days - i started to have patches in the day when i felt better from day 16 onwards - it can take at least 2-3 weeks for you to get used to it. i remember being awake night after night too - i never thought i would sleep again but you will. x
Yes I agree, you do feel like you are never going to feel better! But you will I promise! I am a firm believer in medication although i dont push it because obviously its everyones choice.
But you definately have to stick with it the side effects can last for a long time but one day you will wake up and be like oh my god I havent got any anxiety weres it gone and thats when you feel like you will never have it again ! you cant win lol but I promise you will feel 'normal' again just give it a couple more weeks. Maddy x:bighug1:
Reading these replies has been a big help to me. Took first 20mg Prozac yesterday (after coming off clomipramine) and feel like hell today. Didn't manage to get up until 3pm because of drowsiness. Have nausea and sweating and generally feel strange, not to mention weepy.
Didn't experience any of this first time i took Prozac some years ago. Managed to get a prescription for the liquid so I can ease myself in on half dose but meantime feeling a bit better thanks to encouragement on here.
Well it's day 20 today and have to say feel a lot brighter at the moment. Appetite has come back with a vengeance and anxiety seems to be plateauing. Don't think my family have heard me laugh so much in last few days. So glad I have stuck with it. Even managed to get back to work this week. Mr doctor did say if I had told you how bad you were going to feel, you wouldn't have started taking it. Would definitely advise anyone to stick with it through the first couple of weeks. Fingers crossed it carries on. Thanks to all the encouraging comments on here - this is such a great site for people with anxiety and depression. So good to know you are not alone and to share your experiences.
day 24 for me and yes things seem to be getting better,
I am four months in!! After two weeks in which I had bad time again I have been increased to 40mg I am feeling better again now though, Glad to hear others are feeling better too stick with it you will have ups and downs even a few months in to your treatment but things will eventually plateau and you will start to feel your normal self for the majority of the time Maddy xx:hugs:
oh what a great day 25days in and today i went out coffee and scone on the beach with family and a whole day with not panic :yesyes: :yesyes:
MaddyMoo - when you increased to 40mg - did your anxiety get worse.
Once I'd got over the increased anxiety in the first 2 weeks of taking 20mg I really started to feel like my old self - I've now been increased to 40mg - been on them a week and I feel awful again? I thought as the medication was in my system I should be ok but cant understand this backward step
Hi Yes my anxiety did get bad again but not quite as bad as the first time with 20mg. It was bad but bearable and manageable if that make sense. I would say it took two weeks for the anxiety to fade away and then bang two days ago I woke up and I was normal me.
Not euphoric or manic or over the moon just normal me with no anxiety. So I have spent the wholel weekend with my children we went to the beach, on a bike ride, to a local aquarium and out for tea. Thank god my life is finally back on track I never thought I would feel like this again I just hope I stay like this! But tbh I am going to take each day as it comes and try my best I am also trying to excercise every day for at least an hour to an hour and a half as the dr told me that I need to take more time for myslef and excercise will also help my serotonin levels so I have also been doing this too. Hope this info helps and you are feeling better soon. Stick with it and let me know how you get on x
Thanks for all your replies. I am on day 33 now and went back to see psychiatrist today as had a few down days over weekend. He has said meds seem to be starting to kick in with increase in mood improvement, but cos of anxiety my options were to continue as i was on 20mgs with Diazepam prn or increase Fluoxetine. Reluctant to increase Fluoxetine cos of baby and only 5 wks till delivery, so gone with the Diazepam option, mainly because of all the side effects just getting on 20mgs caused. Ectopic beats also come back, which have increased anxiety, which makes them worse. Feel like I take 2 steps forward and 3 steps back at moment. It's a long haul. Pysch wants to see me every wk now till i deliver and seeing CBT therapist and midwife weekly. God knows where I would be without all this support and this website. Just hope I made the right decision in not increasing the Fluoxetine until after the birth. Part of me feels 5 wks since starting meds is not quite long enough to see a dramatic improvement. Sorry for long post - helps to get it off my chest.
Hello just wanted to pop in and say hi. I am not a doctor but I think your decision to stay at 20mg for now is definately the right one. Try and get through the next 5 weeks and then if things havent improved significantly I would say increase to 40mg after you have given birth if your not feeling better. There is no problem in increasing to 40mg I was very worried about it tbh, but my dr is very good and she assured me that 40mg is an average dose and while 20mg may be fine for some people especially as a maintenance dose, that 40mg is the standard treatment dose with many patients being on 60mg or 80mg. I am also on propanolol (half inderal 80mg) now I dont know if you can take this if pregant you will have to investigate or ask Dr but thsi mild beta blocker deals with teh heart palpitations and ectopic beats so maybe thsi is something you could look at?? Ask your dr and see what thye say its helped me enormously with the physical symptoms so maybe have a chat with him or her about it.
I just wanted to say your doing incredibily well, you have a lot on your plate being pregnant and having this horrible anxiety. I think you should really give your self a pat on the back as I think your doing fantastically!. Dont forget that your hormones are all over the place too so try if you can tp take time out of your daily routine and relax. There are some great relaing free downloads on itunes you can download I found these really good when I was suffering bad anxiety as they really helped me take my mind off things and drift off too sleep. hope you are okay anyway I know what you mean about thsi site i dont think there is anyway I could ahve stuck to fluoxetine without this site, its amazing writing down how you feel and getting a reply from someone that understands x Maddy:hugs:
Maddy
Thank you so much for that lovely post. It was so encouraging and really helped. I have tried the Propranolol, but it just lowered my blood pressure even more. Thank you so much for your support and encouragement. :hugs:
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.