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View Full Version : Should Fluoxetine be working after 12 weeks?



Ashabasha
15-04-10, 13:47
Hi,

This is my first post. I have been on Fluoxetine for 12 weeks now, and had my dose increased to 30mg 3 weeks ago. I am currently feeling as bad as I have ever done in terms of depression and anxiety and am experiencing severe side effects again like when I first started on fluoxetine. Is this normal or should I be feeling better by now or at least not experiencing side effects?

At what point do you say that the fluoxetine is not working??

Also, if I were to change antidepressants (locum Dr has suggested Sertraline but I'm not sure) would I have to go back to feeling like I did right at the beginning and wait however many weeks for these ones to work? Don't know if I could handle that.

Any advise would be great.

Thanks.

JaneC
15-04-10, 14:22
Hi Asha, welcome to NMP :welcome:

I'm not sure I'm going to be a lot of help in helping you decide (unfortunately you will have to make your own mind up with the doc's help) but I'll tell you how I've been with Fluox.

I'd have thought you would have started to feel some benefits by now, but it's been quite a slow process for me this time (my 2nd). When started it in the autumn (on 20mg) I had several weeks when I thought I wasn.t going to be able to cope with it (emotional ups and downs, panic attacks etc) .

I've been on 40mg for around 4 months now and it's only very gradually that I've started to feel the benefits, maybe noticing a little thing here or there, but never any blinding flash of suddenly feeling better.

What side effects do you have? My stomach still gets upset and after a few good weeks my insomnia has become a prob again.

If you really feel it hasn't helped at all, I think I might be tempted to try something else. It might be that is just isn;t right for you and something different would work relatively quickly. As for side effects, unfortunately you don't know till you try but they might not be too bad - or you might get none.

One thing I would suggest is sticking around on here, I found it really helpful when I was struggling with my meds. I think quite a few people on here take sertraline, might be worth reading some of their posts.

If I can answer any questions, please ask, hope you get sorted out x

Ashabasha
16-04-10, 13:09
Hi Jane,

Thanks for your reply. The side effects I am still suffering are severe nausea, upset stomach every morning, loss of appetite. But I have also been incredibly emotional and low and cannot talk about the way I am feeling without crying - I was like this when my depression/anxiety first started but I though it had got better.

Anyway, I sort further advice and have today switched to Sertraline, I figure I cannot feel any worse than I do now!! I don't want to look at other people's experiences of sertraline yet in case I scare myself!

Thanks
xx

JaneC
17-04-10, 10:17
Hope it works for you, good luck x