Change of time

Hi everyone. I recently started taking fluoxetine again. I was on it a couple of years ago and it was amazing and I felt so good, this time i've now been on it 11 weeks and my anxiety is still not too great. I initially started taking it first thing in the morning as it fitted better into my routine, but then to avoid some of the side effects, i started taking it in the evening instead. I changed the time over the course of a few days, taking it a couple of hours later each day and from what I remember, I was doing ok. I then started to forget to take it so would have it anywhere between 7 and 10pm, rather than a fixed time like I try to do. I then decided to go back to having it in the morning as it was much easier to have it at a set time, so again, over the course of a few days, I changed the time. Since then, i've not been doing too well at all. My IBS has flared up again as it always does when I get anxious and I don't know if it's that which is making me feel bad or just anxiety in general but i've gone back to being dizzy and shaky all the time and my health anxiety is creeping back in. I keep reading how fluoxetine can sometimes take 12 weeks to really work, so perhaps i'm just expecting too much too soon but do you think the change of time has played a part in this as well? I feel so disheartened, it worked so well a few years ago but i'm really struggling this time :weep:

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Originally Posted by Caroline811

I recently started taking fluoxetine again. I was on it a couple of years ago and it was amazing and I felt so good, this time i've now been on it 11 weeks

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11 weeks at what dose and how much did you take when on it last?

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I keep reading how fluoxetine can sometimes take 12 weeks to really work, so perhaps i'm just expecting too much too soon but do you think the change of time has played a part in this as well?

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The good news is fluoxetine has a very long half-life, up to 6 days for the parent drug, and 16 days for its active metabolite which actually does most of the work so a few hours here and there wouldn't make any difference. Plasma levels won't change much even if a dose is missed occasionally. The bad news is it can take quite a while for fluoxetine to kick-in because of that long half-life and this can be even more the case if you've been on it before. You might also need to take a higher dose this time to achieve the same level of response.

I suggest you talk to your GP/psychiatrist about treating the IBS, anxiety and other symptoms more directly until the AD begins to work.

I'm on 20mg, the same as I was before. I have actually been wondering lately if I may need a slightly higher dose but thought I should give it a bit longer. I'm due to go back to my doctor in a couple of months so i'll see how I go until then. Thank you for your reply and your help :)