Diary of my 24 days on fluoxetine 20mg now switched to 75mg venlafaxine

[Fordrsrickc]

A brief overview of my side effects of being on fluoxetine to treat my anxiety which consisted of sleepless nights shotness of breath and headaches.
The shortness of breath got so bad it felt like a constant all day long panic attack and didn't break so I went to the doctor and I was immediately put on fluoxetine 20mg. With propranolol as I suffered from headaches and high blood pressure down to my stressful nature of my job in sales.

My first week on fluoxetine consisted of diarrhoea,stomach cramps, flatulence
And loss of appetite.

My second week were ok feeling much better the diarrhoea settled down as did the stomach cramps yet I still had a loss of appetite and insomnia with random thoughts racing through my head all night and the couple of hours sleep I were able to squeeze in I had very vivid dreams.

My third week I were still having sleepless nights, vivid dreams, loss of appetite and feeling like the medication weren't doing anything as I had shortness of breath and two panic attacks in one day on day 18 and woke up next morning not being able to stand or walk due to severe muscle pain in the backs of my legs in the calf area but I didn't let it stop me as I was into my third week and read that it takes about 4 weeks to settle down,
Day 19,20,21, my legs were really painful and I started to feel the same pain in my right arm but no chest pains just my muscles so I took ibuprofen to ease the pain and it settled after 3 or 4 days and my legs are now fine but for some strange reason on day 21 I started sweating excessively under my arms and my back which has never happened before taking the medication and thinking it was another symptom that would go away it didn't it just got worse and continued for another week and I were having to get changed about 3 or 4 times a day into clean shirts and as I am due to go back to work from taking a couple of weeks off whist on my meds. I went to see my doctor voicing my concerns and he took me off the fluoxetine as I couldn't cope with the sweating any longer and put me on venlafaxine 37.5mg of which I take twice daily. My problem is I have read the side effects and these also cause excessive sweating in the very common side effects scale, so I took my first one this evening anyway and I will keep this thread updated with my experience of the venlafaxine.
I really hope the sweating eases as it feels uncomfortable and makes me feel self conscious and I am due to go back to work and don't want sweaty pits in front of customers. I'm at a loss but persevering
One other point is I really didn't give citalopram a chance as I only took one 10mg and felt dizzy hot and cold and drowsy off one 10mg
Ps my first post HI folks Richard age 36

[william wallace]

Hi Richard and welcome to the forum. It sometimes takes anything up to a couple of months for SSRI's to start doing their job properly so please persevere and try to stick with one for at least six weeks before changing.
Oh and be careful how you drive that Ford RS while you're on them

[Fordrsrickc]

Hi Richard and welcome to the forum. It sometimes takes anything up to a couple of months for SSRI's to start doing their job properly so please persevere and try to stick with one for at least six weeks before changing.
Oh and be careful how you drive that Ford RS while you're on them

Thanks William Wallace I have started on venlafaxine last night by recommend of my doctor, so do you think I should speak to my doctor and continue on the fluoxetine and will the sweating settle down because I couldn't bare it.
I feel like I have wasted nearly a month for now to start all over again with different meds and have possible withdrawals from the fluoxetine now I'm off them. And I've read about these venlafaxine and these also have side effect of sweating if that's the case I feel like stopping meds altogether

[william wallace]

GP obviously has his reasons for changing you from an SSRI to a SNRI. Perhaps most of the chemicals that are in Fluoxetine are in Venlafaxine so not too much of a change.
He maybe thinks the the "N" part of Velafaxine will do you some good ie; I think it stops your brain from getting rid of noradrenaline, the chemical that counteracts adrenaline, thus decreasing the anxiety? All of these drugs have side effects that will make you feel like shit. Sometimes people get increased anxiety and other symptoms while on them and forget that they were quite anxious/symptomatic to start with.
This is only my opinion Richard, trust your GP, he's forgotten more about mental health than I'll ever know.
All the best WW