Fluoxetine, side effects, feeling the lowest I ever have

[LAURA48]

Hi Elili

Think you went through the honeymoon period - it happens alot when starting new meds. You are now having side effects and they will start to lessen. Try and eat, if you can and do not be tempted to increase your dose.

I have PM you - have you any diazepam to take the edge of, if not, ring your doc, he should prescribe you some for the interim period.

Hope you feel better soon

Laura

[purplepie]

Hi All,
I am new here but have been suffering anxiety and panic with now added depression for years. After a year on Lofepramine ( which helped a little but not enough) I came off it because of the side effects.
I have just been started on 20mg Prozac and have been taking it at that dose for a week now ( split into 10mg doses for first couple of days as I am so fearful of meds) and I have the worst anxiety ever, I wake up, if I have slept that is and suddenly feel panicky and sick, my arms feel all tingly and I have to go the toilet to empty my bowels ( sorry) and then I am dry retching. My mood is very flat - I can neither smile nor cry. My eyes feel dry and tired but when I try to sleep my body twitches me awake! I am so fearful of the symptoms, I don't know what is real anymore.
I went to see the Doc today who advised that this is quite normal in the first few weeks but it is so hard as I feel too restless to lie there and bide time as my anxiety stops me relaxing at all.
My anxious thoughts kick in sometimes where I am thinking will i do something stupid with myself as i can't take it, doc says this is a tired mind clinging on to the negative. Great eh!

[Joymoss]

Because I'm awoken regularly at 6 am with severe stomach pain, my doctor said it was due to depression and prescribed Fluoxetine. Looking at this site, I'm now very reluctant to take it due to all the side effects described by others, though naturally if there was no other cure, I suppose I'd have to. However, looking at all the letters (and numerous ones on other sites) not one person has said this drug was prescribed for some kind of pain - only ever just for depression. O.K I accept that maybe my depression causes the pain, but is there just one other person out there who has been prescribed it for 'pain' rather than simply for 'depression'.
I also do not understand why depression could cause my stomach ache regularly at 6 am WHEN I'M ASLEEP AT THAT TIME!
Any suggestions?

[Emphyrio]

Hmmm...the doctors seem to attribute everything to anxiety/depression/mental illness.

Around a year ago I started feeling really tense and agitated for no apparent reason. Long story short, I thought it was my medication, came off it, had a year of hell which involved feeling utterly depressed, scared I was going to lose control, worrying about nothing etc. In this time I tried a couple more antidepressants (both an SSRI and an older, tricyclic) but both made me feel horrible.

Then when I had a few months off all medication, the tenseness/agitation was still there. Every time I went back to the GP they kept attributing it to anxiety, even though I wasn't worrying about anything in particular. I know that when I worry I get a rapid heart rate, feel butterflies in my stomach etc, but the GP still thought it was mental health related...

Is it stomach as opposed to bowel pain? I'm just wondering because doctors sometimes prescribe SSRIs at a low dose to manage irritable bowel syndrome - essentially a lot of the body's serotonin is found in the GI Tract and thus antidepressants can help with this. I've never heard of fluoxetine being prescribed simply for a stomach ache, so I'd get a second opinion if I were you.

[Amandala]

ok, so how are we all doing??? I'm in week 9 I think, 2 weeks on the 40mg... Haven't noticed too much of a difference since the increase... do you guys think the increase takes 6-8 weeks to build too? and please someone tell me the side effects aren't going to come back

[phil-f]

hi all, new member. just thought I would chime in on this thread as i'm experiencing similar side effects. hit the 2 week mark on 20mg fluoxetine for anxiety/depression. The stomach ache seems to have subsided and my appetite has come back somewhat. (on and off anyway). I am however feeling really really low and had a panic attack a couple of days ago which scared me to death.

I have taken some solace in reading this forum but only been 2 weeks in is quite an overwhelming feeling when people generally don't see improvements for 6 weeks! I don't know how i'm going to cope.

I live with my partner but i'm struggling to be able to talk to her about what i'm going through. I feel worthless and like a burden. Although she is supportive and has re-assured me that this is not the case it is putting some strain on the relationship which is also adding to my problems. I'm finding it hard to accept that my perception of everything is skewed by the depression and side effects. I keep telling myself nothing is as bad as it seems but I just can't shake this gloom.

I don't know what i'm hoping to achieve by posting really but I just feel very isolated and like i'm having a bad trip that will never end.

I'm considering making an appointment to see my Dr and enquiring about diazepam, is this readily subscribed in the UK? Anything to take the edge off would be a godsend. I haven't really left the house in two weeks, went for a walk today which did help a bit but it going out seems like a daunting prospect, so does staying in feeling like this though! Sorry for the ramble and i hope everyone feels better soon!

[sunshine1]

Stick with it, speak to your GP about how to help side effects. just think that this time next month you could be feeling loads better!

[ExPerson]

hi all, new member. just thought I would chime in on this thread as i'm experiencing similar side effects. hit the 2 week mark on 20mg fluoxetine for anxiety/depression. The stomach ache seems to have subsided and my appetite has come back somewhat. (on and off anyway). I am however feeling really really low and had a panic attack a couple of days ago which scared me to death.

I have taken some solace in reading this forum but only been 2 weeks in is quite an overwhelming feeling when people generally don't see improvements for 6 weeks! I don't know how i'm going to cope.

I live with my partner but i'm struggling to be able to talk to her about what i'm going through. I feel worthless and like a burden. Although she is supportive and has re-assured me that this is not the case it is putting some strain on the relationship which is also adding to my problems. I'm finding it hard to accept that my perception of everything is skewed by the depression and side effects. I keep telling myself nothing is as bad as it seems but I just can't shake this gloom.

I don't know what i'm hoping to achieve by posting really but I just feel very isolated and like i'm having a bad trip that will never end.

I'm considering making an appointment to see my Dr and enquiring about diazepam, is this readily subscribed in the UK? Anything to take the edge off would be a godsend. I haven't really left the house in two weeks, went for a walk today which did help a bit but it going out seems like a daunting prospect, so does staying in feeling like this though! Sorry for the ramble and i hope everyone feels better soon!

Phil, you could almost be describing exactly how I was feeling a number of months ago when I started on Flux for the 1st time. I know the prospect of waiting a number of weeks to feel relief seems daunting....in fact, beyond daunting....almost impossible. But, from my experience, things did improve dramatically - and they've stayed improved. 2 or 3 weeks in is the worst is the absolutely worst time - no doubt about that. You've just got to know that it will improve. You'd be best speaking to your partner and letting her know that you're going through a particularly bad patch right now, and that it's probably due to the medication. Honestly, your body will get used to it soon. The effect it's had on me has been amazing. I could never, ever have imagined being care free the way I am now. I'm only disappointed that I resisted taking ADs for around a year - the single worst year of my life. Try to treat this period as if you are unwell i.e. with flu or something. This is almost universally the worst period - let your partner know this - take it easy - don't punish yourself - just do what ever you can to get through the days. Eventually you'll see improvements.

[phil-f]

Thanks for the re-assurance! Glad to hear your doing well now. I have felt a bit better today, not going to get ahead of myself though, theres still a long way to go.

[fred_h]

Hi Phil,

Prozac effect may take a while to kick in, if it doesn't get any better in the next 2 weeks you should discuss it with your doc though. For some people it might not work, and they'd need another AD instead. Sometimes there's a lot of trial and error until you find the right med.

Usually you are prescribed some benzodiazepines for the first 3/4 weeks when starting an AD for anxiety issues, if you doc didn't then ask for some indeed.