My experience taking Fluxetine (with some retalin)

[ChristopherT]

Day 11, was.. well, again not great, but not the worst.

I find for the 4-5 hours after I take the tablets the symptoms are stronger maybe..

Anyway for now, it's just a sweaty palms, some depression, and anxious thoughts... It seems more than usual for me, but not as bad as a terrible hangover.

The nights seem to be problem free.. I kind of wonder, if I took this at night instead, would I sleep through all the problems..

My world feels very turned upside down, from what it was a year ago, maybe I'm in some kind of nervous breakdown having my life pulled from under me, and maybe the Fluoxetine will help me realize and get through that.

[ChristopherT]

Day 12. I drank a little bit today, not a lot, but 4 glasses of mixed spirits...

As for the medicine Fluoxetine.. Yeah today is a bit strange. I did have moments of kind of Euphoric positiveness. I guess I was feeling a bit confused in my thoughts, and edgy and anxious.

I started to look up "Borderline personality" disorder... I passed an online test to say you might have it... But then when I went to the forums for it, I could only relate to people on certain points... I don't usually get angry. Then I thought about the Manic kind of feeling and looked up Bipolar disorder. I do get some of the social over positive side effects of that, because I like to have a lot of fun. I did I online test, and it said I was Bipolar type 2... I'm not sure if these online test are much to go by...

Anyway I will continue the treatment for Prozac but it does seem to be disrupting my day to day life.

-Again by nightfall I was completely relaxed.... It could also have something to do with the Ritalin I take wearing off then too, not sure.

[ChristopherT]

Day 13.. Half way through.

I didn't take Ritalin today... Just the Prozac/Fluo.
I had some problems with my relationship, so I thought, I would just try the Fluoxetine..

Strangely. I didn't feel down or anxious today really. Just lethargic and sleepy. But I feel better, which is good I guess. So maybe with the Ritalin, I was getting more depressed, which would seem so as the end of the days, when the Ritalin wore off, I felt almost the same as now.

[ChristopherT]

Day 13 - Night.
Now I can actually feel the effects of the Fluoxetine. I'm sure.

Because today should be a really bad day. Me and my long distance relationship partner decided to have a break, not my choice. But strangely, at night I feel kind of free.

It doesn't seem to worry me as much as maybe it should... I didn't have the Retilin today, and I was less productive, but.... If it means I can feel positive, on a day I was glooming over then I'm sure being a little unproductive for a while, might not be such a bad thing.

[ChristopherT]

Day 14
2nd Day in a row, no Ritalin.

Okay... well today, except for a couple of hiccups in the day ( I was just dumped yesterday, via phone text, for a girl I loved far away, so a couple of hiccups, so to speak can be expected)

But overall, I would mark today as a good day. I didn't have an underlying depressed feeling, just a couple of moments, but they were fair enough... And I felt quite resilient and positive in this situation. Would I put this down to Prozac? I would say, it seems pretty clear that it is starting to have an effect. I read that while not all, a lot of people will feel some effect by two weeks. Week, it's day 14, so the timing couldn't have been better!

Thanks Fluoxetine, for seemingly saving me from a thudding break up. Lets see how this all goes. It's not over yet I'm sure, but it's a good sign, and the nights are definitely more positive.

---------- Post added at 11:13 ---------- Previous post was at 10:55 ----------

I really wish to quote the book I read "Happiness Hypothesis" by Jonathan Haidt.

pg 40.
The other leading theory about Prozac is that it raises the level of a neural growth hormone in the hippocampus, a part of the brain crucial for learning and memory. People who have a negative affective style generally have higher levels of stress hormones in their blood; these hormones, in turn, tend to kill off or prune back some critical cells in the hippocampus, whose job, in part, is to shut off the very stress response that is killing them. So people who have a negative affective style may often suffer minor neural damage to the hippocampus, but this can be repaired in four or five weeks after Prozac triggers the release of the neural growth hormone

[OncewasSupergirl]

I think that quote is interesting and would like to believe it the only issue I have is that my memory is terrible since being on the fluox! If it raises the level of the nearal growth hormone responsible for memory n learning I'd expect my memory to improve? I used to have an excellent memory before this episode of anxiety/depression. As for the Ritalin and Prozac I'm sure the Ritalin has a warning that it can affect the way other medicines work especially anti-depressants. Did the Doc who prescribed the Prozac know you were taking Ritalin? X x

[ChristopherT]

Hi again O.W.Supergirl!
Well, the author was saying they also had memory problems, so I’m not sure that he is implying that it is good for memory, though with some people it is apparently. Because he was a professor he decided that his memory was more important than his wellbeing and he said after stopping taking the tablets, after 5 weeks his memory came back, and so did his anxieties, but what had changed was he had a first-hand experience of seeing the world with new eyes.
Maybe you can take some supplements to help with memory, and hopefully the symptoms of memory loss will fade, along with the others.

My doctor was a traditional Australian older doctor, different to the one who prescribed me Ritalin (Originally an American). He didn’t approve of me taking Ritalin, he said I should try to lower my dose off it, and offered me Prozac. I assume he knew there could be possible side effects and he said to contact him in two weeks. I haven’t yet. I feel okay recently, so I just want to see how it goes. I’m hoping as the Fluoxetine starts working more, I will gradually be able to take the Ritalin, which seems to be good for memory, in my case.
Day 15
The Fluoxetine seems to be working its way up I guess. I felt okay. One complaint, not really but interesting when you have a real break up you can feel a pain in the chest… So while my mind seems to be doing okay, my gut “heart ache” was still present. But still overall a positive improvement, and a lot better than last week.

[ChristopherT]

Day 16 No complaints at the moment. Everything seems to be going well (or at least improving) , and this looks to be getting me (now) through a difficult time.

[ChristopherT]

Day 17, nearing at three weeks.

Today was pretty good, I did feel a bit down, but it was quite minor. What worries me I guess, is the coming weekend. And no doubt having recently been given "a break" in my relationship, as a drinker, I will look to go out and drink, hopefully with some people I would call friends. However, after the last time I went out, and actually drank, I had a horrendous few days following that. It may have been because of the Ritalin, that I was taking, and now have stopped, but I think there is a good chance it's a side effect of the Prozac and drinking.

I really hope though, that it wasn't, because i do enjoy a good night of drinking with friends now and again.

Another Quote from my book The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt.
Pg 43
"I therefore question the widespread view that Prozac and other drugs in its class are overprescribed. It's easy for those who did Well in the cortical lottery to preach about the importance of hard work and the unnaturalness of chemical shortcuts. But for those who, through no fault of their own, ended up on the negative half of the affective style spectrum, Prozac is a way to compensate for the unfairness of the cortical lottery."

[OncewasSupergirl]

It does say on the leaflet you are not supposed to drink alcohol whilst on Fluoxetine. And I know from other posts it seems to increase hangover effects. Personally I haven't really drank on them only one or two drinks at least n I felt fine the next day. Maybe you need to address the reason you feel the need to drink? Does it increase your self-confidence in social situations? X x