Who fancies being my flux diary buddy?

[MrsCav]

Thanks for your response MrsCav. You seem very positive, knowing they've worked before must be a great help.

Day 1 for me today - I took a massive 5mg! Felt weird all day but levelling out now. Not much anxiety. I hope I sleep!!

Hopefully life post-lockdown returns to normal for you soon. Take care.

I do have a different mindset. I'm sure that's why I have no side effects. They do work, they work a treat. Its just, I go a couple of years and think it's time to come off.

Focus on the positive whilst taking this medicine, if you're waiting for every side effect to happen, it will. I also hope you get a good sleep tonight - I've never been a great sleeper, I wake up often during the night.

[panic_down_under]

Its just, I go a couple of years and think it's time to come off.

You might want to consider staying medicated permanently as there is growing evidence antidepressants, especially the SSRIs, may become progressively less effective every time they are stopped and restarted, often requiring higher doses to achieve the previous level of control, or not working at all. They may also produce more severe, and/or different, initial side-effects. Two studies, Amsterdam JD, 2016 and Amsterdam JD, 2009, found the likelihood of antidepressants working after each restart drops by between 19-25% (see also: Bosman RC, 2018; Amsterdam JD, 2009; Leykin Y, 2007; Paholpak S, 2002).

[losin]

My two main side effects are increased anxiety and really bad tinnitus.

[panic_down_under]

My two main side effects are increased anxiety and really bad tinnitus.

Heightened anxiety at the beginning is very common. It is caused by the initial increase in serotonin activity. Serotonin is not the 'feel good' neurotransmitter of popular myth.

Have you had tinnitus in the past, or only since you began taking fluoxetine? Many meds can trigger it, so can stopping them. Why is poorly understood. It often ceases after a while.

[MrsCav]

You might want to consider staying medicated permanently as there is growing evidence antidepressants, especially the SSRIs, may become progressively less effective every time they are stopped and restarted, often requiring higher doses to achieve the previous level of control, or not working at all. They may also produce more severe, and/or different, initial side-effects. Two studies, Amsterdam JD, 2016 and Amsterdam JD, 2009, found the likelihood of antidepressants working after each restart drops by between 19-25% (see also: Bosman RC, 2018; Amsterdam JD, 2009; Leykin Y, 2007; Paholpak S, 2002).

Interesting! I read this yesterday and made me feel a bit deflated. I'll carry on with Fluox. till I get to around 6 weeks as I know it will be in my system then. If I don't feel any better (not sure how I'm feeling at the moment) then I'll show my GP these studies. But I wonder if this is why I have no side effects. Mind you, on saying that I am definitely jaw clenching which I only do at the start of Prozac, but no heightened anxiety which I was expecting.

[MrsCav]

My two main side effects are increased anxiety and really bad tinnitus.

I remember reading on here years ago someones explanation and it's stuck with me …. our bodies get use to having anxiety. Along comes an anti depressant, its making serotonin and our bodies don't like it, it likes anxiety. So the anxiety and serotonin have a brief fight (heightened anxiety) and thankfully the anxiety loses and we're left with the good times.

Don't know about tinnitus personally, my husband suffers with it, but he is an ex professional drummer so it was to be expected.

[panic_down_under]

I read this yesterday and made me feel a bit deflated.

There is still a very good chance fluoxetine will work as well as it has previously, but I wouldn't risk too many more discontinue-resume cycles. Should it not work, or not as well as before there are many more ADs. Another may even be more effective than fluoxetine was the first time.

I'll carry on with Fluox. till I get to around 6 weeks as I know it will be in my system then.

I'd give it longer than that. Fluoxetine often takes much longer to kick-in that other ADs because of its very long half-life - about 6 days for fluoxetine itself and up to 16 days for its active metabolite which does most of the work - anyway, and this tends to lengthen even further with each stop-restart cycle.

[MrsCav]

Thank you!

There was something else in the studies, about how they stop working, I think that's where I got to last time and thought I feel no different, or maybe I had just got use to how I was feeling and so I presumed I was better and come off. I had no idea they could stop working and it didn't enter my head to speak to a GP, I just did a slow taper.

I'll continue for now and give it a while longer, maybe 2 months now you've said that but if I don't feel any better I will go the docs and maybe it's time for a new anti d.

[panic_down_under]

I'll continue for now and give it a while longer, maybe 2 months now you've said that but if I don't feel any better I will go the docs and maybe it's time for a new anti d.

A lot of patient info sheets claim ADs will begin working within 2-6 weeks. While some lucky sods do get the benefit of the placebo effect, 4-12 weeks is more realistic with the majority beginning to notice an improvement at around week 6. ADs don't directly relieve anxiety (or depression), but work by stimulating the growth of new brain cells and it is these new cells which produce the therapeutic response. It takes about 7 weeks for a cell to bud, grow and fully mature, but they can begin to have a positive impact a little earlier. Unfortunately, because of its long half-life fluoxetine tends to take longer than most to get things moving. But on the plus side, the long half-life usually makes withdrawal a non event. The med is pretty much self-tapering.

[LancsBlue]

Well I got a weird side-effect of excessive blinking so I was taken straight off.

Shame, i felt quite good, if a bit spaced, on the one day I took it.

Good luck MrsCav