A timetable for recovery on Fluoxetine / prozac

[Peachypips]

Welcome Kezz. My main side effects left now are waking up too early, minor tremors, muscle tension and the odd burst of anxiety.

Hi everyone else! Hope you are all doing ok. It's funny how when you are feeling terrible you are on here every day and then when you start feeling better you forget all about it! I think it's great when people disappear as I know they are better and getting on with life.

I am now on 13 weeks 1 day on 20mg Fluoxetine, with 5 weeks 2 days of that on 40mg. I have had a brilliant week, but today is the first day in a few weeks when I feel anxious. I think it's because the 40mg has yet to reach a fully steady state as I am only 37 days. Waiting for that 60 day mark when it reaches a steady state and then I will know it's uphill from there! I am significantly better than I was two weeks ago- keep going everyone!

Glad you are doing well Blue and Kenney- virtual high five!

J x

[kezz]

Thanks for your reply peachy! its a bright beautiful day outside. i had to go to the bank to get a bank statement to show universal credit my savings and account. As I'm unable to work at the moment an only work Bank for the hospital I'm may be entitled to a bit of help whilst going through this transition on meds. I'm back home. That was pretty hard but i did it! I would normally bike into town but I'm not stable on my feet let alone my bike at the moment!
Yes we do disappear after we get better was not my intentions but work took over and I fell back into the relationship that was making me ill! I must admit i held back on leaving as i knew i had to sell my house to get clear of him and find another abode. knowing how this was going to effect me I went back. Im away from him almost over a year now and things were settling down and then this anxiety came back whilst being on 200mg of SERTRALINE. i seem to manage good when all hell was breaking loose but then when things seem to settle my anxiety comes back with a vengeance!

[aspire35]

Hi All

Blue, so great to hear you are so much better! I just wanted to post an update on my progress too.

I have just reached the end of week 14 on 20mg prozac per day, it's been a long long road to recovery but I am finally there and feeling fantastic. For those of you still in the early weeks the worst is probably over and I can say with some degree of confidence that I think you will turn a corner soon, it just takes a while.

The first month for me was sheer hell. Anxiety and depression got worse and I had every awful side effect associated with this drug. I couldn't sleep, lost over a stone in weight, felt sick, dizzy and exhausted and could barely function.

Month two saw some improvement but I still felt pretty rough.

Month three I managed to get back to work and start socialising again but still found myself getting very tired and having the anxiety bubbling along under the surface.

At 12 weeks I was expecting to awake in the morning feeling fantastic and was a bit gutted that didn't happen. However over the last 2 weeks the improvements have continued and I can honestly say at the end of 14 weeks I am really feeling fantastic - better than I have in years. I am so glad I stuck with it but it does take a long time to work - probably about 3-4 months to get to the full effect, or for some even up to six months.

I now sleep well (8 hours a night at least), wake in the morning feeling calm and relaxed and happy and looking forward to the day ahead (such a contrast to waking in the early hours in a state of terror)! I am eating well, no longer have the upset tummy, dry mouth, foggy brain etc. In short, I feel just great!

I think the key is to stick with it and be patient. Be kind to yourself, my therapist asked me how I would treat a close friend who was going through what I was. I said I would be kind, caring, loving, compassionate, understanding. Then she asked me why I was feeling annoyed, frustrated, fed up and impatient with myself. Good question!

I find active relaxation really helps too - yoga, mindfulness, meditation, gentle walks.

Most of all I wanted to share how great I am feeling and my gratitude to all those who have been supporting me though my journey. For those still going through those first few weeks - stay strong. One thing is for sure - you will get better, even though that's hard to believe when you are stuck in the middle of all this.

Take care everyone.

A
xx

[Peachypips]

Hey Aspire! So great to hear from you! I'm so so pleased that you are doing so well; it's such an encouragement to me. Reading your post has made me realise I am still in the early days of my recovery at 13 weeks 2 days. I'm also certain that I almost started again when I increased to 40mg 5.3 weeks ago.

I'm still waking at stupid-o'clock every morning feeling tense- hence posting at 7:40am- I've been up for two hours argh!!

You have given me hope that I won't wake like this for the rest of my life!

[aspire35]

Thanks Peachy, yes it's been such a long journey for you but I feel sure you are on the cusp of a full recovery. Take good care of yourself.

Thinking of you xxx

[Panicer]

Hi All

Aspire thanks so much for posting it really does help hearing from someone that's come out of the other side of this. I'm only on just starting week 6, so a long time to go but you, Peachy, Blue and others have really encouraged me to stick with it.

[Avm]

Im struggling really bad, really had enough its so hard on these tablets I just want to get better. Im on day 44 today and still not had 1 day when I have been 100% back to myself I feel like I don't even know myself anymore and just keep thinking have I ever been happy.

Its the worries and negative thoughts I just want them to stop and me to be happy :(. Wondering if this is it forever and thinking of loads of things to blame it on why I'm not happy and keep thinking once I am better this and that will bring me back down.

So glad most of you are being positive and getting there etc

[Bluehair05]

Hi Avm,

So sorry that you are still struggling, but what's important is that you are still pushing forward and you are much stronger than you think to do that.

It's easy to feel cross with yourself when you wake up and still feel rubbish, but hard to give yourself a break and let your body repair. If you had broken your leg you'd be sat back with your feet up letting your bones repair. It's the same with our poor old mind, we need to stop trying to suppress the anxiety and worry, rest, read, walk and let it come with us. You'll find those thoughts and feelings will pass if you can stop fighting them.

That said it is so much easier to look back and see what to do when you're on the other side, but for you right now you just want a breather. According to better days timetable you are well on the road to recovery and just need to be patient to give yourself time to heal. This will come and you will look back and see your current pain has been worth it.

Keep pushing forward, be proud of how far you've come.
Take lots of care B. xxx

P.s. Lovely to hear from you Aspire, glad you are doing so well. xxx

[Panicer]

Hi Avm

You sound like you're having a really tough time of it at the moment.

Bluehair's advice sounds spot on to me. It's really easy to get into a negative thought spiral and end up beating yourself up. I've been taught a bit of self esteem thinking recently that helped me, some of the ways of thinking that might help you are..

1. If you had a broken leg or other physical illness would you be being so hard on yourself? So why is it ok to punish ourselves for having a mental illness?
2. Try telling yourself, I've made loads of progress and I should be really proud of myself. Reinforcing positive rather than negative thoughts will have a positive effect on our overall well being.
3. My friend is going through this, how could I support them and how would I tell them to think about it? Would I tell them how well they're doing, tell them to think positively and go easy on themselves, that they're doing so well in such a short period of time? Or would I have a go at them and tell them to pull themselves together, that they're doing terribly and should be far further on with recovery?

It's really easy to be hard on ourselves but we need to remember we're not well at the moment, are doing really well and that we all have blips

[Avm]

Thanks guys for the support and replies it means a lot. I just want to be better and cant remember what I was like before because its been so long that Iv been happy.

I feel like I blaming situations, people and things why I got ill. I'm guessing its still early days for the Fluox even though it feels like a life time already.