A timetable for recovery on Fluoxetine / prozac

[Don777x]

Keep it up Kay, you got this. Yesterday was my first dose of 60mg and I can honestly say I woke today feeling more myself since March. I'm sure it's more of a placebo effect since I just upped my dose, but I'll take any win I can get. Still haven't touched my Xanax. Trying hard not to if I can help it.

[KayMK]

Well I would take that placebo effect and run with it!
Hope it carries on for you.
No tears for me today so far!

[Don777x]

Day 32. Day 4 of 60mg. Definitely took a step back today in terms of how I'm feeling. Hoping to string together a couple good days. How's it going for you Kay?

[KayMK]

Hi. Oh I'm literally all over the place. So I have moments of feeling like oh my god I feel like me and then seconds later it will dip again. Like my body or brain remembers I'm not supposed to feel OK.
It's 7 weeks today for me. What I'm realising is there is no guarantees of how the day will turn out. Cried all morning yesterday then slept until lunchtime, got up felt fine and actually ate lunch(a first for me), then cried again.
This morning the anxiety that I thought I had pretty much beaten made an appearance but instead of being sad I was just bloody angry with it. There was a few swear words going on!🤬🤬

I'm definitely feeling less on edge, less uneasy but even saying that freaks me out in case I jinx it.
Last night I was laying on the sofa doing a bit of Internet shopping and I thought ooh I like those earrings, then I thought ooh that felt like a normal thought.,then I felt sick, my stomach dropped and heart started racing and I was crying.
My husband came in from the kitchen and was like what's happened I was only gone 60 secs!!
What I feel like is it its a battle going on in my head and I got to keep fighting the fight.
Still haven't left the house or done much of anything really. I'm trying to accept and know I will when I can.

Do you think it's upping the dose made you have a few bad days? What are you feeling?
Keep going. Its going to be worth it in the end.
Healing thoughts from sunny England to you x

[Jo79]

I’m also starting to go up to 60mg but will be doing 60 every other day for two weeks first. Am on day 3 and feeling pretty crappy today but that’s mostly because I’m feeling run down - had to go get a COVID test today. I hope it’s just a cold but I kept waking up drenched in sweat and can’t stop coughing 😷.

Kay, I know what you mean about the thoughts, I’m the same, constantly looking out for when I have a good one and then panicking when I notice. It’s so frustrating! X

[Don777x]

Hi Jo! How's your journey so far and how far along are you altogether?

Kay, the first night I upped my dose I felt pretty good. The last couple days have been sort of foggy and my sleep schedule is out of wack again. It's currently 3:36 here and I'll most likely be up until 6-7 then sleep all day again. The longer I was on 40 the easier the insomnia got, so I assume it'll be another few days for it to go back to normal.

As far as my recent bad days, it's mainly my thoughts. I'll be in the moment like You and then all of a sudden have a thought like hey I'm supposed to feel like crap and then of course I do. Still haven't gotten out of the house since June 1. My eating habits are getting bad again, so a lot of what I'm feeling is maybe self-induced by my sugar intake. Other than that the side effects didn't really come back too much. My dreams are very much vivid again which I could do without. Some ringing in my ears here and there. Dizziness, naseua, insomnia. But it's nothing I can't manage. June 29th will be Day 34 for me. According to Better days schedule, I'm still a ways off. It's tough but hang in there, I'm right there with you.

[KayMK]

Isn't it strange that we all feel that oddness when a normal feeling or thought appears. It definitely feels like for me it's a case of those normal thoughts becoming the majority and the crappy ones becoming a minority and then we can know we are on the road to recovery.
Day 34 is early days but you've done it, you've done 34 days of a pretty shitty time and you survived. Glad the side effects haven't come back too bad for you. You do what you need to do to get through the next 34, day by day or hour by hour.

My sleeping is just ridiculous. I am exhausted pretty much 99% of the time regardless of how much I sleep. I will wake in the early hours and be awake for a few hours and then just want to sleep all day. Sounds similar to you.

Yesterday was definitely one of my better days so far, got out of bed earlier and ate something.
I haven't even been in my garden for weeks but yesterday I went outside and played with the kids and the dog and the rabbit. I still dont feel like me but it's an improvement.

Today I'm feeling really rubbish. Not mentally so much as physically.
Feel achy, sick and headache. Just generally ill. It seems my pattern to have one OK day and one bad day.
Feeling pretty guilty too as my daughter is going to the orthodontist and I can't take her. My mum is so she's not on her own but it just feels like something I should be able to do.

As for the eating, just give yourself some congratulations for actually eating! It's one of my main struggles the lack of appetite. The mental health team I saw said just eat what you fancy just as long as you eat something. Im trying milkshakes at the moment. At least it's something.

Xx

[Speranza]

Just re-read the OP. For some reason (Covid time warp?!) I thought I was on Week 8 but in fact it's only (almost) Week 6, so no wonder I'm not there yet!
On the whole, much better but I had a massively anxious day last week (triggered by something, not just random - but quite an overreaction!) followed by a day of feeling shaky.
However I suspect that without Prozac I'd have had a complete meltdown rather than coping at the time. I've still got a bit of anxiety echoing around but I think it will settle because it's diminishing rather than getting worse.

I've changed from morning to evening dose, and that's really helped with daytime tiredness. Headaches have gone. Slight gastric SEs but nothing terrible.

Reviewing with the GP in a couple of weeks - I am hoping I'll be doing quite well by then but in any case I want to stick with 20mg for at least another month.

Hang in there guys!

[Don777x]

The fact that you were able to get back outside is huge, Kay . That's a huge win in my book. And you're right, it's been 34 days of Hell but that's 34 days down. Today was another anxious one for me. As of this moment I'm staring at a small dose of Xanax and battling my anxiety over taking it, (as it would be my first time). I have no doubt you're on the right track, pretty soon we will get there.

Speranza, good to meet you! Definitely stick to 20mg especially if you are already starting to see improvement. I moved to 60mg rather quickly but I know that's typically where I need to be with these SSRIs. Continue to update your progress. We are all in this together.

[Jo79]

Hi Jo! How's your journey so far and how far along are you altogether?

Hi Don, I have been on Fluoxetine for 3 months now, started 20mg at the end of March, increase to 40 after 3 weeks and then last week my psychiatrist increased me to 50mg to start with by taking 60 one day 40 the next for two weeks before the jump to 60mg every day. I am tempted to skip this part though and just start taking the 60mg, seems like I am just prolonging the agony 😆