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Thread: Fluox here I come ( I think)

  1. #1

    Fluox here I come ( I think)

    So I've been prescribed fluox 20mg due to 20 years of on and off GAD/panic and depression. I wondered if I could ask those of you who are already on fluox if the side effects are as terrible as I've researched??
    Of course I've researched every forum and website regarding side effects and I'm terrified. I've had the tablets for one week and still not taken one.
    But the crazy thing is is that all the bad side effects that I've read are the exact same symptoms as I get from bad anxiety anyway?

    Some years ago when I was having a shit time the doc prescribed me 30mg Zispin/ mirtazapine, I took them and suffered NO side effects whatsoever (well not that I noticed) and they were brilliant. But I think at the time I did not think about side effects at all and did not have a computer back then to research them so therefore did not have any side effects? I had them for 9 months and then tapered off and was fine. They really worked for me.

    So what I'm trying to say is, are the side effects as bad as you feel when your really anxious anyway or a lot worse? Or are the side effects worse because we suffer with anxiety anyway? I have to go to work and can't afford to be off ill with side effects.

    Thanks in advance

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Posts
    27,320

    Re: Fluox here I come ( I think)

    I've been on two so far. My first was Citalopram and within days I was under the Crisis Team because I was not prepared by my GP for the side effects and they affected me badly. I went on Zopiclone to combat the insomnia and this helped me adjust to it.

    The second time I went onto Duloxetine. The 30mg dose only works like SSRI's so it was nothing new with the nausea, headaches, tiredness, etc. The 60mg dose was when the adrenaline element is being interacted with. This was the worst anxiety I have ever felt by far. But I hung on for the 8-10 days it lasted, had a Diazepam the last 2 mornings as it just got too much and didn't once call my GP. The Citalopram incident had me calling my GP, this didn't. I knew what it was and I knew I would either have to stop and start with a new one and go through it again or could just grit my teeth and get through to the other side. So, I stuck it out.

    My answer to your question is that antidepressants can make you feel even worse than your anxiety because they will add onto it. Some things you may not have had before either. But until you try them, you just never know.

    The internet is awash with horror stories about every single antidepressant available...including the Mirt you went onto fine. What the internet isn't awash with are all the people, like you, that don't write stories about how they went on them fine.

    I think this website is much better if you read people's experiences as it's not a right wing style website like many of them out there. Also, many of the people you may come across are anti "big pharma" and are selling natural "cures" so their stories may be financially motivated and potentially untrue.
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  3. #3

    Re: Fluox here I come ( I think)

    Mynameisterry, thankyou for your reply.
    I agree that you never hear good stories about the side effects of AD's. As I said I was absolutely fine on the Mirt back then.
    I think that we fill our heads with the horrific stories even before taking the first pill so are prepared for the worst anyways. My mum takes lots of tablets including sertraline and never even reads the side effects leaflet because she says if you read it you will most definitely get every side effect there is.
    She's never suffered side effects coincidentally.
    I think a lot (not all) is to do with your mindset beforehand. Prescribing a person AD's who is anxious to start with is a recipe for disaster.
    At the minute I think I'm more depressed than anxious, my anxiety is not too bad at this time so I think I'm going to give them a go.
    I just don't want to make myself ill because I have to go to work regardless. I'm a courier so I have to drive all day.

    I'll keep you posted, going to do a bit more reading on this fabulous site

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    364

    Re: Fluox here I come ( I think)

    I had a diary on here when I first started Fluoxetine. I hit the dreaded 5 week blip, but I came out the other side and went on to have a fab 18months before I tapered off. However, after a 3 month break I am back on. I could feel my GAD creeping back in and I knew I could feel better so I'm about a week in and not had any side effects this time around.

  5. #5

    Re: Fluox here I come ( I think)

    Hi mrscav,
    Were the side effects the first time round a nightmare? Or do you think as we have anxiety anyway we are waiting for the worst case senario as soon as we start with the tablets? So therefore the side effects do happen?
    I'm so scared but would like to know if they would make my life better.
    Thanks for your reply and good luck this time around! I'm going to read your diary.
    XX

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Posts
    89

    Re: Fluox here I come ( I think)

    Hey Lisakaye, just checking in to see how you were doing. I know it's so hard making this decision and of course as anxiety sufferers we overthink everything....... I think it will be hard trying to make this decision based on how others have felt. Look at Paxil, when I first started it years ago if I had read the stuff off the internet I never would have taken it, but it completely turned me around. I started taking it again a month or so ago and again it really picked me up, but I got off of it only because I find after taking it regularly I get really aggravated easily. I also felt like I was more anxious this time, but in the past it had helped so much with the panic attacks. I used to love the energy it gave me, but this time I'm more afraid of any rise in sensations, lol. I believe the best way to make this decision is like when I'm facing surgery. If you can't continue going on the way you are then it might be worth a try. You can always make the decision to stop. I took Celexa for 3 days and knew it wasn't for me. Wishing you much luck on your decision.

  7. #7

    Re: Fluox here I come ( I think)

    Hi faithfulone,
    I've made the decision to take my first tablet tomorrow morning before work.
    *Gulp*
    I'm literally scared stiff but I am curious to find out if they'll improve my quality of life basically. I figured if I take it in the morning before work then I won't have as much time to dwell on the side effects as I'll be busy. So that's the plan!
    The internet is a wonderful thing but too much knowledge is bad for your health definitely. I've read all the opinions and testimonies and most people have said stick it out and eventually it does get better for the most part.
    As of most people on here I've forgotten what it feels like to feel "normal" and as you know only too well it's soul destroying after a while. But the impending changes scare me cos I'm so stuck in this shitty comfort zone!
    I'm going to have a read about Paxil lol.
    I'll keep you posted, take care

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Posts
    89

    Re: Fluox here I come ( I think)

    That's a good plan and that way you won't dwell on the symptoms too much. I'll be thinking of you tomorrow and wishing you well.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Posts
    772

    Re: Fluox here I come ( I think)

    I worried myself to death before going on antidepressants, in my case Sertraline. I must have read about every single post on the internet for Sertraline or it's other names, Zoloft, Lustral etc and many were not very complimentary! It was a while before I summoned up the courage to actually take them and I did have some unpleasant side effects for the first few weeks. It got to the point were I said to my GP this isn't working for me, he said I could try another SSRI antidepressant, but I'd need a gap and then may have to go through side effects again from scratch. I decided to stick with it and it turned out to be the best decision I could have made. The side effects cleared up and at the same time I started to feel much better. They helped me through more than I could ever have imagined at the time and I eventually came off them with no problems at all. I subsequently went back on them a few years later and strangely had no side effects at all second time round. My body must have decided they were good after all!

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Posts
    364

    Re: Fluox here I come ( I think)

    Hi, well done on deciding to take your first tablet! Thing is, a side effect is anxiety .. which you all ready have, so what the worst that can happen?? For me, yes I had anxiety, but for the days it was bad I was given propranolol. I also got depression, which I had never ever had before. But it all happened in a 2 week window which is a very short space of time when you think of the bigger picture. But when it all goes, your life is going to be brilliant.

    I'm a week into the second lot of fluoxetine and I don't appear to have any side effects at all. I'm feeling much more positive than I was and my constant thoughts about teeth (what I worry about) are going.

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