fluoxetine and propranolol

[lou77]

after trying without succcess to cope with my panic attacks for a year i finally went to my GP who prescribed fluoxetine and propranolol, im on day five now and am not feeling any positive change if anything i feel worse and dread having to leave the house. First day back at uni today and i lasted half an hour in a lecture before i had to walk out,ended up outside in tears cos im so frustrated this is still effecting my life so much. Does it get any better? how long will it be until i feel the benefits of taking this medication? any advice or words of wisdom would be much appreciated!

[Cathy V]

Hi lou. Sometimes it takes a bit of time for the meds to kick in. Also it can depend on the dosage. If you still feel they aren't doing any good it might be worth having another chat to your doc...maybe he can tweek the dose for you. I take propranolol 80mg slow release and this is the only med im on and it works for me. Alot of ppl are started on only 40mg.

Cathy xxx

[pinkpiglet]

Hi there,
I started taking Fluoxetine in August but it was over three weeks before I felt any kind of benefit. They didnt make me feel ill but i kept wondering wether it was worth continuing with them. Then, one day i woke up and every thing just felt so much better. I don't put it all down to the meds (as i have been doing self help stuff too) but i think they have made a big difference. For someone who would never take medication i have definitely changed my opinion.

[lou77]

thanx for the replys, im on 20mg,with the propranolol (40mg) to take until they kick in but my panic is just the same and feel sick and fuzzy headed,with a constant ringing in my ears. To be honest i didnt find my GP very helpful,she didnt ask me any questions or seemed to want to listen,was in and out of the surgery within 5 minutes! I was totally anti meds to but dont know what else to do. Will continue for a week or so to see how it goes,but already im worrying about leaving the house tomoro, i hope they have a positive effect soon! x

[Cathy V]

I only know about propranolol (beta blockers) and to be honest the nature of them is that they usually kick in straight away. They slow down the heart so it doesnt have to work so hard, and it relaxes the blood vessels so your blood doesnt pump through so forcefully. This is why its given for migraines sometimes as well as high bp as it can lower this too. And because of this it can be useful to relax you but like i say it usually acts on the body within an hour of taking it. 40mg is a common dose and alot of ppl take it at this level.

The other med that you take...could take a few weeks to kick in but as i said i dont know it personally. Its awful when doctors dont seem interested though i agree.

Cathy xxx

[roosey]

A word of encouragement for you-- my daughter who is nearly 40 , was put on fluoxetine 40mg a few years ago , it has been marvelous for her- she is a different person,, she was even allowed to take them through her first pregnancy, (which i was worried to death about) but everyting was fine , with her and the baby who is now 3ys old. the consutant said it would have been worse for her to come off them and go bak the way she was,,,, so look forward to feeling better!!!!

luv
barb

[Cassie]

Stick with the Fluoxetine for now. SSRI's take anything up to 8 weeks to kick in properly. They sometimes make you feel slightly worse as well hun for the first couple of weeks so don't expect to be feeling better yet. Also I'd stay with 20mg for now, too early on to increase. Good luck.

[Incontrolnow]

I must say, I'm the type of person that hates taking pills regularly, but I would not be able to function without these 2 pills. My doctor prescribed Lexapro 20 mg and propranolol 40 mg so that I might be able to cope with life's stresses. They worked ok for the most part. Well, a certain incident came up on my job and I thought I was going to lose my mind and I immediately ran to the doctor and told him I needed something stronger. He put me on fluoxetine 20 mg and I continued the propranolol 40 mg. I started resting more and I had a better outlook on things. I was talking to a co-worker one day and she suggested taking 40 mg of the propranolol instead of the 20 mg. I tried the increase and I am finally living a life that I could only imagine that I would. I am 43 years old and I find my children, co-workers and others making crazy decisions that affect my life prior to the medicine. I was literally losing sleep because of worry. Now, I am getting rest and their decisions don't overwhelm me anymore. Good Luck on your prescription journey!

[Whiskey]

Hey, im on day 42 of fluoxetine 20mg. The first few weeks were not very good for me, my anxiety shot threw the roof and I cried a lot. Just like you describe, I was dreading leaving the house. I took time off work which really helped (6 weeks so far). My doc said all this is normal and if you read the posts on here you will see that it does take 3-6 weeks before you start to feel any benefit. I would say stick with it, it does get worse before it gets better but its just the meds getting into your system. I started feeling better after 4-5 weeks, im on week 6 now. Im in a much better place than I was, more calm and hardly ever anxious. I have one more week off then im going back to work I think it will be good for me! Despite the side effects, I finds these meds very good and I would do it all over again to get where I am now. Keep the faith and good luck xx

[Caren1]

Hi I was really scared of taking fluoexetine the first couple of months were awful but felt I had no choice as couldn't carry on feeling panicky. I can honestly say I wish I had taken these sooner as they take the edge off, I didn't realise how I felt till I look back and am so much happier now. The side effects were worse panic attacks but these do go. I wake up feeling better, constant thoughts are not there, things that would bother me don't anymore. I'm on 40mg and find that perfect. If I'm in a meeting or being looked at I would get anxious to the point I couldn't function. Propranolol really helps I take it an hour before i need to be in the spotlight. I grew up with a real stigma about anti depressants and they were bad but they have really helped me. Give it a few months though as it did take a while. Wish you well