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.

[joyce1980]

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.

I agree with this, I take seroxat and it took a good 4 weeks for it to work.
The ssri family do take a long time to get going. stick it out and always keep in contact with your Dr

[lou77]

day 7 now and feeling ok,felt terrible yesterday but made myself go to work and felt kinda ok once i was there,didnt take propranolol tho,i think maybe that helped in a weird way. Back to uni tomoro and im filled with panic about that already but each day i get through feeling lousy is a day closer to feeling the positive effects of the meds - positive thinking seems to be working for me at the moment! Thinking of trying some selfhelp/hypnosis cd's alongside the meds, any recommendations?

[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!