4 weeks in, driving me crazy!

[haziefantasie]

As the title suggests, Ive been on fluoxetine for just over 4 weeks now & its driving me crazy! My mood swings are unbelievable, I wasnt too bad a couple of days ago but today Im so anxious & I dont know what to do with myself. I keep getting headaches all the time & Ive realised its because my jaw & all my face keeps clenching & tensing up but I cant relax it. & I cant stop thinking & worrying about everything, I just cant slow my brain down.

I know it can take a while for the tablets to work but is it normal to be this bad 4 weeks in? I thought there might be some improvement by now. I was on mirtazapine but changed it as my anxiety got so bad, however now its even worse. What if nothing helps, & Im stuck like this forever? Ive got a doctors appt on thursday but I dont know if I can last that long. My friend has offered to give me some diazepam but would that be causing more problems for myself?!

[Klonoa]

I'm sorry it's not working out for you!

I personally would give it another week or two but around this point it probably isn't going to get much better and if you're really having trouble it might be better not to wait.

How is your sleeping pattern? I'm trying to test taking it different times of the day because it leaves me really sleepy. Did you have poor quality sleep before you took them because I read it can mess with your dreams and sleep quality.

I've been a bad jaw clencher since my anxiety began and I go through periods of waking up with bad headaches. I have to take something first thing when I get up or they get worse.

Anyway when you notice yourself clenching your teeth take your tongue and roll it back to rest it on the middle of the roof of your mouth and it forces the area to relax. So just another behaviour technique to improve like breathing and so on. Nighttime is a bit different though, you should be able to pick up mouth guards at chemists that you cut to size and boil in water but you're not supposed to use them if your jaw clicks or you have wobbly teeth. In that case you have to go to dentists and they will fit you a proper one.

As I found out you can do real damage with your teeth so its best not to leave it.

You won't be feeling like this forever! There are alternatives, my husband's cousin recently told me that she is also on medication for anxiety/depression and couldn't take the fluoxetine but is doing better on Cymbalta (Duloxetine).

The worst part, as you know, is the wait and see approach waiting for those meds to settle in. Hope you feel better soon! I wouldn't take someone else's medication though, I know they mean well but it's just not worth it without doctor's guidance.