Hi, totally new to Patient Communities but here goes! I am in my 70s and have been on Fluoxetine 20mg for over a year now for what I would call fairly mild depression, anxiety and mood swings. After the initial few weeks when I thought I may have to come off them due to headaches and nausea, things settled down. My mood has definitely improved and I don’t get so snappy. This is definitely a plus as my wife has incurable cancer and I don’t want to get moody. I still get a bit nauseous at times and definitely suffer with some anxiety when I am going out, and feel more comfortable following my usual routine. However, the main problem seems to be the vivid dreams I am having, and these are becoming worse. I have always dreamed of course but these are fairly strange, occur two or three times a night and leave me completely drained when I wake up. Does anyone have any similar experiences on this drug?
I was taking floxetine myself, but they didn’t work for me,I had to changeto propranolol 10 mg and matazapin 45mg, as I am also suffering from chronic asthma,
Hello, I’ve just rejoined the forum after it shut down for a year or so. I’m on 20mg fluo as well for about 2.5 years. It took over a year to fine tune the dosage and get past the awful side effects! I’m doing really well now, but yes the vivid dreams are still there. I’ve realised I just have to accept them, but I’ve heard some posters saying they did eventually subside. Also night sweats still. I found it’s best not to drink alcohol which seems to make things worse in the end. I lost my own wife to cancer eight years ago and didn’t realise I was suffering from PTSD until I had a complete breakdown. Not had any history of mental health issues before (64 year old). This medication was initially just to get me back to normal over a year or so but I’m a bit worried to stop taking them now as they make me feel great!! It’s also a nightmare getting back on them apparently, although for a few reasons Prozac is considered the best of them due to it’s much longer half life which makes any withdrawal symptoms much easier to deal with. Anyway, keep on going, dig deep mate. We know how difficult it is to support the one we love through this, staying strong for them whilst we are hurting inside so much. You must be very proud of yourself you know It. Best Wishes to you and my heart goes out to you.
Forgot to mention, did you discuss a dosage increase with your GP yet? I went up to 40mg which was for me a game changer. All anxiety went and I enjoy social situations now. After about 6 months I dropped down to 30 mgs then 20. I’m seeing the doctor next Thursday to discuss maybe increasing back to 30 as I’m feeling a bit flat recently. Well, I’m fully retiring next April and I’ve got a heavy cold, er, I mean the worst Manflu ever recorded, at the moment so feeling a bit sorry for myself today!! This gloomy weather doesn’t help so it’s time to dose up with vitamin d etc!
Thanks for replying to my post. Am coming to accept the dreams more now. Very seldom nightmares but just vivid and mixed up. Don’t really want to come off fluoxetine as I know they definitely improve my mood most of the time, although they don’t exactly make me feel great as you mentioned they did! Will be sticking with them anyway for now. Good to hear from someone else and good luck.