Looking for some advice. I’m 29 and have been fortunate to not have suffered mental illness or ever needed medication. Had a nervous breakdown in Feb and it has left me with severe anxiety 24/7, panic attacks and depression. I tried Zoloft and had side effects from the first tablet that just got worse and worse. I lasted a month on it but was having almost 4 panic attacks a day and couldn’t sleep. I waited 6 weeks and was put on Prozac 10mg to start, eventually going up to 20mg. I’m on day 6 and I am a little scared. It feels like a sugar pill when I take it, no side effects whatsoever. Does this mean the side effects will hit me later or would I have felt it by now? Also, does it still mean it’s working if I don’t feel anything?
Rylee, the drug effects everyone differently so there is no exact answer to your question. However, Fluoextine usually takes 4-12 weeks to start showing its therapeutic effects, so at day 6, its very likely you will not see a great deal of change or side effects. When i took it i found within a week i was getting an very dry mouth and having trouble sleeping with twitching/shaking when i sleep (nervous systems inability to relax), though i did find i was feeling happier, and by happier i mean my perspective on everything was more positive. What you experience could be totally different to the next though. Try not to let it get you anxious thinking about what could happen and try to relax
Girl- I am so similar. I am 28 yo and had a nervous break down as well about a month ago. I was already on citalopram for 6 years from a break down in 2012 (hadn't had anxiety since). Some people don't have side effects. I didn't when I went on Citalopram at first and it worked great. However, on prozac my anxiety heightened and I felt very hyper during the day.Prozac, from what i have told, is a super beneficial drug that just needs more time to work, like 4-10 weeks.
Also- I don't know if your getting your script from your GP or a psychiatrist. I finally went to a psychiatrist who actually did a DNA test on me to see which drug would work best with my metabolism. I have fast metabolism and prozac stays in the body for longer than any other SSRI. Zoloft did not do anything for me either.
Thanks for your reply. Did you feel side effects straight away though? I understand it takes time to work. I’m more conferned that I’m not feeling a thing when taking it and worried the side effects will hit me later. When I took Zoloft, I felt side effects from the first tablet.
I can’t believe how similar our situation is. I’m so sorry to hear you have struggled so much also. My script was from a Psychiatrist. Before I went to him, my GP gave me Zoloft. I’m just concerned because I could feel little things from the very beginning with Zoloft. It just feels like a sugar pill with Prozac to me. Could you feel you were on something from day 1 with Prozac or did side effects hit you later? I’m worried of waking up in week 2 or 3 to major side effects and it’s been in my system quite long then. Seems weird to take an SSRI and feel nothing.
Out of curiosity, did you feel after your breakdown that you were in a heightened state of anxiety all the time? I never had these issues before, didn’t even know what anxiety was.
Omg YES to the heightened state of anxiety. I literally felt like a crazy person for two weeks. Almost drove myself to the psych place. Mental breakdowns take a while to rebound (like 6-9 months). Don't be discouraged in any way. 10 mg is not alot at all. I think they say you don't even get a therapeutic dose until 20 mg but i could be wrong. I have a lot going for me right now and wanted to cut the BS so i said just put me on 40 and i will deal with the side effects. I also was coming off of citalopram which I had been on for 6 yrs so I fully expected feeling weird the first few weeks. If you get side effects from going up just know that they won't last and they are part of the process. Mental breakdowns suck!!
I was the same hun! Never questioned my mental health in my life until this. The panic and anxiety has been so full on at times that I’ve thought of driving myself to a psych hospital too. And the constant feeling 24/7 of I’m going crazy and going to end up losing my mind. I try to explain it to people and they don’t get it, it’s a feeling. No matter how much reassurance I’ve gotten from family, doctors, the psychiatrist, I still feel like that and feel scared all the time. I am so fed up with living like this and want my life back.
No i did not feel the side effects straight away, it usually takes me a week, however to put things into perspective, i am 5"2' (157cm) and weigh about 48kg (110 pounds) and was on 20mg. I have also taken it several times in the past so i knew what to expect. The first time i took it, about a week or two i had crazy head spins and found conversing with others extremely difficult as everything was spinning and I could not focus. I think that is just down to the drug being quite powerful at such small concentrations and the fact I am small did not help. I also remember a time i took it again after about a year off of it and within the first week i had an anxiety attack, like a sudden rush of panic. My bf did not message me at the same time he normally did each day and for some reason i got so panicked and worried that something bad had happened to him or my cats that i couldn't concentrate and work and sent him several frantic messages... the drug can play tricks on your mind in its infant stages. Just try to keep your calm and do not focus to much on it. I hope that helps you a bit more x