Hi guys,
I came off Citalopram 8 weeks ago as it was not effective and I was feeling terrible on it.
I have severe anxiety and have not been functioning and so was started on 10mg Fluoxetine 6 days ago. Anxiety has shot through the roof and I have awful agitation that is unbearable (also had this on the Citalopram). I’m awake at 4.30am in such a state I want to curl up and die. I’m just crawling through each day. It’s torture. I have diazepam but I’m worried about dependency.
Do I keep going with the fluoxetine? Any advice?
I went through exactly what you are going though, and so many others have too. I was put on fluoxetine 10mg back in september for panick attacks and general anxiety disorder. the first week on it my anxiety was 100% worse, i could not sleep, eat, or leave the house. It was by far the worst week of my life. my doctor warned me it would get worse before it got better and gave me xanax to get through the first two week. I didnt take it or only take half the dose because i was scared to be dependent too, but looking back i should have taken it to reduce the side effects of fluoxetine. I promise you, you will get better, your body is just getting use to the medication. by day 14 i was begining to sleep again and feeling like i was going back to normal. I am now 10 weeks in and am so happy i stuck with it.
dont be affraid of the diazapam, it will make this inital period less painful and by week 2-3 you wont be reaching for it as the fluoxetine starts working
what helped me through the days was writting in a journal. i would write down everything I was feeling, how much i was sleeping , etc. , It was a good way to track my progress. Another thing I did was read positive reviews of people who took prozac/fluoxitine and would screenshot the ones that gave me hope. that way when i woke up in the middle of the night i could go back to those reviews to motivate me to stick with it.
Danielle, thank you so much, you have no idea how much your reply helped me (or maybe you do!). Only someone who has been through this understands. It's hell on earth. I have been regretting my decision to start it, as it's so hard to believe I will ever feel better when I feel THIS awful. I was already feeling terrible before I started it. I feel exhausted but with constant high anxiety. I barely know what to do with myself. So thank you for giving me some hope and some reassurance to keep going.
I totally agreeDo not feel frightened to use xanax or any benjo at this time! You NEED IT! You will not get dependent on it as long as you take it as prescribedI also used it to get thru the awful first side effects IT WILL GET BETTER!
HI Lucy
Im sorry your feeling so rough , my experience with fluoxetine was exactly the same i started on 20mg and for a full 2 weeks i couldnt function or do anything i also took diazepam and propranolol to get me through but it does ease off you just have to stick with it. im afraid each time you increase the dose the anxiety goes back to being dreadful again dont worry about the diazepam just take it when you really need it. i have started vaping CbD Oil which has helped my anxiety im now on 40mg of fluoxetine and i also take quetiapine at night too to help lift the depression and anxiety . Try and stick with it you can do this x
Thank you Barbara! Your support is appreciated. It's just so hard to know how long this really awful bit will last, it could be days/weeks or even months according to some posts, and I can't use the diazepam that long in case I get dependent (i.e if the fluoxetine doesn't 'work'?!). Ugh. It's so tough. Thanks for replying.
I totally understand how your feeling it's like hell but theres hope I promise! I had beta blockers to help me through the first few weeks I still need them occasionally now but if you stick with it and start doing self help stuff, there's loads of ideas on YouTube for calming anixety you will start to feel better. I'm on week 8 and starting to realise thank God I stuck with this. Good luck x
This is absolutely normal. I experienced severe heightened anxiety after starting and after raising my dosage. In fact, I ended up in the emergency room 3 days after starting and again after raising my dosage.
Everything is gonna be okay! In another week you'll be feeling much better. And from there it only gets better, at least it did for me. youre gonna get through this.
As far as diazepam goes, it will make the next week much more comfortable. Just watch your intake and slow down and stop as soon as youre feeling better. Good luck!
Donna----I bought CBD oil to vape also & then starting seeing all of this bad stuff on TV about vaping & since then, I have been scared to use it. I spent a ton of money. I wanted to Vape because I am a smoker & thought that vaping something like CBD oil might help me give up the tobacco. Has it really helped with your anxiety?
Hi Barbara
i used to be a smoker and i gave up using e cigarettes i still smoke an e cigarette with low nicotine in but i have a seperate e cigarette just for the CBD vape oil i started low on 100mg cbd now im on 300mg cbd vape oil and i will keep going up till i dont have to anymore, it has definately helped i used to have to take diazepam everyday now i dont it also helps with sleep etc i would definately reccommend trying it x
Thank You Donna for responding & the info!I will put mine back in my purse from the drawer I stuck it in.:)
Remember ---we are all here for you. We've been thru the SAME. It WILL get better.Smile please.:)
Thank you Theodore! Really appreciate your reply. Although I go up to 20mg tomorrow so I'm pretty worried about it getting even worse :( How long was it before you felt improvements? I'm only on day 7. It seems interminable.
Thank you for replying Lisa! I'm pleased to hear you are glad you stuck with it. I feel like throwing in the towel. Did it take 8 weeks to feel better? I do try to do some meditation, I used to be a regular meditator, but struggling with that just now when symptoms are so severe.
Thanks so much for the encouragement Donna! I'm due to increase from 10 to 20 tomorrow which is making me more nervous. I don't know how I'll get through this. My doc has also mentioned quetiapene, how have you found it? How are things for you now?
Hey Danielle, did you stay on the 10mg? Or go up to 20?
i stayed on 10mg. I never had panick attacks and anxiety until this past summer, september is when it got really bad that i went to see a doctor. My doctor and I agreed we would take it slow with the prozac as this realm of antidepressants was new to me plus my side effects were so bad. I am happy we took the more conservative approach and didnt rush into 20mg the second week as the guidelines suggest.
I am not sure if 10mg is enough as i still have some blips of anxiety (however not nearly as bad as it was) , my doctor did mention if we were to up my dose she would bump me to 15Mg and not jump straight to 20mg as im pretty sensative to the medication.
It was about 12-13 days before i started to feel better each day. There were peaks and valleys after that for sure but the general trend was up. I had a xanax script that helped get over the bump. Of course its different for everyone but 2 weeks give or take is where many start to have decreased side effects and an increase in mood.
It can take many months before the full benefits appear however, so keep that in mind! And increases in dosages are different for everyone. Some people dont have as bad side effects from increases as they do from starting so hopefully thats the case for you!
However, if things do get worse youre still going to get through it. Just take things day by day or hour by hour if you need to. Try not to put a strict timeline on when youll feel better. Take care of yourself and go on walks and meditate, or whatever works for you. The anxiety will pass with time, I promise. If youre feeling especially bad, feel free to send me a message! You got this! I know how hard this can be and im rooting for you :)