Hi, please help! I've been taken Prozac for 8 days (no time at, but sorry I'm desperate to feel better!!) I'm taking it for anxiety and depression. I've noticed my anxiety at morning times is 10 x worse since starting it and I feel incredibly sick, with no appetite at all? Did anyone else feel this way? Does it ever stop? I just feel hopeless at the moment and would love to hear from someone who has got through this time, or has any advice!
Kirsty x
Hi Kirsty,
yes be assured you will feel better, you must be patient though! If you read the posts on prozac, flouxetine you will see its a slow med to work. It takes at least four to six weeks to become stable in your bloodstream. Dont be alarmed it doesnt mean you will have side effects the whole time, you may have some that come and go.
everyone reacts differently, you may feel better very quickly! Everyone says you feel worse before better, its very normal what you are feeling. I agree its not pleasant, its awful, some medication does that to us. You need to try and float through it, listen to your fave music, watch dvds. Meditation music with fish swimming, or a stream of running water or a beach scene.
you will feel better, keep saying that! Be positive always, but do keep in touch with your Dr if you are worried. Eat well drink lots of water, filtered not tap! Fruit, light meals often. Cut back on coffee if you drink it. Be kind to yourself too!
i know these are only words but im 59 and have gone through alot of trials in life, i know how bad you are feeling right now! Talk about it here you will get lots of helpful advice,
best wishes🌸
They sound like the side effects . Been through them myself . There terrible - give it some time . I even got a aching limbs - it takes a while to get in your system . Took me 8 weeks for the symptoms to fade but started another dose last week so I'm a bit anxious low mood at the mo . It will get better I promise .
Thank you so much, they may only be words but they mean the world to me right now! I feel in such a dark place that just knowing people have been there and come out the other side is so much comfort.
Kirsty x
Thank you so much for your reply, means a lot to know there are people out there going through it too. I have never felt this poorly in my life, I had no idea the beginning of taking meds could make you feel more anxious!!
How are you now with your new dose?
Is it still Prozac?
Kirsty x
Yes fluoxetine x was on 20 mg for 8 weeks , then 30 mg then the last week gone on 40 mg . I have been of coming off it but gone too far now .prevousoly I was on it for four years and was fine . My anxiety has stabilised now but left with a depression I think now x
Thank you for being so honest with me. I'm so sorry about the depression, will you receive help for that too? May I ask if you had to go through all these awful side effects all over again when the dosage was upped? X
Upped my dose to 40 mg only a week ago x no not as many side effects yet . feel low but less anxiety . Everyone is different I suppose . Get phone counselling off my work and stress control course from the local authority via gp - that is t till march . Are you getting any help ?
I have panic disorder, I've been on floux 20mg for 13 weeks, and the last 2 weeks I have been on 40mg, I had terrible anxiety and panic for about 10 weeks and i suffered from EVERY side effect, i was miserable for months, and just now it's starting to go away, it's a very long process, but yes, eventually you get there. My head is still extremely foggy but that's the only syptom left, i heard that can take a while to go away though. I NEVER thought i would get to where i am now, but it works, have faith people. I'm still not myself yet but i'm miles from where I was. keep the faith
Can I ask how you know you needed your dose upping? Can you feel it not working as well? I have a counsellor from Talking Space calling me tomorrow, supposed to be at 9:30 am though and I feel so rough at that time that I might need to rearrange. What's the stress control course like?
Thank you so much for your reply! I've never felt panic and anxiety like it at morning times, I'm wondering does that ever get better? Will I be calmer from when I wake up when things have settled or do the meds always have to kick in? Sorry so many questions but I'm struggling so much at the moment.
So glad you're feeling a bit better, sorry you had to go though so much to get there though! X
no worries ask all you want. mornings were the worst for me, i could barely get out of bed or stomach any food till about noon time, unfortunately it does take a while to go away, but it does go away eventually, i never thought it would but it does. Dont get discouraged by bad days either, some days are worse than others but that's just how this recovery goes, it's like a 2 step forward 1 step back kind of thing, and the steps are baby steps, you'll get there i promise, just try to stay positive.
Noon time is about the same for me too, up until then it feels like hell. Hopefully I'm still managing to be semi decent for my children, but it feels so hard!! It's weird, from about 5am I can feel the sweats and the anxiety coming over me like a cloud, can't wait to escape it!! It's good to hear that it does get better and that I just have to keep going!! How did you know you needed your dosage upping?
well i dont even know if the 40mg has hit me yet, i know it can take a while. but I waited about 11 weeks and was about 80% better and my doctor asked if i wanted to try 40 and i said yeah why not. But so far so good with the 40mg, no new side effects or anything, the only thing i have left is that foggy head feeling from the anxiety. I know it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel from where you are but believe me it's there
Thank you! It's so reassuring to know I will hopefully get there eventually! Honestly can't wait to feel better, this creeps up on you and takes a hold doesn't it?
It's easily the worst thing I've ever gone through in my life, that's why I want to reassure people that it does get better, because I thought it never would
I've never felt fear and anxiety like it! Thank you so much for replying, knowing that it does get better means a lot to me right now!
Yup. Exactly why I stopped taking it. I was happy about the appetite loss, but my anxiety got worse than it was without this med and after a few weeks, it made me feel like a zombie...had to stop.
I don't know why people say 'stick with it...' These meds don't work for 80% or so of people that try them. I spent 2 years on 5 different meds and they didn't help. People have to do what is good for THEM...how THEY feel...people said stick with it...stick with it....why? I wonder if these people work for the pharmaceutical companies or something...LOL! Geesh...Something makes me feel like crap, I stop. Or the doc will add in other med. Anyway...there are other meds as an option. There are meds like Ativan to take if your anxiety is bad and periodic. There is thereapy as an option....sometimes the answer isn't in having to feel worse before you get better. Maybe one's body is trying to say 'THIS ISN'T A GOOD FIT?' Speak to your doctor. Don't listen to who knows how messed up contributors are here and what worked for them. Meds made my anxiety so bad I almost jumped out of a moving car! Should I have 'stuck with it?'' Best of luck to you, but speak to your doc and listen to your body. Figure out if you really need them too. X0
Thanks for your reply, I have spoken to the doctor and they have said I haven't given it enough time to settle into my system yet. I have another appointment on February 20th, so will need to see how I feel by then... X
Prozac has the longest half life of any SSRI, the active metabolite norfluoxetine (the active ingrediant in fluoxetine) has a half life of 15 days, so in order to reach a steady state in your blood it can take at minimum at least 30 days, figured i'd show you that before you start jumping around to other meds too early