Hi, its the first time I have tried Fluoxetine. I have been on 20 mg and this is my 10th day. So what should I be feeling? For the first few days I was disconnected, but that feeling subsided a little now. I feel very very tired and slept from 9pm till 7am without waking very much.

I know that that question has been asked alot but, I feel like I am in a grey area. Neither depressed or happy. Its a little strange. A little sort of zoned out...? Hmmm.

Hello

Its pretty much how I am feeling as well, currently on day 7 but had a few times where i had some axenity, now pretty much feeling how your are, so your not alone, there has been a few time where I have felt
really good about myself and at ease, but not many at the moment.

I assume as most people say its get better with time.

Just thought would let you know your not the only one feeling like that

Cheers

Dac

Thanks Dac, its always good to hear from people in similar situations for a bit of moral support.

Keep us posted, and I will do the same,

Thanks again,

Hi there! I'm on 20mg and have been taking it for about five weeks now. I have found that so far, the fluoxetine hasn't exactly lifted my mood, but it has stabilised and activated me. By that I mean that my lows are shorter, less frequent, and less deep, and I feel a bit less immobilised - except on really bad days, I can actually get up and do the things that need to be done now, which is a big help. While I don't really feel happy, I don't feel so crushed and miserable; I'd rather feel flat than despairing. The flatness is slowly decreasing with time, I think.

For the first 10-14 days I had a lot of the side effects - upset tummy, itchy skin, and so on. Now they have all subsided apart from the changes to my sleeping pattern. I never had trouble falling asleep, just waking up; now I tend to wake several times in the morning over two or three hours before my alarm is due to go off. In a way it's beneficial (it's easier to get up because you're awake than because your alarm drags you out of deep, cloying sleep!) but it can be irritating too.

My fluoxetine is the first course of medication I've ever had to take in my life, so experiencing side effects and stuff was quite a new experience for me!

I've been on Prozac 20MG (brand name) for 17 days now. Haven't noticed anything yet. No mood changes, no side effects, it doesn't feel like I'm taking anything.... Well, the only side effect is perhaps harder to fall asleep, and sometimes I wake up very earlier before my alarm clock goes off. But that's about it.... I'm suprised I haven't noticed a mood increase after 17 days? Or maybe it needs a little bit longer, I don't know. I just thought after two weeks I'd see some improvment. But maybe not.

I know that it takes long to come into its fruition. You know what I mean, its to early for me here after a night of strange dreams...!

Well keep posted here and i will do the same, thanks

Hi there

I've been on Fluoxetine 20mg 4 weeks now and actually felt worse the first few weeks. Think now I feel the same as I did before I started, maybe a little worse/less motivated/irritable/kinda spacey. Hoping it will start to work soon . I have been told by some people it can take the full 6 weeks at least for some people to have effects from any AD. Hope you keep us posted how you are doing. Interesting to know how different people are affected.

Good luck

Skip xx

Hi Skip,

Do you find it makes you sleepy? I was reading a book after work and instantly zapped to sleep till now.

Thanks

Hi android

I do now, but when I first started i was either very sleepy or very "wired" feeling and insomniac. But now I generally feel more lethargic than anything else. I think this does even out though from what I have read in other threads.

Still not feeling motivated though. Wish it would hurry up! How are you now?

Skip xx

[/quote]

Hi android

I do now, but when I first started i was either very sleepy or very "wired" feeling and insomniac. But now I generally feel more lethargic than anything else. I think this does even out though from what I have read in other threads.

Still not feeling motivated though. Wish it would hurry up! How are you now?

Skip xx
[/quote]

Hi

Its funny how you talked about lack of motivation. I make films and art work. Since taking prozac I have lost all motivation for this and its really no good. I think I am coming up for 3 weeks on it now.

Still feel very tired and not much else really. I am beginning to wonder whether SSRI's have any potency with me at all? I have rarely heard of people on here who say that it is making them feel better? Am I misguided? Hmm...

A90

This post has been edited by android90: Mar 12 2009, 08:46 AM

Hi

I'm not sure whether I'm helping or not, but to be honest lack of motivation is part of depression. I believe that when I was on Sertraline I was never as motivated as I was before my first episode of depression, but I definitely was more motivated than during an episode like I am right now. I think SSRI's do have a certain potency but also part of depression is learning to remotivate yourself through therapy and thought patterns. Though during the iller phase of depression its very difficult to be motivated at all, so try not to be too hard on yourself (I'm trying to be kind to myself about this right now, though its not helping knowing I should be out choosing tiles for my bathroom, before my dad comes to help me put them up tomorrow!!)


We are both still fairly early in the treatment, so I think patience is the key. I love art and films! Have been watching movies to get through the last few weeks. If I could afford to, I would try to go back to college and do art. Art really is very inspiring. Where do you live? Are there any exhibitions you can go see to pass some time and perhaps inspire you till the motivation comes back? (I'm now thinking I should go see some exhibitions:)!!

Talk soon,

Skip xx

I can't really tell if Prozac is giving me more or less energy.. The first few days, I had lots of energy. It could have been a Placebo effect, since I was making myself "happier" due to the fact that I was finally going through with antidepressant treatment (i've had depression for years now, and always wanted to avoid antidepressants... but i decided it was finally time to give it a try).

At first it seemed like I had trouble falling alseep, and I'd wake up early in the morning..... now, 2 1/2 weeks into it, I'm staying up till like 4-5AM everynight, but, instead of waking up early still I'm now sleeping in longer... like 8-11 hrs of sleep... I'm not sure if the Prozac is causing me to sleep longer, or just the fact I'm staying up till 5am now playing games(i normally went to bed between 12 and 2am). Or maybe it's the lack of motivation, since I dont have a job, nothing ever to do, so I just continue to lazily lay in bed. I'm guessing that's most likely the case.

I guess I'll find out soon. I'm 2 1/2 weeks into it. I hope that by week 4 or so I start seeing improvement in mood. I'll keep you updated, hope the med works for you too!

This post has been edited by NJosh: Mar 12 2009, 07:49 PM

the same thing happened with me for the first few days i felt good and energized but now i dont really know how i feel, i dont seem to have any motivation to do anything which is really unusual for me, there has been the odd day or the odd few hours when i feel great but its soon over i dont know what to do coming up to 3 weeks now!!

[/quote]

the same thing happened with me for the first few days i felt good and energized but now i dont really know how i feel, i dont seem to have any motivation to do anything which is really unusual for me, there has been the odd day or the odd few hours when i feel great but its soon over i dont know what to do coming up to 3 weeks now!!
[/quote]


Well I have been on it for about 38 days now. My motivation is pretty low. I make art so this is kind of worrying. Usually my motivation for that is really strong. My obsessive thinking has calmed down, which is a big plus!! so its a question of what it gives, it also takes away. how are people doing now?

I'm on day 8 now on prozac. The day after I took it I got an awful lot worse and felt horrendous, but the last 7 days I've felt happy and cheery and really rejuvinated. All of a sudden today I've woken up and I feel absolutely awful, depressed, exhausted, spaced out and weird. It's so hard because I thought I'd dragged myself out of it and I was finally getting better but here I am back in the exact same situation.

I'm on day 8 now on prozac. The day after I took it I got an awful lot worse and felt horrendous, but the last 7 days I've felt happy and cheery and really rejuvinated. All of a sudden today I've woken up and I feel absolutely awful, depressed, exhausted, spaced out and weird. It's so hard because I thought I'd dragged myself out of it and I was finally getting better but here I am back in the exact same situation.
[/quote]

That is one thing that has been really hard for me. Not knowing what you are going to get the next day. Nothing is stable. I'll feel pretty good for a few days and crash for a couple. Or feel nauseous or have a headache but feel fine mood-wise. Or I'll be depressed, or anxious. It is hard to plan stuff because I never know what I am going to get each day. I just switched from celexa to prozac 2 days ago.

Prozac has a very long half-life and takes longer than pretty much every other SSRI to fully 'saturate' or titrate, whatever the preferred term. My first 2 weeks were absolute HELL, worse than before any medication whatsoever. I almost quit them, but doc encouraged me that it takes anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks to get the full benefits of prozac, so I hung in there. At around 3.5 weeks it was like the lights came on suddenly, from hell to "great!" in the span of about 2 days in the middle of week 3. It was inconsistent though, until about the 6th week. Since then it's been perfect for me (also on wellbutrin).

I'm not on Prozac, but my experience on Zoloft has been pretty much exactly the same.

The first 2 weeks were horrible. Week 3 was up and down, then week 4 was good. Then outside factors caused my anxiety to come back. This time instead of taking weeks to clear up, it only took a few days. Depression was much more mild than the first episode. I think I'm stabilized again now as I've felt normal and relaxed for a couple days now. So basically week 5 was up and down, and now I'm in week 6 and feeling pretty good.

I think with most SSRI's it follows a similar path. You start with the mood swings in the first couple of weeks, then stabilize. Then for weeks 3-5 it helps lift your overall mood, but still has a lot of up's and downs. Then by week 6-8 it really starts to even out and that's when you should really feel normal again for the duration.

If you get to weeks 7 and 8 and you're still not feeling well, that's when I'd start to think about a med change or maybe a combo of meds. As always, if you want to make changes, talk to the doc first.

8-10 weeks is pretty telling either way of what a med will do for someone. If it's working some but not as much as needed, combos do often "complete" the medication therapy. That's how it was with me - started wellbutrin and it treated my depression great, but still felt immobilized with social anxiety. Doc added prozac and by week 4 I was enthusiastically going back to work after 5-6 months of being cocooned in a bedroom.

Agreed on the 8-10 week mark. I'm giving my Zoloft at least 8 weeks before I consider my overall mental health and decide if an addition or new dosage is needed. I'm feeling very well after about 6 weeks so I think I lucked out. It's the first real bout with MI I've had and Zoloft was the first AD I tried. I'm very thankful that it seems to be working so well.

Hello, I'm on day one of 20mg. I'm glad to have found this place to see what others in the same boat are going through.
Good luck to us all.

The first 3.5 weeks were very rough for me but I'm extremely glad I toughed it out. By the 4th week I knew it was the right one for me, it really 'turned the lights on' so to speak.

Day 2, and feeling nauseous and dopey. Hope this improves ASAP.

Sounds very normal (unfortunately).

For me: the bad side-effects lasted 2 weeks, easing off considerably in the 3rd week, and it the med started working a few days - with very little side-effect - before the 4-week mark.

I've been on Prozac 20mg for 3 weeks now and I feel absolutely no better. I thought I had more energy/motivation the first few days of taking it but my psychiatrist informs me that this is not possible and just placebo effects (bummer!). I've been stuck in my room for the past two weeks. I called my doctor and asked if I should increase and he said to stick with it for the full 6 weeks, so I have another 3 weeks to go and from what everyone is saying it gets better around 4 weeks, so I'm trying to stay hopeful but I'm getting frustrated. Depression has affected my memory and thinking abilities which has ruined my one enjoyment which has always been studying history, now I don't see what's the point because I know I'll forget everything I've studied in half an hour. I'm starting to wonder if its depression thats causing this or maybe I need to get a brain scan?

The prozac not working yet has made me even more depressed and hopeless. I start grad school in a month and I'm worried I won't be able to go because my brain isn't working to its potential or anywhere near.

Does it sound like I need to try a new medication, increase the dosage or just be patient. I'm so tired of feeling this way, waiting 6 weeks for results is destroying me, is there no more instant medication?

This post has been edited by femmenue: Jun 26 2009, 11:39 AM

femmenue, when I started taking Prozac (same dose as you) I didn't start to feel the effects for over a month. Hang in there and give it time

I have been on 20mg for about a month (about four weeks, now), and I feel the exact same way - Grey Area - not happy, but not AS depressed as I was before I started. I had posted a topic awhile ago as to when I would feel any change, and people here and my doctor told me that it could take 6-8 weeks to feel the "full effects". But I almost feel as if my coming out of the depressive state is natural (my body's own doing), and not really being helped by the Prozac, since it is such a very slight change. The sleeping issues that you describe are driving me crazy, too - I usually need 8-10 hours of sleep, but sleeping for 12 hours is a bit much!

After being on Effexor, which took only about a month for me to feel like a "Brand-new person", with energy and spunk (like my usual self) I'm becoming a bit disheartened with Prozac. (I wanted to stop Effexor because of side effects and horrid withdrawal symptoms). Shouldn't i be feeling a little bit better, and able to face work by now??? I'm seeing my counselor and GP regularly, and still not feeling like myself at all yet.

My doc said that I could increase to 40mg Prozac, which I haven't tried yet. I wonder if it is even worth upping the dosage, or if i should switch to something else. Pdoc said that I might want to try Cymbalta, but its side effects and withdrawal symptoms appear too similar to Effexor, and so it scares me. I'm also wondering if adding Abilify would help - neither doc recommended it, but the ads I see make it seem like it helps.

....ughhhhh! What do you all think?

This post has been edited by Daphers: Jul 6 2009, 05:45 PM

Hi....I take 20mg daily at night...it really does help me to sleep...once I get to sleep..but I wake early..but I can deal with that
I am just about to start week 6...now
I find the prozac as helped my mood...less depressed...and feel like i want to do things...
My anxietys..are getting more...controllable..I guess...but still come and go.
I suffer now from TMJ and Fibro also..and i find at stressful times...like now...it flares up...
and I think it is the cause of my anxieties right now...I just wish the prozac would kick in and help me with all this tension in my neck and jaw...that is enough to drive one crazy
I have ativan...if I feel to anxious during the day....but only take 1\2
I was wondering...seeing the prozac is working ...I think...if I should stick it out..for the full 8 weeks...to see if it helps with the stress....
or when I go to doc next time...I need an increase in dosage...
thank you..all
any info would be great
Tracy

Hi Tracy,

I'm taking it for anxiety and panic attacks, and also face a lot of stress at work, so I grit my teeth at night, which has been chipping my bottom teeth, AND causes so much pressure in my jaw/temple area that I get horrible headaches. My dentist recommended a "NTI" device, which is a tiny plastic bite guard (NOT at all like those you can buy OTC). Since i've gotten the NTI fitted and began wearing it, I don't have the issues with my jaw/headaches anymore, and I find that my whole jaw is relaxed through the day and night (it never was before).

Google "NTI bite guard" and info should come up.

I would definitely check it out - see if your dentist can fit one, or find one that can. They are a bit pricey, but man, it has really helped me, and I'm sure it would help you, too!!

Daphers

thank you //Daphers...
but i wear dentures...from a car accident..i broke my jaw years ago...so got new dentures...to correct the bite...and ususally it does not bother me..but going thru stress and all...it is driving me nuts..
have you ever taken flexeril well on prozac....my pharmacist says it is ok...but it always makes me nervous to take other meds well on prozac....but it sure helps to relax those muscles...advice please