Okay so I went to the doctors the other day and I was diagnosed with "moderately severe depression" and I was given fluoxetine hydrochloride (prozac) to take 20mg of a day. Anyway... after reading the side effects etc it sounds really scary. Have you ever been on it before and can tell me what it was like for you? Also i've been taking it for 2 days now and I haven't really felt any significant change, when is it supposed to begin taking effect?
Thanks!
Carve your name into my arm
Instead of stressed I lie here charmed
'Cause there's nothing else to do
Every me and every you ...
I have been prescribed the same medication but have not yet started taking it, so I'm sort of in the same boat. I'm just going to tell you some stuff my psych mentioned in case that's of any help to you c:
My psych said that it would take up to 6 weeks to start really making an effect. I'm not certain that it will take the same amount of time for you, but I guess what I'm saying is don't stop taking it if it's not making a difference in the first month or so.
Also, the most common side effects are typical physical things like nausea. It can increase suicidal thoughts, but it's rare. I'd recommend keeping track of those sorts of thoughts just to be on the safe side though.
I hope everything works out for you, take care c:
I've been on 20 mg of prozac since March. and 40 mg since october. (i had a relapse)
For me i havent had many of the side effects but when i first started taking i got very nauseous but luckily that wore off after a few weeks. apart from that i've been ok. i'm not sure how big a differenc it has made but it has lifted me out of my depression enough to start dealing with the causes and it seems to make the day to day a little easier. however its different for everyone give it a fair chance. (It doesnt make much of difference until you've been on it a while i think it took about 6-8 weeks for me.)
and if you experience any side effects that worry you book an appointment and go talk to your doc.
ps. if you got any spefic questions feel free to ask.
keep safe,
jen x
I have taken Prozac, on and off, for several years now. Originally I took 20mgs for depression, and this was increased to 60mg/day (I also have Bulimia, hence the higher dose).
I know the side effects sound awful when you read the list of them, but Prozac belongs to one of the safest classes of anti-depressants (hence it's popularity). Personally, apart from increased sweating, I have never experienced any adverse effects, while other medications I have been on have been much worse side-effect wise. I have two friends who have also been on Prozac, and one got slight nausea for the first week, which went away.
With respect to how long it takes to have an effect, it can take a while, as in several weeks, though everyone responds differently.
Also, with respect to increasing suicidal feelings, Prozac is not alone in this. In fact, I read an article recently, which stated that the main reason anti-depressants cause an increase in suicide in the first few weeks people take them is because when people are in a deep depression, they are too paralysed to act on suicidal impulses, but as the anti-depressants kick in they have the energy to act on their suicidal urges.
Obviously speak to your doctor if you have any worries, but I would say that Prozac is one of the best drugs to try initially, and one of the safest.
Hope this helps. It is my experience, but everyone is different so if it doesn't work for you, or has bad side effects speak to your doctor, and don't give up.
I have been on this medicine - and it did not work for me, unfortunately. I was gradually raised in dose but eventually ended up in hospital as my depression reached the stage of psychosis and suicide.
If I remember correctly, I had mild nausea when I first started on this med, but my dose was increased very gradually so it was not too bad and did not last longer than a few weeks.
The med will take at least 6 weeks to begin to show an effect, and a Dr or Psych will most likely refuse to review the dose unless this amount of time has passed. It is a case of waiting it out, but being aware of yourself and letting the Dr/Psych or a friend know if you feel anything unusual.
It is advised to let someone close to you know when starting a med like this, so that they can ensure you are okay and help report anything that may be of concern (suicide risk can increase as mood improves in some instances, fluoxetine also increases risk of mania in some people and can affect blood pressure).
Do give it a try, as many people find it helps - my boyfriend had no problems on this med. I think I was just resistant to it and in a very bad place at the time.
Roiben x
If the Human brain were so simple that we could understand it, we would be so simple that we wouldn't.
I have been on fluoxetine for 5 years. The only side effects I have ever had are over sweating and nausea [after taking each dose especially when the dose was upped].
I have been on 20, 30, 40 and 60 mg a day at various points, but for the majority of the time I have been on the 60mg a day dosage.
I am unsure how much it has helped me, but I believe it has done something and has been of benefit to my mood and OCD symptoms. It took 8 weeks to have a 'noticeable' effect according to the hospital I was in at the time. For most people it takes 4-6 weeks as it takes a while to get into your system in a therapeutic way.
You may feel it helping earlier than 4-6 weeks but you need to give it a couple of months, providing you have no nasty side effects till you can decide its not for you.
I was on 40 mg ages ago (it was the first anti-depressant I was on) so like 3/4 years ago.
It did nothing for me at all. But it is different for everyone and I have since been told that apparently I am 'treatment resistant' which sucks but yeh.
I hope it works out okay for you though.
The world is just illusion always trying to change me.
You will find wonder wherever you can, and spread joy whenever you are able.
I felt emotions of gentleness and pleasure, that had long appeared dead, divide within me. - Frankenstein.
Like others have said it can take up to 6 weeks before you see any improvement, although everyone is different so it could be sooner. I found that when I was on it that it didn't help me. But like Femme Fatale I have a treatment resistive depressive disorder so I think that must have been why.
I did however had no side effects from it so it wasn't all bad. I know it's helped many people over the world so it's probably a good idea to give it a go. I hope it works for you, and if it doesn't that you do find something that will help.
I've been on prozac in the past. You won't see effects for up to six weeks probably. And plus, 20mg is really a low dose, so they might be planning to ween you up to a higher dose to see effects. I was on 80mg when it started showing it's effects. My guess is that they are using 20mg as a starting dose to slowly get you up to a dose that will show effects.
Give it some time, most antidepressants take time to show effect.
Jess
xo
I wanna stay inside all day
I want the world to go away
I have always been told 20mg is for depression and higher doses are for OCD spectrum disorders or Bulimia Nervosa. My consultant said that upping Fluoxetine doesn't up its anti depressant effects [Unlike other SSRI anti depressants such as Venalfaxine].
My dose was increased when my starting dose (I believe it was 20mg) was not really doing anything, maybe it depends on who is prescribing it to you and what they believe may be of help?
I've been on fluoxetine 20mg a day since January. I was warned of side effects but had very few. I did feel a little bit sick for the first few days but maybe that was just in my head. I saw effects within a few weeks, and had the full effects within six weeks.
I've been on Prozac a couple of times. I hate it. I absolutely hate it. It zombifies me, and does nothing to help my mood. However, I know people who have been on it and thought that it was brilliant. I think it just depends on you yourself and how you react to meds. For example, if I can get side-effects I will.
Good luck with it, and if it doesn't help remember that there are other options. Have they recommended therapy too?
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. Make us all feel wonderful. We'll never forget."
Prozac's the usual anti depressant that GPs will prescribe.
How long did it take the doctor to diagnose depression and do you agree with the diagnosis? 'Cause they tried to put my brother on the same thing the other month and he's anything but depressed. It really doesn't take much for a GP to chuck someone on Prozac if they seem sad, 'cause it's easy.
Aside from that it will take at least two weeks to kick in.
Stop thinking about what I want, what he wants, what your parents want. What do you want?
Prozac's the usual anti depressant that GPs will prescribe.
It really doesn't take much for a GP to chuck someone on Prozac if they seem sad, 'cause it's easy.
Agreed. I think its a cheap drug aswell, they will try & avoid the expensive AD's.
I've been on Prozac for years, 20mg, then 40mg, then 60mg & they are thinking of changing it now, because its not working for me.
I hope it does for you though, did your GP offer you any kinda of talking therapy?
I agree too. It was the first AD they ever prescribed me with years and years ago. I've heard mixed things about it, I think it really depends on the person and their situation. Some find it helpful, some don't. For me, it did help a little bit with my anxiety (i had selective mutism), but it didn't really touch my depression.
And also, with depression, a drug may help, but a drug isn't going to miraculously fix you. Talking therapy can be really helpful on top of medications. I'd really encourage you to give it a try.
I would definitely give it a chance though, who knows, it might make a difference for you and get you feeling better! And if it ends up not being the drug for you, your doctor can always try another medication. But please don't feel discouraged, give it time, talk to your doctor about it, and have a little hope :) Hope it helps you.
I wanna stay inside all day
I want the world to go away
hey! It can take severay weeks before you start to feel any differnt. For me I didn't really notice a change in how I felt, but sometimes if I stop taking it (i can be forgetful) for say a week or so I will start to feel worse. That being said I still feel pretty horrible sometimes even on the meds. As for side effects I have never experianced any :) hope that helps
You will find that having is not so pleasing a thing as wanting. It is not logical, but is often true-Spock
I'd rather have a goddam horse. A horse is at least human, for God's sake. ~J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
It was the first thing I was put on (40mg) but it basically did nothing for me and about 2 months later I was switch to Sertraline and Risperidone which works much better :) It can take up to a month to start working so just stick with it and watch out for any changes <3
I'm not telling you it's going to be easy, I'm telling you it's going to be worth it.
