prozac

[Ballerina123]

I've been prescribed prozac to help with a low mood im having.

I've been on it before but years a go and can't really remember much about it just that it helped my low mood.

are there any side effects I should look out for?
What are people's experiences?

Mostly did it effect your slesp?

I'm also on olanzapine and that helps me sleep well but will prozac stop me sleeping?

I have schizoaffective disorder- bipolar type but I mostly only have depressive and psychotic episodes . I haven't had a manic episode for a long time and due to being on a mood stabiliser (oolanzapine) my dr felt a trial on prozac could be helpful but I have to manage and record my mood cacarefully

[sherlock holmes]

I took it a few years ago. It's known for being 'gentle' and minimal side effects (if you get any). I didn't get any side effects at all, but it didn't help my mood either. None of the SSRIs ever helped me.

[tiptoes]

I only took it briefly and a number of years ago.

I just wanted to add a word of caution that if you are susceptible to mania with antidepressants sometimes even with mood stabilisers they can send you high. So do keep a keen eye on your mood - bearing in mind it usually takes a number of weeks to see improvements with an antidepressant so if you see changes on a shorter time scale than that do reach out.

If you do find it affects your sleep it might be worth speaking to your pharmacist or prescribing doctor about changing the time of day that you take it. On another SSRI I found it affected my sleep if I took it in the morning but not if I took it in the evening.

[Aardbei]

I found Prozac gave me very vivid dreams for the first few weeks I was taking it, but I have this with every new antidepressant I've ever been on. I didn't find it particularly effective but I definitely noticed my mood drop when I stopped taking it. I hope you find it helpful!

[Ballerina123]

Thanks guys.
I keep a daily mood and psychosis diary so I will keep that up while taking it.
My psych did say to me that if my mood is improving too quickly with it then he will stop it as that is a sign of mania.

I guess I'm most concerned that, if it doesn't make me manic, it will take upto 4 weeks to kick in and I feel a bit frustrated that I will have to wait that long to feel better.
I guess it will be worth the wait though if it works.

[Pi.R^2]

The first time I took it I had absolutely zero side effects. The second time it did seem to cause me to wake up earlier than normal in the mornings but as far as antidepressants go I think it's generally thought to be pretty good in terms of not causing too many side effects.

Hope you find it helpful!

[Elmer]

The first time I took it was when I was sixteen and it did sweet **** all but I started on it again a few years ago and it was like magic, within a couple of weeks my mood had got so much better. I've never had any side effects from it either.

Hope it helps you.

[Buttons.]

It helps me a little but only in combination with other meds. The only side effect I ever had was heart burn if I didn't take it after a meal with plenty of water and feeling slightly jittery the first few weeks (this completely wore off as time progressed).

[Serendipity.]

It was the first antidepressant I took, and I found it pretty horrible. I just didn't get on with it, it made me anxious and agitated and I literally could not sit still. It made my sleep much worse. But then my mum has been taking it for years and finds it does wonders for her mood with no side effects.

I hope it helps without making you manic :)

[Bellatrix]

i take it and find it helpful. i also find it helpful with impulse control.

[Ballerina123]

Thanks guys.
I don't really have much problem with impulse control.
Glad to hear you guys didn't have many side effects.
.

Tbh I just wanna start it to feel better. Sick of being depressed now.

Don't start it till tomorrow though so we will see.

[Epicene]

I found Prozac kicked in quite quickly for me, so fingers crossed for you that it helps soon. Like others have said you shouldn't worry too much over side effects as they are minimal relative to others.

[Steel Maiden]

I've been on fluoxetine (Prozac) for low mood and OCD (at that time it was OCD tendencies as I wasn't formally diagnosed with OCD). However I cannot remember if it helped or not as that was 9 years ago.

As mentioned above, fluoxetine is generally less side-effect-prone.

It might be worth checking the Summary of Product Characteristics for fluoxetine. You can find it online. They're very comprehensive.

[Ballerina123]

I took my first dose this morning and I feel a bit shaky even though I eaten enough. Is that the meds or just anxiety?

[Steel Maiden]

Probably anxiety about taking the meds. When I started my first amisulpride dose at 50mg bid (ie 100mg/day) I felt really strange, but 100mg/day is a low dose for me and the strangeness wore off by the second day. I am now on a higher dose and I get no side-effects.

[Ballerina123]

I've been taking this a week now and the last 2 days I've had flu like symptoms. Is that a side effect or an i actually ill?

[Fire Fly]

Hi lovely, I'm sure your under a clinician that is overlooking your medication therefore it may be wise to ask them than to ask the boards.

[Cacoethes]

Wouldn't surprise me if you were just ill. Seems to be a lot of bugs going around recently, winter and all that!
Maybe wait it out a bit more to make sure?

[Steel Maiden]

Flu like feelings can occasionally occur with some meds. I got that on citalopram.

[Ballerina123]

Thanks guys I spoke to my psych and he said I need to see me gp because although I have flu like symptoms they are accompanied by a persistent cough which needs attention.