Should I be feeling these side effects on fluoxetine?

[Falacience]

I’m currently 2.5 weeks on Prozac/fluoxetine. First week or so was sheer hell in terms of increased anxiety. Had a couple of good days at the start of this week but suddenly have been hit with severe dizziness/light head. It feels like my whole brain is swimming. I’m feeling jittery and weak too, and have bad nausea but I haven’t been sick yet. It’s worse when I look at lights/moving screens.

Went to out of hours GP last night and was told my temperature, blood sugar, blood pressure and urine were all fine. Is it normal to get these symptoms at this stage (and for two full days so far)? It feels so bad that I keep thinking something dangerous is happening to me. Struggling to accept that I may actually have a bug/flu as it just seems too coincidental.

Any insight would be welcomed! And any tips on how to reduce the dizziness - water and rehydration sachets don’t seem to be working.

[Agora1]

Hi Falacience. Welcome to a safe and understanding community.

The beginning in taking medication can be the worse part. It usually

takes anywhere from 4-6 weeks to reach full efficacy. As the chemicals

change in your brain, it is very possible and normal to experience these

worrisome symptoms. As long as your doctor is aware of it, try to bear

with it and not quit too soon. Prozac for you may just be the key to the

relief you are looking for. Please keep in touch with the doctor and us

as well. We will be here to cheer you on to success. xx

[Craigliving4Jane in reply to Agora1]

Yes we will be rooting you on

Hang tough and keep battling to find those answers. Hopefully this is the one so you don’t have to go through it again, but either way keep striving for those answers

I e experience may heighten symptoms from both meds being Started or changed and most every time I had to wait it out a period designated by your doc, to see if relief was found.

Maybe someone here has some more ideas of how to help during the adjustment period

Much love

Craig

[Dolphin14]

Falacience

Welcome to the community.

This was one med I could not tolerate. I tried the " wait it out " approach and my symptoms continued to get worse. I had to stop taking it.

🐬

[Tazman762 in reply to Dolphin14]

Just curious. Did you switch to another medication? I currently take prozac, but have been improving.

[Dolphin14 in reply to Tazman762]

Yes I had to switch. My symptoms were getting bad. I went on Zoloft for awhile. Now I'm on veneflexine

🐬

[Craigliving4Jane]

Myself and I’m sure many others on here would agree that most anything we should do when we’re taking medication should should be done with great communication with with your Dr, including goals and timelines and acceptable side effects etc. etc. etc.

There should be a way to communicate via portal or phone call or any other means necessary with the doctor if you run into any problems, you think or outside of those discussions that you’re having.

I’m sure you know all this but I and others have seen people go off the rails sometimes by deciding their own course of action with medication‘s.

I just highly recommend against that

[alphaind]

Hang on Falacience... You will come out from those symptoms very soon.

We all are with you and you are in our prayers... Best Wishes

[punkster]

Like Dolphin 14, I couldn't tolerate this medication. I couldn't tolerate any antidepressant. However, we are all different and our bodies respond differently to the same medication. I was on fluoxetine for 6 months before I went off of it. I would say to give it a little more time if you can put up with the symptoms.

[Tazman762]

It's taken me about 8 weeks to really feel better on prozac. My doctor prescribed clonazepam to help whenever I'm feeling overwhelmed. I have heard some doctors don't like prozac for anxiety though. I have experienced some of the side effects you've mentioned, but they have gotten better. Maybe a change in medication is what you may need? I hope you get the help you need. We are all in this together. Keep us posted.

[Kinlay]

Yes, side effects can hit a few weeks in to a new medication. In fact, they can also develop months or even years into it. Be sure to discuss this with your prescribing doctor. Did the doctor you visited check you for hyponatremia (low blood sodium)? If not contact your prescribing doctor ASAP!

mayoclinic.org/drugs-supple...

Personally, if I was feeling worse on a medication I would think it wasn't for me and ask to try something else, but you should really discuss this with the prescribing doctor before making a decision (assuming you feel comfortable and confident in them. If not, trust your gut.) especially because you may need to wean off or switch to something else. Of course, if you think you may just be sick (Covid especially does not always show up with a fever or other testable issues and you can get a false negative on a swab), I would wait it out a bit - AFTER discussing my my prescribing doctor).

The bottom line is you know your body better than anyone else. And keep in mind that everyone reacts differently to these medications, so others' experiences simply may not be applicable.

Best wishes! I hope this helps.

[Fefe09]

some people just can’t take certain medications wether it’s antibiotics or antidepressants etc. I have taken numerous kinds over the years and they all have side effects. Your body is trying to tell you something that’s for sure. I took Prozac over 20 years ago and I can’t remember why I had to stop. Maybe it was causing my heart to race but all I know is when I stopped taking it I had all the symptoms you’re talking about. The room was spinning my heart was racing I thought this is it Lord I’m going home. You need to tell your health care provider about it. Maybe see about reducing the dosage and start out real low. You may have to find an alternative. I’ll be praying for you. Sometimes these pills can really help but sometimes certain ones make you worse just listen to your body. Best of luck

[Shnauser]

Having been on Prozac, need to try for 4-6 weeks if possible. If still a problem get your doctor to prescribe another medication.