Fluoxetine and some questions please anyone

[poppppy]

my friend has just been started on fluoxetine . Two weeks in at 20mg . Can i ask you guys some questions please

Anyone experienced increased symptoms for first few weeks which then subsided and they worked well

Anyone had to stop taking it because it didnt work or side effects were too bad and what did you use instead

Anyone swap to sertraline and was the swap smooth

How long do you find it takes to kick in please . Doc says 3 to 4 weeks . Did u find it takes longer

Did you find they worked by improving your mental health more and more each day till you felt their full effect . Or did you feel no different till the day they kicked in . Like a light bulb was switched on .

Thank you so much for any personal experience or good research etc . Thank you for your time and knowledge and i wish you all the best .

[Agora1]

Hi poppppy

I have never been on Prozac myself but I am on Lexapro which is also a SSRI.

These medications can take from 4-6 weeks to reach full efficacy, a little longer

if dosage is increased during that time.

I have heard that Prozac has not been approved for children less than 18y.o.

Whatever age, watch for possible suicidal ideations since some are affected in this

manner.

But most of all, have your friend take the advice of her prescribing physician and follow

his directions. Never stop medication on your own. Using medication along with talk

therapy can have surprising results. Of course, each person is different.

I wish your friend good results. Remember patience in these drugs working efficiently

can be noticed a little at a time. xx

[poppppy in reply to Agora1]

thank you so much for your reply . Your word of wisdom which i will pass on to her . And for your kindness in t aking the time to reply . When i have depression and anxiety episodes i always get sertraline prescribed as it works for me . I had not heard the brand name lexapro so just looked it up and do know it as Citalopram . I am glad it works for you . I wish you the very best of health 🙏

[Agora1 in reply to poppppy]

Thanks for your kind words. Actually Lexapro's generic is under the name

of Escitalopram. It's been a wonderful medication for me and after all, isn't

that all we can ask for? xx

[NicL11]

Hi! I’ve been on fluoxetine for about two years now and it really helps me. I take 20mg every morning. It took about two or three days for it to fully kick in for me because I switched from Prozac. I haven’t experienced any side effects from it, but that varies from person to person.

[poppppy in reply to NicL11]

thank you for your reply. Glad you havent experienced side effects. I thought fluoxetine is prozac . Fluoxetine being the generic name and prozac the brand sorry

[Thicks75]

Hello,

I’m writing to let you know it takes about 4-6 weeks for it to kick in. But when I get like you are I have to up my dose because it’s to low. Since 2013 I upped my dose 3 times with my doctor. When I start to feel like that I call the doctor to get seen. I hoped this helped have a blessed day.

[poppppy in reply to Thicks75]

thank you so much . I think my friend needs her dose increasing too

[BeagleBaby]

I have been on fluoxetine before but it didn't work for me. I switched to sertraline which I had taken before successfully and it has been working for me again this past year! I was in a really dark place before these, having to go to the behavioral health facility for mental instability and insomnia. It took more than 6 weeks before I started feeling any relief, but don't let that discourage you! I am so glad I stuck with it because it truly has saved, and changed my life!

Not all medications work for all people and unfortunately with mental health meds, it takes some time to get used to and feel the effects of them - particularly with SSRIs. I would recommend your friend discuss with their doctor all of their symptoms and thoroughly explain which issues are affecting them the most, to get on the right medication. Therapy helped me a bit, but the medication is what most helped me get the clarity to work on the issues I was dealing with internally. I hope that helps! Best wishes to you and your friend!

[BeagleBaby in reply to BeagleBaby]

I also want to add that my dosage was increased on a weekly basis due to the severity of my depression and anxiety, so that probably had something to do with the extended time before feeling relief. I am on a rather high dosage of sertraline now and take mirtazapine at night also to combat the insomnia. Fortunately this combination has put me on a content and peaceful path that I could not have imagined myself ever achieving again after what I was feeling a year ago.

[poppppy in reply to BeagleBaby]

thank you so much for your lovely thought out reply

[Harleyman]

Hey Poppppy,....Harleyman here!

Yeah, I finally got the sertraline to work. It was a bull ride. 3-4 weeks to kick in....not my experience....sounds like bullshit to me....I was having anxiety all during this time.

I started with 50 mg for about a month or two...psychiatrist put me at 75 for about a month and even went back to 50 mg for awhile and also was working with an anxiety counselor who helped a bit with the mental stuff that kicked off the anxiety, which was primarily shortness of breath. I have severe COPD.

Went back to 75 mg and then 100 mg for about a month or so. I wanted to move faster than the Dr's approach, but I surrendered to what he advised. He started me on .5 mg lorazapam twice daily (couldn't take more due to higher doses reduce breathing, which is bad for COPD patients).

I knew when it was time to move to a higher sertraline dosage, so I'm on 150 mg daily and don't have anxiety, but there were close calls a couple of times. I'm still taking lorazapam which definitely helps.

Roughly, it took me about 6 months to get adjusted, which my psychiatrist says that this is about normal for most patients. Don't know if that is a true fact.

I had to surrender to the suffering of anxiety. I'm much older now than when first using Lexapro which took a couple of months even then to get stabilized, and I also take many meds for "this and that" to confound my overall physiology.

If you can get tranquilizer to take the edge off, perhaps you're will stop being an asshole and let you get acclimated to something that will work for you. Something will work for you....My experience is that when the sertraline really started working, I actually forgot about all the suffering during the early stages of sertraline.

Take care and blessings as you approach peace in your life!!!

[poppppy in reply to Harleyman]

thank you for your advice qnd sharing . I will tell friend to ask about lorazepam also