How long did it take to adjust to Prozac?

[Betty30]

I have taken 10 mg for 4 wks and am now upped to 20 mg... It HAS helped my depression. The only bad side effect is that my anxiety (especially in the mornings) has gotten worse... I have read it eventually goes away, but was wondering if any of you take/of have taken this and it made your anxiety worse?...how long did it take for this for just 'go away!?' I have also heard it can take up to 3 months to be really effective -- true?? I just need some encouragement. (Thanks!)

[MattBuckland]

Hi Betty

Been on quite a few, not Prozac though. Yes it takes time to get into the system.

My biggest advice with anti depressants and something that I have learnt over the many years of taking them (took a while), is not to overthink them.

Try and think of them like this;

'You are a runner and you get a knee injury, you need to start to rebuild slowly and to aid this you put on a knee support ( this is the anti depressant) , you put it on in a few seconds and then you focus on the other parts of your recovery; the physio, the walking, the massage etc.'

Try to shift your focus, if you are anxious just say 'oh that's just the ADs settling in' and move on to breakfast.

Not as easy I made it sound but worth a go?

Hope you feel better soon, and it is wonderful to hear that your depression has improved.

Matt

[Betty30 in reply to MattBuckland]

Thank you, Matt. Your post couldn't have come to me at a better time. You especially were right on target when you said not to 'overthink' the meds...or the problems... This is SOOOOO true... I have been obsessing on now taking a bigger dose and 'keep checking me out to see how I feel'...I KNOW this is NOT right... I also know you just can't 'stop' thoughts and make them 'go away'...but you CAN replace them with better ones until the 'other ones' no longer have that grip.

It's just a really rough morning... and It's a wknd day, too, my least favorite days...but! there is another thing NOT to concentrate on... Anyway, somehow we DO get 'past it all'.... No, its not easy...but yes, it IS worth a go! Thanks again, Matt.