COMPLETELY FLOORED BY FLUOXETINE

[jayne777]

Has anyone else having had to lean on the help of anti-depressants and taken Fluoxetine been completely floored by this drug?? The drowsiness is worse than a bad thyroid day along with lots of other side effects. Can any one recommend a better alternative please??? Need something to kick start the mind not put it to sleep. Back to doctors yet again this week !!!

[Jefner]

What dose have yoy started on?

[jayne777 in reply to Jefner]

started on 20mcg ......having many years ago taken Citalopram never remember feeling this washed out. A complete zombie!!

[Jefner in reply to jayne777]

Most start on 10 so the body can get used to it. How long have you been on it

[Brubru]

Sorry you're feeling like that. My depression only improved after my thyroid treatment was good. From all the antidepressants I've taken fluoxetine (Prozac) was by far the best with the least side effects. 5HTP is natural and also helped, but I didn't take both together. Hopefully your doc your doctor will be able to help you

[jayne777 in reply to Brubru]

Thank you I agree depression should improve once Thyroid health improves and doc only wants anti d to be short term, however never dreamt I would be so washed out and like a zombie ........took Citalopram many years ago and never felt like this !!

[BadHare]

Hi Jayne,

I had a very bad reaction to two different anti-depressants, prescribed by my pain management doctor. One, after taking only a single tablet, & the other after a week's supply. The side effects lasted months, to over a year. My GP said I should avoid this type of drug altogether. It's frustrating how they're handed out like sweets, instead of something that works.

I used to take 5-HTP (griffonia seed extract) & liked that. Now I take NDT, sometimes with a little T3, which seems to work better. I also take HRT, which works wonders.

Mel

[Justiina]

There are so called drug gene tests that can tell how you metabolise different type of drugs. Mostly done in US so might be difficult to get a doctor to order these test and costs some.

mayoresearch.mayo.edu/cente...

[humanbean]

I had the same effects on Citalopram as you describe for fluoxetine. Having tried four different SSRIs I wouldn't take any again if you paid me.

I was lucky to find out about 5-HTP about 5 years ago, and it has kept me sane ever since. I only take a tiny dose - 50mg just before bed. I know it doesn't work for everyone though.

[vixvixvix in reply to humanbean]

I totally agree humanbean! If it is up to me I'd never touch any SSRI ever again in my life. It's difficult though as so many doctors are pill-happy. I remember that my therapist and the specialist had such a row because she wanted to wean me off A/D as part of my therapy (learning to cope with all the feelings) and the specialist just refused (so she basically ignored the specialist- tbh she was seeing me weekly so had a much better idea where I was mentally anyways).

5htp is great and I'd also highly recommend trying. I'm currently trying ashawanghananaha (sorry I can't remember it for the life of me) root at the moment and I think it's almost better for me because it helps to calm me down and help me feel a bit more centered, so I'd recommend that as well if that's something you feel like you'd need.

I don't think I felt either way on citalopram or sertrelin, but I did gain 30kg combined on both (mainly about 25kg on citalopram in about 3 months) so I hope you won't suffer the same problem as I did! As it if it's not difficult enough already...

P.S I felt SO flat for about a year before I switched to ndt to the point I thought I might need A/D and it went away within a week, so the thyroid is key.

[puncturedbicycle]

May I ask how long you've been taking it? The side effects should subside after a few weeks but it can take up to six weeks to know what the ongoing effects will be. I also found it a bit sedating so took it at bedtime, but I must say it was also very helpful for me and the drowsiness wore off after a few hours so I opted to stay on it.

If you have a very good psychiatrist they may have more ideas about how you will be affected by other SSRIs judging by how you feel on fluoxetine, but in my experience it took a lot of trial and error.

I also concur that if your thyroid treatment is optimal you may feel much better. Do you feel confident your treatment is good, you're on enough/the right meds?

[jayne777 in reply to puncturedbicycle]

Hi only been on Fluoxetine 2 weeks and have been advised that could take a lot longer to feel any kind of benefit. My GP and me are on a mission to try and get thyroid to work better and have been slowly trying to up my dose of LEVO without getting the palpatations and various other uncomfortable feelings that once I take over 50mgs a day seem to occur. So yes would like to think that once Thyroid is up and running well would not need the use of Anti D. However not convinced having for the last 12yrs been trying to balance things out. Thank you for your contribution and thoughts.

[puncturedbicycle in reply to jayne777]

You're very welcome.

Glad to hear your gp is onboard w trying to get your thyroid sorted. Not sure if you've had your t3 tested, but it seems like low t3 is sometimes what makes us feel awful. If you're not converting you may have some hyper symptoms even though your t3 may be low.

Have you tried taking the fluoxetine at night? It helped me get to sleep. Or are you saying you feel drowsy all day with it? That I think is a matter of waiting out the side effects until they clear, and obvs if they don't you might want to find a different drug. I believe sertraline was the second SSRI I tried after fluoxetine stopped working for me.

Just as a counterbalance to some replies here, I was on fluoxetine for maybe 18mos or so and then it stopped working for me, as it sometimes does, and I had no trouble at all stopping my script. Not that I'd recommend stopping suddenly, but I'm just saying coming off it didn't have any undesired effects. I think it was venlafaxine that gave me withdrawal head spins and nausea, but I've been on a lot of ADs and had no other issues. Fluoxetine gave me my life back. Everyone is different.

In truth gps usually aren't the most well-qualified people to be prescribing ADs but you'd probably wait a long time for a psych.

[SonSwinburne]

Hi take it at night I was on flux and now on citalopram but took them at night and had a fab sleep xx

[jayne777 in reply to SonSwinburne]

Thank you I think that is good advice and will be running it past doctor tomorrow as long as it does not make one wake up drowsy....can't bear that morning sluggishness. Anyway going to keep at it ......I agree that a good night sleep is worth its weight in gold. Best Wishes

[SonSwinburne in reply to jayne777]

I didn't woke up fine was the best thing i did changing it to night and then have Levo in the morning hike it works out for you too xx

[SonSwinburne]

Hope I mean x