how long does fluoxetine take?

i've just started taking fluoxetine for panic disorder with agoraphobia - its been 4 weeks - i was on 20mg for the first 3 weeks, and then i've been put up to 40mg for the past week.

The first 2 weeks were terrible, i felt worse which i knew to expect, but now i just feel the same as before - very bad panic attacks that i can't control - i don't dare leave the house - in fact i don't leave the house unless i have to.

WHEN will the pills start working?

I was on them before about 2 years ago and they worked well but it took a long time to start working and now i'm worried that they didn't work before, that it was just like a placebo effect. I'm just stressing because 4 weeks seems like a long time and its such a struggle - the struggle would be fine if it paid off, but i'm worried i'll have no effect.

i'm so incredibly fed up.

Sorry to rant! Any advice?

is that 6-8 weeks of the 40, or 6-8 weeks in total? Thank you for your reply, and sorry to nag on, i'm just at my wits end a bit.

Maybe I am remembering wrong, but I could have sworn I was on 100mg and then upped to 200mg before it really worked for me. That was about 6 years ago and I was on it for about 3 or 4 months only. Kitt, am I remembering this dosage wrong?

Take care,
Bill