Need Support; Fluoxetine

Thank you SC....This has been the closest to normal and yet still off that I've felt so I'm holding on to hope...praying it gets better; so need to return to life and work.

Thank you super20dan...I'm so hopeful b/c in some ways I feel clarity and semi-normal then others, not so hot....but I'm praying it has to work....thank you for a like story....it helps me not feel so isolated in this hard process.

Dear KC, most of those feelings are generated by old fears more than the meds, the best doctor i ever
had always told me "Larry feelings are not fact", sometimes we predispose ourselves to these things, Peace

Larry ***

Super20Dan....When you said you experienced much of what I have before feeling better, do you remember how long it took? Today, I'm back in the doldrums, so depressed I can't do a thing....painful emotions/depression. about four days ago, I felt somewhat better but not whole..I feel this is a daily struggle...I'm not even sure I'm on the right track. I don't know how much longer I can endure sadness and inability to function...it's horrific...

for me me it was bout 6-7 weeks till it kicked in and when it did it was all at once. one morning i woke up and just felt better.we all react to these kind of meds i different ways it seems. if you dont feel better soon it may be time to talk to dr about a med change. also i wasnt suffering from depression at the time-just extreme anxiety.mabey depression takes a little longer to lift on prozac.

I'm sorry to continually write, but I am desperate....I'm in the week 8 of 40mg Fluoxetine....Aside from a few days of semi-normality, I have felt endlessly spacey; not with it and definitely not functional as I was before meds. I feel I belong on another planet the way I feel. I just can't understand why it's not working. On other sites, people encourage to stay on it for months; like 12 weeks before you notice improvement. I never knew anything could be so hard or horrific. I don't have a good doctor; no one who knows about these meds. I feel daily, I'm just living in hell. The only positives are that I sleep and I'm a little less anxious but I am spacey and feel I don't have a brain; then depressed, and crying....I fear taking another b/c that would be roulette again...and going through more hell; I've lost almost an entire year of my life to this. I just don't know what to do....If I try and get off the meds, I feel my brain chemistry won't return to normal either....It's so important I get back..I have a teenage son who needs me and I need to be well for him. I have tried explaining to doctors and they're clueless...no help at all....just trying to see if this spacey feeling is expected and if there's any hope of improving post 8 weeks or am I fooling myself that this will work?

Thank you super20dan...I guess it's just such a long, life-draining process. I don't know whether to hang in there for week 12 or find another...can't imagine this is even a part of any process. I appreciate your encouragement.

I'm glad...the odd thing is is that I wasn't depressed at the beginning of this horrible nightmare; was having panic then placed on meds that just made me cry and cry...not sure I'll ever see an end to this.

I've been on lexapro and though it worked in the past, failed this go round....I am unfortunately on benzo; Ativan...have been on Klonopin...(never wanted to be)....Had genetic testing; don't know how reliable it is but it did show that ssri's were not a good match for me. Wellbutrin and Effexor showed as a match but I've heard negatives about them both....thank you though for trying to help.

Thank you HITK....I appreciate it. There just aren't good doctors where I am and this happened when I had poor insurance; was in graduate school on the verge of making it....now, I'm unemployed eight months...I am just at a loss....I read on some sites people who say they feel as I do and hang in there longer with it; 12 weeks before feeling right...so I'm torn...do I stay and chance it not working even at 12 weeks or try again at something else...my brain feels numb to these meds...just the hardest road I've ever traveled; I feel I'm in a different world...

Thank you SC....I sure hope so; many have said 12 weeks....I'm probably going to keep on the same track and maybe push myself some but the depression is like so heavy...I pray if I ever come out of this, never to experience anything remotely like it again. I appreciate your encouragement.

Thank you Hibee....when you were building up on it, did you ever feel spacey or just not like yourself? I'm not saying it's been all bad, but I guess I notice more bad than good.

Thank you...I do see areas where I feel okay but the most troubling is this "off" feeling...like not returning to myself. I just feel it will never end..