Fluoxetine Side Effects - Advice Please

[Chappy83]

Hi everyone,

I was diagnosed with OCD and Depression in December 2018 by a psychiatrist I saw privately. I was very sensitive to any medication prescribed by my GP so following advice from psychiatrist I’ve been very slowly increasing to fluoxetine 40mg. My dosage has been recently increased from 30mg to 40mg which I have now been on for a week. Over the past few days I've been experiencing the most intense bursts of anxiety/panic. I can't remember the feeling of anxiety being this intense on previous dose increases so I'm looking for some advice from anyone who has experienced similar, should I stick it out and wait for it to pass or is it completely not normal and go back to 30mg?

Many thanks for your help  

[gingerbreadgirl]

Hi chappy

I experienced a worsening of ocd symptoms when I increased my dose from 20mg to 40mg.  It lasted about a week. Everyone is different though when it comes to medication. Maybe run it past your doctor and see what they think? 

[Chappy83]

Hi there, thank you so much for your reply. I think I’m going to try and stick it out until Friday and if it’s still the same I’ll speak to my doctor about perhaps going back to 30mg. Aarrgghh nothing is ever easy is it lol Thanks again for taking the time to reply xx 

[BelAnna]

Hi Gingerbreadgirl and Chappy83,

I'm sorry to hijack this thread but I just wondered whether (apart from the side effects) you have found Fluoxetine helpful? Has it reduced your OCD symptoms at all?

[gingerbreadgirl]

Just now, BelAnna said:

Hi Gingerbreadgirl and Chappy83,

I'm sorry to hijack this thread but I just wondered whether (apart from the side effects) you have found Fluoxetine helpful? Has it reduced your OCD symptoms at all?

Hi belanna

Honestly yes I have noticed a huge improvement during the time I've been taking fluoxetine to the point where my ocd symptoms have almost completely gone. But I am always wary of attributing that to meds. I've also done a ton of cbt and exposure and also has some personal stressors which have occupied a lot of my attention. Plus there's the good old placebo effect. So I am still sceptical of their benefits but I also can't deny the improvement I've experienced and how much it has coincided with taking fluoxetine. I'm not planning on stopping taking it at least for a few months. 

[BelAnna]

4 minutes ago, gingerbreadgirl said:

Hi belanna

Honestly yes I have noticed a huge improvement during the time I've been taking fluoxetine to the point where my ocd symptoms have almost completely gone. But I am always wary of attributing that to meds. I've also done a ton of cbt and exposure and also has some personal stressors which have occupied a lot of my attention. Plus there's the good old placebo effect. So I am still sceptical of their benefits but I also can't deny the improvement I've experienced and how much it has coincided with taking fluoxetine. I'm not planning on stopping taking it at least for a few months. 

Oh wow, that's brilliant! 

I'm thinking of starting a small dose of Fluoxetine if I can get a Psychiatrist appointment (I can't visit the GP due to my contamination OCD). Have you tried any other meds in the past? 

[Chappy83]

Hi Belanna, I have intrusive thoughts OCD and  for me personally, I feel like it the medication helped a lot. Thankfully this is my last dose increase, unfortunately it feels like the hardest hitting. I’m going to battle through and hope this anxiety eases over the few days xx

Edited October 14, 2019 by Chappy83

[dksea]

5 hours ago, BelAnna said:

I'm sorry to hijack this thread but I just wondered whether (apart from the side effects) you have found Fluoxetine helpful? Has it reduced your OCD symptoms at all?

Fluoxetine was the first medication I took for OCD, I was on it for about a decade, and it was immensely helpful to me.  It did not completely eliminate my OCD symptoms but drastically reduced them to the point where they were very manageable in my day to day life.  The only regret I have is that I did not start doing CBT until much later in my life which could has improved things even more over just medication alone.  I later switched to citalopram/escitalopram which has also been quite effective for me.

[dksea]

Hi @Chappy83, welcome to the forums.  Sorry to hear about your troubles!
 

12 hours ago, Chappy83 said:

I can't remember the feeling of anxiety being this intense on previous dose increases so I'm looking for some advice from anyone who has experienced similar, should I stick it out and wait for it to pass or is it completely not normal and go back to 30mg?

As others have said, its not unusual (though definitely unpleasant) to experience some anxiety when taking or adjusting SSRI's.  Your body is adjusting to new levels of the drug and its effects so it can throw things off a bit until the medication level settles in and your body is used to the new "normal".   The recommended action is to try and stick it out as much as possible, its tempting in the moment to throw in the towel and go back to the old stable level, but snap decisions in the moment when you are experience spikes of anxiety might not be the most helpful.  However, your overall well being is paramount, so if you really don't think its worth the side effects then you should definitely speak up. Ultimately its a judgement call you have to make since you are the person experiencing the symptoms. 

It would not hurt to check in with your doctor after some time, especially if this continues, but in the meantime see if you can come up with ways to handle the intense anxiety like relaxation techniques, focusing on an activity that helps calm you down/focus your thoughts, etc.  Make sure to get enough sleep and eat well, even at times where you are feeling ok and more normal, and just overall take care of yourself and focus on self care as much as you can.  Hopefully you'll soon be able to look back at this as a bump in the road.
 

[Chappy83]

Hi Dksea, thank you so much for your response. It’s slightly better today so I think I’m going to brave it out and see how I am by the end of the week. I also take pregablin 250mg, Mirtazapine 15mg (reduces from 45mg) & propranolol 120mg which were prescribed last year when I was very ill. My end goal is to be on Fluoxetine 40mg on it’s own - I’ve got a little while to go with tapering off the Pregabalin & Mirtazapine but I’ll get there! Many thanks again for taking the time to reply xx 

[dksea]

On 15/10/2019 at 20:25, Chappy83 said:

Hi Dksea, thank you so much for your response. It’s slightly better today so I think I’m going to brave it out and see how I am by the end of the week. I also take pregablin 250mg, Mirtazapine 15mg (reduces from 45mg) & propranolol 120mg which were prescribed last year when I was very ill. My end goal is to be on Fluoxetine 40mg on it’s own - I’ve got a little while to go with tapering off the Pregabalin & Mirtazapine but I’ll get there! Many thanks again for taking the time to reply xx 

You're more than welcome.  I hope things continue to improve for you and you are able to complete your goal of reducing the other medications.  Probably a lot easier and more manageable to be on one than 4!  That said, its ok to take your time to get there, and definitely work with your doctor to manage things.  Best of luck on your continued recovery, and of course the forums are around for support when you need them too.