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8 Days on Prozac then bad side effects happened

I was on Prozac for only 8 day but on the 8th day I experienced most ALL the bad side effects listed! Anxiety, nervousness, chills, cool pale skin, dry mouth, confusion, tiredness, weakness, trembling & shaking, restlessness, drowsiness, loss of appetite, burning in my chest, I thought I was going CRAZY! It was a nightmare! The next day I decided NOT to take it. I was a little shakey in the morning but the rest of the day I felt fine. This morning I'm a little shakie & tired, but NOTHING compared to what happened the other day! Is it safe for me just to continue NOT taking it? Will these symptoms get worse or better?
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Avatar universal
I took 6 tablets of Prozac, Fluoxitine, recently.I experienced similar side effects including insomnia.Altogether I suffered for 24 days from taking the first tablet until my sleep pattern was restored. The side effects were unbearable. It was impossible to stay on this drug. I shall not try another.
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Avatar universal
I am having a very hard time with the prozac, this is day 25 and feel terrible.  The only thing that has ever worked for me was 12.5 mg of zoloft.  Tried a small dose last spring and made me suidical , then 5 mg lexapro constant gastritis, before on it a year ago was ok.  Now it's prozac, they did do blood work and my t3 is high, all others normal.  This is so dishearting, I've felt bad since January when all this started.  Any suggestion would be appreciated.  Feel very sick at the present time since doc raised the prozac 2 mg.  thanks nursegirl.
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Avatar universal
This is a long thread, and I'm getting in late, but yes, you can just quit the Prozac if that's what you want to do.  You've only been on it for 8 days.  Of all the ssris Prozac stays in the body by far the longest, about a month, so if there is any withdrawal it happens weeks after you stop taking it, whereas all the other ssris including Zoloft leave the body in a matter of hours.  My own feeling is your doctor was very quick on the medication trigger, since you had a breathing problem that started this and once you started to get it under control you started to feel somewhat better.  Most of us on here have no idea why we have anxiety attacks, whereas you seem to know the cause and the treatment for that cause.  Give a thought to this and discuss it with your doctor; had it been me I would have, if needed at all, gone to therapy to deal with the residue of your bad experience rather than get attached to these meds when your problem seems quite tied to a known experience.  But that's just me, feel free to go your own way.  Also for your consideration, Prozac can be stimulating for many people.  Good luck however you decide to go.
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Avatar universal
I've been on the lowered dose of Prozac 10mg now for 4 weeks and I'm feeling great! I'm still on the Clonazepam (same dosage 3 x per day as earlier mentioned) and everything's going great! I feel like my "normal" self again! I do have an occasional nightmare at night after I've had a stressful day & when I wake up I feel like I cant' breath for a second, but I'm doing what my theropist told me to do and say, "I CAN breath & EVERYTHING'S ALRIGHT!" and I go right back to sleep breathing fine! Amazing what the brain listens to when we speak! She told me everytime I say "I CAN'T breath"  my brain will react to that and that's what's setting off the the adrenaline rush which leads to the anxiety attack! Amazing! Thanks for your advice & encouragement! ;)
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Avatar universal
The doctor sent me to a psychiatrist/nurse practition to help me figure all the meds out and I'm also going to a Therorpist to help with the anxiety. The psych said they had me on too high a dose of Prozac to start. So since it was working fine up to the 8th day she took me off the Zoloft and put me back on Prozac but only 10mg instead of the 25mg they started me on. This is day 4 and "so far so good!" I do feel better and am trying to stay positive. She also kept me on the Clonozepzm 25mg in the morning 25mg afternoon and 50 at bedtime. I appreciate all the helpful comments from everyone. This has really been rough! Hope you all are doing alright and you have a great day! God Have Mercy On Us All. ;)
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Avatar universal
Thank you for all your answers & encouragement to my questions. You are wonderful and kind taking the time to try and help me. God Bless you. ;)
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Avatar universal
Thank you for all your answers & encouragement to my questions. You are wonderful and kind taking the time to try and help me. God Bless you. ;)
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Avatar universal
This is day 3 on Zoloft. I feel lathargic with no energy and having trouble even getting out of bed. Is this normal andwill it pass? Yesterday I felt better around 3 or 4 in the afternoon and was able to function. This morning I'm having a bit more trouble this morning. Shaky and I just want to go back to sleep
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Avatar universal
This is day 3 on Zoloft. I feel lathargic with no energy and having trouble even getting out of bed. Is this normal andwill it pass? Yesterday I felt better around 3 or 4 in the afternoon and was able to function. This morning I'm having a bit more trouble this morning. Shaky and I just want to go back to sleep.
Helpful - 0
1110049 tn?1409402144
I found that Prozac did not agree with me at all, but I was fine on Zoloft.  It is a matter of trying different antidepressants, and finding one that suits you.

Hope you feel better soon.

Take care
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480448 tn?1426948538
Your best bet would be to ask your doctor, and/or call Medicare and ask for a referral.
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Avatar universal
I would like very much to go to theropy but how do I find it and how do I pay for that? I'm only on Medicare at the present time. Applied for Medicaid since all this has begun but won't know anything for about 30 days they said.
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Avatar universal
Thank you for all your encouraging words and advice. You are helping me very much. I'll try not to focus on anything but relaxing and breathing. I hope and pray the Zoloft does the trick! God Bless you and thank you again.
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480448 tn?1426948538
Yes, that's a low dose of Zoloft.  My recommendation to you is to NOT overwhelm yourself by searching and reading a lot about Zoloft.  You know enough with the basics.  Also, keep yourself busy and distracted and TRY not to spend too much time being overly focused on how you're feeling.

That's when anxiety may cause you to become hypervigilant about physical sensations, and start relating things to the Zoloft, then before you know it, you've talked yourself into another "reaction".  

And by saying that, I'm not indicating that ALL of your reaction to the Prozac was psychosomatic, but at this point, your anxiety is high about med reactions.

Remember this will take some time.  You may start noticing some subtle improvements after a few weeks, but won't be able to fully assess the effectiveness of Zoloft until about 4-6 weeks.  Remember too, to get into some therapy.  That is SO very important.  Keep taking the Klonopin as directed.  If you start to have some side effects, talk with your doc, he may decide to increase the Klonopin dose temporarily, until you have adjusted to the Zoloft and start feeling better.

Fingers crossed...I sure hope this works for you!
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Avatar universal
I am so shakey and getting out of control so I just now went ahead and took the 25mg Zoloft....we'll see what happens.
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Avatar universal
Can't I just stay on the Clonazapam for awhile by itself and NOT take an anti-depresent with it?
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Avatar universal
They want me to start on .25mg. Isnt that the lowest does?
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480448 tn?1426948538
What's odd is the timing of your side effects.  If they were truly adverse reactions to the Prozac, one would expect that the onset would have been far earlier.  Most people who experience bothersome side effects start noticing them as early as 48 hours into the course. That's why I would be suspicious of either an anxiety-induced reaction, or perhaps another illness with ironic timing.

What dose of the Zoloft does the doc want you to start out at?  That's another helpful trick..to start at a low dose and be slowly tapered up.  That can greatly miminize side effects.

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Avatar universal
I am still on the Clonazapam. .25 in the morning .25 in the afternoon & .50 at bedtime. I'm struggling now with diarreah and havent' taken any of the ZOLOFT yet. It's now been 3 days since I got off the .20mg of Prozac. I'm not sure why they had me start so high. I ask if I could just lower the dose but the switched me to the Zoloft. I was feeling fine & even better until that 8th day then everything went out of control. Chills, shakes...everything I mentioned and it was listed on the paper if You experience any of these symptoms to stop taking them. That's what made me call them! It was an overwhelming & horrifing feeling! I am disfunctional right now even.I'm overwhelmed with what's happening!
Helpful - 0
480448 tn?1426948538
After only 8 days, I would doubt you are having "withdrawal" symptoms.  The SSRI antidepressants are the most commonly Rx'ed meds used to treat anxiety disorders, so you're doctor is on the right track there.  Also, Zoloft happens to be the MOST commonly Rx'ed SSRI for anxiety, due to its high success rate and ease of tolerance for most people.

Sounds a lot like you had more of an anxious reaction, due to you worrying how the med would affect you.  The Zoloft may indeed help you, but the tricky part is, now you are fearful of your reaction to it, which may lead to another anxiety-induced reaction.  Have you tried any type of therapy?  It may be good to start some therapy, so a therapist can help you learn ways to stop that anxious way of thinking.  That may be your best bet before you start the Zoloft, so you can try to get past that fear before you start it.  This kind of fear response related to meds is actually very common.

I think your thread is probably better suited for our Anxiety community, based on the fact that you aren't dealing with depression.  I'll see to it that it gets moved over there.  Browse around the anxiety forum, you will find a lot of people in very similar situations.

Keep in mind that these kinds of meds can take up to 4-6 weeks before they REALLY start making a difference in how you feel, which is why it is so important to try to be patient and give the med a chance to start working.  It is very common to have some initial side effects during that adjustment phase.  

Common side effects include an increase in anxiety (feeling very jittery), sleep disturbances (either feeling drowsy, or insomnia), some GI symptoms which could include some nausea, diarrhea, lack of appetite, or increase in appetite.  Also, headaches are commonly reported.  The good news is, these side effects are short lived, with most people seeing improvements at about week 2.  Also, not everyone will have side effects, it's something that greatly varies from person to person.  

Like I said though, with your seeming anxious response, you may end up THINKING that the typical side effects are a much more severe reaction.  Anxiety can cause very real physical symptoms.  That's why I think looking into some therapy is a good idea.  Also, it's common for some people to be on a short term course of an anti-anxiety medication, like Ativan or Xanax, during that adjustment period where there may be some side effects.  Are you still taking the Klonopin?

Best of luck...keep us updated okay?
Helpful - 0
1110049 tn?1409402144
I too had terrible side effects with Prozac.  I stuck it out for 4 weeks, and then just had to stop I was so bad.  Never want to feel like that again.  yet Prozac does suit some people.  We are all different.

If you have not got depression, I would say why take anti-depressants, unless you really need them?  Presumably the doctor thinks the Zoloft will help with anxiety.

Withdrawal times are difficult to predict, as we are all different.
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Avatar universal
I called them and at first they said it was normal and I just had to stick with it. What started this whole thing was I apparently had an anxiety attack due to a severe allergy problem and they put me on Clonazapam & Prozac. I wasn't depressed I just needed to get control of my anxiety & allergies. I went to a specialist and am now on an allergy spray which is helping my breathing. So now I just feel like I have to get over the anxiety problem. They want me to stay on an antidepressent and now prescribed ZOLOFT but I'm too afraid to take it. I don't want to start getting hooked on med if I don't really need them. This is the 3rd day I havent' taken the PROZAC. I'm an athlete and I'm now to the point I cant even work out because I have no energy and am extremely tired. My sister says I'm going thru withdraws and it will pass. How many days will I continue to feel this way?
Helpful - 0
480448 tn?1426948538
Have you contacted your doctor?  That should have been the first thing when you started feeling so badly.

If you haven't, call your doctor to discuss this.
Helpful - 0
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