Recently prescribed fluvoxamine (luvox)

[notsoperfect142]

I was prescribed fluvoxamine for anxiety/panic and I haven't taken it yet because I am nervous to take a medicine like this. Does anyone take it? It's only 25mg but I am still nervous about taking it.

[Paxiled]

Your profile says you're from the US, and this drug isn't used all that much here.  So if you don't get a lot of responses, that's why.  It's used mostly in Europe, due partly to a quirk in its initial development.  It just didn't apply for US approval for a long time, and didn't market it here very much when it was new.  It is a very short half-life ssri with a lot more contraindications with other meds, including a lot of benzos, than the other ssris, so it's not regularly prescribed for this reason as well.  I'd ask, are you so impaired you need medication?  Have you tried therapy first if you are functioning okay, just not as well as you'd like?  As for me, I had a doc try to prescribe Luvox for me because it got approved to treat OCD and he decided I had it, though I didn't at the time, but I opted against it because of the contraindications.  If you're just starting out trying medication and you actually need it and you want to use an ssri, my own experience suggests trying Prozac first.  It's not the best one for anxiety, but when it works, it is the easiest to stop taking.  The second one I'd try is Lexapro, because it has a reputation for having one of the lesser side effect profiles.  The one most people on here over the years seem to find effective is Zoloft.  Because of its very short half-life, Luvox might be in the Paxil category for difficulty of quitting, but hard to know as, again, it's just not been used as much in the US.  Checking European sources might give you more info.