I have been on Prozac for a week today - I feel great. Anxiety is gone and I am sleeping at night which is unusual. I have energy! I don't have that feeling of wanting to sleep all the time.


This morning I woke up and I feel a little dizzy. Could a side effect come on after a week. Maybe it is something else.

I am only on 5mg and going to 10mg today. I just didn;t know if anyone else ran into this dizziness in the morning side effect.

I hope the 10mg will make me feel this good.

Gingche: how are you doing on Prozac?

glad to hear your feeling better after only a week!
I been on 20mg for 2 weeks and feel they havent started to work yet. I'm still tired and higer anxiety.
When do you take the meds as i think it can affect your mood for the day depending on what time of the day you take it i.e taking it in the morning will make us feel tired in the day.

I take it around 2 in the afternoon

I started Fluoxetine yesterday morning. I have tried it before in the past, at 40mg - however, my Psychiatrist wants me to try it again, at a higher dosage for my OCD. I stopped taking Duloxetine on Sunday. I am currently on Fluoxetine 20mg, and will start 40mg this coming Monday, and then 60mg the Monday after. So far I have only experienced extra tiredness and some stomach problems ....... we'll see how it goes I suppose.

Karen.

Hi Jane, I am so glad to hear you are already feeling so good! The dizziness will come and go. And as you continue on the med, it should be gone in a month or so. I had a few episodes of dizziness too (also mostly in the morning), but later actually found that it has helped with my dizziness a lot.

You may want to try taking it at a different time of the day. I used to get a bit anxious and dizzy in the morning when I took Prozac at bedtime. Then I switched to morning, and now I don't have those side effects anymore.

I have upped my dose to 15mg, and will go up to 20 this weekend. So far I feel pretty good---haven't felt like I hit the "magic day" yet, but hasn't been bad either. I think the weather has helped too!

Please keep me posted on how you are doing.

HOw are you getting the 5mg? Does it now come in a dose that low or are you taking a liquid.........very med sensitive here and been on EVERYTHING atleast once if not 2x's....Only one not tried is welbutrin.....back to the drawing board

Prozac comes in 10mg and 20mg capsules. I took 5mg by breaking the capsule in half, then dump the half capsule of powder into cranberry juice and drink it.

I am taking the generic prozac which comes in tablets. I just split the dose.

Ginche: Today I called the doctor to increase to 10mg. I havn't felt good the past 2 days, headache was bad yesterday but better today. I am wondering if I should increase to 10mg or stay at 5mg. What do you think? Should I be at at least 10mg? My anxiety is gone! but... i still have brain fog. I need your advice!

Hi Jane, sorry to hear this. But I think in general you are doing great!!

Were you on 5mg for a week yet? Did you get headache on 5mg or 10mg of Prozac? When I increased my dose to 20mg I had bad headache for a day or two too. I think the key is to increase SLOWLY. But if you have been on 5mg for a week already, it should have given your body enough time to adjust. The bottom line is, 5mg of Prozac is definitely NOT enough to get rid of your brain fog and depression. You will have to get to 10 or 20mg to make a difference. So sooner or later you do need to increase the dose and see if it works. My feeling is that, since you have been on 5mg for a week, maybe the last two days your body is telling you the 5mg dose is not enough. It is just a "tease" to your brain, as my psychiatrist puts it.

I would recommend increasing to 10mg and see how you feel. Also, it is always better to increase the dose during a weekend. This way even if you don't feel 100% well, you don't have to go anywhere and can just relax at home.

If you absolutely don't feel comfortable increasing to 10mg, you can maybe break the tablet into 1/4s and take 3/4 of the pill. I am doing that with my dose increase: 10mg for a week, 15-17mg for a week, then this weekend I am going up to 20. I find it very helpful! Try this for 2-3 days then increase to 10mg, if you want to.

Good luck to you!!!

I started the 10mg yesterday. I feel a little dizzy and kind of heavy head. but feel pretty good. I did get a headache on the last day of 5 and today. I understand about not having enough in your system. That happened with Celexa - I did so bad on 5mg and better on 10mg. Thank you for your support - I really want this to work. I just think I think about it too much and i get all worked up. Funny think - I think my head fog is a little better or should I say different. Are you feeling OK on your dose.

I took the 10mg again today and I am so sleepy. I guess I should take it later. What time do you take it?

I am still taking mine in the morning, at around 9. I am doing fine with 15-17mg so far---no side effects, but not much different from taking 10mg either. I feel quite sleepy every morning, but during the day I am fine. I had dizziness, headache, and little light headed for a day or so when I went up to 20mg last time, but it wasn't too bad. I will go up to 20 this weekend.

I understand that with generic Prozac, most people take more dose than the name brand. So if I am taking 20mg of brand Prozac, your ultimate dose on the generic should probably be 40mg. Well, go up to 10 for a week or two and see how you feel. Did your doctor tell you how much you are supposed to go and stay on at the end?

He pretty much said our goal right now is 10mg. If the fog is still there after a while then we will go up.

When I took the 10mg today I initially got tired and now I have a bit if energy so I am still up in the air on when to take it.

I definetly like this better than any other med I have taken. Less side effects.

If you don;t feel a difference in the dose ..... Good For you!!! That is great! Are you heading to stay at 20mg?

Are you tired after you take your med in the morning? Did you headahces leave? My friend who takes it said those effects usually last around 4 days. So we will see!

Ok. I think I will try taking prozac at night. I feel so dizzy in the morning. Hopefully that will help. Also, today i feel a bit anxious and foggy. Are the dizziness and anxious feelings going to pass?

I can't wait for the month to pass to see if this will work.

Any advise here would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Jane, yes I feel tired too in the morning after I take mine. I feel sleepy and a little light headed. But it usually passes in an hour or so, then during the day I am fine. When I took it at night (around dinner time), I used to wake up early in the morning and become anxious. So I switched it to the morning instead. I just started taking 20mg as of today, and so far so good.

Yes the dizziness and anxiety will go away in a few days. I had it for 2-3 days I think. If it doesn't pass in a week, you should talk to your doctor and see if you can switch to the name brand Prozac. According to my doctor, that's the difference btw the name brand and generic----some generic brands make people more anxious.

Btw Jane, I just read another thread called "Would like input on what you all are taking for anx/dep" on this board. It seems that quite a few people have had bad experiences with generic Prozac, while the name brand Prozac worked very well for them. This is exactly what I read on another web site regarding the difference btw the two. A lot of people complain about the generic one, mostly anxiety problems that the generic Prozac has brought to them. This is why my doctor insisted that I only take the name brand Prozac.

Given this, I think if your dizziness, fog, and anxiety don't go away within a week, you should probably talk to your doctor and switch to the name brand. It costs a higher co-pay: $35 instead of $7. But I think it is worth it!

Thank you so much. I will talk to my doctor again regarding the Name brand if I am not better in a week. I did ask him and said there is no difference. So I am hoping if need be that he will switch me. I just hate the dizziness in the morning. I am wondering if I take it at bedtime if It will be better. I feel like my ears and head are tingling. It is weird. Thanks for your support. I appreciate it. I am kind of scared that I am going to feel this way while on this med.

Glad you have no side effects. Lucky you!

Well, one frustrating thing is that doctors don't always know everything. We have to do our own research most of times since WE are the ones suffering. I had another psychiatrist who is actually a friend of my husband's, and he was the one telling me there is no difference btw the generic and name brand! He prescribed generic Prozac to me. Fortunately, before I started taking it I did some research. Then I went to a German psychiatrist recommeded by my GP, and she told me there IS a difference btw the two, according to the experience of her own patients. Therefore she insisted that I should only be taking name brand Prozac. I am so glad I did my research and listened to her!

Also, what I read from that web site is that, SOME generic Prozac have given patients side effects, mostly increased anxiety. But some other generic don't---seems like it all depends on which manufacturer you get your generic Prozac from. Since the ingrediants of generic meds can have a difference of +/- 15% of the name brand, it all depends on WHAT 15% the generic brand is lacking. If the 15% is exactly what you need or the generic has 15% more of what you can handle, you are in bad luck! That's why the name brand is so much safer and more stable.

Well, don't be scared yet, Jane. Stay on the current one for a week and see how you feel. If you don't feel well by then, you know you have another option. Best luck to you!

Hi ginche! I just wanted to say hello. I am still suffering the side effects of the Prozac. Things are better but I am still fighting the anxiety. I really wish I would have never started that stuff. I would rather be in a bad mood if you know what I mean, then feel like I have been feeling! It's awful!

How are things going with you?

Emma

Hi Emma, you are still suffering from the side effects? That sounds awful! Does xanax help a little with it? I saw on another post that you are losing hair as well. That scares me a lot! Did you talk to your doctor about it? Drink plenty of water in the meantime, as it can help washing out the med in your system.

I am doing fine so far. I upped my dose to 20mg yesterday (for the second round), and so far not much side effects. I am keeping my fingers crossed!!

Hope you will feel better soon!!!

Ok - I tried taking my med at around 8 last night and I slept until 12 noon today. I guess I will go back to afternoon.

Anyway - I really feel like my brain is cooking. This is not fun. My Fog is a little better though but now I am dizzy.

I am thinking I should back to 5mg. Any thoughts?

Hi Emma, you are still suffering from the side effects? That sounds awful! Does xanax help a little with it? I saw on another post that you are losing hair as well. That scares me a lot! Did you talk to your doctor about it? Drink plenty of water in the meantime, as it can help washing out the med in your system.

I am doing fine so far. I upped my dose to 20mg yesterday (for the second round), and so far not much side effects. I am keeping my fingers crossed!!

Hope you will feel better soon!!!

:wave: Yup, still have the side effects to a degree. I just think in some ways it messed with my mind and now I am paranoid into thinking my "Old" anxiety issues are back. I have suffered with anxiety many years ago but had not had any until the generic Prozac. The nurse asked me the last time at the Dr's if I was losing my hair. I said no at the time. I didn't think I was. I am now though but who knows that could be just me being so stressed over the med episode. ARGH! I hate this!!!!! I go back to the Dr. April 3rd.

I am glad you are doing well. That is wonderful that you could up the dose and feel ok. Please keep me posted!!!

Emma

Hi Jane, I am sorry to hear that you are not doing so well on 10mg. I had problems with going up to 20mg the first time too, although it wasn't that severe.

Have you been on 10mg for 2 days? I would suggest that you stay on 10mg for a week since the side effects usually last only 2-4 days. And if after a week your symptoms don't get any better, you can just switch to the name brand all at once and stop taking generic! Otherwise, if you go down to 5mg now, you will never know if the generic works for you or not.

What do you think?

Hi Emma, I am so sorry to hear that you are still dealing with anxiety! It is so scary and sad that you have to go through all this. Are you going to try another med, or going med free? It is hard to believe a med which is supposed to help us can actually make us feel worse! Well, I tried to stop taking Prozac after only 2 weeks and had BAD withdrawl symptoms, and my doctor told me there would not be any... Meds are always nasty!

Hang in there and I hope you will feel better soon!

Has anyone had any good expereinces with the generic brand of Prozac?. I seen alot of people have bad expereinces with it and myself also. I been on 20mg for 3 weeks now and it has increased my anxiety. I feel i want to stop it and try another SSRI but maybe i should give it a longer try

Hi Jane, just wondering how you are doing on 10mg? Hope you are doing well!

I had to come off it yestesday. I am so dissapointed! I felt like my brain was cooking, and I was so dizzy and I felt like I was going to pass out.

I have a meeting with my doc on Thursday. I am going to ask for for the real Prozac and try again.

I did ask him over the phone about ditching the generic and he said you will react the same way to both meds.

i will ask again anyway.

How are you feeling?

I'm sorry you've not seemed to tolerate it j2006. Hopefully your appointment will go well.

Karen.

Hi Jane, sorry to hear that the generic one didn't work out. But it is good you have stopped taking it now, and will start taking the name brand. It does make a difference!! Just remember to start the name brand at a low dosage and gradually go up.

I am feeling fine. I have been on 20mg for almost a week, but still no "magic day" yet! So weird. In the last two days I felt a little light headed, kind of like I am walking in a dream world. But I am going to continue on it and see if it improves over time. I am also having a cold, so that may be the cause too.

I hope you will find the name brand more helpful!

I'll be changing over to brand prozac next week when I increase my dosage again, to what will hopefully be my 'actual' dosage.

Hi Drafthing, what dosage are you going to be on for?

60mg .... I've tried a number of different SSRI's in the past ..... but they never really seem to help with my OCD. I've actually been on Fluoxetine before, but only at 40mg, and my Psychiatrist says that SSRI's need to be prescribed at higher dosages in order to achieve some relief.

I just wanted to add that I had the same thing with the generic years ago.I thought it was just me but now I see I am not alone.I just started name brand Prozac this morning.It is about my last hope.I cannot tolerate meds and it has to work.But no matter what the dr says,there is definately a difference between the generic and name brand!And I hadn't even read about it when I experienced it!I would ask my dr if he had personally tried both.

60mg? That sounds like a lot! I started on 5mg, and after a month I just started going up to 20mg. My doctor told me 20mg is the ideal dosage for someone my size. I can't imagine anyone taking more than 40mg of Prozac! I actually don't know anyone who has taken that much...

Well, I'm only small myself (just starting to recover from an ED) ..... Like I said, I took 40mg's last time I tried it, and whilst it helped with my Depression, it didn't help with my OCD. 60mg is a common dosage for people with OCD and/or Bulimia. At least, that's what the pamphlet says. I am sure I have heard of people taking 80mg.

Just some info from MY PS doc on Generics...... they can vary by as much as 20% as to active ingredients......higher or lower...plus they can have different inactive ingredients........I had a problem with generic paxil and water retention.......NOT when switched to name brand......I have never been able to take generic prozac and neither can my daughter.....make us anxious and hyper NOT the name brand ..............so THERE IS A DIFFERENCE.........some people will notice and some will not!

Hope that helps!:angel: