Fluoxetine and Tiredness: What Users Say (Page 3)

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 1, 2012

Fluoxetine for Depression "Started taking this a week ago for moderate depression and anxiety. I've been on Zoloft and Paxil before, but the Zoloft made me exhausted and the Paxil made me gain weight, and missing doses caused 'brain zaps' like mini electric bolts. I felt better the very first day, and I knew the exact moment it came on. Even a coworker noticed my smile was like nothing before. Every day thereafter, my mood has been amazing. My doctor told me to start with 10mg, and then 20mg after a week, but I jumped right into the 20mg because I know my tolerance for medicines. I still have some social anxiety, so he may bump me to 30mg next visit, but right now even at this dosage I feel like life is worth living and is manageable."

• Mel...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• March 30, 2015

Fluoxetine for Depression "Let's see. When I first started this med was for depression and anxiety. Within a month, I felt good, after two months, great! I stopped taking it, thinking I could manage, and that made me worse after 3-6 months. I had to get back on it, plus Klonopin for the anxiety. Well, I did it again. I started running out and couldn't afford to go to the doctor, so I was taking it every other day... I think it made it less effective. I've been so depressed, tired, anxious, dizzy, etc. I was able to afford to go back a few weeks ago and get my refills... So I'm three weeks in... Still feeling down and out. But I know I've got to give it the full 6-8 weeks. Just never get off! It works well if taken right."

• LL_...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 13, 2014

For Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder "I told my OBGYN that I was having a lot of depression and rage associated with PMS (heightened by life stress). She recommended fluoxetine for the time between ovulation and when my period starts. I started that day (perfect timing). The side effects that first cycle were extreme. I was exhausted, sweating more, low/no sex drive, couldn't achieve orgasm, numb emotions, but I read online that these subside over time, and they have. I have gone through 7 cycles with the medication. I hope to reduce from 20 mg to 10 mg and have reduced some my first 6 days to 10 mg and 20 mg the remaining. It is working well for me and allowing me some emotional freedom to get back to exercising, etc. I am grateful for this medication! So is hubby."

• Bet...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• December 3, 2013

Fluoxetine for Depression "It obviously affects everyone differently. I've been taking fluoxetine for about 10 years, 20 mg per day. Yes, it has some side effects which are difficult to anticipate and manage. It can make me overly excited, and at times a little euphoric, which arrives quickly, making it difficult to contain. On the other side, I suffered from manic depression, and I used to happily go into a black hole in a blind rage, and the medication just stopped that completely, so I feel like it's a very positive trade-off. I do get very sleepy and tired, so honestly, I just sleep more. I tried reducing my dosage a couple of times over the years I've been taking this but could not handle the withdrawal."

• Par...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 29, 2024

Fluoxetine for Major Depressive Disorder "I’m on 30 mg Prozac for severe anxiety and panic attacks, for PTSD and for MDD. This medication helps with almost all of my mental health symptoms and does a really good job of addressing my anxiety and panic attacks as well as PTSD flashbacks from sexual assault. It does make me feel a little tired and gave me some constipation at the start, but the benefits outweigh the side effects. I recommend."

• Nan...
• January 22, 2020

Fluoxetine for Depression "Had to quit after just a few days. First couple of days felt calm. I yawned a lot. Day three I started to feel anxious and reclusive, and by day four, full-on dark thoughts and manic behavior. This is not for me. No way."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 20, 2012

Fluoxetine for Depression "I have been taking Prozac for 9 months and have constantly had to experience the tiredness it causes and lack of motivation. I have now supplemented it with 150 mg of Wellbutrin and notice a huge difference. I am more alert, energetic, can concentrate and want to get out of the house instead of lying around. I can still feel the serotonin effects of Prozac, so it's the best of both worlds."

• Six...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• April 8, 2013

Fluoxetine for Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder "Sarafem should be in the water. Have suffered from depression my whole life. Never knew how bad it was until I started to take Sarafem. Started at 20 mg, I am at 40 mg today. Have tried to decrease the dose or come off completely, usually blaming weight gain and tiredness on it, but it was not worth it. Very little weight gain and my tiredness never went away. I have been on Sarafem for over 10 years. If anything, it saved my marriage! Take each night before bed and have the script written for the brand name... there is a difference!"

• tha...
• April 5, 2011

Fluoxetine for Bulimia "I'm going to make this short and simple. Pros: I felt better within the month of taking it, it slowed my bulimia way down. Cons: I had to up the dosage a month ago. So far, so good. I yawned the first 2 weeks straight all day long, but it's over now. I've been taking it for 2 months now, and I love it! I'm 24 years old and have had my depression and bulimia for 13 years, and I have never felt this good. Also, I'm on 1 mg of Klonopin (clonazepam) at night. I like that too. Hope this helps."

• don...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 9, 2020

Fluoxetine for Depression "Went on Prozac for anxiety. I had horrible side effects, couldn’t eat, I was so nauseous, headachy, tired. It wasn’t doing much for me, so I missed a day or two, then would take one, and that was a big mistake. It completely sent me downhill. Out of absolutely nowhere, I was crying every second of the day, having suicidal thoughts. It took 2 weeks to be somewhat back to normal, but after that, I never got any better. Prozac made me feel suicidal and gave me depression that I didn’t have before. 2 months off of it, I still feel the same. It seriously messed up my head. My brother took it and also became suicidal out of nowhere. DO NOT TAKE."

• sta...
• September 10, 2016

For Bulimia "I take 100 mg daily, and my binging and purging have subsided by 90%. Please note it took me a long time to work up to this high dose. My quality of life has improved immensely, and for the first time in years, I am not thinking about food and weight constantly. One side effect I do experience is tiredness, which I find frustrating, but whenever I try to reduce my medication intake, I start binging and purging again. Out of the 10-15 antidepressants I have tried over the years, this has been the only one to assist without dreadful side effects (e.g., Topiramate). I wish everyone luck with their personal battle and know how challenging and isolating this condition can be. Take care."

• h18...
• December 7, 2013

For Anxiety and Stress "I have anxiety and emetophobia, along with symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. I was so scared to take Prozac, especially as it seemed that everything I read about it was negative. I am so glad that I found this website, as reading more positive and balanced reviews really helped me to decide to take it, and I am so glad I did. I was lucky to have next to no side effects. I felt tired and a little emotionless for a while, but that soon passed. It has helped to bring down my anxiety levels a lot, and while it is not a miracle cure, I feel like myself again, which is really great compared to how I had felt. I feel more balanced emotionally and focused."

• Clo...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 5, 2014

For Anxiety and Stress "After the birth of my son, I was left with postnatal depression under the guise of constant severe anxiety and as many as 20 panic attacks a day, leaving me housebound and useless. After 2 years of battling on, I realized it was time to see a doctor. I was prescribed 20 mg fluoxetine once a day. After reading side effects and online reviews, I was terrified to say the least! Nevertheless, after a few weeks of extreme tiredness and weight loss (which was actually a benefit), I am now able to say PROZAC SAVED MY LIFE. I am back to my normal self with very few side effects, and I have never felt better. I am also undergoing CBT in order to be able to come off the tablets and still be anxiety-free, but I cannot thank fluoxetine enough!"

• bug...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• July 6, 2017

Fluoxetine for Anxiety and Stress "I started taking Prozac in April of 2016 for anxiety and depression. It took about a month to actually start working. I feel better going into public and don't freak out and go into the bathroom. I'm still depressed, but it's improved so much. It gave me side effects like loss of appetite. I lost 10 pounds my first month taking it, and I was always tired but had trouble falling asleep. Another negative is if I miss it a day, I have painful headaches and lash out on everyone and treat them terribly."

• Cha...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 20, 2019

Fluoxetine for Depression "Been on Prozac for about 3 months. Been able to sleep without waking up at 2 a.m. worrying about silly things. Which is awesome, however, I am exhausted all the time. I never used to nap, now I can nap at will. Everyone is different, glad to know this doesn't happen to everyone. Gonna try something else..."

• Kez...
• February 5, 2020

Fluoxetine for Anxiety and Stress "I had a baby a few months back and have been experiencing a bit of post-natal depression with anxiety. My doctor prescribed these Prozac, and I started them 4 days ago. I just yawned a lot the first few days, and last night I had such bad anxiety and sweating and felt completely out of it. I feel worse taking these tablets. I don't know if I should carry on. Do you have to feel worse to feel better, or do these not agree with me?"

• jus...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 2, 2022

Fluoxetine for Depression "I have depression, OCD, and anxiety. I am a 42-year-old man, married with kids, and have struggled with depression all my life. I've been on and off meds during different periods. During the last year, I took Zoloft 200 mg for several months, it helped with anxiety but made me sleep too much. My doctor switched me to Prozac 40 mg in the morning, which I've been on for about 6 months now. I felt a bit less tired and foggy. It definitely ended my panic attacks and anxiety, but I still feel sluggish and struggle to get things done in and out of the home. If you have panic attacks and anxiety with depression, this could help you. I appreciate the positive influence it has had on my state of mind, but I still feel like I'm tired and struggling to be productive at work."

• Way...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 7, 2021

For Depression "So I started fluoxetine 8 weeks ago and have to say it's the best SSRI I've been on. It's good for my anxiety and excellent for depression. The first couple of weeks were a bit up and down, with not being able to sleep and a lot of yawning, but all that faded away after a few weeks. Now sleep is good, and I wake up feeling fine. All negative thoughts have disappeared, and no more crying at night with a weird guilt feeling. As for sexual side effects, I have not had any yet, so hopefully there will not be any. Energy came back within a week of taking. Hope this helps somebody, and please hang in there."

• ora...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 4, 2015

Fluoxetine for Major Depressive Disorder "I have been on Prozac since December 2014, and it has done quite a bit of good for me. I started taking it as an add-on to Wellbutrin SR to help with my increasing anxiety and extreme irritability. It made me very lethargic for the first couple of weeks, but that went away, and it has since been helping me manage my anger and anxiety. I now also take separate anti-anxiety medication, and I have found that the two work together very well. It is the only SSRI I have ever tried, and I know I got very lucky with this."

• And...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 31, 2020

For Obsessive Compulsive Disorder "My son, age 12, suffered from severe OCD, but after 3-4 weeks on fluoxetine, he was almost cured. The first couple of weeks, he was more tired than usual, but apart from that, we haven't observed any side effects. He has been taking fluoxetine for almost one and a half years now."

• veg...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 26, 2015

Fluoxetine for Depression "I started taking 10 mg Prozac last Tuesday, so it's been a week and a half, and the first few days I was tired, but I seem to be doing things here and there that I'd put off for a while and things I don't normally feel like doing. That is encouraging and makes me think it's working. I've had a lot of losses in my life in the last 10 years and also going through menopause, which is adding to my depression and general bad feeling. My husband also gambled away my inheritance from my mom and my kids' college money that his dad left for them. I just can't believe he did that, and it's something I struggle with every day since we're not super financially stable. I hope this medicine continues to work better every day. I've been told it takes 2-4 weeks."

• Smi...
• August 18, 2013

Fluoxetine for Depression "I'm a 20-year-old female. I was prescribed Prozac 6 months ago. For the first few weeks, I felt great, everything seemed better. After 1 month, I became even more depressed, my period was very heavy and lasted weeks at a time. I had disturbing nightmares, developed restless legs syndrome, and started grinding my teeth. I was tired constantly and ended up in the hospital due to suicidal thoughts. I am now on citalopram, and things have never been better."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 15, 2013

For Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder "I have been on this medication for 3 months now. Mainly taking it to reduce PMS symptoms, and it is working. The first few weeks, I felt really tired, not hungry, and just all over weird. After the first month, those side effects subsided. I have not gained any weight and do not have those 'moments of rage' I would get before my period. I don't plan on being on it forever, but I will take it as long as I see fit."

• Lil...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 28, 2021

Fluoxetine for Depression "Day 2: headache, face sinus pressure, stuffy right nose, diarrhea. These symptoms each passed in about 7 hours. Day 3: runny nose, hot red puffy achy cheeks, racing heart (as in I felt like I had drank an espresso - not scary), headache back head/skull... these each only lasted 4 hours. Day 4: was yawning like crazy... like literally every 3 minutes. It was funny and annoying. Lasted 3 hours. Was super irritable then for about 3 hours. I feel depressed and tired still, but at the same time I got up and did housework and enjoyed it. I NEVER do this. Like I was organizing stuff and being all efficient. It's been YEARS since I was like that. It's too soon for this stuff to work, isn't it? It's not placebo effect because I did not think it would help me. I'm not grasping at straws. I had no expectation of a positive outcome, so it's bizarre... in a good way."

• Lil...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 28, 2021

Fluoxetine for Depression "Day 2: headache, face sinus pressure, stuffy right nose, diarrhea. These symptoms each passed in about 7 hours. Day 3: runny nose, hot red puffy achy cheeks, racing heart (as in I felt like I had drank an espresso - not scary), headache back head/skull... these each only lasted 4 hours. Day 4: was yawning like crazy... like literally every 3 minutes. It was funny and annoying. Lasted 3 hours. Was super irritable then for about 3 hours. I feel depressed and tired still, but at the same time I got up and did housework and enjoyed it. I NEVER do this. Like I was organizing stuff and being all efficient. It's been YEARS since I was like that. It's too soon for this stuff to work, isn't it? It's not placebo effect because I did not think it would help me. I'm not grasping at straws. I had no expectation of a positive outcome, so it's bizarre... in a good way."