Prozac = tired & shaky - is it worth it?

This isn't really something we can advise you on, you should speak to the doctor (GP/Psychiatrist/who ever) who put you on them in order to evaluate the pro's and con's of taking medication.

If you're getting side effects that are unpleasant it may simply be that you haven't settled on it yet, or that the dose/medication isn't right for you. Speak to the doctor and find out whether the dosage needs reducing or whether you should perhaps switch to another SSRI. Me I had tons of problems on sertraline yet on citalopram I get no side effects what so ever, everyone's different and you need to work with your doctor in order to find out what is right for you

What ever you do, don't just stop taking them however. When coming off of SSRI's you'll need to work out a reduction plan so you don't end up with the nasty side effects associated with sudden withdrawal.

Anon or delete please.

Hey,

I've been taking fluoxetine for 5 weeks now, but I can't decide whether the benefits outweigh the negatives. I've often suffered from debilitating panic attacks and depression, but I think they are always caused by something (irrational levels of work stress that I can't switch off from, feeling fat, depressing winter months, etc). I think the prozac has helped me to manage and reduce the panic and negative thoughts. There are points in the day when I feel truly alive, full of energy, and capable - but I get severe mood swings and there are other points where things feel difficult again, especially because since going on the medication I seem to be fighting a fog of tiredness, yawning and hand shakiness a lot of the time. Like many others, I find it affects the quality of my sleep - waking up at 5am, etc. However, I have always been an insomniac because of my anxiety, etc, and it's possible I'm not getting any less sleep than before - in fact more than in my times of epic panic. Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks

Hey , I was on Fluoxetine too , for about 8 months.
It ****** with my sleeping and I often fell asleep in lessons or was overly hyper and ******* annoying.
Although I took it for bulimia and not for anxiety or panic attacks.
My advice is to scale down your dose as that worked for me , while still being a little beneficial.
good luck

Thanks for your help. I spoke to my doctor but she said that I needed to wait another month and see if it evened out (unless things got much worse). This is fair enough; the problem is I have deadlines and things that need doing now that I can't meet because of the tiredness. Of course finding the "right" medication takes time too so I guess it's not really solvable in the short-term . I'm glad that citalopram is working out for you

Fluoxetine is known to have lots of side effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, nausea, diarrhoea etc.. you have to think would you rather put up with the side effects or have depression/panick attacks?

Glad you went to see your doctor - and maybe waiting it out is the best option see if things get better. Could you maybe go back to your GP and tell her about your deadlines and how your tiredness is affecting everything? They might be able to change you to another SSRI

Is this your first time on anti-depressants?

Yes, why? I've been prescribed them on a number of occasions in the past, but this is the first time I've actually tried taking them.

Oh right. I was prescribed Prozac once and it was by far the anti-depressant that made me the most tired and zombie like.
If it's the tiredness that's the main problem, then maybe you could look at switching to a SNRI, rather than an SSRI. But then everybody reacts differently to anti-depressants. I also found that wellbutrin often gives a stimulating effect, rather than a sedating effect, but, again, everybody's different.
The best advice you're going to get is to talk with your doctor. If the benefits from the med outweigh the side-effects and you can live with it, then it's up to you to decide whether to continue with the medication or change or stop it. I understand how annoying the effects are, as I've recently stopped taking sertraline because I was just so tired on it.