Prozac for anxiety - need input

So first--a positive note: Today is my first morning with NO Ativan and very little anxiety! I have been doing deep breathing and meditation 2x a day (at lunch and before bedtime) and think that the Prozac is starting to kick in. Yay!

I've only been on Prozac for 1.5 weeks now but feel that it is already working. I know that is uncommon, but already I'm feeling less panic and anxiety. I was started on 10 mg, and after 1 week it was increased to 20 mg. My doc told me to take it in the evening right before bedtime.

Problems:
(1) I am waking up at 4 or 5 a.m. every morning & can't get back to sleep. My doc recommended Melatonin before bedtime b/c I was waking up at 2-3 a.m. It seems like that only helped push the time back. Before when I was waking up I would have diarrhea & feel anxious, now I just wake up and can't sleep (but I'm not feeling anxious).

Anyone have experience or recommendations with Prozac & insomnia?

(2) Diarrhea. I was having it before (just b/c I was anxious) and it hasn't stopped. It is so bad that I basically only eat once a day--at dinner. That way I have diarrhea first thing in the morning (usually 2-3x) but am not running to the bathroom all day.

Because I'm not eating I'm losing a lot of weight. Anyone have experience with this? Thoughts on what I can do?

Thanks everyone! Things are feeling a little better already and you've all been helpful.

Hi wishing.girl. It's great you're noticing some positive benefits from the Prozac already. And that you've been able to stop taking Xanax. I really hope the other stuff sorts itself out.

I was on Prozac many years ago. On start-up it made me feel really nauseous and I hardly wanted to eat at all. That lasted about three week or so and then the nausea gradually subsided and my appetite returned and I had no further GI problems. Ultimately though, I found Prozac to be too stimulating for me. It made me feel agitated and restless a lot of the time and that wasn't a good combination with my anxiety.

Since you've only been on Prozac for a week or so I would personally give it some more time. The side effects may well lessen. Perhaps going up to 20mg so quickly exacerbated things? Also, it's often helpful to take these meds with food if they're causing GI upset (rather than taking them on an empty stomach). So maybe it would help if you took the Prozac with a snack??

Also, I'm not sure how long you were taking the Xanax for, but if you were taking it to help you sleep and now you're no longer taking it, that could potentially also be causing some sleep problems?

Wishing you all the best with this!

You'll find that many people will have had mixed experiences of prozac. Apparently it's very good for anxiety and unipolar depression, and I've got friends who found it extremely affective for those kinds of conditions. My own experience was very different, since it turns out I was misdiagnosed, but I do remember the diarrhoea. It might be worth checking if you have irritable bowel syndrome or some such. But again, a close friend started off having bowel problems which settled quickly.

Good luck, and I'm glad it's working for you.

I hate Ativan and I hate Prozac. The side effects are worse than the benifit they are giving! I was suffering from anxiety and panic attacks and I was luckily treated with hypnosis and a at that time newly developed technique called SRP - Subliminal Rationality Programming. First by my shrink and then with a tape called the dreamwalk, that I listen to once in a while, when life is a bit heavy to cope with. I listen to it in the evening and wake up feeling good! Most of my friends who have been suffering from panic attacks did not even know that there was a cure. They all started with medicine. and while I was cured within a couple of weeks, they were taking their pills for years. It is all about finding out how and when it started and your brain will be able to dismiss the problem with a form of reprogramming. After all, it is not physical even so the symptoms are. If you thought it was physical, you would not ask in the Psych Central! And if it is psychological, it can be cured!
good luck
Franz Rudolf

@ Franz, I want you to know that your response was very unhelpful to me. While reading it weeks ago, I thought that it sounded like you are selling something. I'm not interested in product pitches on here, I'm interested in support. I have done a great deal of research on both medical and psychological treatment, but believe that I needed a blend. I did not need to hear that I was wrong in some way for taking Prozac.

I'm writing this now because weeks ago I was feeling vulnerable and anxious, and reading your post made me feel sick. Since then I have had much success as a result of Prozac, Ativan, meditation, and therapy. Now I'm feeling calm enough and strong enough to let you know that your post made me feel angry.

It's fine for everyone to have an opinion, but on a support forum please use caution in devaluing multiple methods of managing anxiety.

p.s. For those who are interested, I continue to experience some insomnia on Prozac. I'm going to switch to taking it in the morning to see if this helps.

Prozac has done wonders at calming my anxiety. I don't experience the ruminative thinking that I was earlier. It helped a lot with my panic, as well. I haven't had a panic attack for several weeks. I'm willing to work around the sleep loss because I feel SO much better!

I don't want to be on this forever. I'm hoping to ween myself off in late June so that I can go on my vacation this summer without medication. I think being in therapy while I do that will help!

Really glad the Prozac is helping you so much ((((((wishing.girl)))))) That's great to hear!