Prozac Exhaustion

I'm wondering if anyone here has taken Fluoxitine and experienced exhaustion from it? I take 20mg along with 20mg Adderall each day. I up the prozac dose to 40mg during PMS.

Ive been on AD's for 25 years, so I've pretty much tried everything out there. All SSRIs, MAOIs, Welbutrin and even Lamictal. I'm pretty sensitive to side effects, (especially the flattened affect) so my pdoc thought prozac would be the easiest for me to tolerate. Its not bad and does take the edge off my anxiety. The side effect I have trouble with is the tiredness. Its not just sleepy, but pure physical exhaustion. Taking Adderall with it might counteract the tiredness a little but not much. I've taken Lexapro and paxil, both which flattened me nd Celexa which didn't seem to do much at all.

Is this lack of energy common among others with ssris? I've taken meds for so long I thought I was just a lethargic person. Now I know its the meds. The problem is I need them, my mood fluctuations and chronic anxiety can make life, and me, unbearable.

I can of course talk to my doctor but I always like to hear about personal experience. I'm sensitive to weight gain too, so my pdoc and I steer away from meds that cause a lot. Really the MAOIs were the best I've ever taken but the side effects were too harsh. Am I looking for something that doesn't exist?

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I am experience heavy tiredness on Zoloft but I don't know that that is the cause. I started it around February or so. Sometime around June or so I was exhausted every day at work but then I was commuting an hour each way and I started it a month or so prior. My team was awful and really causing problems for me since about a month after I started. I left at the end of the summer.

So now...
I am not working so and have let my body tell me what to do. In the beginning this worked well but not so much now.
I stay up very late... Like 3am and sleep very late.
Then I nap in the afternoon. I am trying to force myself to get back on track.

And...
My cat passed away and that has been really hard.
I am burnt out in my career...have been for a few years. The last job was the last straw.
I am not eating very much. I can't spend the money but I think that is part grief, part med, part not expending much energy.
I hibernate. A close friend that I used to do things with started a relationship so she isn't around anymore. I'm not mad just very sad.

Aall those things are feeding on each other. So basically I can't really say it is one or the other. I have never slept this much, ever. Even in hs. So maybe it is the meds. I've been blaming all these other things all this time. Other meds cause me to gain weight though and that would be a concern too.

I think I read that Prozac is an ancestor of Zoloft. Not positive.

Thanks for pointing out the prozac/zoloft similarity, I wasn't aware. I ttied Zoloft once many years ago and had a terrible panic attack. Shortness of breath, pounding heart and then later exhaustion. It was my first panic attack so I called my pdoc at th time and she said i could stop taking it. She put med on paxil which was better but with that weight gain.

But how I feel now is similar to th zoloft experience but less dramatic. Sometimes panic but sometimes heavy breathing and fatigue. I've had physicals, stress tests, x rays, and other tests done to rule out physical causes so I know thats not it. I have also had this effect when taking welbutrin and had to stop, it was very bad.

Im sorry for the loss of your cat and career stress. That is very hard and when those close to you arent around much it can be sad. I'm like you in that I also have a tendency to isolate and withdraw from people. Over the years, since I've had times where I was med free, I've been able to tell that I act this way when I'm on Prozac and some other SSRIs (along with other ssris). It took along time to notice the connection though. There are some things the meds help with that are invaluable so it is no an option to be med free. My doc told me I have to pick my poison to feel better...or function better anyway. Nothing will be without its downside.

I am sorry things have been hard for you. It could be a combo of your difficult circumstances and the meds. Do you take the medical mostly for depression or anxiety?

I take it for depression. I was doing fine for a few years and have strategies for self care. I think 2013 has just been extra rough but it has been building for a while. Hopefully this year will better.

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Yes I've had very stressful things in my life too. Husband and I are back together after almost divorcing. The separation w stressful but ok for me. Very hard for the kids. Now its the other way around, I could be having a bad year like you are (or bad 5 years). It is hard to tell.

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An almost divorce must be terribly stressful and having to worry about your children too. I hope it gets better soon.

I was actually able to get to sleep earlier though I don't know how earlier because I was reading for a while and stopped looking at the time. I think just unloading helped. Thank you. The last few months I have been trying to share in group and all I got was "at least..." and "did you try...". Sometimes that is the worst thing you want to hear.

The only thing same with Prozac and Zoloft is there both SSRI,S , 40MG of Prozac ie flux does no more fore depression than 20mg. You can take 60mg for OCD and Prozac is a weight gain med, not has bad has paxil that is the worst in ssri for weight It does make you tired but that is part of its job , to slow you down so you don't implode.

Ive tried many of the meds you mentioned. Prozac and Welbutrin should act as more stimulating. That's not to say that drugs don't have a paradoxical effect. I was taking both and still exhausted. Unfortunately, my dr didn't address my sleep issues at that same time.. I awakwn mulriple times throughout the night. Once I was sleeping though the night, it made a big difference for a while.

When I take something that is too activating I sometimes end up exhausted from the anxiety, if that makes any sense. I haven't gained weight on 20mg Prozac but at higher doses do gain. Maybe if I take 10 mg it will be better?

For me it's all about finding the right dosage/med cocktail...You might like Viibryd, Cymbalta, or Aplenzin, all are activating and weight neutral. If you've tried those as well, for my bipolar depression, Latuda has been increbible and is weight neutral also!! Best of luck!!

That makes perfect sense. It's one reason why I went off Prozac. Over time it became so activating that I was having constant panic attacks and was utterly physically exhausted all the time without being sleepy. Only 200 mg of Seroquel could get me to sleep. I'm still finding a new med cocktail to take, but I don't feel the sheer terror I got from Prozac.

It is so reassuring to hear that my thoughts make sense. Even my pdoc who I trust wholeheartedly didn't quite get it because like you describe, its exhaustion without being sleepy. So his recommendation of taking it at night doesn't help as much as I'd hoped. I thought it might be the Adderall that was doing it, but oddly it isn't. No such exhaustion when I take it without the prozac. I will talk to my doctor more and hopefully we'll come up with something, but its a tough one when trying to avoid all side effects. It is probably wishful thinking.

9 times out of ten if you ask they give a Benzo with your SSRI on start up , to calm whatever stimulation may pop up .Its a great idea for new patients to get used to a new med that they may otherwise abort without the calming Benzo . AFTER a month that is gradually withdrawn and your hopefully getting the effects of your on board AD. PS THIS IS ENGLAND

I do have a script for a benzo, have had various ones over the years. They do help counteract the symptoms, but they've never gone away. I've been on Prozac in the past (20 years ago) along with others and this seems to he a pretty consistent side effect with me. Ive heard other people have responded fine after a while or with the help of a benzo like you say. So I wonder if I am just hyper sensitive to all AD side effects...

Prozac pooped out on me, after 2 years, if I try to take it again after 30 years I am violently ill . Its even on my records now no Prozac has my reaction to the med is almost like poison , what first saved me now wants to kill me.

That is awful. I was on Prozac in high school and college abc the main memory I have is never having enough energy to do much of anything. I could function just enough. When my doctor took me off after graduation she put me on an the maoi Parnate. It worked for depression but the anxiety was off the wall.

How do you find the 10mg Lexapro? Is there weight gain or tiredness? At 20mg I remember a flattened affect that kept me from parenting effectively. The ssris really help the anxiety and irritability (which I think is caused by sensory issues). Benzo's are great but I don't like to rely on them since my anxiety is chronic. Exercise yoga and all are great too but not enough to help me function at my best. I really need to find that med cocktail that just clicks,

Benzos had absolutely no effect on Prozac-induced anxiety for me. Just made me groggy and I still had panic attacks. Really weird.

lexapro at 20mg was ok but my sex life was poor do to orgasm problems I just could not orgasm. I cut the med to 10mg myself and found no worse difference on how it work on my depression, but I can now orgasm, all be a long time but it boosted my morale.i don't feel flat has the other ssri at 10mg, You see I don't mind relying on Benzo,s or being tolerant , they work still,I don't need more , My anxiety would not be nuked by Lexapro alone that is for my depression and a small anxiety control. the benzos ore my missiles of anxiety distruction. there is nothing to replace them and im happy to be tolerant .

I think You are right about the benzo use. SSRIs help the anxiety a little for me because of its flattening affect...things that should not bother me (like certain sounds) no longer do and that is enormously helpful. But over all, anxiety and phobia is the root of all my problems and the benzo's really do help with that. Too much ssri of ant kind makes my depression worse, but a little does wonders for compulsive behaviors. So it's a necessary tool but dosage is key.

I have a real fear of addiction even though I've never been addicted to anything (except cigarettes which I managed to quit). My dad used klonopin from age 40 until he passed at 82 last year, and he never took more than .5 mg a day.

Maybe there isn't as much to be nervous about as I fear. My pdoc assures me the same. He just tells me to do what I need to do to make it work. Thank you!

I'm taking 20mg of Prozac now and my depression is still bad. I go back in a couple of weeks and hope he will raise it, so I'll see then. Right now I don't seem to have any symptoms from the prozac. Good or bad.

Don't get me wrong I have been through a lot of crap with Benzos , But top and bottom of it I need them all be 4mg a day, what is my other options ???NONE. Tried the therapy don't need therapy, CBT tried that don't need that.I just need releaf The docs know that now and are ok with it. but not every doc will be thinking this way if your young

Ah that is true. My doctor is pretty flexible and tries to keep me functioning since I am youngish (43) and have so much going in my life with my marriage, 3 young children, work and graduate school. I do the therapy part, but I'm ok with that. I don't have time for intense therapy since I am so busy with the above. And he gets that too, so I think I am lucky. I just don't want to be in trouble from taking too much of anything, that's all

Have you ever had to switch benzos because one stopped working?

No I've never had one stop working. I've because I often took them for sleep. The best ones for sleep are sometimes tough to take during the day, at least for me.