[made08]

I have been three and a half weeks on Prozac.
I started 20 mg on August 25 and five days ago it was increased to 40mg. A few hours I got anxious until not that long ago so I’m worried but I also know there is an increase of anxiety when starting an antidepressant. I was told 3 to 4 weeks to stabilize in my system. When does it get better?

Diagnosis: Anxiety/ panic disorder

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I'm a couple of weeks ahead of you. 20mg for 2 weeks, then 40mg for 4 weeks now. I've been on it before, so this time is taking longer to stabilize, but my anxiety is much better. It makes me tired so I started taking it in the late afternoon or early evening. What I've been finding is that within a couple of hours of taking my dose, I feel very depressed. That lasts for a few hours, but is much better by the following morning. I'm finding that 40mg is potentially too much for me. I experimented by skipping a couple of days, because Prozac has a long half-life. On the 2 days that I skip the dose, I feel much better and the side effects lessen quite a bit. The GI side effects are not terrible, but with health anxiety they don't do a lot for my worry. But again, my anxiety is much decreased and my mind no longer spins 100 miles an hour 24 hours a day.

Right now I see that it is helping, but that the dose might be too much and I'm either going to stick with 1 on, 2 off for my dose, or go back to the doctor and have him adjust the dose down.

When does it get better? You'll have to define better for yourself. I've never found that taking Prozac or any other AD, has helped me feel happy. I do feel less depressed and anxious, but real happiness is still fleeting and still totally up to me to create.

Good luck.