It softened the edges of my symptoms, and that is often enough for me to be aware of what is OCD noise and what are actual needs. No sexual side effects like some other SSRIs I’ve tried. Good luck!
Ah the sexual side effects are one of the two I experience on escitalopram that I really dislike, the other being hyperhidrosis/bad temperature regulation. This makes me want to try fluox. Escitalopram has worked reasonably well on my symptoms though--as you say, "softening the edges"
It’s been amazing for me. I’ve been taking 20mg for anxiety/depression/ocd for about 10 weeks. I got diagnosed with OCD at the same appointment the meds were prescribed. Most of my OCD is very internalized and I had no clue I had it. Since learning more about it and how my OCD presents I can confidently say it’s helped me a ton. The constant state of panic that was in my chest that would cause me to ruminate is no longer there, and coping mechanisms actually work again. I will say, the first 6 weeks sucked pretty bad. I had extreme fatigue and body weakness, and my depression and anxiety definitely got worse before it got better. I’m glad I stuck it out though, because I’m doing so much better than before the meds.
Good to know! I started 3 weeks ago and the fatigue and lack of motivation is unreal. My anxiety seems very constant, not worse but def not improving either. I really hope I have the same case within weeks to come. I really haven’t experienced any of the side effect, just fatigue & lack of motivation but it’s been a long 3 weeks!
It worked well for me. But the issue was my bipolar was hidden deep inside. The Prozac and added stress combined caused me to go into psychosis and be in mania and I completely had no idea. Each person reacts to each med differently. One may work for one and not the other. I hope the best for you. Did you start on 20mg’s?
prozac brought out my bipolar too (it was always there looking back but it definitely made episodes more frequent)
i still find that it works well for my OCD anxiety it's just i also have to be on a mood stabilizer.
It makes it easier for me to step away and stop thoughts. The thing about ocd is that it won’t go away and it’s never fully shut off. But being on Prozac, I can be like “wait a minute, this isn’t real.” And I can talk myself through it. The ocd is still there, it’s just so much easier to deal with
Scrolling after a very long day so I’m sorry my response isn’t longer! Happy to provide more context tomorrow.
It has changed my life for the better in a way I never thought possible. Depression, Anxiety and OCD all feel way more manageable, and I’ve experienced natural joy in my own company (and just in general) for the first time since I was a little girl. I still have depressive episodes and experience anxiety and OCD, they’re just less frequent and I can manage them or at least know it’s temporary. It happened to be the perfect fit for me, though I know finding the right medicine + dose is different for everyone. Knock on wood, I don’t think I experience any adverse side effects. I took Sertraline for a few years prior and thought it was doing a “great” job (I didn’t have anything to compare it to, and I didn’t have any adverse side effects). I now realize it wasn’t doing anything for me. I had to stop taking all pills for a while due to a health issue, which led me to revisiting a psychiatrist years later to get back in meds. This was the same psychiatrist who would diagnose me with OCD and prescribe fluoxetine. I can truly say it’s doing what I THOUGHT sertraline was doing and turned my life around.
Edit to add: started with 20mg, currently taking 40mg.
Didn’t work well for me at all, I had horrible side effects. Fluvoxamine has proved to be much better! But there’s a reason why there’s so many meds, something works for everyone
I absolutely loved being on Fluvoxamine. It made my brain quieter, but I was so exhausted on it all the time so I had to stop taking it! I still recommend anyone to try it if advised.
Ugh yes they want me taking it in the morning (am + pm instead of all at pm) and I just can’t fathom it!! I already nap!!! The sleepiness part sucks but the benefits are just too good 😭
I tried morning, night, and morning/night in combination and nothing! I got switched over to Prozac and hate it. I'm hoping they'll get me back on Fluvoxamine with an upper lmao
I was on 80mg’s. So yes I increased from 20-40. To be honest I just felt happier as the dose got increased. I had tons of energy but once again I was also unknowingly bipolar 1. So it would have this effect. I haven’t heard anything about fatigue
It was almost perfect for me. I was on it for 8 years & my depression, anxiety, & OCD definitely improved. Unfortunately it caused such horrible fatigue that it outweighed the help it did. I could barely function during the day. I switched to taking it at night rather than in the morning, but the fatigue never got better so I had to call it quits. Starting a new med tomorrow 🤞
Been on 80mg for almost three years now in total. I was first prescribed it early into my college career when my OCD started getting insanely bad (I think because of the huge transition of being on my own and the lack of familiarity with everything). My OCD symptoms definitely decreased while I was on it.
But for the sake of transparency, here’s the rest of the story: There was a period where I stopped taking it because I switched to a different psychiatrist. She was absolutely insane, incredibly incompetent, and actually closed her office out of nowhere after 3 months of me seeing her. Well, she took me off of the Prozac for a few months. Almost had to drop out of college I was so suicidal because of the onslaught of OCD symptoms that came rushing back.
But now I’ve been back on it for about a year and I feel so much better. The Prozac doesn’t magically take away the OCD, but it definitely helps bring ME to the forefront of my mind during spirals, if you know what I mean. Makes it possible for me to function and live a productive life. But if I was ever forced to stop taking it, like I was before, I probably wouldn’t make it out alive.
I’ve been on it for 8 years. It saved my life. No inpatient. No agoraphobia. Less therapy. I feel really good. Brave. I go to the gym. Didn’t gain weight. I love myself.
I’ve been doing really well in conjunction with therapy. I’ve been on many other SSRIs before. I will note I had bad side effects at first for a few weeks but it got better and now I have none.
I had sleepiness—but I’m very affected by any medication that makes you tired! And I felt overall kind of malaise. But it seemed to lessen significantly over the first week then disappeared by the 3rd. Now I don’t have nearly as bad cycles of thoughts, and my compulsions have lessened a little (which is a huge win for me).
I started at 10mg back in April of 2023. The first two months were rough. I was not prepared for that. I wish someone had told me that, but I’m still so glad I pushed through. It will heighten your symptoms for a bit, but I took hydroxyzine when it got really bad and that helped. After you get used to it, you should feel genuinely so much better. 10mg was enough to keep the symptoms at bay most of the time, but I didn’t feel like it was enough. I bumped it up to 20mg late 2023. Since then, I have consistently taken 20mg. My life has changed for the better. I still experience symptoms of OCD and anxiety but it is nowhere near as bad as it used to be. Many people in my life have noted that I am a completely different person but in a good way. My true personality and happiness came out and I’m not scared. I did develop some odd symptoms such as excessive yawning and headaches or head pressure, but it is all very normal and I got used to it. I really hope you love it and all goes well for you. Please give it a chance. Any medicine takes time to get used to but it really is such a life changer. You got this!
Everyone’s brain chemistry is different, but for me, Fluoxetine has had an absolutely huge impact on my OCD for the better. I went from having multiple very disturbing intrusive thoughts a day to having like one or two a week. Also, my compulsions were significantly easier to resist. It works so incredibly well for me. I really hope it does that some for you!
Luvox?.... If not, then I guess you made prozac.They sound very similar.
This is about generic Luvox.
It stopped my period for 2 to up to 9 months. No sex drive & I thought i had early menopause.
It was totally that, but I was told that it was NOT that,... however my cycle returned literally the week that I was on the final week of 20mg dosage..... Maybe it was the week of, 0?
Sex drive did come back around halfway down.
I was on a high dose & this is apparently NOT common.
The first time I took this, as a child it was lifesaving for classic handwashing OCD/losing weight due to typical fear of germs & refusal to eat in public places.... Eventually Religious fear and obsessive praying, later.
What also worked as a child/young teen was Velnafaxine.
Vers good but ubearable akathisia(motor restlesness) for me unfortunately so I had to get off. Didnt solve my OCD issues, but helped stay afloat of them so I can function troughout the day at least.
It’s been good for my general anxiety, but not particularly helpful with my OCD. I’m generally more grounded and comfortable now though so I can better handle and regulate myself when my OCD causes me stress !
It softened the edges of my symptoms, and that is often enough for me to be aware of what is OCD noise and what are actual needs. No sexual side effects like some other SSRIs I’ve tried. Good luck!
I second this
Ah the sexual side effects are one of the two I experience on escitalopram that I really dislike, the other being hyperhidrosis/bad temperature regulation. This makes me want to try fluox. Escitalopram has worked reasonably well on my symptoms though--as you say, "softening the edges"
Lexapro gave me the worst sexual side effects. Prozac has had no effect on it and it’s such a bonus.
It’s been amazing for me. I’ve been taking 20mg for anxiety/depression/ocd for about 10 weeks. I got diagnosed with OCD at the same appointment the meds were prescribed. Most of my OCD is very internalized and I had no clue I had it. Since learning more about it and how my OCD presents I can confidently say it’s helped me a ton. The constant state of panic that was in my chest that would cause me to ruminate is no longer there, and coping mechanisms actually work again. I will say, the first 6 weeks sucked pretty bad. I had extreme fatigue and body weakness, and my depression and anxiety definitely got worse before it got better. I’m glad I stuck it out though, because I’m doing so much better than before the meds.
That’s the same dosage for me, I’m gonna start taking them tomorrow morning so I have a clean slate. But I really hope it works.
Good to know! I started 3 weeks ago and the fatigue and lack of motivation is unreal. My anxiety seems very constant, not worse but def not improving either. I really hope I have the same case within weeks to come. I really haven’t experienced any of the side effect, just fatigue & lack of motivation but it’s been a long 3 weeks!
It worked well for me. But the issue was my bipolar was hidden deep inside. The Prozac and added stress combined caused me to go into psychosis and be in mania and I completely had no idea. Each person reacts to each med differently. One may work for one and not the other. I hope the best for you. Did you start on 20mg’s?
I did start on 20!! I’m really hoping they work, I’ve heard that people get really awful headaches on them tho.
prozac brought out my bipolar too (it was always there looking back but it definitely made episodes more frequent) i still find that it works well for my OCD anxiety it's just i also have to be on a mood stabilizer.
Same. It brought out my bipolar too. Now I'm on 40mg with Olanzapine to "balance" it.
Thankfully it has been great for me. I don't have any side effects and I have had massive symptom reduction.
It saved my life.
It makes it easier for me to step away and stop thoughts. The thing about ocd is that it won’t go away and it’s never fully shut off. But being on Prozac, I can be like “wait a minute, this isn’t real.” And I can talk myself through it. The ocd is still there, it’s just so much easier to deal with
Scrolling after a very long day so I’m sorry my response isn’t longer! Happy to provide more context tomorrow.
It has changed my life for the better in a way I never thought possible. Depression, Anxiety and OCD all feel way more manageable, and I’ve experienced natural joy in my own company (and just in general) for the first time since I was a little girl. I still have depressive episodes and experience anxiety and OCD, they’re just less frequent and I can manage them or at least know it’s temporary. It happened to be the perfect fit for me, though I know finding the right medicine + dose is different for everyone. Knock on wood, I don’t think I experience any adverse side effects. I took Sertraline for a few years prior and thought it was doing a “great” job (I didn’t have anything to compare it to, and I didn’t have any adverse side effects). I now realize it wasn’t doing anything for me. I had to stop taking all pills for a while due to a health issue, which led me to revisiting a psychiatrist years later to get back in meds. This was the same psychiatrist who would diagnose me with OCD and prescribe fluoxetine. I can truly say it’s doing what I THOUGHT sertraline was doing and turned my life around.
Edit to add: started with 20mg, currently taking 40mg.
Didn’t work well for me at all, I had horrible side effects. Fluvoxamine has proved to be much better! But there’s a reason why there’s so many meds, something works for everyone
I absolutely loved being on Fluvoxamine. It made my brain quieter, but I was so exhausted on it all the time so I had to stop taking it! I still recommend anyone to try it if advised.
Ugh yes they want me taking it in the morning (am + pm instead of all at pm) and I just can’t fathom it!! I already nap!!! The sleepiness part sucks but the benefits are just too good 😭
I tried morning, night, and morning/night in combination and nothing! I got switched over to Prozac and hate it. I'm hoping they'll get me back on Fluvoxamine with an upper lmao
It didn’t work for me unfortunately. But it also didn’t cause any negatives either.
If you feel only a little better… get upped to 40mg’s
I want to do that but am worried about fatigue. Anyone have experience with increasing from 20 to 40?
I was on 80mg’s. So yes I increased from 20-40. To be honest I just felt happier as the dose got increased. I had tons of energy but once again I was also unknowingly bipolar 1. So it would have this effect. I haven’t heard anything about fatigue
It was almost perfect for me. I was on it for 8 years & my depression, anxiety, & OCD definitely improved. Unfortunately it caused such horrible fatigue that it outweighed the help it did. I could barely function during the day. I switched to taking it at night rather than in the morning, but the fatigue never got better so I had to call it quits. Starting a new med tomorrow 🤞
Good luck!!!
Been on 80mg for almost three years now in total. I was first prescribed it early into my college career when my OCD started getting insanely bad (I think because of the huge transition of being on my own and the lack of familiarity with everything). My OCD symptoms definitely decreased while I was on it.
But for the sake of transparency, here’s the rest of the story: There was a period where I stopped taking it because I switched to a different psychiatrist. She was absolutely insane, incredibly incompetent, and actually closed her office out of nowhere after 3 months of me seeing her. Well, she took me off of the Prozac for a few months. Almost had to drop out of college I was so suicidal because of the onslaught of OCD symptoms that came rushing back.
But now I’ve been back on it for about a year and I feel so much better. The Prozac doesn’t magically take away the OCD, but it definitely helps bring ME to the forefront of my mind during spirals, if you know what I mean. Makes it possible for me to function and live a productive life. But if I was ever forced to stop taking it, like I was before, I probably wouldn’t make it out alive.
I’ve been on it for 8 years. It saved my life. No inpatient. No agoraphobia. Less therapy. I feel really good. Brave. I go to the gym. Didn’t gain weight. I love myself.
This makes me so happy to hear ❤️ Glad you’re doing better :)
i'm currently back on it after a year off and life has never felt more hopeful, tbh.
I’ve been doing really well in conjunction with therapy. I’ve been on many other SSRIs before. I will note I had bad side effects at first for a few weeks but it got better and now I have none.
What side effects did you experience?
I had sleepiness—but I’m very affected by any medication that makes you tired! And I felt overall kind of malaise. But it seemed to lessen significantly over the first week then disappeared by the 3rd. Now I don’t have nearly as bad cycles of thoughts, and my compulsions have lessened a little (which is a huge win for me).
I started today! I’d love to follow each others journey
That would be nice!!!
I started at 10mg back in April of 2023. The first two months were rough. I was not prepared for that. I wish someone had told me that, but I’m still so glad I pushed through. It will heighten your symptoms for a bit, but I took hydroxyzine when it got really bad and that helped. After you get used to it, you should feel genuinely so much better. 10mg was enough to keep the symptoms at bay most of the time, but I didn’t feel like it was enough. I bumped it up to 20mg late 2023. Since then, I have consistently taken 20mg. My life has changed for the better. I still experience symptoms of OCD and anxiety but it is nowhere near as bad as it used to be. Many people in my life have noted that I am a completely different person but in a good way. My true personality and happiness came out and I’m not scared. I did develop some odd symptoms such as excessive yawning and headaches or head pressure, but it is all very normal and I got used to it. I really hope you love it and all goes well for you. Please give it a chance. Any medicine takes time to get used to but it really is such a life changer. You got this!
Everyone’s brain chemistry is different, but for me, Fluoxetine has had an absolutely huge impact on my OCD for the better. I went from having multiple very disturbing intrusive thoughts a day to having like one or two a week. Also, my compulsions were significantly easier to resist. It works so incredibly well for me. I really hope it does that some for you!
worked really well for me for a while, but i ended up switching to zoloft (sertraline) as my symptoms skewed more towards depression as well
I had a pretty awesome experience. My anxiety literally went away in 2 days and I ruminated a lot less.
It worked well for me BUT I weaned off of it and it was still really hard withdrawing from it
Any sexual side effects?
Not that I’ve noticed and I’ve been on it almost three years
No problem getting erections?
I love it, also this reminded me that I forgot to take it today whoops
BAD
Luvox?.... If not, then I guess you made prozac.They sound very similar. This is about generic Luvox. It stopped my period for 2 to up to 9 months. No sex drive & I thought i had early menopause. It was totally that, but I was told that it was NOT that,... however my cycle returned literally the week that I was on the final week of 20mg dosage..... Maybe it was the week of, 0? Sex drive did come back around halfway down. I was on a high dose & this is apparently NOT common.
The first time I took this, as a child it was lifesaving for classic handwashing OCD/losing weight due to typical fear of germs & refusal to eat in public places.... Eventually Religious fear and obsessive praying, later. What also worked as a child/young teen was Velnafaxine.
Fluoxetine is the generic prozac LOL
I see...😕 fluvoxamine , So I guess with a "V" would be the one I have personal knowledge of.
for me, unfortunately it made me VERY angry. i have heard amazing progress stories from others though!!
I’ve heard it could do that, was it like an unbearable anger?
yes. thankfully i was in the hospital when i started it, because i didn't want anyone in my family to see me like that.
Vers good but ubearable akathisia(motor restlesness) for me unfortunately so I had to get off. Didnt solve my OCD issues, but helped stay afloat of them so I can function troughout the day at least.
It’s been good for my general anxiety, but not particularly helpful with my OCD. I’m generally more grounded and comfortable now though so I can better handle and regulate myself when my OCD causes me stress !
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Started on it yesterday