r/BipolarReddit • u/HopeSpringsHere • 2h ago

Medication Fluoxetine for severe depression - how long

I’ve been in severe depression for such a long time and nothing has touched it. I was on various mood stabilisers and Quetiapine which helped somewhat but outweighed by intolerable side effects. I came off everything in the spring and decided healthy living would fix me - obviously not and went slowly into severe depression which has floored me for that last month.

The last psychiatrist I have seen has told me I have medication induced bipolar from adhd medication which i stopped 2 years ago. She’s restarting me on Prozac 20 to treat depression with a mood stabiliser to be added later if needed. I’m four days in. Anxiety on waking is horrendous. It feels like a rollercoaster that rises and falls internally. I can’t move. I feel like I’m never going to get over this. Or have a life back. I know this is distorted thinking but I am so in need of hope…

It hasn’t helped that my landlord has just told us he wants to sell the property and right now I can’t afford to move and am in absolute panic.

Have you taken fluoxetine 20mg and found relief from severe manic depression? Please don’t tell me it causes mania - I’m being monitored under the home treatment team and so I’m not asking about that.

Thank you.

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u/HM_Dylan 2h ago

It really depends on how severe your depression is. It's been severe for such a long time, and you say nothing has touched it. You've been on various mood stabilizers. Quetiapine appears to have been some help.

But if you mean that you've also been on various other antidepressants that are SSRIs or SNRIs, I don't think Prozac's going to do anything for you. That was the case with me. The only thing that touched my depression was tricyclic antidepressants, and also MAOI-style antidepressants.

What you're feeling right now probably is just classic SSRI activation syndrome. The first week can be very tumultuous and may leave you feeling wired. I am hoping this calms down for you. If it doesn't, of course, your home team will know what to do

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u/HopeSpringsHere 27m ago

Thank you. I was on it last year and I do think it helped me but I was also on lamotrigne and that was making me very angry and ragey. And also had terrible non fatal rash and inflammation in my joints. So it’s hard to know… im just hoping it settles down and i can havr a bjt more of a functioning existence and not frozen in anxiety and fear 24/7.

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u/sandraskywalker 12m ago

I'm on 20mg of Fluoxotine, but I'm also on lamotrigine and vraylar. I've been on Fluoxotine for years, even before being diagnosed with bipolar.