Hiya,

I have been given Fluoxetine today and really don't like the look of all the side effects!!!
Is anyone else taking this, and how has it affected you? I need to be able to drive and yet it says it can impare your driving reactions which scares me a bit. Plus it says not to drink whilst taking it but Its 6 months of treatment and I have a night out planned in March, has anyone had a few drinks while taking this?
Thankyou for any advice!!

Faith.xxx

Hi Hun,

Been on these since Tamzin was 8 0r 9 weeks. I have been on them before this has well and to be honest the side affects arent that bad, I havent really noticed any this time, maybe a bit more tired by early evening but thats it plus I have 2 othere children home by then.

Im on a 6 month course of them too.The benefits defo out weigh the side affects.

Kerry xxx

Thankyou hun, I didn't realise anyone had replied as it's not showing up.
That makes me feel better about it, do you drive? If you do has it effected that atall?xxx

I dont drive but they dont effect my consentration or anything like that, so I think you will be ok. If your still concerned talk to your gp or hv.

Kerry xxx

I was on these for 9 months and I agree with stokes the benefits definately outweigh the side effects. I had no problems with driving as my car was a way of me getting out and about with my son. As for drinking, I didn't drink for the whole time I was on them and to be honest I didn't miss it - it made me realise that you don't need alchohol to enjoy yourself. I did mention drinking to my doctor and she said that basically it would stop the tablets from working at the time I was drinking, and the thought of those feelings coming back was enough to put me off. Hope this helps? I f you need anyone to talk to, you just have to ask. My son is 16 months and I was diagnosed with PND when he was 3 weeks old. I was off the tablets by his first birthday and I keep taking each day as it comes

I was also on this and never had any side effects. I also had a drink while on them as long as you dont get paralatic you should be ok. x

I had these not for pnd but for something else and they didnt effect me except i couldnt eat on them.xxx

I was on these for 6 months and didnt have any side affects at all. Dont drink alchol though so cant answer that part of it

Thanks for all the replies,
I have decided not to take them and see how I go with councelling first. If that doesn't work then you have all put my mind at rest about taking them. Thankyou!xxx

i too was on the same, i had weightloss from these tablets, i lost about 2lbs in a few weeks and my appitite went up and down. but apart from that they were great, made me sleep at night. i took mine at night as if i was droswy then it ment i was asleep...lol i also had the odd drink, but i couldnt have any more than 2 as it made me light headed. i did have one night on the town, just had to take it easy.
i too went down the councelling route first, in the end i decided to take the tablets, the difference between my first councelling session with no tablets to my second one when i was on the tablets, ( week inbetween) was a massive, the counsellor didnt think she was in the same house.
best of luck

Thanks for that hun, they are still sat in the cupboard and to be honest I really don't know if I need help or not, or if I do have pnd or not. Im so confused!! The councelling ended a few months ago and I don't think it made much difference. I feel down a lot of the time, and have major mood swings etc but have also recently found out that my mum has cancer so don't know if that has anything to do with the way I'm feeling. I try to blame it on that but if I'm honest with myself, these feelings started way before we found out about mum. I'm still scared to take meds tho incase I end up depending on them and can't get off of them.xxx

Have just seen this post. I left it and left it with my pnd until I was at breaking point. I am on Citalopram and they have been fab. I feel much better now. I think you need to go back to gp so you can be re-assessed. The meds they use now are non-addictive btw. xx

hi,i just read your post an have to say that fluxetine saved my relationship with my partner and my kids and they turned me back into myself.They have been an absolute lifesaver,i dont even want to imagine what state i would be in now if i hadnt finally agreed with everyone that i had pnd and started taking these!!! I replied to someone elses post,have a read,its called " ive just been diagnosed" honestly,if you feel really down an think its because you hav pnd,its worth considering taking these.....theyre great!!! xxx

Hi, I've been taking fluoxetine for 5 months now and the only side effect was head aches and they onl lasted a week. I have noticed a massive difference and really feel like i can cope with things.

At the end of the day only you can decide what you want to do.

Kerry
xx

hiya, i have been taking them for a week. first i was on citalopram - these were wrong for me, i felt detached from everything and like a zombie, couldnt function. then they tried me on dosulepin, they were ok but i was exhauseted ALL the time, a doc noticied i was on those and tok me off them straight away and put me on fluoxetine. i has a week of feeling sicky, phlegmy in the mornings, a bit tired, and had little appetite but a week later and i feel fine, so im glad i gave them a chance. i dont feel like i couldnt drive, mentally i feel much better!

im really sorry to hear about your mom,, i know some of what you are going through right now, my mom found she had cancer just after i found out i was pg, and i was a complete wreck. still am. she has the all clear now, but she has a gene that means she has a 50.50 chance of it coming back at any time. its so hard coping with the emotions you must be going through now as well as coping with the needs of a baby, and the constant worry that goes with it.. what i found hardest was that part of me was SO happy, having a wonderful baby, i felt so lucky, but then at the same time i was so devastated my emotions were being torn in two every day. and every time spent with my mom was, and is tinged with sadness because we cant stop thinking about her maybe not having a long time left with sam

god im sorry, i didnt want to make you feel any worse or go on about myself. i only wanted to say you are not alone. it does get easier to deal with. and the tabs are helping me a lot, i think they are great. **** im crying now! sorry for going on.

xXx

Hi, I was on fluoxetine (prozac) earlier on in my pregnancy, and before that was on citalopram for a very long time. I thought Citalopram was very good. I had no side effects with Fluoxetine but can't comment re drinking alcohol as I was preg so wasn't drinking anyway. If you are breastfeeding Sertraline is better for you and baby than Fluoxetine. All SSRIs are pretty similar - except Seroxat - I hated this and you should avoid like the plague. The side effects if you miss a couple are horrendous - dizzy and woosy, vision following seconds after you move your head... horrible. Good luck. Will take a few weeks to get used to any meds. I'm not on anything at the moment as the fear that they were harming my baby was just too much to bear and kinda outweighed why I was taking them, just been seeing a CPN and a specialist midwife. I feel I was too 'ready' to accept anti-d's when I was offered them nine (!!) years ago so am trying other things now after having given them up too soon in the past. Tho I don't suffer PND (yet) - baby coming on Wednesday, having a section - they are going to keep a close eye on me. I've not sufffered depression as such more anxiety - lots of worries and negative thoughts, bit of OCD. They prescribe fluoxetine for bulimics too and I think they are better for anxious people who worry a lot and get a bit obsessed about things (like me!) Take care xx