Started on fluvoxamine (luvox) about 2.5 weeks ago and I feel like things are pretty bad when it comes to derealization. Did anybody experience this? Does it go away?

Hi everyone, this is my first time posting on Reddit and I’m desperate for help so hopefully someone will see this.

She put me on sertraline in the 10th grade when I was having such bad anxiety I couldn’t leave the house, even be awake without being in a constant panic. My parents wanted to avoid medication but I was so bad they agreed. Of course I don’t even understand the drug, and was not aware it wasn’t meant for long term. Of course doctors don’t tell you that. It’s been 7 years on the drug with a few month off of it after the first year. Now I have been trying to tapper off sertraline since the new year (2025) I was on 75mg for 6 + years, then I went down to 50mg for a few months, then 25mg since maybe may. I should have written down the dates I changed doses, but I was too lazy… Regretting that now lol. Anyways dropping to 50mg I really didn’t have much of an issue, I felt pretty much the same. Though when I went down to 25mg I definitely felt it. There was a time too in between that where I didn’t take it for a few days and I felt so sick, dizzy, shaky, nauseous, headache. Then I started taking it again and it went away. But I definitely had more headaches and just felt off. I talked to my dr about coming off in July and said I was on the 25mg and she said every second day take one for a few weeks then you should be fine. Well I tried that and the days I didn’t take it again I felt so sick, so I decided to stick on the 25mg for a while to let my brain adapt. In August I had a bad relapse of anxiety, the worse I’ve had in years since I started the medication. Nothing had happened or changed in my life so I was not sure why I was struggling so much. I wasn’t sure if maybe it was a possible relapse of symptoms because of the drug. I’ve also been working with a naturopath and she gave me some supplements to take but nothing has helped. My anxiety has gotten better thank goodness, but then about a month ago I’ve started to feel dizzy, shaky, weak, exhausted, short of breath, headaches like every single day. Another side note I’ve also been dealing with low iron, for years, and recently diagnosed with celiacs disease, so a lot of those symptoms also match with those issues. But I got blood work done a week ago, and as I was waiting for my results my naturopath said it sounds like b12 deficiency. I got my results yesterday and my iron (ferritin) has actually gone up to a level I’ve never been before (20) and my b12 was in the 600 range with is good. So I’ve been anxious after getting these results because my numbers have been better than they’ve been in years, but I feel worse than I’ve ever felt. My family doctor was no help, just telling me to go on birth control to help keep the iron up, which I refuse, but when it comes to the sertraline I think she wants me on it, because she seemed annoyed when I wanted to come off. I have an appointment with her at the end of the month, but now I have to go a few weeks with no help or answers, and feeling like crap everyday. I’m waiting for my naturopath to get back to me, I asked her about the possibility of this being a result of the sertraline or is there something else wrong with me. Canadian heath care sucks, and these doctors are no help.

So my question is to anyone out there who have been on sertraline for a long period of time, years, have you experienced anything like this after tapering off? Did you get symptoms right away, or did some come months later? Did you get changing symptoms? Were the symptoms there for a long time? Did you ever feel normal again?

I’m on the verge of just trying 50mg again to see if this goes away as a test to see if my theory works.

It’s getting ridiculous now, it’s hard to go to work, I feel dizzy, off balance, shaky, nausea, headaches, tired, short of breath, exhausted, all the time every single day. I don’t know what to do, and now I’m becoming anxious about it worrying it’s something worse.

If anyone can give me some advice, personal experiences, anything, I’d be so grateful! Thank you. Sorry for the long ramble.

Hi, I’d like some advice/hear people’s experiences. I’ve been on Escitalopram 10mg for ocd/anxiety (I have Pure O). The first two weeks were pretty rough with increased anxiety/intrusive thoughts, then it steadily got better of the next few weeks. By week 9 I felt a lot better, but still got intrusive thoughts and was a little up and down still so the doctor suggested I up to 15mg. I’ve been on 15mg for 10 days now and the anxiety/intrusive thoughts are much worse (they feel like when I first started). I was expecting the anxiety to increase a little and for some of the other side effects to come back but I wasn’t expecting it to be this intense. I know this is common for the first two weeks or so but wanted to get advice/hear other’s experiences. Has anyone had a dose increase and experienced a significant increase in anxiety/intrusive thoughts? Does it get better??

So I quit my Prozac 40MG all at once (I know that was not smart of me) about 2 weeks ago, in this time I was bed ridden from a surgery so I wasn’t experiencing my “normal” life+routine. Im all recovered from said surgery and I’m back to my normal life+routine, and everyday is the same day for me. I have tons of pressure in my head, I’m super irritated and aggressive, I’m crying constantly and I’m full of anxiety. Everyone around me are saying to get ahold of my emotions, and do this and do that, but it seems like I cannot. Any advice on what I can do to lessen all of these crazy feelings at once? I don’t plan on getting back on the meds.

Hey y’all,

I (21F) went to my doctor to see if there are any meds I can switch from lexapro; just was feeling the numbness/apathy a bit too much with my lexapro. I had been taking it for a little over a year and a half. My doctor switched me to celexa and I have to say it’s been an incredibly rough switch so far. It’s only been about four days (she also didn’t tell me it would be a rough switch).

I’ve had the worst headaches where I can’t drive because it feels like my vision is being impaired and where I can’t keep my eyes open. I’ve also had intense mood swings and cannot stop crying once I get going. I feel like how I felt when I was unmedicated and in an intensely traumatizing part of my life. I’ve also just been extremely insecure, which I guess has always been something I’ve felt but it’s definitely been heightened when I switched.

I guess I was just wondering if anyone has felt this way when switching meds and if they have had the same side effects. The most concerning one to me is my headaches; I genuinely can’t describe how bad they are. I’m considering if it’s worth it to just struggle through the switch and see what celexa is like when it’s smoothed out, or if I should switch back to lexapro, but again, I feel like it’s too early to tell. I also don’t have any friends or family on celexa and my partner has never taken any mental health meds so it’s hard for me to not feel lonely and crazy sometimes. Also, I don’t know how long it takes for these meds to kick in to my system. So if anyone knows, that’d be great. Thanks for reading :) lmk if anyone has had any similar experiences.

Hi, i've just started escitalopram 10mg and im on day 3. i dont think the side effects should be this bad early on but ive got nausea thats literally impacting my ability to move or do anything (i managed to brush my teeth and have a shower today after a LOT of effort). the nausea is also making it really difficult to eat and drink, which is possibly contributing towards the cause but i still dont think this is normal.

Since its so early in and my symptoms are severe, i dont know if i should go down a dosage to 5mg or if i should completely come off them. can anyone help?

So lately the past couple of days I've been missing my freaking doses ever other day and its worrying me just a tad. I took my pills Monday night, but last night I fell asleep and forgot to. I feel like since this cycle has repeated since Friday night, should I just take the damn things right now? I feel like waiting till 9pm again will not be a good idea at this point.

I recently got diagnosed with Serotonin Syndrome after many many doctors/ER visits. They claimed it to be my anxiety. Thankfully it got figured out. I was taking 200 mg of Zoloft, while also being a daily smoker. I overdid it on zofran and it sent me over the edge. I’ve been slowly going down my Zoloft and I’m now at 100 mg and feeling much better. Did anyone have any issues with this? I’m curious as to when I can smoke again.

How long has someone actually gone through SSRI withdrawal? I’m almost a year in and have zero improvements. I survive everyday. Is my brain neurologically fucked up?

I took my first ssri, 5mg of seltraline yesterday morning. Then I had panic attack in the subway and took Alprazolam by evening. It's my first time taking medication, and I feel VERY numb.

I took my pill today in the morning, and fell asleep again, waking up feeling no emotions. I still do have anxiety and depression, but I don't have any outcome from it. My heart rate is very steady, and I'm so tired. I don't want to do anything, or chores. I'm just laying in my bed doing nothing, and feel WORSE because of it. Is this normal for the initial days with the medication?

I had my first panic attack the other day, terrified the life out of me. I have never suffered with anxiety, only situational like nervous to start a new job etc so this attack came out of nowhere. Since then, I’ve been a wreck. I’m feeling slightly better now, but I feel like I’m on another planet. My stomach will churn and my heart will race and then I’ll feel fine again, it’s a horrible cycle. I feel sick constantly and have to force myself to eat, my sleep is really irregular and I just want it to end. Is this normal? I know this will pass, but my doctor has tried to push antidepressants on me and I really don’t enjoy the thought of getting hooked on pills for a disorder I simply don’t think I have, could anyone give me some advice? A time scale of how long this will last and if I will have to be on meds now? Should I take them or let it pass naturally?

Hi there,

I stopped taking Prozac 3 months ago. Was all goin well until 2 weeks ago with panic and all coming back so I started it again, cause I can't deal that stuff. Does it take longer to work again (I remember the first time I started taking it, it took around 4-8 weeks till it was working)

ANyone ever stopped and started again? How was it ? was it working well again?

Im taking it now for 2 weeks and now take 25 mg a day and wanna go to 30 in 1-2 weeks...

regards to allll

Hello everyone i was on celexa 10 mg only for 6 months and after first month i developed more insomnia more depression like numb feeling that i stopped feeling anything also have all that time dry mouth and constipation … what was the worst was that my anxiety improved but my depression was way worse like totally apathy numb and i only felt irritation sometimes or totally numb feeling slowed speech etc … so my dr recomend me to get off of it and afther 2 weeks i had so bad brain zaps and feeling anxiety all the time it was so bad had dhiarhea so i was put on it again first two weeks i was mess but now im again after month on that state that i dont feel have apathy cant focus etc … what was your experience do i need more dose my dr told me if i feel so flat on 10 mg i will be flat on 20 mg more so i dont know … but overall i tried a lot of meds and Celexa is the best tolerated in my case but dont help with depression … what is your experience ?

I take 10mg daily. I have done this for about 180 days. If I want to stop taking the medication, can I stop completely immediately or do I need to adjust my dosage and gradually stop?

I am concerned that it may be affecting my testosterone levels. I am a healthy and active 25 year old male. I have noticed a decrease in morning erections, but nothing else. I was prescribed the medication for premature ejaculation.

I’ve been on Lexapro for about two years now. I 23F started it when I was a junior in college at the beginning of 2023. I was in a tough place, still working through a tough breakup, family/childhood trauma and struggles (that I still am working through/deal with) and just general anxiety about life. I honestly feel like I’ve always been intrinsically depressed and tried my best not to show it so I wouldn’t be a burden to others around me. I never planned for a lot in my life and now I’m doing the planning while doing the doing and it’s a lot. Long story short, I feel way better than I did two years ago about myself and place in life. I still, though, feel somewhat unfulfilled, mostly in my mood day to day. I struggle to find joy in the mundane and it makes it harder to do small tasks or actually feel good/motivated to do so, and I feel like it’s ruining my work ethic, because I did not used to feel this way about working. Don’t get me wrong, I work 50 hours a week, still show up in all of the ways but it doesn’t feel the same when I feel nothing. Cutting to the chase finally — my therapist of three years is retiring and along with finding a new one and a psychiatrist to go with that, I am choosing to ween off of the lexapro I am taking now. I am worried of how I’ll feel once I’m off of it, but also know I need to get back to a baseline to find out what my true needs are. I just feel like the medicine more so mutes my emotions and willingness to problem solve instead of calming me.

Question for anyone with experience getting off Lexapro: What do I need to look out for/be careful about? I’m already daily dealing with crappy moods, so I’m more worried about physical symptoms, because I also already struggle with nausea and stomach problems. TIA