Plateaued?

[save_adopt]

Hello all,
I'm Megan, anxiety sufferer of 12 years...
Ive been on prozac for 10 of those 12 years, with my doseage varying 20 to 40mg depending on my anxiety levels. About two weeks ago I was raised to 60mg, as my anxiety has come back and ive been having a harf time managing with my worst symptom... gagging!

I have 2 questions, does anyone else have the dreaded gagging? Its awful for me as i am a nail tech and need to be able to talk to my clients, but gag when i talk...

My other question is, is it possible ive plateaued on my medication? I was feeling better for 6 days after my latest increase, but have been feeling 'gaggy' again the past few days. Am i rushing the medication to work? As it's only been two weeks on the increased dose... or should it have taken effect by now?

Im terrified to have to change medications, it will absolutely up my anxiety and jeopardize my job that i truely love!

Thanks guys

[Anne1221]

My doctor always say to give an increased dosage up to 6-8 weeks to get the full benefits of the increased dosage. It does take longer than 2 weeks, I know that.

[Nowuccas]

Hey save_adopt,

From https://www.drugs.com/sfx/prozac-side-effects.html

Common side effects of Prozac include: tremor, diarrhea, dyspepsia, nausea, nervousness, insomnia, weakness, anxiety, drowsiness, headache, xerostomia, decreased libido, anorexia, and decreased appetite. Other side effects include: bulimia nervosa, dizziness, skin rash, and diaphoresis. See below for a comprehensive list of adverse effects.

Gastrointestinal
A study of 26,005 antidepressant users has reported 3.6 times more upper GI bleeding episodes with the use of SSRIs relative to the population who did not receive antidepressant medications. Upper gastrointestinal tract bleeding was observed in 3.9 times more frequently in patients receiving fluoxetine (the active ingredient contained in Prozac) [Ref]

Very common (10% or more): Diarrhea, dry mouth, nausea
Common (1% to 10%): Abdominal pain, constipation, dyspepsia, flatulence, increased appetite, vomiting
Uncommon (0.1% to 1%): Aphthous stomatitis, buccoglossal syndrome, cholelithiasis, colitis, dysphagia,

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Dysphagia Symptoms - Mayo Clinic
www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/dysphagia/basics/symptoms/con-20033444

Dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing — Find out what conditions may cause this ... Unexpectedly losing weight; Coughing or gagging when swallowing; Having to ...

Dysphagia: Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment - Medical News Today
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/177473.php
Rating: 4.1 - ‎96 votes
Mar 7, 2016 - Dysphagia means swallowing difficulties, usually caused by nerve or muscle ... Choking when eating; Coughing or gagging when swallowing ...

Difficulty Swallowing or Dysphagia | Cancer.Net
www.cancer.net › Navigating Cancer Care › Side Effects
Difficulty swallowing is called dysphagia. It means having trouble passing food or liquid down the throat. Some people may gag, cough, or choke when trying to ...

Evaluation and Treatment of Swallowing Impairments - American ...
www.aafp.org › Journals › afp › Vol. 61/No. 8(April 15, 2000)
Apr 15, 2000 - Impaired swallowing, or dysphagia, may occur because of a wide variety ... The gag reflex is elicited by stroking the pharyngeal mucosa with a ..
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Prozac was the first SSRI, but later ones can be more effective, or be better tolerated. Many doctors prefer to initially try their patients out on Zoloft / sertraline, to accustom their bodies to a SSRI, before switching to another such as Prozac or Lexapro, if Zoloft wasn't sufficiently effective, so I'm wondering whether you went through that process, or why your prescriber chose to put you on it.

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Previous relevant post/s:

GENERALISED ANXIETY DISORDER: http://anxietyforum.net/forum/showthread.php?33964-New-to-the-site-and-looking-for-help&p=223989#post223989 *

ANTIDEPRESSANTS / ANXIOLYTICS (ANTI-ANXIETY MEDICATIONS) http://anxietyforum.net/forum/showthread.php?34327-Need-so-much-advice-Have-so-many-questions&p=225657#post225657

HERBAL ANXIOLYTICS / ANTI-ANXIETY SUBSTANCES: (passionflower, valerian, St. John's Wort, etc.) http://anxietyforum.net/forum/showthread.php?34269-5-Powerful-Tools-You-Probably-Haven-t-Tried-Yet&p=225415#post225415

NON HERBAL NATURAL (NON PHARMACEUTICAL) ANXIOLTYICS: (5-htp, SAMe, etc.) http://anxietyforum.net/forum/showthread.php?34355-Help-Please!!!/page2

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It seems to me that you could either continue with the SSRIs, switch to a SNRI, or wean off Prozac with a 25% reduction every 2 weeks and try the herbal or non-pharmaceutical anxiolytics, which have milder side effects (if any) and the anti-anxiety techniques shown*.

[save_adopt]

Nowuccas, thank you for the links :) with my gagging its not really when i eat or swallpw, its more when i talk or even think about gagging that it happens. I actually was put on zoloft back in highschool when this first started years ago, it made me violently ill for weeks, my therapist switched me to prozac after that, which has always worked wonders for me, up until recently:(