I hesitated about whether to post this question because it is not directly related to bc. I decided it is indirectly related to it though so here goes:
I have been menopausal for a few years (I am 54) and one of my worse symptoms is anxiety. I have been to see my gp today and this subject cropped up. He suggested I try Fluoxetine for the anxiety and low mood (20mg per day). The reason I say it is indirectly linked to bc is if I hadn’t had oestrogen receptive bc I would have tried HRT for the symptoms but obviously I can’t do that.
Has anyone been prescribed Fluoxetine for anxiety due to the menopause? It you have I would be grateful for your thoughts and experiences.
Sort of. I was prescribed fluoxetine to help me cope with the hot sweats and mood swings caused by drug-induced menopause. I’m 46 now but still not ‘naturally’ menopausal. Been on them 18 months now, thought I could cope without them last summer but I turned back into such a temperamental, narky, horrible person I went back on them and they certainly keep me calm and help ease the hot sweats a little bit. My onc suggested I try them after I’d tried all the non-hormonal natural remedies and is happy for me to stay on them as long as is necessary. As far as I’m concerned, they’re the lesser of several evils - and my OH agrees !!!
Hi,
I’ve been on and off it for years! Due to clinical depression in my case, but part of the depression is anxiety too, I think it’s worth a try if your Dr is happy with it but obviously at the end of the day it’s down to you.
One word of warning though, apparently (and I didn’t know this at the time I was taking it)Tamoxifen s effect can be interferred with by Fluoxetine, this doesn’t sem to be the case with other hormones but check it out with your Dr.
Don’t know which you’re on Liz but might be worth checking too? Hope to chat tomorrow.
I am not taking Tamoxifen any more due to bad side effects.
I am finding it difficult to make up my mind about taking the Fluoxetine. One minute I think why not give it a go for a few weeks then I think at least I know how I am feeling at the moment (anxiety and depression) is “natural” and not a side effect of any medication.
I just want to feel less anxious and feel like life is worth living instead of just existing!
Maude,
Understand your reservations but maybe you could try it for a few weeks to see how it goes. It may be that it can help you enough to regain your strength and then you can (slowly) come back off them?Maybe a chat about your worries with your GP or BCN might help you make the decision?
I wish you luck, Julie x
There are a couple of threads about anti-depressants that have been active in the last week or two, so you might want to have a bit of a look at what various people have said about them. I’m sure you’ll find the threads enlightening and hopefully useful.
Many people who have taken anti-depressants, myself included, first of all see it as a failure in some way that they needed some chemical assistance at all. That was certainly how I saw it, but I soon realised as they started to take effect that I was doing the best thing for myself by trying to deal with something that was just too big for me. In my case I took them long before BC raised its ugly head, but I did find they were very useful in helping me to deal with things that needed to be dealt with.
They’re not a quick fix, and you won’t all of a sudden feel wonderful, as they take a while to start to work and do so gradually over the course of several weeks or a couple of months. But one day I realised that I was able to function much better than I had been, that I had started to smile spontaneously again, and that there was actually quite a difference in how I’d been a few weeks earlier.
It’s your decision completely, but do keep an open mind about them, and have a chat with others who have tried them to see what good and bad effects have been.