PlainPill

Fluoxetine

People mainly take Fluoxetine for mood, anxiety, energy. Based on 25 first-hand reports and 534 meta-analyses & systematic reviews in the medical literature. Ranked #440 of 1,974 overall.

28
User score
Mixed
24% positive16% mixed32% negative28% unclear

Of reports that state an outcome, 33% are positive.

Clinical research
AStrong research base
534
meta-analyses
1,257
RCTs
15,365
papers

What Fluoxetine does, according to users

Of the people who reported each effect, the share who said it got better.

What the research says

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses from PubMed, with their published conclusions.

AStrong research base

3+ meta-analyses or systematic reviews and 10+ randomized controlled trials in humans. The grade measures how much human research exists — read the conclusions below for what it found.

Lancet · 2018 · Meta-analysis / systematic review
Comparative efficacy and acceptability of 21 antidepressant drugs for the acute treatment of adults with major depressive disorder: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Conclusion: All antidepressants were more efficacious than placebo in adults with major depressive disorder. Smaller differences between active drugs were found when placebo-controlled trials were included in the analysis, whereas there was more variability in efficacy and acceptability in head-to-head trials. These results should serve evidence-based practice and inform patients, physicians, guideline developers, and policy makers on the relative merits of the different antidepressants.

PubMed 29477251 ↗
Lancet Psychiatry · 2024 · Meta-analysis / systematic review
Pharmacological treatments for psychotic depression: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Conclusion: According to the available evidence, the combination of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor and a second-generation antipsychotic-and particularly of fluoxetine and olanzapine-could be the optimal treatment choice for psychotic depression. These findings should be taken into account in the development of clinical practice guidelines. However, these conclusions should be interpreted cautiously in view of the low number of included studies and the limitations of these studies.

PubMed 38360024 ↗
Lancet · 2019 · Meta-analysis / systematic review
Pharmacological treatments for generalised anxiety disorder: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the largest contemporary review of pharmacological agents for the treatment of generalised anxiety disorder by use of network analysis. There are several effective treatment choices for generalised anxiety disorder across classes of medication. The failure of initial pharmacological therapy might not be a reason to abandon a pharmacological treatment strategy.

PubMed 30712879 ↗
Mol Psychiatry · 2023 · Meta-analysis / systematic review
Antidepressants for the treatment of adults with major depressive disorder in the maintenance phase: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Conclusion: Compared to placebo, venlafaxine was associated with a lower incidence of dizziness, while desvenlafaxine, sertraline, and vortioxetine were associated with a higher incidence of nausea/vomiting. In conclusion, desvenlafaxine, paroxetine, venlafaxine, and vortioxetine had reasonable efficacy, acceptability, and tolerability in the treatment of adults with stable MDD.

PubMed 36253442 ↗

Dosage people report

As stated by users — not a recommendation. Follow the label or your doctor.

20 mgdaily
5 mgdaily
20-60 mg/daydaily
3 mgdaily
2-6 mg (sweetspot ~4 mg)3-5 days between doses
20-40 mgas reported

Reported side effects

How often each side effect came up across all reports.

anorgasmia ×1anxiety ×1sexual dysfunction ×1post-ssri sexual ×1apathy ×1headache ×1fatigue ×1initial worsening ×1

What users say

Verbatim quotes, shortened only — each links to the original discussion.

“I truly felt mine truly kicking in 4-6 months down the line.”
Source discussion ↗
“3. Fluoxetine (SSRI)”
Source discussion ↗
“I take 20 mg fluoxetine for depression and anxiety... I tried upping the dose a bit to 30 and then 40 mg, but the side effects were terrible. Mainly it made my anxiety a lot worse”
Source discussion ↗
“Poison. Garbage. Trash. I hated this drug with all my heart”
Source discussion ↗
“Two weeks ago I was taking Fluoxetine and Wellbutrin and Vyvanse. They made me feel super shitty”
Source discussion ↗
Top discussions (5)

Other options for mood

User data from public discussions; research from PubMed. Information only, not medical advice — talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. Data updated October 2, 2026. How we rate