Prozac ?

[lin]

I've just been prescribed anti depressants . When I looked up the name of the medication on the net it turned out that it is a generic form of prozac .

I haven't taken any yet , and to be honest I'm a bit scared to , the thought of taking anti depressants worries me to be honest .

I wondered ... have any of you taken anything similar ? Did it help ? Did you have any bad side effects ?

[DoesntMatter]

I take prozac daily. It works very well, give it at least 2 weeks before kicking it. It might work after a few days for you though. I've been taking it for several years, and I'm fine. The biggest problem I've had with it is that it disqualified me from the ROTC scholarship they had already awarded me, which was a major piss-off like you could not imagine.

It becomes a little harder to concentrate as well, and I sweat a lot more than I used to. Considering I've always sweated a lot that wasn't so great. You also will likely not be as horny, and might not fall asleep. When I first went on it I couldn't fall asleep until like 5am. All in all, it is MORE than worth it.

[lin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoesntMatter

I take prozac daily. It works very well, give it at least 2 weeks before kicking it. It might work after a few days for you though. I've been taking it for several years, and I'm fine. The biggest problem I've had with it is that it disqualified me from the ROTC scholarship they had already awarded me, which was a major piss-off like you could not imagine.

It becomes a little harder to concentrate as well, and I sweat a lot more than I used to. Considering I've always sweated a lot that wasn't so great. You also will likely not be as horny, and might not fall asleep. When I first went on it I couldn't fall asleep until like 5am. All in all, it is MORE than worth it.

Thanks for your help .

I have the pack of pills and I keep looking at them . I've had a good day today . Every time I have a good day I kind of think that maybe I shouldn't even think about taking them . Other days when I'm at work and my head feels like it's full of fog and I can't breath because I feel so panicky I think that if I don't take them I will end up not being able to go to work .
I live alone and have no family in the town I live in . I supposed I am most scared of ending up long term sick from work and claiming government benefits .

I wondered ( if it's not too personal a question ) , how has prozac you mentally ? How has it affected the way you think and feel about things ? What are you like as a person compared to what you were like before you took it ? Did people notice a difference in you ?

[Illusional]

i've taken ecstacy before and damn. it put me in a different world. anti-depressants work in the same matter, just on a smaller scale. the only part that i would be hesitant about would be the come down. once you take this pill, will you become dependent on it??

raverboy

[DoesntMatter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Illusional

i've taken ecstacy before and damn. it put me in a different world. anti-depressants work in the same matter, just on a smaller scale. the only part that i would be hesitant about would be the come down. once you take this pill, will you become dependent on it??

raverboy

Yeah, I've taken ecstasy once before as well and also prozac, which I am currently on. Basically prozac is like ecstasy but on a magnitude 1000 times less. Prozac actually makes me feel somewhat touchy like, kind of like E. They never said that was a side effect and I couldn't find it listed as one, so I figured it was uncommon. I also didn't mention it can make you angry a lot of the time, but not a depressed anger at least. Again I think I have this side effect a little more than most

I don't know if people can become dependent on prozac. It's worth reading up on though, for me at least, considering I'm on it.

[lin]

I've just been reading comments on forums dealing with people taking prozac . It seems to have dramatically different effects on different people .

Some people complained of -

weight gain

weight loss

Increased thoughts of suicide or thoughts of suicide where none had existed before .

Feelings of increased anger .

Complete lack of emotion .

Increase in panic attacks .

Lack of energy .

Increase in nervous energy .

lack of libido .

Black outs after even a small amount of alcohol .

It seems that more people had suffered quite bad side effects than have had a good experience but I suppose it's more likely that people who have had a bad experience are the ones looking at prozac forums .

[Illusional]

ecstasy for the most part gives you a feeling of happiness. however, it will always multiply whatever feeling you currently have, so if you're angry, then you'd likely end up in jail for beating someone up.

raverboy

[vashti]

From my drug guide:

Side effects (more common ones in bold face) CNS: Headache, nervousness, anxiety, insomnia, drowsiness, fatigue, tremor, dizziness. CV: Palpitations, hot flushes, chest pain. GI: Nausea, diarrhea, anorexia, dyspepsia, increased appetite, dry mouth. Skin: Rash, pruritus, sweating, hypersensitivity reactions. Special Senses: Blurred vision. Body as a Whole: Myalgias, arthralgias, flu-like syndrome, hyponatremia. Urogenital: Sexual dysfunction, menstrual irregularities.

Interactions
Drug: Concurrent use of tryptophan may cause agitation, restlessness, and GI distress; mao inhibitors, selegiline may increase risk of severe hypertensive reaction and death; increases half-life of diazepam; may increase toxicity of tricyclic antidepressants; amphetamines, cilostazol, nefazodone, pentazocine, propafenone, sibutramine, tramadol, venlafaxine may increase risk of serotonin syndrome; may inhibit metabolism of carbamazepine, phenytoin, ritonavir; increased ergotamine toxicity with dihydroergotamine, ergotamine. Herbal: St. John's wort may cause serotonin syndrome.

Requires approximately 2–3 wk for therapeutic effects to be felt.
Monitor for and report increased anxiety, nervousness, or insomnia; may need modification of drug dose.
Monitor for seizures in patients with a history of seizures. Use appropriate safety precautions.
Supervise patients closely who are high suicide risks; especially during initial therapy.

[DoesntMatter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lin

I've just been reading comments on forums dealing with people taking prozac . It seems to have dramatically different effects on different people .

Some people complained of -

weight gain

weight loss

Increased thoughts of suicide or thoughts of suicide where none had existed before .

Feelings of increased anger .

Complete lack of emotion .

Increase in panic attacks .

Lack of energy .

Increase in nervous energy .

lack of libido .

Black outs after even a small amount of alcohol .

It seems that more people had suffered quite bad side effects than have had a good experience but I suppose it's more likely that people who have had a bad experience are the ones looking at prozac forums .

I actually had a significant decrease in panic attacks. I used to get them fairly often.

Sex drive went down for me, ya.

Definitely not blacking out with small amounts of alcohol, or even excessively large amounts of alcohol for that matter either.

I was suicidal before I went on prozac, but not after I went on it. So it didn't make me suicidal but helped get me out of it.

No weight change.

Increase in anger yes, but it may be because of this. Before, the anger would last for a few days or a few weeks, then I would crash into a hellish depression, and any additional anger would manifest itself as depression.

Rather than lack of energy, I had extra energy. And I couldn't sleep. Before I went on prozac and when I had depressive crashes I would sleep for waaaaay long periods of time.

[DoesntMatter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vashti

Interactions
Drug: Concurrent use of tryptophan may cause agitation, restlessness, and GI distress;

I've taken tryptophan in pill form while on prozac. Kind of on an irregular basis though, they came in 500mg tablets and I tried taking one a day for a few days. I thought I felt slightly different, but I think it was mostly a placebo effect

[IndiReloaded]

I'm not an MD, but my understanding of these drugs is that they work best when combined with therapy to address the underlying issue. Otherwise, these drugs are basically chemical bandaids.

Make sure you are getting ALL the help you need. Longterm as well as short term. Don't let a medico just throw drugs at you & send you away.

[Gigabitch]

Lin, have you tried anything naturopathic to address your symptoms? A lot of this anxiety and depression stuff can be helped significantly with herbs and changes to your diet. I'm concerned that you'll end up taking a medication that will have all manner of side effects that will ultimately be worse than what you're taking it for.

[lin]

I'm actually on a waiting list to see a therapist . I initially turned down the prescription for the prozac . I went back to the doctors because I started having panic attacks at work .

I was off work sick with anxiety and depression for nearly a year in my early 20s . I ended up on government benefits which was very stressful and I'm sure it actually made me more depressed . I went back to the doctors because the thought of ending up in the same situation terrifies me .

I still haven't taken the prozac . I think for now I'll leave it in the cupboard . If things get worse I'll reconsider . I'm sure it's a medicine that has been a life saver for some people and at least a life changer for many ... but I really don't feel comfortable with the idea of taking it .

At the moment I feel very low and worried and lonely but I don't feel suicidal . Hopefully I won't have to wait too long to see a therapist ( I'm in England so it's the National health service , I could be waiting forever ).

Thanks for your comments , your thoughts and advice have been a big help .

[DoesntMatter]

Prozac really isn't bad, like I said I've been on it for a while. My initial dosage was 20mg per day, and the amount I take varies depending on the time of year (more in late winter months from Dec to April) and less in the summer. It really is a wonder drug and REALLY got me interested in the related areas of chemistry. Seriously, taking 20mg per day won't have you jumping off of bridges or blasting yourself like the media makes it look. It helped me stay productive when I otherwise would have been unproductive because when you feel like shit it's hard to motivate yourself to do a lot of mentally involved work.

[lin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoesntMatter

Prozac really isn't bad, like I said I've been on it for a while. My initial dosage was 20mg per day, and the amount I take varies depending on the time of year (more in late winter months from Dec to April) and less in the summer. It really is a wonder drug and REALLY got me interested in the related areas of chemistry. Seriously, taking 20mg per day won't have you jumping off of bridges or blasting yourself like the media makes it look. It helped me stay productive when I otherwise would have been unproductive because when you feel like shit it's hard to motivate yourself to do a lot of mentally involved work.

I've just taken my first pill . I think your point about staying productive is the most important thing to me . If I stay productive then I'm still in control of my life .

I've suffered most of the common side effects of prozac this week without actually taking it ... so I might aswell at least give it a try .
I'm still on the list for therapy so hopefully by the time the prozac starts to work ( if it does work for me ) then I'll be getting the two forms of treatment .