Any Prozac Tips?

[drgnfl2078]

I've been on prozac now for about a year and for the last few weeks I'm starting to be more upset at my life, even though logically I shouldn't be. Well...upset isn't really the right word. More like just don't care about anything...has anyone else seen this with prozac? I go in tomorrow and talk to the doctor if I should up the dose or get off the drugs. Thought I'd see how others have dealt with it...

Thanks

 

[scott_1971_h]

I've been on prozac now for about a year and for the last few weeks I'm starting to be more upset at my life, even though logically I shouldn't be. Well...upset isn't really the right word. More like just don't care about anything...has anyone else seen this with prozac? I go in tomorrow and talk to the doctor if I should up the dose or get off the drugs. Thought I'd see how others have dealt with it...
Thanks

I've had some pretty shocking insights on antidepressants. A recurring one was (and still is): "Just how F/N unhappy AM I?"
You are not alone. Prozac can 'unfreeze' your brain and how it has found a way to cope with how unhappy you are (by shutting down awareness of how unhappy you were/are)
But if it gets too much see your doctor.
Scott

 

[Srain]

Drgnfl, I'm not sure if you are saying that you are feeling more depressed or what. My experience with Prozac was it was extremely helpful to show me that I could live a life without EDs killing me daily and that was what my tdoc intended for me to experience. It did help somewhat for the depression but I did not want to stunt my feelings, though at first it was a great feeling! I did go down in dose so that I could continue my work in therapy at that time.

I will tell you this that ADs have a tendency to stop working the same and increases are common. It's up to the patient and dr as to this is the direction you wish to go. I found mine did after several years and I decided to go off of it rather than go up on the dose. Are you seeing a tdoc, forgive me if you had said in your other post that you were? It could be helpful to bounce this off them and figure out which direction you want to go with this.

Peace,
Rain

 

[scott_1971_h]

[quote="drgnfl2078, post: 243634Well...upset isn't really the right word.[/quote]
Dissatisfactory and dissonant. That's what I've found my life is :-).

 

[drgnfl2078]

I went into the docs and we decided to up my dose of vitamen p. Perhaps I take what docs say as truth and don't do too much digging on my own as it tends to worry me more when I do. I hate to say I am depressed...because I'm actually a pretty optomistic person and I'm not sad. I do sleep alot, have lots of body aches, and lots of headaches, feelings of not really enjoying anything I do, fatigue. Between all that and PTSD they put me on prozac which worked great for a year. Now I'm just waiting for the higher dose to kick in. Same lack of focus is back...just blah. Perhaps I'm just lazy. Idk...mentally I'm driven...my body just doesn't like to follow.

 

[AngelKeeperJ]

Hi! Totally relate to "my body doesn't like to follow"! The increase in meds may help.

It has been my own experience that meds don't do all the 'work'. For me, it takes all the 'ammunition' I can find, as in coping tools, knowing my triggers, and learning to act instead or reacting to what is around me. Therapy augments the meds, and the meds help us deal with the physical/chemical issues that PTSD, Depression & Anxiety bring.

Prozac did me well when I was severely depressed, and I was on it for about 10 years. Then it quit working for me, but that is not rare. I do warn people....Prozac with steroids is a BAD combination.

 

[Seneca]

SSRIs can make your brain chemistry unbalanced. Apathy is a common side effect, especially at higher doses.

I've never taken Prozac, but I've taken a LOT of Zoloft over the past three years, Lexapro for one month, Celexa for two, and Paxil for about three. They can definitely bring you out of a slump, but they can put you in a different kind of slump. You don't feel good, but you don't feel bad, either, so you lose the incentive to make positive changes in your life.

They can also cause manic symptoms, but mostly in the beginning. Zoloft is especially notorious for causing party-animal type behavior.

 

[Srain]

Prozac with steroids is a BAD combination.

Oh yeah!

 

[pi314159]

I'm taking 40mg of fluoxetine (prozac, lovan). I don't have any side effects but I'm still completely depressed.

 

[AngelKeeperJ]

Hi! If you haven't been on the Prozac for at least 6 weeks, don't give up on it. If you have, then it may not work on you, and you should talk to the doctor. I'm a firm believer that along with antidepressants and/or anxiety, therapy is important. It gets to the source of the feelings, and it should give you tools other than meds to 'attack' your depression. My motto: Don't give up, or give in!

Blessings & Peace to you.

 

[Powder]

Prozac at lose does (10 mg)/daily worked for me in the past. I did get apathetic and lost interest in life. So I went off of it. It also made me feel unmotivated and hazy/dull. I also gained weight, but that might have been the IUD with hormones I had (Mirena). Do not use Mirena!

Now I am trying Prozac again, as I really am pretty low and crying all the time. The problem is that after three days on it, my anxiety went out of control and my heart began racing. I had the worst, drawn out panic attack and couldn't locate a trigger. I wonder if it's the Prozac combined with the other drugs, Clonidine at night for nightmares and 1/2 an Ativan/Lorazipam (a benzo for anxiety). I've been on the other two for 6 months. Adding the Prozac seemed a good way to feel better and wean off these two later. But I'm afraid to take Prozac after that day, and havent' taken it. I feel less anxiety now. Also, it really upset my stomach so badly that I had to go home from work.

I see one other person had dissociation and panic on it. IS this common with PTSD?

Muse

 

[suzie q]

I've been on Prozac for over 15 years now, and after trying just about all the other options available at the time of starting my medications, it has worked the best for me. The doses of course have changed over the years, as well as the mixture of meds I take with it. So far, my current dose of Prozac is 60mg/daily in AM, then 200 mg/nightly of Seroquel, and the occasional dose of 50-150mg/nightly of Trazadone.

In the beginning of my treatment I suffered severe dissociation, chronic depression, manic swings and panic attacks, as well as severe migraines and body aches. I was bed ridden for three years because I couldn't leave the house. I can't tell you all the different mixes of meds I've taken over the years to treat my symptoms. I eventually was diagnosed bi-polar with OCD, eating disorder, panic attacks, multi-personality disorder. That was in the 80's before mental health became smarter.

Between trying to treat with therapy and medications, I've seen a few "professionals". Since becoming a member here, I have information to help me understand my diagnosis of PTSD sinceI thought I had alot of different diagnosis. Now I know that it probably is "just PTSD" (Ha Ha, like I really want that!) Anyhoo...I'm of the opinion that it takes time and effort on my behalf to make sure that I find the right information for my treatment. That has eliminated the belief that if I just had a pill, or just had a program (ya know the easy fix?) then I'de be OK.

It's constant work and monitoring on my behalf as well as my medical and mental doctors. As I grow older, my symptoms change slightly, therefore, I must be on my toes. I plan to stay as balanced as my condition will allow, and that means going to any length to keep my small amount of sanity!!LOL It takes lots of time and treatment to feel better and I never gave up trying to find out what was wrong with me. That's the key...