I have been having a lot of trouble with depression lately, and my doctor prescribed Prozac a couple of weeks ago, saying that if the depression continues, start the Prozac... Well, the depression has been kicking my ass and I can now admit that I need help dealing with it, but I am so scared of taking the Prozac. Could someone please share their experience with it. I really need help getting back on top of things and don't want to be afraid of it. FYI, I already take Adderall for ADHD. Please let me know your experiences.

TIA,

Steve

You should have asked the doctor why? Prozac.
I certainly would not take it, and would prefer the Celexa group of drugs.

It could be that the two would not be compatible, but your doc could always refer you to a psyche doc for medication.

I have heard some bad stuff about prozac, but see your doc over your concerns,

ste

It was my psychiatrist that wrote the>

Try it and see, but if it does not work go back to have it changed.
I thought they had stopped prescribing it,

ste

thwap - I have a family legacy - depression! I can trace it through my family. I've been taking Prozac for the last 10 years and can attest, for me, it keeps me stable. Whenever I begin to feel like I'm descending into "the dark pit", it feels like a hand comes out and I sit in it unable to slide any lower. If you are worried - ask your psych. Drug reactions vary from person to person. I was on 2 other meds before taking Prozac which works for me.

Howard

I personally take prozac for severe depression and have found it to work the best out of all snri,s and ssri's. I have tryed almost all of the and this one works for me the best. I here its has to do with thway the drug is tolerrated.

All I Know is that it had helped me greatly with the fewist side efex. but then again i guess its diferent strokes for diferent folks.
Hope this helps,

Logan

I haven't taken Prozac but I took other meds. They stabilise you, but don't forget that they are a treatment and not a cure. They will keep you level, but you still need to work on healing.

I take celexa. I started at 40 mgs and slept my life away it seemed - too high and had to have a gradual download to 10mg. I had a reverse reaction to bupropion - makes me feel stoned if I take in the morning. So it was switched to night. I have a friend who became namnic on it - every one can have a different reaction. Do not be afraid to tell your MD how you feel/react on any meds - it is your right.

froggy

I've taken a few meds in my life

I've never really liked any of them -
so I tend to steer away from them -

I've tried vitamin and food therapy -

and that works well enouh for me (I made up that term but what it means to me
is a well balanced 5 course meal plan at first that teaches you how to use food for energy to help keep your moods even)

I have taken recently - but stopped - this pill for athletes and performers

for stage frigth == called like propolonal

it really worked - it slowed me down in the best way -

but once i started to get - ok with stuff in Beanbutttown

I kind of let it slide - and now just Pasadena on it -

- true - all can have a different reaction

on Codeine and Tylenol syrup I hallucinate - it's the scariest shit -

nm

i was on prozac, they should rename it "side effects"

Its funny how docs think it is a cure, and you will just get better etx.
I am on Celexa, 40mg which makes me pretty zombie like, but at 20mg it was impossible to adjust.

The brain is unique, and what works for one, may be bad for another.
I just wish none of us had to be on them in the first place,

ste

I have been on most of the SSRI's and SNRI's but prozac still works the best for me. I think that it is just the way in which one tolerates the meds, or so I have been told.

I take it for anxiety and complex type PTSD which, unfortunately, is not that uncommon around here. I still have PRN's of klonopin for panic attacks and I some times have an over exgerated startle respones-that one really sucks. Its like i jump 2 feet when I get startled and get all shaky which i try to hide.

The prozac's main side effect for me and many other guy i hear is delayed ejacultion, but I don't mind that so much.

There is no panacea or silver bullet that will be the cure. There is just healing and that is a process. albeit, sometime a very difficult and scary process.

I don't want this to sound bad or mean but it really does feel good not to be alone in dealing with this stuff. I know that I spent too many agonizing years with this alone.

take care brothers
-Logan

I have taken a lot of meds in my career,prozac,celexa,zyprexa,closazpine,remoron,seroquel,trazodone,effexor,and a few others.Most of them have to many side effects,specially weight gain,and weight gain just really drives me nuts.
Dont take anything now accept for seroquel for sleep at night,hasn't been giving me any weight gain soo its ok.You might say thats a anti psychotic it is,it helps me forget about what happened to me 27 years ago when i try to sleep,better than nothing i guess.Most of the other drugs for me,side effects,always the same out come,nothing changes.
But you know drugs effect everybody a little differently,though i admit remoron was the worst one of them all,a doctor who prescribes that too you ,must want you to hate him or her.

I'll agree with you on the Remeron, skingraph. half of one knocked me for a loop for 2 days. Never took another!

John

Well they concentrate chemicals which affect the brain. Its all chemical....may not "fix" anything but some aid with behaviors and feelings and such.

I hate medication, simply loath it. I can handle the side effect and as with most medications you get 2-weeks to 2-months of side effecs before they start to do there thing...and even then its not sure wheather that medication will help you.

Prozac sucked ball's. I just stopped taking it. I'm currently prescribed prozac for its anti-anxiety effects, and an antipsychotic which i refuse to take most the time and a potent anti-anxiety, something like a vailum called lorazapam...which kicks ass. Any troubles i pop like 4 of those and i'm numb.

they won't give me valium anymore since i'm a (newly) recovering addict but it really does work great but its also very addictive.

I get seroquel to take at night, yes its true that it is an antipsychotic or so its listed but the doseges presribed sleep are well out of that use range.

for psychosis the range is between 600mg-3g per dium
for sleep: 25mg-100mg is the ussuall
I Take 50mg and I think it is great. It like, turns your brain off. I think that is the best way I can describe it.

Logan

Prozac worked wonders for me! Thoughts stopped racing. I felt normal again.

Just remember each drug works differently on different people. Tell someone you trust that you are starting a new drug. If you start having negative side-effects, then you will have someone that can honestly confront you so you can try something different.

I took Prozac 20mg for several years and it worked better than any other SSRI. It made me feel good, although I was slightly out of control and would make decisions without thinking things through completely.

It was extremely difficult when I stopped taking it. I got more depressed than I had ever been and had suicidal tendencies. In retrospect, I find that it masked the symptoms of childhood abuse that I could not face.

My advice would be to discuss it further with the person that prescribed it to you before trying it. Mention that you heard it is a temporary fix and that the withdrawal symptoms are difficult.

I remembered seening this thread and just HAD to dig it up.

If you know me, you know that I suffer(ed) from frequent and horrible flashbacks and DID. Ever since I've been on a 60 mg dose of Prozac, my symptoms have decreased to nearly non-existant!

Addditionally, this is the first time in my life I have lived withOUT dark depression. So I'm all for Prozac (and I am unsually FULLY against taking per>

Rob,

Its glad to hear your story change about drugs....they can be very essential to our recovery.

Brian

I belive Prozac saved my life. I was suicidal when I first started talking.

And that is why they make these drugs available, Joe. You and countless others can directly attribute your life today to the fact that you had this resource when you needed it the most.

Yes, well all I can say is DO NOT TAKE PROZAC IF YOU ARE BIPOLAR!

A doctor once prescribed it for me by mistake, and I almost killed myself. Imagine being extremely manic and extremely depressed all at the same time. Whooosh!

But I'm glad it works for you, Hauser!

Ric

I actually AM now diagnosed as BiPolar....and I dont even like Arctic weather!

Seriously though, that's why they have me on Abilify too.

I take so many freaking pills in the morning I call it my "second breakfast."

been on pills since a young teen, dont even need water just toss em down the hatch, carry them in my car wherever I go

Prozac was the first anti-depressant I tried. I was a jittery wreck...always knocking stuff over, hands shaking. And, completely impotent...couldn't get an erection if you paid me a million bucks. I've since tried Celexa...not much better.

Now I'm on two meds...Lexapro 20 mgs in the morning, along with Buspar, 10 mgs twice a day. I'm pretty even keel right now. And, no sexual side effects. Yeah!

They all work differently in different people.

REJ

Has anyone had depression override the Prozac? Such as depression that is so severe it steps over the line of the medication.

Rob,

Sometimes your dosage may have to be upped. As the depression get worse you need more of the prozac to over ride it. Proper dosing takes time...be patient.
Brian

Hey Robbie,
I think that our emotional state, as it is linked to depression, can fluctuate greatly...beyond the control of the meds. So, yes, I think your depression can override the Prozac.

As Brian says, you may need to alter the dosage...if the bottoming out is prolonged...not seemingly controlled by the prozac.

I've had to do a lot of adjusting of my two anti-depressants in order to get evened out. And, to be honest, I still have some really sad days. (This morning has been one of them.)

Bless you, man.

REJ

prozac is excellent. way better than anything else. i've been taking it for two months for dissociation and ptsd. i think it is the safest drug out there for depression.

I just checked back in on this thread and was really surprised to see how many people had posted. Here is my experience: The Prozac saved my life. Straight up. I had to have the dosage upped to 40mg after a while but that was because I was figuring out what the abuse did to me and life was kind of bleak at the time. Lately those stupid panic attacks are the only real interruption to an otherwise stable mood. Unless you make a move I am not expecting and have to peel me off the ceiling. A regular long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs is what my fiancee calls me. Still better than the heavy, deep depression any day.

Peace

SM

For me,
Lexapro was the key to reducing my anxiety and depression to a level where people wanted to be around me and I could handle them. 20mg daily. I recently added 10mg of amnatriptyline to the mix to control my nervous system. Not the best, it is an old molecule, but I am more jittery with out it. Makes me sleep like a rock.

Drake