Been prescribed prozac - nervous to take it

It's a real low dosage, so I'm thinking I just will but here's the background:

I've always been pretty stressed. My whole life.
I'm 18 now, and quite happy.
I started working on improving my quality of life. Working out more, working out my insomnia.
I was feeling quite great about it all, though working on the insomnia was tough and annoying.
Then, I got food poisoning.
Real bad symptoms at first. Dehydration; diarrhea; frequent bowel movements; constipation; horrible time holding urine. As well as; horrible focus issues, a horrible case of that sick feeling; general crappiness; way more frequent headaches; troubles breathing; emotional breakdowns.
The latter symptoms went away. For the past few weeks, the former ones have just been coming and going.

Doctor does the bloodwork, does the stool samples; I'm fine.
Asks me some questions, obvserves my jittery nature: BOOM! I'm on anti-depressants for Irritable Bowel Syndrome possibly caused by an anxiety disorder.

His diagnosis sounds to me like it fits perfectly.
But, psychotropic drugs?
It just sounds a bit extreme to me.

At the same time, I really want my problems to go away.

I use marijuana semi-frequently. The problems don't seem to be present at all when I'm stoned. Problem is: I want to be healthy when I'm sober. So, I'll probably stop using for the time being, and if not, I'll definitely reduce the usage.

Any opinions or thoughts would be very welcome.

 

Hiya Duck, (this sounds funny because in Stoke, where i live, everybody greets each other and callls each other: duck),

Look don't be afraid to get a second opinion, from a different doctor if you are unsure of the diagnosis. I get the impression you live in the States where i believe prozac is used as a magic bullet or in the case of kids in school a form of social control ( America seems to be terrified of letting it's youth be themselves, probably due to all the right-wing Christian beliefs that are prevalent over there).

I'll give you my thoughts, but please take note that I am not a medical doctor, i am not qualified in medicine.

You are 18 years old which can be hard for anyone, you are no longer a child, legally you are becoming an adult but you haven't got life experience yet so it can be a confusing time.

Confidence is something one gets from having rewarding experiences in life and a network of good friends and family behind you. So get out into the world and do the things you want to do, get a hobby that enables you to socialise. Sports and physical fitness can have a huge positive effect on feelings of well- being, so if you are not active, do something active , fun and sociable.

In my experience, prozac (a brand name, i took seroxat which is the same stuff essentially), is useful for people who are depressed because of an event in their lives which they are struggling to cope with. It can be a useful crutch which gives them the confidence to go out into the world and begin to make the connections with people which will ultimately make them happy, it is not a cure. I took the pills for a few months before realising that i didn't need them. They did make me feel more positive but they made me feel a little odd. (I hope i don't embarress you here) i felt happy so i felt horny, as healthy people should, but i could not cum, or al least i found it difficult to cum.

To summarise, get a second opinion from a person qualified to give medical advice. 18 is a strange age so don't feel bad about being overwhelmed, you have your whole life ahead of you, get active and socialise, it really is that simple. If you don't get on with the people you meet, meet new people.

I'm a regular pothead, i'm with Bill Hicks when he said that cannibis should not only be legal, it should be mandatory, but keep it real! If you are experiencing mental or confidence issues don't be afraid to stop smoking the weed.

Anyway Duck, take care and let me know how you get on.

oh and don't underestimate the power of getting laid, or falling in love to make you feel tip-top.

 

my girlfriend has recently been diagnosed with IBS and she just has to monitor what she eats so look at your diet as well,

take care duck.

 

Well, I think it's less of IBS more of just 'anxious colon'
He only wrote IBS on my shit, he always talks about it as if it's not IBS... iunno it's weird.

I think what I may do, is keep seeing the doctor (so, if I lose my medical I can get some sorta government shit =P) and keep managing it on my own.

I stopped worrying about my diet completely, based on the advice of the doctor, and already that's been helping.
Plus, since I found out it was prolly nothing that was too serious (or too immediate/tough to manage) I lost a lot of my anxiety I was having around it.

As for the confidence you are totally right. I'm going to be blunt about myself here; but I never had too much fatherly influence, Fight Club really spoke to me; I don't feel much like a man. I feel so much like a boy still. But I can feel myself gaining the confidence and manliness almost daily.
A lot of my anxiety is being relieved by that.
And mostly, I think the porblem was the timing of the infection.
It happened right when I was working out more, trying to become heatlhy, correct minor problems as well as major, focus more on learning, less on empty entertainment (more on intelligent entertainment), less time on the computer; find more balance; staying way way way cleaner/sanitary (which is bad for your immune system, and could be helping with the colon problems via too much healthy bacteria and antibodies in my intestines), work away my insomnia, etc. etc. etc. My body just sorta lost it's habits in the mix of things.

And I picked up this AMAZING book on stress for a dollar at an anarchist bookstore (gotta love them college students). I've been kinda following it and using certain techniques, and it is absolutely awesome.
(I'll post more about them later, and maybe links to sites that explain the techniques a bit, but it's late and I'm not in the mood =P)

So yeah, I'll just see the doctor, talk to him about it, work with him, but I'll basically ignore anything I don't agree with.

Thanks a ton man, but it looks like every thing's gonna work out =D

 

I just took myself off of Prozac for depression. After about the first week I was almost unable to have an orgasm at all and when I did it took extreme effort and was not enjoyable. In addtion I had a ton of trouble sleeping. It seemed as if ever other night I barely slept at all. I also had some nasuea. I took it for about 5 weeks before giving up on waiting for the symptons to go away.

 

^ Thanks.

So, far so good without the prozac. Doc was glad to see progress and wants me to seek counseling.

Autogenics is the stress exercise thingy. I do it once every few days, and it seems to be quite helpful.

 

do not smoke grass, while letting the control pills into your body, it is said, that smoking herb while taking Prozac messes with your heart electrical signals/and your brain chemistry , I am not a dude who is an expert, I have been on these ssris for a long time, I cannot wait till I throw them away. so I can get back to natures medicine

 

Yeah, Prozac isn't for anxiety and can be a NIGHTMARE if you had undiagnosed bi-polar disorder. It's an antidepressant SSRI that can have widely different effects on everyone. Honestly, there are some horror stories out there, but most people find that it doesn't really do much of anything.

I was on psych meds for 6 years, ending my run with them a year ago. After stopping the Prozac, I gained about 30 lbs. and have started taking it again just for the weight loss (only 10mg. instead of the 40 I was on before. Docs tend to overdo it on the dose. Studies have shown 5mg. to be as effective as 40.) It's very hard to get off once you're on it, so make sure it's what you wanna do beforehand. Research, research, research. Suicidality, even in those who didn't have it before, is a major concern in those under 24, as is worsening depression in some. Just Google it and look at lots of different sources, as some make it out to be harmless as candy and others make it sound like cyanide: you'll want to find a reliable source in the midst of all the crap.

 

^ thank you sir. =)

 

You're welcome! And I'm a ma'am...

 

Ah, my apologies, miss =)

 

I have been on/off prozac for years. That said I can see why you would be nervous to take it. When I take it I'm nauseous all the time, intimacy is a challenge, I get constipated. The con's out way the pros of taking it. (for me anyway)

I hope you can find a way to relax your body and mind without having to take it. There are other medications out there if you do need something.

Good luck!