Fluoxetine (Prozac)

Do you mind telling us what else you have tried to help with your anxiety/depression before resorting to meds and how long you have been dealing with it?

I'm not saying I have all the answers, I've been dealing with mental health issues on and off for years now, and maybe one day I'll resort to meds, but I'm trying to see them as a last last last last last resort for now. Also, I'm not touching SSRI's/SNRI's (the class of drugs which prozac belongs to) with a ten foot pole.

Personally I've found diet, meditation, and exercise (especially exercise) can make a world of difference. There's also new drugs coming our way that give alot of hope.

PM me if you want. And keep your head up.

 

For the most part, I've just dealt with it. Always getting out of bed with no reason and forcing myself to do things. I've had depression off and on since I can remember, some days I'm ok but suddenly I will take a spiral downward. Anxiety, I've always had social anxiety.. Even as a child I remember specific events. For instance, I may avoid going into a store if I know a relative might be in there, or I duck around a corner to avoid people. Working in customer service is not the best choice haha. Sometimes I'm ok but I find when I think about it, or I miss my cue I can't bring myself to talk or act 'normal'

Since I have been legal age, I've been drinking alcohol to deal with it, completely overtakes my anxiety, however as you can guess it can sometimes induces a depression. I recently went to the hospital to ask what I can do to quit drinking and start being happy and they prescribed me pills.

I often feel a depersonalized state of being, and I've always smoked cigarettes to calm down, another shitty way to deal with things but it's the easiest. I wanted to avoid pills but I have gotten to the point I eat every 2 days no matter how hungry I get when I have food infront of me I can hardly choke it down. So between not eating, basically chain smoking, and drinking every day (alcohol but also tons and tons of caffeine) I figure meds are a healthier route. I tried exercise but when I physically can't swallow food because of anxiety, I literally pass out from it and wake up still unable to eat.

 

You know what would REALLY be the healthier route? Eating healthy, exercising, getting good sleep... You see this mental illness thing is a vicious cycle. You dont eat - you feel worse. You don't sleep - you feel worse. You don't exercise - you're not hungry or tired - therefore you don't sleep or eat...

Your body is your temple my friend. There's some very basic self care things that you are failing at right now. I'm not judging, I've been there. But basically - if you are not taking care of your body, it's completely normal that you feel this way. Maybe you're not ''sick''. Maybe you just have very bad habits! This is the equivalent to someone saying ''all I eat is raw chicken. My stomach hurts all the time. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?'' and taking pepto bismol to counteract the upset stomach.

If you're not in any danger of injuring yourself or incapable of functioning, I'd like to invite you to try something. Drop the meds and take a month or two to live a healthier lifestyle. If you exercise (especially cardio), trust me, it will open up your apetite and help with the depression, anxiety, and sleep problems. Exercise has instantly pulled me out of the depths of depression MANY times. You do cardio until you think you're gonna puke, come home, sit down, think you are going to die, have a panic attack, feel worse, and then when you catch your breath, take a nice shower and come out feeling like a new person.

Meditate. 10-20 minutes a day. Learn how to do it. I can help you with that. It's like pressing reset on your brain.

I'll stop at that for now, see what you have to say and elaborate if need be...

 

By the way, I use cannabis alot to to calm myself down at night. It helps with the sleep and anxiety. Personally, I prefer using a plant than pills and I'd choose that any day.

 

Well the trouble is, I've been physically healthy before and I still drop into the same rut, it comes and goes (depression) but the anxiety is always there. I just need meds to get back on track and stay on it, hopefully. Throughout the year I fluctuate between a 30lbs range, going as low as 155ish and as high as 185ish.. the latter being healthy.

It seems like I have a cocktail of mental problems that aren't too serious on their own, but when the perfect storm hits it knocks me off the map for a long time. The pills I'm really hoping will calm my emotions down and keep me level headed to a degree.

As for pot, I used to toke. I can't do it anymore though, makes me feel too separated and really gets my anxiety flaring. The mere thought of smoking it makes me scared, t truly is a horrible experience for me.. I'm around tons of people that do it and it doesn't bother me but these days I just have to pass.

 

Does the anxiety stay even if you exercise? Have you tried any natural remedies?

 

It isn't really panic attacks.. Like I rarely get those but it's a depersonalized feeling.. I'm not sure how to explain what that is really. It makes social situations unbearable, and I have had it my entire life that I can remember. I have just always hoped I'd outgrow it.

 

I know exactly what that depersonalized feeling is. Been there. The way I see it, it comes from over analysis and being in your head too much. If you keep thinking about reality and consciousness, it's obvious that you're going to get weirded out. It begins to feel like a weird dream. That's actually what scared the shit out of me the first time I got high. Try to stop analyzing so much when it happens. Try to stop thinking too much and start being!

Anyways...in the end the path you choose will take you where you need to go. I hope I'm not prying or anything, I'm just relaying my own experience...

 

Your inputs great, I never thought about it that way really. I need to get out of my head.. easier said than done obviously, but that's why I come to this website. Thanks, just hope someday I can control it.

 

When I took it, it made me feel like a robot! I felt numb, and not in a good way.

 

Xanax has the opposite effect on me, it makes me mean and angry.

 

It did my ex, too. I'd be all swinging around like a feather in the wind, and he would be "like WHAT!!!!! " grrrrrr But he said he loved xanax and valium.

I know I didn't like it when he did them. It really would be, or seem, like the :devil: had moved in.

So you've tried some other meds then, right?

 

Prozac is evil and should NOT be taken by anyone... has anyone here gone over the fact that depression meds especially Prozac, is mostly flouride? you want prozac? go chug some tap water.. sickens me...

 

HA same way I felt being stuck drinking tap water for 2 months...

 

Prozac did the same to me as well. Made my insomnia 100 times worse. I try not to advocate for or against medication. This is a deeply personal decision that only you can make for yourself. It's important that you become as educated as possible about your options. Doctors, especially psychiatrists tend to seriously down play potential side effects because they want you to take the meds. They are not bad. Most are well meaning they are just a bit misguided. You would be surprised how many doctors are not knowledgeable about the meds they prescribe. As was mentioned earlier things like diet, exercise getting proper sleep can make a huge difference in how you feel. Unfortunately doing that can be easier said than done. Looking at triggers for your depression are also important. For some people medication is a life saver but to others it is a curse. Everyone is different.

 

Hi. I'm bipolar and take Lamictal, Venlafaxine and Buspirone.

A couple of things that caught my eye on this thread:

NEVER take St John's Wort with SSRI's or any other antidepressant. It is an MAOI and combined that can kill you.

I can't believe that a poster on here top the OP to come off her meds and stick to diet and exercise. Then the poster admits to self medicating with weed. There's a contradiction. Besides the fact that I don't think giving unqualified medical advice on a forum is advisable or ethical. Gets my back up.

To those people who found antidepressants to act like speed have you considered a wrong diagnosis? Antidepressants are known to have that effect on people with Bipolar Disorder.

The first SSRI I went on was Prozac, 25 years ago. I thought it was amazing and that the high was partly due to the relief of being free of depression. Over the years I have been on and off antidepressants. The thing with BP is that we only present when we are depressed. Not many people go to their doctor when they are feeling amazing. The doctor prescribes an antidepressant. It's now said that without a mood stabilizer anti depressants will often produce mania in people with BP.

Also to add that without some sort of talking therapy antidepressants have a really low success rate. From memory it goes from around 40% to somewhere around 70%. Do check though because it's been a long time since I looked at the figures.

I self medicated for years with booze, pills, smoke and more. Antidepressants aren't a cure all and don't work for everyone. I'm by no means a success story. But what I am is 4 1/2 years away from drinking myself into a stupor or a mania and generally being out of it or triggering a mania with some substance or another.

Just my 2¢ worth.

Now I'm looking for legal highs to deal with the med resistant depression and maybe let me enjoy a high/mania or two. I really miss those manias. I'm not really sure what to make of what's I am now. I stopped seeing an amazing therapist because my insurance changed and now things aren't working so well for me.

 

Some studies show cannabis can be helpful for depression, I find it to be...of course it's not a cure but it make things more bearable for me. This does not mean I think it would help everyone.....or that everyone should smoke it.

But wait anti-depressants act like speed on people with bi-polar disorder, that's strange because I did get kind of a speed like effect...however I don't think I am bi-polar since I've heard mania comes with euphoria and the only time I get euphoria is if I am on a drug that causes it. I have to say the speed like effect of the prozac was the best part....every other effect sucked and I threw the bottle away when the crap almost drove me insane.

 

I'd be interested to see that study since everything I have read contradicts that.

It's not that antidepressants act like speed. It is that they can trigger a manic episode.

 

"I'd be interested to see that study since everything I have read contradicts that." > Sade

I don't know where you are from, live, or whatever, Sade...but just ONE of the reasons a person can get marijuana legally is for depression.

Apparently whatever (little) you've read hasn't covered ALL the reasons a person can legally obtain weed in the states where it is legal. In my state, NO MATTER WHAT, you cannot get a card.

I'm just shocked that you come to this forum and would say such a thing, especially since I have read much - not just a singular study - and what Comfortablynumb says is much more "backed up" by varying studies than your statement saying "everything I have read contradicts that."

 

I think the studies show that in reasonable quantities it helps, and then in massive quantities it hinders. It can be a great tool if used wisely but once you go overboard it makes things worse.

In my case, it's been mostly an amazing help.