Hey, I'm back, with some questions about medicines. (Prozac)

[heydani]

Hey guys, I don't know if any of you remember me, but I used to be a pretty frequent poster. I went to therapy for my fear of v*, and she suggested I stopped using this site. And let me tell you, it REALLY helped. I loved this site; I was addicted to it, and thought it helped me, but really I figured out that it was just causing me more anxiety since I knew about other people's anxiety. So I thought I'd offer the advice, to try to wean yourself off of the website, if you find that it's making you more anxious!

I haven't been on in a few months but needed to make a post since I'm not sure who else to ask. I am going to a psychiatrist for the first time in my life. I have just started my freshman year living at college & my therapist suggested I go on meds for my general anxiety & emetophobia. SOOO, after I researched different meds, I decided I did NOT want to go on prozac, since I read for the whole first month it makes you v* ! And what do you know, the first thing my doc prescribes me is prozac! He gave me the lowest dosage and said that it will be the most beneficial for me in the long run... He also gave me 10 pills of lowest dose Ativan in case I get nervous. I've never taken pills before so this is a big deal. NO ONE I know has had a positive experience with prozac, so I was just wondering if anyone on here has had any positive experiences, or if it even helped in the long run, thanks !!

[Murder-my-soul]

I have heard LOTS of positive things about Prozac! Listen I just got on an anti-depressant too. Had my first dosage today. Let me tell you, I am not experiencing what I had expected. NO N*, NO SEDATIVE EFFECTS, NO DIZZINESS. What I am experiencing is a happiness and peace. I have not had anxiety at ALL today! Who would have thought I would have such a positive effect on the first day! I am on Celexa.

I do agree, this site has made me more anxious in the past because it reminds me that I DO have this issue, it reminds me that I DO have a problem and that in itself gives me anxiety. Also do not expect to freak out on Prozac, most likely you won't. I have been feeling so hungry! Opposite of n*! I am about to go out, and do things on this med on the first day. I expected I was going to stay home and sleep but I am not even tired which is strange because I am always tired. It was my low levels of serotonin that made me feel so icky all the time. This med stabilizes your serotonin because once it is destroyed(by trauma, genetics, etc.) IT'S VERY HARD to get back with home remedies. I had been trying for so long. But I wasn't going to wait for years and suffer. I am not giving up on this Celexa quite yet because I have not experienced ill side effects. I really think that if this is as bad as it's going to get, it's not even bad. And to think better to come?! I am excited for this!

I have heard more negative about Celexa than Prozac. But, with you on such a low dose like myself, I really don't think it's going to make you all sick like you fear. I feared it too. But I was very calm. And I still am. And I am not sedated. And I am not bouncing off the walls. Nothing weird has happened. I do need to find some food! I am hungry! Haha, good luck with it, I hope it's the answer for you! I really think Celexa is the answer for me along with counseling (:

[cargal16]

I was on Prozac for YEARS and never experienced problems with it. I just recently switched to Celexa because the Prozac didn't seam to be effective for me anymore. I've been on Celexa for a couple of months and I haven't had any problems with it either. A tip that has worked doe me, is to never l

[cargal16]

I was on Prozac for YEARS and never experienced problems with it. I just recently switched to Celexa because the Prozac didn't seam to be effective for me anymore. I've been on Celexa for a couple of months and I haven't had any problems with it either. A tip that has worked doe me, is to never look up side effects or user reviews. You will always be making yourself think that you are experiencing a problem, when you are actually not.

[heydani]

All of my friends who took Prozac & got sick, its not just reviews online. Im so nervous to start taking it ! I feel like I am psyching myself out !

[olschesky]

i've been on and off prozac for the past 25 years.....i take 20 mg a day.....never had a side effect.....but definitely has helped with the emet obsessiveness. every once and a while i go off of it...basically just to see how i feel without it. never had a problem stopping or starting it. i've gone as long as 3 years without it......when i start feeling "too emetophobic" i start taking it again. it really did give me back my life.

the only strange thing about prozac is that when i first start taking it i have some pretty crazy dreams.........but some of them i've enjoyed.

good luck.....you will be just fine

[Murder-my-soul]

Just because a few people get sick from it, doesn't mean YOU will. You're different than everybody else! If it's going to help, you should try it.

[jkl81]

My psychiatrist treats lots of people with meds and I was terrified to take them for the same reason. Here's the truth; there's a good chance it will make you slightly to moderately nauseated the first week or two, but according to my doctor it is really rare for people to actually v* from prozac. It's rare in my experience from watching posters on this board for the past 4 years including some people I've known pretty well. The fact that you are using a psychiatrist means that they are actually experienced with the drug and not just consulting the literature, so as you were saying, you get to start on the lowest dose for awhile then ramp it up...if you ever get off of it you'll want to taper rather than going cold turkey. I took prozac from 1996-99 when I was from 14-18 years old. I started with 10mg every other day, then 10mg a day, then 20 mg a day IIRC. It changed my life in a positive way. I was still scared to death of v*ing but it took the edge off of my anxiety to the point where I was less angsty and angry and on edge. Problem was, after I had a SV in 1997 I felt I had faced my fears and therefore I was cured....not so! I dropped back to 10mg and it never regained it's effectiveness for me, and before I knew it I was right back to square 1. It seem that it's real common for SSRIs to help ebough to take the edge off of our anxiety and then oftentimes in 6 months, a year 2 years, or maybe never for it to hit a wall and not work anymore. I don't like these drugs for myself, but they haved help me at some serious low points. If you trust your psych, you could try it and get off it if you don't like it. Starting college is a highly stressful time. I won't advise you to go for it or go aganst it. I will say, you might should ask for antiemetics just in case it makes you nauseated...but only as a security blanket so that you take the pills...I'd hate to see you not take them because of fear of v*...because it's not very likely. I know that advice is small comfort to an emet, but that is the truth. I got on prozac, lexapro, luvox and paxil all without v* or ever being close...except when I got OFF the prozac...but I was already in an anxiety tailspin, was using a very high dosage and started the luvox too soon. Don't make these same mistakes and this will not be your experience. I STILL didn't v* but I felt AWFUL. Make sure that you do your due dilligence and review the other side effects these drugs can have....don't just google them on the internet, talk to people you know in real life, and look at trusted, peer reviewed medical sites online like WebMD and similar. If you have a concern ask your doctor about it. These drugs are not devil drugs and they also aren't beningn or for everyone. but they have saved and enriched a lot of lives, by the same token they have caused problems for a lot of people. Remember, with any drug, you are potentially playing with fire, but in some cases the rewards are very well worth the risks and this could well be the case for you.

[summerdazies]

I've been on a number of antidepressants. Prozac was a miracle for me. It did make my bowels loose for a few days but actually over time cured my lifelong idiopathic constipation (not kidding!) I never felt nauseated. I started on 10 mg per day, and eventually was on 60 mg for awhile and then for about two years on 80 (at the end of which I got anxiety-related myoclonus/sort of like conscious seizures, and the docs thought it was serotonin syndrome and took me off all my meds... now on 20 mg). It also helps reduce the frequency of my migraines. Bottom line: every person reacts differently to every drug, and pretty much every drug that has some psychiatric effect lists nausea and vomiting as side effects. I wouldn't let that keep you from trying to treat your condition with medication under medical supervision.

Prozac is also less likely to make you gain weight than a number of other SSRIs. (My psychiatrist who first prescribed me Prozac did so knowing that my biggest concern about any antidepressant was gaining weight.. history of anorexia nervosa and all that) Lexapro made me crave carbs like crazy. Luvox made my boobs swell two cup sizes in a month - hurt like heck. Zoloft made me totally crazy and hyper. Wellbutrin worked well for a few years, and then I tapered off of it.

[heydani]

Thank you guys for responding, it really means a lot. I've been going through a really bad anxious stage right now. So I feel like, either way I will psyche myself out the first week & make myself nauseous. Do you guys think it'd be better if I took it at night or in the morning? Also, what happens if I miss a dose?

[summerdazies]

By the way, glad to hear you are doing well.

You could always ask your doc those questions (about when to take it, missing a dose)

I am not a medical professional, but for years I took it at night because it is generally more on the sedating than activating side. Then I got sick of taking pills twice a day and started taking it in the morning.

If you miss a dose, nothing big will happen, as Prozac has a very long half-life - something like a week. Just take your next one as usual.

[heydani]

my doctor isnt the most reassuring. he told me that puking on prozac is normal and that i should just deal with it. I cant complain though, because i get his services for free.

[Erica1649]

He says in a sense puking is normal with this med? A med shouldn't make that happen and given the fact that this isn't a phobia where you are afraid of clowns, you dont like vomiting not very assuring, but like everybody said everybody is different and given that you are emet you have a better chance of not vomiting of that makes sense.

Good luck to you

[summerdazies]

I'm sorry your doctor is so unsympathetic! Especially since he's prescribing psych meds to you... wow.

If my doctor had said something like that, you can bet your tush I wouldn't have taken the Prozac. The drug data sheet on drugs.com says that nausea occurs in 15 to 21% of patients taking fluoxetine. Not vomiting, nausea. Second most common GI symptom was diarrhea (12%). Dunno why he would say that. The data seem to say, yes, being nauseated would be considered normal. Vomiting is only listed as a sign of overdose or a serious side effect (i.e. not to be taken as 'common' or 'par for the course.')

[heydani]

Well I am on day four, and it has not been as terrible as I have expected ! The first morning after I took it was the worst so far, I was in so much stomach pain, I almost couldn't breathe. Other than that it just mostly effects my appetite. Like I'll be starving, but won't be able to eat. Or I will eat and can't stop. It's weird.

[summerdazies]

Good to hear that things are not as bad as expected! I have experienced that the generic Fluoxetine (as opposed to brand name Prozac) can give some pretty serious heartburn... doesn't happen to me more than once every few months but very unpleasant.

Once the drug levels settle you should be in a more normal place appetite-wise, hopefully. But SSRIs do mess with the appetite; at least Prozac isn't as likely as many others to cause weight *gain*.