My experience with medication

[joethfc]

I'm beginning to wonder whether I was too quick to give up on medication.

I was on prozac for a month, about three years ago. I found this deeply unsatisfying, at first I felt different, in a good way, slightly glazed over and detached but I eventually reached this plateau where I felt blank, I felt no real desire for anything. I had a month's worth of pills and I felt no desire to persist with it.

Now I wonder whether I didn't give prozac a fair crack or maybe there is something else which would help me with the depression/anxiety.

I will definitely consult my GP soon.

[Sweetpea]

Meds can take a few weeks to start working, also not all meds work for everyone, I have tried several until Duloxetine which is working well for me.  I am sure your gp will help and advise you.

S x x x 

[Zaf]

Prozac took 4-8 weeks to kick in when I was on it, citralopram takes 4-6 weeks.  Waiting to feel some improvement is desperately frustrating but sometimes its worth waiting a bit longer to see if it becomes effective. Z xxx

[joethfc]

It was awkward because I didn't see my normal GP. The guy I did see was a bit more brash and I wasn't talked through these things. I should really speak to my GP, who's very approachable and see what he makes of it. I thought I could cope without any medication and perhaps I did for a while but maybe I was excusing my own unhealthy behaviour. I remember, at the time, also worrying about what my parents thought, there's was a lot going on. I don't know if it's naughty to give up on the meds without discussing it but I was under the impression it was my prerogative.

[Buttercup]

You're right in that to a point (I think there are exceptions in severe circumstances) you can choose not to take meds, I think it's just stopping suddenly that can cause withdrawal symptoms although Prozac isn't too bad as it has a long half life.

I took Prozac for a while, it took about 8 weeks to take effect. I can remember feeling really quite ill to begin with.

It's definately worth talking through your options with your GP. I know I've found it so important to find a GP that I feel comfortable to tell too.

Xxx

[joethfc]

Yes, that's why I thought it may be naughty but it was an introductory dose, so I never thought it would cause any big trouble.

I'm lucky that my GP is a really nice bloke and the rest of my family agree. I know lots of people who don't think much of theirs.

[Buttercup]

I know what you mean, I really like my GP and get on well with her but that's not the case for everyone.

Prozac isn't too bad to come off of, I had to stop 40mg of it overnight, felt rough for a couple of days and that was that.

[plumb]

Ive been on prozac for 4 or 5 months. Started off very slow with awful dry mouth and loss of taste. I have to say though since then I have felt 100% better each month and I know how many people give up on meds because of the stigma attached to them. Everyone I tell says " how long will you be taking them for" and I say "at the moment I dont care as I no longerwant to kill myself" to which no one can argue but i really pees me off. Taking them for a month is a wind up surley?
Also what is really important is if you do try them again and get on OK then make sure you get the same tablets, ie, fro the same chemist and the same make of tablet. Over easter i started to feel bad again, kind of numb and emotionless and I immeadiately suspected the tablets as they were a different make to my first ones. I went back to the original chemist for my next lot and a weel later I was back on the mend again. $%$

[joethfc]

Taking them for a month is a wind up surley?

What do you mean?

[plumb]

I dont obviously know how bad you were nor should i compare it to myself but......................................When i started on prozac i knew i needed it. I could not wait to go to bed to wake up and take my next pill and that alone was theraputic because i knew it would help and from reading and other peoples experiance i knew i had to giv eit time to work. A week later i felt better, just a tiny bit but this is also because i let myself off the hook and had admitted without shame i had severe depression. That alone i believe is the first step. Second was saying to Dr (between crying my eyes out) i neeeeeeed help NOW. The second week or so was terrible dry mouth ann insatiable thirst. I swear I was peeing spring water and could have sold it. This eventually subsided and it was 2 weeks later i saw my Dr again to check i had not got worse, which i had not. I was not fantastic by any means more i would say on a level, but i knew i had to give the pills time. I also did alot of reading and soon realised how i had been unwell for ages. In answer to your question it took 8-12 weeks of 20mg aday before i started to live again!
I saw my dr for a third time and said to her " a different person sits before you". Everyone asks me what is it like being on prozac and i say i am me again. People think they are like doing an E or something and one mate wanted to take one. It takes weeks to make a start and months some say up to 6 to feel the full benefit. I really cannot see the benefit of taking prozac for a month. In fact I would say it was iresponsible to do that to someone.
Also please be aware during this time when i was feeling great again i had a really bad day and convinced myself the tablets were not working and my mind became very black again. It was a day my wife went to london with her friend and left me with the 3 kids. I took them to the pub garden and had a few ciders (not the kids) for the first time in ages which started off ok, but when walking home i felt the urge to talk, but ofcourse my wife was not there. The next day i felt worse as above and so convinced i was spiraling out of control. My wife returned on the sunday evening and the monday i was right as rain again. It was not the prozac not working, it was my outlet for my thoughts that had gone missing for the day. This was a revelation to me and made me realise how if I allow my mind to go unheard i can do alot of self doubt. Talking is so so so so so so important but ofcourse someone has to want to listen. My wife has since had a trip away with mates for 4 nights and left me with the kids and i had a ball because i knew i could cope.
 Ithink your answers in there somewhere joethfc

[joethfc]

I just didn't know if you were criticising me or the doctor who implied that a month was the 'trial period'. Sorry if that sounds like persecution complex. I think I was erratic and impatient at the time, I was a little worried about some people finding out. I didn't want my family breathing down my neck about how/why I felt so bad that I needed to take medication. I was scared of feeling so different (and not much better, at the time) and I concluded that I'd rather just bring back the 'old regime'. What seemed to fool me was the perceived improvement followed by feeling worse. I clearly didn't do my research, I acted desperately; I feel I know a lot more now.

[Sweetpea]

There is still such a stigma attached to depression and mental health in general.  I think we all feel the same when first diagnosed, I know I was worried what people would think.  But with time I have come too realise that many people suffer, its like any illness once you start talking about it others say 'oh I have had that' or 'I know someone who suffers'.  As for medication, we all vary and what works for one doesn't always work for another.  Also the time meds start to work varies from person to person.

S x x x x

[mrmoody]

I was on Citilopram for 3 days back in Feb. Its an SSRI similar to Prozac and I knew it wasnt for me. I felt more suicidal not less, so took myself to the local A+E. I spoke to psychiatrist and told him how I felt and fortunately they gave me a sedative and suggested Mitrazapine which is more sedating. I have stayed on that for near 5 months now. I think its working,abit. Well put it this way last May I went cold turkey and stopped taking it and after 8 days I was back on it again. I was on prozac for a year back in 11
997-98. Not for me

[mrmoody]

ooops typo..I meant 1997-98

[plumb]

Hey im new here and do not wish to criticise anyone and sorry if you felt i was. its so sad we have to worry about what others think when we really need to just be selfish and make ourselves better.