Prozac, what's your experience? (anxious and people with social anxiety or depression also welcome)

S

Spic-N-SpaN

Active member
I made a ladies man thread but this can't hurt. But I'm looking to see how Prozac has affected people. What you were like before it, what it was like on it, and after it, and if it really helped. I have some social anxiety and depression I guess, and my dad that's a doctor started me on them 4 days ago. Even though they aren't suposed to work for a few weeks, if anything right now I feel worse, and would have liked other ways to fix it other then medication. I guess I'll see how it goes for now, get off if it's not helping.

And how do people feel about certain things being classified as chemical imbalances and poping pills, rather then doing hippy bullshit (which I'm open to if you know anything) and therapy?
 
It doesn't work. 20mg a day now, getting my dose upped in another three weeks, I honestly don't feel a difference, I'm sure with counseling that it would be a lot more effective.

Getting out and doing things is the ultimate cure for depression/anxiety. You have to get distracted.
 
I took/still take fluoxetine which is Prozac by another name, and I disagree with the previous statement about it not working. It does work. You dont notice it until you stop taking it. Ive had some rough patches in the past couple years, and I noticed how I changed when I was on it and when I was not on it. My advice is, take it, and seek counseling. There is nothing better than having a professional listen to you. If you go to college or university, they have a health center that provides counseling. Do not hesitate to go. There is no stigma about going there. When I went, I saw tons of different kids going in and out. Who knows if they were going for the same reason as me, but moral of the story is, no one cares. Youre getting help and thats what is important.
 
Sorry for the dub post, but I am on about 40 mgs. You will start off at a lower dose, and slowly it will be increased until you "feel" better.
 
distract yoself foo

helped me.

i took Prozac but didnt really like being on it, and noticed that being social and active really helped me more. I was on Zoloft on like 250mg a day and it made me go fucking nuts. I literally couldn't give a flyingfuck in the world and literally couldn't sit still. It was kind of cool, but just not for me.
 
Ahh I'm almost sort of curious as to what it's going to be like, but I almost feel like really I don't need it and if I just get myself to go out more things would turn around
 
In the vein of "Hippy medicine", have you ever heard of Gaba? I work with someone who suffers from anxiety (or has anxiety, however you want to describe it) and prefers Gaba to more chemical medications like Prozac. I have some degree of low-level self-diagnosed anxiety and have taken it and seen an improvement. However that may have been just a placebo effect, but I felt that it helped to calm me down. I figure it's worth a shot if you want to try something natural/homeopathic.
 
been on a ridiculous amount of psych meds in my past and im averaging about 5 at the moment. i was on about 4 different anti depressants and prozac was the last. i was taken off of it because it made me manic and psychotic.

i don't know how it will affect you, considering that you are suffering from anxiety/depression. i'm not sure if it just didn't work for me because my diagnosis was in fact bipolar, but give it a try. the side effects aren't too bad, and it may give you some relief of your symptoms eventually. takes a while to kick in though, as do most psych drugs. just give it a go, and really pay attention to your mood and how you feel week by week. also, depending on your situation, getting a therapist or at least talking to a psychiatrist is helpful as well.

best of luck
 
this post made me do some googling on gaba, and now i'm really interested in picking up a gaba supplement.

anyone else wanna chime in on their experience with a gaba supplement?
 
I've never taken Prozac, but I've taken a number of other psych meds. I think my only advice would be not to go into it expecting too much. When I started taking medication, for some reason I had this idea that it was going to completely change everything and I'd be a whole new person and blah blah blah. But what I've learned from experience is that you can't rely on your meds to do everything for you. It's not some miracle pill that'll make your anxiety go away, or make you eternally happy. It'll help to an extent, but you have to put effort in as well. A lot of the emotional needs for medication in the first place are situational, not entirely chemical. So there has to be some combination of medication and personal work during treatment. I guess what I'm trying to say is don't rely on it too much and don't expect it to be something it's not or you will end up hating it/assuming it's not working. But it's different for everyone so who knows really.
 
I have social anxiety, ADHD and panic disorder. No depression though, adderall works wonders for me with social anxiety and ADHD, and makes me feel confident and content, so it very well could help with your depression but i am no psychiatrist.
 
I took them when I needed them, I stopped when it felt right. Haven't taken another since and it really helped me when I needed em
 
And you need to experience a panic attack. Like the kind where you think you're dying because your hearts pounding or something miniscule (panic disorder). Doesn't seem like people would do that just for fun or attention. Or any reason at all besides NOT being balanced neurologically. Eh?
 
Yeah totes kidding my mom has panic attacks and it's not fun.

I just hate how it seems every highschooler who doesn't get alon with their peers and says fuck schoolwork is bipolar and ADD these days.
 
I'm only four days in, I talked to my dad, he says nothing's really happening yet, and if I want to stop taking them I can, but he almost seemed upset/mad. I can't decide if I should stick with it, or stop. But if I stop, what should I be doing, making sure I'm not just sitting around at the house. Should I set a goal of like go see friends 3 times a week, rest of the time you can read/bike/hike work do whatever or something?

Maybe I should get the recommendation of an actual therapist? But then I'm in a small town, hopefully there's good ones around.
 
Pills without therapy/counselling isn't a recipe for success.

Honestly man I haven't been having the most mentally healthy summer but I've found the best thing to do is just to get out and get exercise. I'll usually get off work at 5 and then I go home, do some yoga, go for a run, and then go slacklining/climbing. This has made a world of difference, I always have something to do and I feel way better for it.

IMO just get off those pills and get tons of exercise every day. Don't sit around your house, try to leave early in the morning and then come back in the afternoon or something. If you have tons of free time, get a job. Play an instrument if you know how. Obviously you like to ski, so maybe try to find things you can do outside that will prepare you for ski season.

How old are you? And what exactly is the nature of your depression/anxiety?
 
OP my fiance is dealing with this right now. I have done lots of research and consulting with drs. My fiance has been dealing with panic anxiety and ocd for about 2.5 months now. SSRIs are all different. Each one is a different chemical makeup that accomplishes a similar thing. They take longer than 4 days to work and if you are interested in medication to help correct your issues you have to give them a chance to work. I know that doubt is probobly in your mind constantly. Will it work? will it not? Just give it a chance paxil is now starting to work for my fiance after Zoloft and Xanax both made her WAYYY worse. Just know that if the Prozac doesnt work, there are many other options. If meds arent for you there is always cognative behavioral therapy which you should be doing also either way. It is the only tried and true method to be 100 percent effective at helping you. Just know that you will get through it and it will pass. If you have any ?s PM me.

Also just remember people around you will have a hard time understanding what you are going through. You need to remeber that any frustration or anger you sense is simply people like your dad having a hard time with your situation. It is so hard to try and help someone you care about get through something like this. All you want to do is take away their pain and it just isnt possible. He has hope for the meds and when you seem to doubt them it makes him unsure of your willingness to get better. Just know it will pass and be greatful of good family and friends.
 
Hardly relevant, but my cat is on it because it had some territorial problems. He is much more social and less scared of loud noises. Somewhat interesting to see animals on mess because they arnt imagining they are feeling a way that they are not.
 
I think you have to take it for a while for it to work. Like you won't notice anything within the first week or so. I think I took it for a little bit then said fuck it. Pooped some of my buddies prozac once and it made me feel like I was tripping kind of, mentally at least
 
Yea man I am pretty sure I have ADD but fuck the pills and the bullshit. I medicate myself with alcohol. Its cheaper easier and makes for a more pleasant time.
 
My best friend went on a different SSRI (paxil maybe?) and after a couple weeks of nausea and essentially not eating was forced to stop before she could see if it actually was helping with her anxiety.

That said a couple of my friends have had good luck with anti-depressants. Basically what I've gotten from them is that you can't expect the drug to make the changes for you and magically make you better, it'll just make it easier for you to make the changes yourself.
 
I take gapapentin which, is Gaba I guess..

Its ok, I don't really notice a difference. Maybe its more of a mental anxiety thing. I don't even think you can OD on it either. Its a really lowkey drug (or maybe my tolerance is just skyhigh). I'm prescribed 1400mg a day, but I have taken up to 8000mg at once. Its kind of a goofy feel, like you laugh at stupid shit and just want to be with people. Kinda fun.
 
How long till I would notice something's different? I'm a week in, feel pretty good, I don't know if that has to do with the meds or not. Ideally I don't want to have to take them if I don't have too because of the side affects
 
There is really no conclusive proof of chemical imbalances being related to any mental illness. The truth is, we have no idea what the cause of the problems is, but we know that therapy/counselling can be a huge aid. That doesn't mean that people that are diagnosed with mental illness are messed up in any way, it actually means exactly the opposite; they are perfectly normal, functioning human beings, that are having a great deal of trouble with some aspect of their life.
http://www.anxietyguru.net/the-truth-about-chemical-imbalance-theory-and-antidepressants/

Hope I didn't offend anyone but the truth is that chemical imbalances are an idea that have been outdated since about 1965. Obviously drugs can be very useful for these kinds of things but in the end you're taking the drugs as a supplement to your counselling/therapy. Its not a solution, just an aid. Taking psychotropic drugs and not going to counselling is like taking creatine and not working out. The results are less than stellar.

Besides, if any of these drugs actually did what they were supposed to we would only have one SSRI or whatever because it would work for everyone with the same problem. But everyone can benefit from counselling.
 
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