Questions about Anti-Depressants

[Ed.]

I was wondering if anyone could answer me a few questions on medication?

First off, I'm British, living in England, UK.

Well its taken me like 4 or 5 years but ive managed to get myself to the doctors to get some help. Well, actually this is the second time Ive been, but this time im determined to actually do something heh.

So basically the doctor gave me two options, medication or counselling, i mean fair enough the guy is just a GP afterall.

But what got me was how easy it was for him to offer me medication :ohmy:

I mean, I don't really know much about it, but seriously, potentially mind altering drugs that easily? wow.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, he gave me a prescription for some Fluoxetine (prozac) and I have to see him again in a weeks time, now I don't have to actually get this medication, it is up to me to decide if I need it or not.

***Thing is, i know how i am, i know that i secretly want to just pill myself up to the eyeballs and forget about life, and just get on with it.

But, I see this as a short term solution, I really want to sort things out proper, but I just cant do it now =(

I want to take this medication, but my suspicions and that-sense-of-things-not-quite-right is going crazy, especially when I explained that I was starting to get scared of going outside, and doing easy tasks, he said it could cause some anxiety in the first week or so, I mean like... thats the last thing I need... thats what got my suspiscions set off, something wasnt quite right.

I mean, it was just given to me, seriously, I get hay-fever medicine harder than this, and i get told "dont drink, dont drive" etc, but with AD's, it was just given to me.

I hear doc's get paid more for prescribing it, but that might just be somebody elses conspiracy theory...

Anyway, to the actual drug itself, I'm secretly scared of it, my girlfriend/exgf/*sigh* her. tells me when she was taking it she cant even remember those years of her life, it turns you into a zombie?

I've taken various mind altering substances in my life, and I know how chemicals can FUCK your brain, I feel lucky that I noticed this early and cut that shit out, but this medication has got me a bit worried.

I would really like some replys, if anyone could tell me about their own experiences with Fluoxtine (Prozac, Sarafem, Fontex are same thing, just trade names) Please, if it changed your life for the better or worse I would like to know.
Also, it would be great to hear some first time experiences, how does it work? how does it feel?

Thanks.

 

[gakky1]

I've never taken Prozac but have taken many other kinds of meds. Have heard that it'll take more than a week really for meds to have their desired effect, you may feel a bit different at first but it'll take a while before your whole body adjusts to it, for me it did. Did start feeling better after a while but over the years I'll bet everyone has been like me where the dosage ends up getting changed, probably higher and you switch to a different med or maybe another one will be added in. They do work but they'll work so much better if there's another plan to go along with them such as some sort of treatment, actually treatment and meds should go hand in hand. That's my two cents worth, sure a few others will be able to enlighten you even better.

 

[Ed.]

You have any negative effects from them?

 

[tweetypie]

Hi please please dont be afraid of taking antidepressants ...prozac is a very good one for most people. It wont alter your mind or make you "pilled up" tho. When you get the right antidepressant it just gives you the ability to carry on and cope with the things that life throws at you which when you are depressed they pile up instead of being dealt with. Doctors are much more sympathetic these days to people asking for help initially as its very hard for people to admit they need help. Usually its the extra help after that that is hard to get. I would not want to encourage you to take these tablets if you dont want to but definately no need to be worried about taking them. I have had prozac myself and would take them again in a heartbeat. The only side effect i got was restless legs and it passed very quickly. If you look in the therapy and medication section of the forum there are some threads on prozac/fluoxetine xxx

 

[eagle]

Prozac doesn't make you a zombie, so don't worry about that.

Medication can lift your mood slightly so that other therapies can work or it might just give you that lift that you need. Talk to people here about their experiences.

I took Prozac for 5 months. It didn't help me much and there weren't many side effects from it, apart from the taste *yuk* i was on the liquid suspension.

I would recommend going into it with an open mind and you will get the best results. If the first one you try doesn't work, there are always many more out there. I would also recommend looking up how they work.

 

[kreative1]

Here in Australia, you just walk into a GP's office, tell'em you sick and tired, and leave with the meds, I know about 8 people that done that. Happened to me bout 10-11 years ago, walked out with Aeropax, f**k, even came out with a mouse pad, pen and note paper. WTF, now, I'm on my 5th or 6th different med, sadly it's a trial and error process with many people. I finally got diagnosed (they think), given according med's after spending few days in a low dep unit, was told the meds my GP gave me were dangerously wrong. research and a second opinion is best bet before you start taking med's.

 

[Mr. E]

There is a lot of variability in how an individual will react to different drugs. You should try it out first and see how you respond to it. Wellbutrin (Bupropion) is the only one that has worked well for me with virtually no negative experiences. It's an atypical anti-depressant, not an SSRI but just as effective with fewer side effects.