Side effect question

[fireheart]

I'm hoping this question is ok, I did read the pages and this falls into the "possible" section. The reason why I'm asking is that I want to hear from other people's experiences as well about this.

So I've been in the hospital the last 2 days. End result: referral to a state-funded emergency mental health clinic, referral to an eating disorders unit and continued visits with my psychologist and GP. Either the eating disorder clinic or the GP are going to refer me onto a dietician and I'm going to ask about weight monitoring through them.

On top of all of this, they also would like to put me on Prozac. I've been doing some reading and asking questions from the GP, the psych doctors and nurses and whatnot, but I'd like to hear what people have experienced while on it (in Australia it's called Lovan or Fluor-something). So far I'm going for it, but I'm a little worried about the effect it'll have on weight and appetite and if I end up in the paradoxical situation.

[Sapphire Silk]

Fluoxetine is the generic name.

I've taken Prozac. I had a little bit of nausea (very mild) that lasted a few days and then it went away. I found that it made my affect really flat . . . in English, I didn't have a lot of emotional variation. I didn't have much emotion at all.

I didn't care for that. So, I talked to my doctor and eventually went on a different anti-depressant.

I think you should go ahead and try it, even if my side effects lack appeal. You may not suffer those side effects. Also, it may regulate your moods long enough for you to get therapy, which is the preferred treatment for most mental health issues. For me, anti-depressants were a short term solution; they are for many people.

Prozac is a good anti-depressant, works very well and is inexpensive. So it's definitely worth a shot.

[fireheart]

Ok thanks sapphire. Did you notice any weight loss at all?

[Sapphire Silk]

Ok thanks sapphire. Did you notice any weight loss at all?

No, the nausea didn't last long enough to stop me from eating enough to lose weight.

[laborcat]

I've been off and on Prozac for a number of years. Always before, I've taken it with Wellbutrin. This last time I'm on it alone, and it sucked the sex drive right out of me, which is depressing in it's own right. I stopped taking it for a while and it did help a little but I turned into a raging hosebeast once I started PMSing and was not-so-politely asked to please resume my antidepressants. I'm talking to my doctor at my next appointment to switch it out to something else.

[Rock Lobster]

I gained 40 pounds and was paranoid about everything. This is a serious drug please have your doctor monitor you closely.

[Seshat]

There's a shelf-full of antidepressants available; most of which are covered under the PBS*.
(*An Australian project which ensures that medication is affordable to the average Aussie. Fireheart being Aussie, this matters. )

Go ahead and try the fluoxetine. If you don't already have a regular pharmacist, develop a habit of going to the same pharmacy and chatting with the pharmacist about new meds.
Talk with both your doctor and your pharmacist about changes (physical, mental, emotional - and yes, sex-drive wise) you notice with it.

There will be a transitionary period (an 'uptake' period) during which you might have more severe side-effects. During my uptake period with Cymbalta, I suffered sleep deprivation: severe insomnia. Now the uptake is over, you can pry my Cymbalta from my cold, dead hands. It helps me stay sane and with reduced pain, and it's my PRECIOUSSSSSS.

DO talk to your doctor and/or pharmacist about uptake symptoms; both of mine gently scolded me for enduring the insomnia as long as I did. Gave me tablets to counteract it, I got sleep (yay sleep!), and then the uptake period ended and all was well.
Most of the time uptake is smooth. None of my other uptake periods were anything like that.

If the fluoxetine is wrong for you, knowing the uptake symptoms and the reasons you're finding it unsatisfactory will help them know which alternatives to try.

There's multiple families of antidepressants (a 'family' acts on the same or similar part of the neurochemistry or neural anatomy); sometimes a patient needs to switch families entirely. Sometimes you just need to try a different drug in the same family. Knowing your symptoms and problems helps them figure out which option to choose - and which other family or other drug to try.

Sadly, we can't just do a blood test with psychoactive drugs the way we can with some others: the body protects the brain with a special filter that separates brain-blood from body-blood. And drilling a hole in the skull just to get some brain-blood is considered overkill. :P

[fireheart]

Thanks Seshat.

I've been on SSRI's before (I was on Lexapro) but didn't like the sexual dysfunction that came from it.

My main issues with most medications seem to be:

-weight gain (see my latest threads on fratching and in off topic for more about why)

-sex drive or lack thereof (which has been happening OFF of the meds anyway, but we've acknowledged it and we're tackling it)

-actually remembering to take it and not beating myself up when I DO forget it (the prozac is supposedly meant to be OK that if I skip the occasional dose it won't kill me).

-at the time of me going on said antidepressants last time, it was also the alcohol consumption issue (legal age is 18 and I actually wanted to drink, not be the only forced sober 18-year-old around!). This isn't so much of a problem now since I rarely drink.

-the interaction with other medications. I'm hoping that these won't interfere with the iron tablets I'm on (Ferro-grad ) but I also got sick of having to go to the chemist for the tiniest sniffle when I could actually get the product from the supermarket.

I'm currently on a low income health care card which will reduce the cost of my medications even further (it's just shy of six dollars).

The medication I was on previously was from a different family altogether (a subgroup of the MAOI's called a RIMA, meaning that I didn't have to avoid certain foods).

I'm debating about asking her whether I could go on Wellbutrin (down here it's called Zyban I think) and be monitored for it since it's apparently been known to increase the risk of seizures. I just don't want to come off as a pushy drug seeker

[Seshat]

We're on the health care card as well. Isn't it great to have it when you need it?

If you tell your doctor why you want to go onto Wellbutrin - and have valid information about it - you probably won't come off as pushy. Just educated. Try verifying your info with the pharmacist first.

[Sapphire Silk]

I'm debating about asking her whether I could go on Wellbutrin (down here it's called Zyban I think) and be monitored for it since it's apparently been known to increase the risk of seizures. I just don't want to come off as a pushy drug seeker

Zyban is another brand name for buproprion, the generic name for Wellbutrin. Zyban was developed specifically as marketing for helping people quit smoking, but it's the same drug. My mother took it when she quit; after a while she said she just didn't want a cigarette anymore and stopped smoking. She took it for another couple of years after that, then weaned off it and never wanted another cigarette.

I took Wellbutrin for a couple of years for depression, and it worked fairly well. The only side effect I had to deal with was a loss of body hair. The same thing happened to my mother as well, so it may be genetic. I've been off Wellbutrin for about 4 years now, and it's only partially grown back in.

On the upside, I don't have to shave my legs in the summer anymore

There's a big difference between being well educated about your medications, and wanting the best med that will work for you, and being pushy. We typically talk about drug seeking behaviors when we talk about addictive medications like opiates, benzodiazapenes, barbiturates, and the like.

Plenty of people have concerns about Prozac, so I doubt your doctor will view that as pushy. The concerns are valid and realistic, as they are for any medications no matter what the use. A frank discussion of the pros and cons is a GOOD thing.

[Gizmo]

Prozac is a nasty one. Completely mucked up my sleep schedules and sent my brain on waves off really high to really low quite often within minutes. I was on it for body temperature issues and it didn't really work. I don't remember any food related side effects.

I'm currently on Citalopram and for me thats hell as well - headaches, weird sleep cycles and makes TV sound even more hallocogenic than before (didn't help that it was an episode of Futurama which was hallocogenic to even the 'normal' members of the household. I also have a nice attraction to fire and hubbys latest pile of collectables that aren't worth anything. This stuff better do something when it starts 'kicking in' in about 3 weeks or I'll be majorly unhappy.

I also have been having to push myself to eat - and I was only eating about 1.5 meals a day in the month leading up to starting these. Right now I'd happily eat none.

One thing to watch that no one tells you: If you are suicidal or having certain thoughts/patterns these drugs can make you worse at first for 3-4 days. Hence why I'm on suicide watch atm (even though they've both gone out today but with orders to contact the lodger asap if I feel bad). This is also why I'm itching to play with fire.... Ideally you need someone watching you. I know this because my friend and lodger actually did try to commit suicide whilst on them because he wasn't warning. (FYI: For anyone following my situation - Hubby didn't even blink or respond when told this).

Edit: and now the nausea is kicking it. wonderful.

[klhanson]

I was on celexa for a while and i loved it.. now i'm on a newer medication called Latuda which is absolutely amazing.. prozac is the one med i havent been on..

[Seshat]

There's a big difference between being well educated about your medications, and wanting the best med that will work for you, and being pushy. We typically talk about drug seeking behaviors when we talk about addictive medications like opiates, benzodiazapenes, barbiturates, and the like.

My doctor's office has a sign up which states "we do not prescribe drugs of addiction" - and lists two of the drug categories I'm on. I once asked Dr Ganga about that, and she shrugged and said "you need them, and I don't have any better options for you."

The sign is there to deter the genuine drug-seekers; not those who genuinely need the drugs to function.

[Mishi]

The sign is there to deter the genuine drug-seekers; not those who genuinely need the drugs to function.

Our doctor has a similar one, but it's about drugs that contain codeine and psuedoephedrine. I know that they still do prescribe those drugs, but we (read - Rugz) haven't needed them and so haven't asked. Also, I really hate being allergic to codeine. Not only does it seem to be in EVERYTHING, but it also marks me as being a drugseeker to medical staff that don't know me.

Back on topic - I'm not sure about food/appetite-related side effects, but my brother was on Prozac for a while. It caused suicidal ideation where he previously had none, so he spoke to his doctor and changed medication. I'm not sure what he's on now, but it's working pretty well.

[Primer]

Everybody is different. Give it a try and see what happens. Prozac saved my life, and is the only thing that has really worked for me.

I was (finally) diagnosed with major depression in 1988. We tried a few other antidepressants that were available at the time, but none really worked very well. When we tried Prozac, I was able to rejoin the world and handle whatever came my way.

Recently, my pain management doctor tried me on Cymbalta, instead, as it's supposed to have a side effect of helping with chronic pain. Not only did it NOT help with my pain, I was having episodes of pure unadulterated rage for absolutely no reason. Needless to say, I'm back on the Prozac.

I'll live with the flat affect and the decreased libido. I don't believe it affected my weight any. I can pinpoint other issues that have lead to my obesity. At least I'm not constantly depressed any more.