Tuesday, I'm supposed to go to a residential treatment center. I started prozac two days ago. I've had chest pains since yesterday morning, so for today he lowered my dose. Still have them. Other side effects I have are more common; Anxiety, Emotional paralysis, like inertia, I just can't do anything, don't feel like doing anything. I'm having so much trouble with them. There's also my head. It feels like mush, like stuck in molasses or a zombie underwater. Im just really out of it and cant think straight. Im really afraid they're going to get in the way of me getting better, I won't be myself and able to act and participate in my own treatment.
My psychiatrist had a long serious discussion about this. There were two options. Either I go up on nothing and let the facility determine if I need meds, or him, being my doctor who knows me and my history make that decision. He thought I needed to be on something to guard against my depression. So we chose prozac (I've been on everything else).
So here's my dilemma. Do I stay on prozac and hope my side effects aren't as bad, or go off and go to the treatment center without a regular antidepressant (im still on lithium, Lamictal, buspar and klonopin). The last two aren't even touching my anxiety.
My therapist said that Going up there without a major antidepressant we'll be able to see what my true baseline is and what I really need to work on. At the same time, I might meltdown without the prozac and the facility will have to put me on something and I'd have to adjust to side effects any way. She thinks I should listen to my doctor, he knows me best. By staying on prozac now, I would have a minimum week head start adjusting. And you have to give these drugs months to work and build up in your system anyway.
The problem is, I don't want to stay on prozac now. I know it's only been two days. But these side effects are killing me. I need to get away from the paralysis. I want to feel again. I want to cry normally (not suicidal) again. Maybe Emotional blunting starts after to days, I don't know. I know I should listen to my doctor but I know how I feel. Maybe I need to give it more time, but that's agony.
So I don't know what to do. I've got to get rid of these side effects. What if I really do need a regular antidepressant, what if adjusting to prozac really does get in the way of my treatment. My wife tells me not to worry about that. They must see it all the time. But what the hell do I do.
Thanks for letting me rant
I know I'm over thinking this and being very indecisive. It's just my nature. I'm just freaking out. Going to danbury is such a big important deal for me. It's my big chance to get better. I just dont want to fuck it up and don't know which way to go.
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Joshgw
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Could you get a second opinion on the meds. Could the ones you're on be causing side effects that contribute to your symptoms making you worse? I'm sorry.Prayer helps some people.
I’m glad you’re going to the residential treatment. I guess my vote would be to stay on the Prozac. What dose are you taking? Could you start slow and titrate up over time?
I am on 20 mg of Prozac daily. I felt the emotional blunting/numbness a lot at first but found that after a while it got better. I’d have to say that as bad as you’ve been feeling, there are worse things than a little emotional blunting for a while if need be!
My boyfriend, who has some similarities to your situation, is on 60 mg of Prozac. He gradually got increased to that point and he is also on Abilify. I do not EVER want to see him off the Prozac again, it has helped him a lot. I know you are different people but maybe stick with it for a while? The adjustment is always the hard part.
Thanks for your input. I'm only on 5mg, and I hate the way it makes me feel. My chest pains have pretty much subsided. But I hate the way it makes me feel, it's kind of abstract to explain but it makes my body feel strange, like it's not concretely mine or real. Like a head rush but on your body.I know im not making much sense. my head is mush, hard to concentrate or function. I also get strong bouts of anxiety
The one thing that really concerns me is my suicidal ideation. It's pretty severe and often. My original dilemma was whether I'd be better off trying prozac or taking my chances.
Thanks again for your help. I hope you and your boyfriend are okay.
Hi. First of all, I am very glad to hear that you're going to get more intense help! Secondly, what are you most comfortable with doing (in regard to your question)? This is your body and mind after all. This is just my two cents.
Good luck with the treatment. Keep us posted on how it's going if you want to.
Thanks for the kind words. In regards to your question, I'm just too damn scared. I have a lot of suicidal ideation and I wish I knew what the right answer was.
I get it. I really do. It is really scary when you don't even know what is happening with you. I hope things work out for the best. Trust the process and that you will be in safe hands.
No worries. Of course everyone tells me something different. I have a history of jumping from drug to drug just because of this reason. I don't think I've been on a drug for longer than 3 months. Maybe 4. Prozac is the last one I haven't been on. Some were legitimate, trintellix wasn't helping my suicidal ideation fast enough and I just couldn't take it. The exception was on lexapro for at least 16 years and it just pooped out and stopped working. I tried it again and it was awful.
The hope is prozac would take care of the anxiety and buspar and klonopin would disappear. I've been on every ssri and snri, so I don't have much choice. I've been on Mirtazipine twice. I thought maybe I'd give prozac a shot. And I'm only on 5mg. I thought maybe I'd give it a chance to work. I'm supposed to be at the facility on Tuesday. I could just dump it cold turkey, my doctor I'd away until Monday and that doesn't mean I'll get to him, plus I'm traveling.
Good morning 🙏 I've been on Bupropion 300mg for about a year or so. I think it's doing its job. I'm drowsy alot of the time. My life has been like this roller coaster I rode in Gatlinburg MonsterMine...just crazy. My mom was on Prozac for 30 yrs or more. She called it her happy pill. My dad wasn't the easiest person to live with. That's part of the reason why I got married at 18, still married since 1984. So I wish you the best with these side effects and that they go away real soon. God Bless You
Thanks. My mom's sister left the house at 19 for the same reason, except it was her mom not her dad. I'm also worried about the emotional blunting. I have a 12 year old I want to spend as much time with as possible. I'm worried I'm not going to feel the joy I once did (making it devastating). I know I'm probably being overly dramatic. I am going to be away for over a month and he'll be almost 13 when I get back.Have you been on anything else, I've done everything else and nothing works.
Yes. I was on Zoloft after Hurricane Katrina. I'm from Metairie, Louisiana on the outskirts of New Orleans. That's why I was in Gatlinburg 1 year. I was on Zoloft during that time. I was practically throwing myself on a coworker. Our kids are all grown. Sarah is 36, Royce is 35 and Carole ann is going to be 32 in December. I also had a baby boy when I was 17. My parents forced me to give him up for adoption. I met him back in 2015. He's autistic, so I believe God was doing what was best. Anyway getting off track 👣 🤪. My best friend from childhood, she's on alot of meds also. She's bipolar. Was in and out of mental institutions. It really effected their children, her and her husband have 4 children. Our kids were effected by my husband's inability to get a job and stay there. All my friend's/ ex coworkers, their husband stayed at their jobs. I should be inability Rubber room. Surprisingly Our kids turned out pretty good. Sarah and Carole ann both went to NSU in Natchitoches Louisiana. Sarah got married on March 17th 2019. Carole ann got married on Jan 4th 2020, right before covid. Our son Royce works at a grocery, he's asst produce Mgr. He's not married or has a girlfriend. He's very moody can't really talk to him.I felt guilty when he was a baby. I could go on and on. I'm the main reason our kids stayed on the straight and narrow. .When we first got married he was in the Navy. He was on restriction around the time I was due to give birth to Sarah. He was stationed on the USS MCKEE in San Diego California. So he went UA after she was born. The captain wouldn't let him stay on shore. The ship was going out to do something. Well she was born 2.12.86, we both flew home on March 10th 1986. Couldn't afford to live out there with the fines, etc. So I've been thru some crazy stuff 😜. We were evicted on our son's 13th birthday in 2000. I'm sure you'll be great. Hang in there. .My husband got an OTH later in May of 1986. I'm now trying to get him benefits. He served, we both struggled because of this one captain who wanted to make an example of my husband. Who my husband told off before being escorted off the ship. Take care . Sorry for being so long in what I was saying.
I am sorry you are going through this. I have had good experiences so far with Prozac. But my best friend had the opposite. I don't remember feeling too much from the 5mg dose starting out. Id def talk with your doctor again. I hope everything gets better and you can start feeling like you again.
Thank you. It's just making me feel like crap. Headaches, my body feels weird, like I'm not in my own skin. Plus the anxiety is insane. Especially when I wake up and go to sleep. But you like prozac? How long have you been on it, what dose did you get to. Do you feel like you? I feel far from it. I can think straight or concentrate at all or do anything i like. Is your friend still on it? What didn't he/she like about it? I was going to go off it, my Dr has been out since Tuesday and I'm going to the treatment center before I talk to him again. I guess the Dr at the treatment center will have to figure it out.
That is def a terrible feeling. I take 40 mg every morning and it seems to help me with my anxiety and depression. I got some restless leg syndrome every time I had my dose upped. Other than that I have liked it. My friend is no longer on it. It ended up giving her bad panic attacks and she had to be hospitalized for a few days. My friend is now on Lexapro and really likes it. I was also on Lexapro and actually liked it better than Prozac but I was unlucky to gain a bit of weight from it so I switched. I hope you can find a medication that works for you. It really does make a difference.
Thank you. I've been on everything. I was on lexapro for at least 16 years. Then it just pooped out and stopped working. My Dr couldn't stabalise me and i wound up in the hospital. I've been on every ssri and snri, ECT, TMS and ketamine. You're completely right, the right medication does make a difference. I just can't find it. I'm glad you have.
I'm not on an antidepressant. Not everyone needs them. I've got schizo effective, anxiety, PTSD, BPD, suicidalidiation, and with what I just went thru I was just diagnosed with paranoid sichosis. But my DR's decided I don't need an antidepressant. I haven't been on for about the last 10 years and I was first diagnosed 17 years ago this month. Best of Luck and feel free to PC me and follow me.
Are you on any meds? I've had depression/anxiety for around 30 years. Unofficially I have a dependent personality disorder. I was on lexapro for 16 years and it stopped working and I was hospitalized. Since then I've tried everything, even non-med treatment.
How do you deal with all those diagnoses if you're not medicated. I tried the non med route and for me it went badly.
I'm on respidone, lamictal, colonidin, and gabapentin. I've always been monitored. In and out of hospitals, group homes, homeless shelters, and owner. Right now; in fact, I'm in a homeless shelter right now.
I don't like it but I can't get anyone to take me off of it. Been on it for just over 2 years. Can't get off it myself bc I have seizure like symptoms after 3 days of not taking it.
I hope you will get more answers soon that can help make a difference. I have been on multiple meds for approx 25 years….funny, my very first one was Prozac. For me, it really helped bring me back to reality, which was awful initially because when I was so scared and “checked out” that I didn’t want to know the reality of my situation. However, after starting and stopping it several times, I decided I was more suicidal being off of it then on it. Over the years I went to the highest dose, then it was not enough, so I had to add more, including Wellbutrin, Lamictal, and Xanax. But with time, even all these were not enough and my psychiatrist moved me from Prozac to something stronger, and now I take Cymbalta. I have also had to have ECT in the past when things got bad, etc. It is especially hard now that I am 50 because my hormones are changing…..and less estrogen for me means less stress protection. I recently went to see an endocrinologist and am starting to take DHEA…..I understand it is a precursor to estrogen and testosterone….so a precursor hormone replacement therapy, I guess ! Lol…..it’s helped me a lot with anxiety/depression symptoms that make me feel stuck, and feeling tired all the time…I also take about 1/4 of the lowest dose of zyprexa at night. I can only handle this small amount because otherwise it will zonk me out for 24 hrs if I take the regular dose. But I like it because it stops the really severe anxiety I sometimes get at night before I go to bed. (I’m not schizophrenic, but it is said to help people with atypical depression, which I have).
I have taken so many different meds over the years, I have lost track of what they all were….it is a very hard road, I know. I’m sorry u r suffering so much right now. I don’t know the answer for you, but I’m glad U r getting more help….take good care
I started with Paxil and wellbutrin about 20 years ago. Then I switched to lexapro, added lamictal, lithium because I was Suicidal and finally modafinil. For 16 or so years I stayed on that until it pooped out and stopped working. That was may of 2021. My Dr was never able to stabalise Mr and I was hospitalized a year ago. They told me drugs would never help me and refused to treat me and told it was ECT or go home. It was an utter nightmare. I have since done tms and ketamine and every other drug that exists. Nothing works, hence the residential treatment program which I'm afraid won't help either. But I need it to so much. I have to get better. I have a 12 year old, I need to stay alive for him. I want my life back. There are so many things I miss. I don't want to die, but I can't live like this. Life is just one big spiral. I couldn't work right now if I wanted to.
Thank you for your support. Do you feel stable now.? Feel free to PM me anytime
Hi, how are things going? I know you’re nervous about going to this place. Just try it for at least a week or two. When you first get there, ask them if they will allow you to leave after a couple of weeks if you don’t think it’s right for you. See what they say. I’m sorry that you and your wife are having issues. I bet it is hard to explain to your son what you’re doing. I would say tell your son you will keep in touch and call him like, every other day or something like that. I don’t have kids so maybe I don’t have a very good perspective. I know this is difficult, and it’s also the time of year with the holiday season. I personally am just dreading Christmas right now. I feel very stressed out already.
Thanks for your email. I'm scared out of my mind. The thing with my wife is what it is right now. She knows we can't fix anything until I get better. Stefen is a really smart and astute kid. He understands quite a bit. I'll talk to him all the time.
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