Prozac Problem!

December 21, 2007 5:32 AM

Prozac filter: I've just been told by my long time psychologist that she feels Prozac may be helpful to me. (Have read previous answers on the topic...)

I was diagnosed with Dsythymia some years ago and don't know anything about the real world effects of Prozac. Am waiting for my next appointment to talk to my psych about it (have wiki'ed and googled endlessly). It seems like such a big-name drug to me, and I worry about holding down my chaotic corporate job on such a drug. Would love to hear both positive and negative experiences to go to my psych with.
Thanks in advance.

posted by Rubyspicer to Health & Fitness (18 answers total)

I have dysthymia, and prozac was initially helpful to me. In fact, it was so helpful that I had the feeling that I really hadn't realized how depressed I was until I experienced life on the drug (I'd "been so down it looked like up to me.") After a while it seemed less helpful, and my shrink and I moved on to other things, finally settling on Wellbutrin.

YMMV, but I found the side-effects of Prozac minimal: a frequently dry mouth, occasional nausea (which was easily managed with yogurt), and delayed ejaculation syndrome (which is not without its benefits). I didn't suffer from decreased libido or the blah feeling people sometimes describe.

If you take this and you're not happy with it, be sure to tell your caregiver and get him or her to work with you on tuning the dose and choice of medication. Everyone has different reactions, but there is probably an SSRI out there for you.
posted by ubiquity at 5:48 AM on December 21, 2007

On rereading, I should mention that I also have a chaotic corporate job.
posted by ubiquity at 5:49 AM on December 21, 2007

I took Prozac for several years, while working with a psychiatrist on the major depression that hit me after ending an 18-year relationship. I loved it! My mood elevated within two weeks, I could function at work, I wasn't angry and sad all the time. Weekly therapy certainly helped, too.

You might read Peter D. Kramer's book "Listening to Prozac" while waiting for your appointment.
posted by Carol Anne at 5:57 AM on December 21, 2007

I've got dysthymia. My doctor tried wellbutrin xl (I ended up being allergic to it) and then I switched to Lexapro. It's been an eye opening experience. Like ubiquity - until I was on medication I had NO idea how depressed I'd always been.

Getting properly medicated has helped me in being far more productive than I ever was before.

Try the prozac. It's either going to help you or not. If it doesn't then there are other options out there.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 6:04 AM on December 21, 2007

Response by poster: I should have mentioned in my original post that any recommended reading on the topic is much appreciated - Thanks Carol Anne.

Also - ubiquity your candor is much appreciated. x
posted by Rubyspicer at 6:04 AM on December 21, 2007

Another person with dysthymia here. Prozac is only one of a plethora of recently developed antidepressants (selective serotonin uptake inhibitors and selective norephinephrine uptake inhibitors or SSRIs and SNRIs) that have really improved the lives of people with depression and dysthymia. The common wisdom is that, if one does not work or gives you strange side effects, another will -- but you need to give them up to six weeks to show total improvement. That being said, I felt the improvement after two days.

I have a chaotic, high-pressure job (teaching faculty at a small but mighty university), and I don't think I would have made tenure two years ago had I not been on antidepressants. Before antidepressants, I felt like I had a big weight on my shoulders dragging me down all the time, and my daily job duties felt like someone was throwing me live cats (unclawed) to juggle (which was hard enough to do without the weight on my shoulders). The meds were, and are, a miracle as far as I'm concerned. Many people's opposition to antidepressants are that they somehow make you "less you" by moderating your mood chemistry. I have found them to enable me to be the best me I can be.
posted by lleachie at 6:15 AM on December 21, 2007

I've been put on prozac a couple of times and it does absolutely nothing for me. It doesn't work for everyone, if your lucky, your doctor will work with you to find something that does. It takes 4-6 weeks to reach full effectiveness so your doctor will probably keep you on it for a couple of months before deciding whether or not it is effective for you.

It shouldn't negatively affect your ability to do your job. I'm not sure what you're worried about there, what is it about the drug that you feel will hurt your ability to hold down your' chaotic corporate job'.

Whilst the side-effects listed on the box can look scary, most are uncommon, if you're really suffering - to the extent that it is affecting your daily life, your doctor will try something else.
posted by missmagenta at 6:30 AM on December 21, 2007

Response by poster: MissMagenta - "what is it about the drug that you feel will hurt your ability to hold down your' chaotic corporate job"
Mainly that I worry about being 'cloudy' or not quite with it, although looking at it realistically being this depressed impairs my job ability already....
:-)
posted by Rubyspicer at 6:57 AM on December 21, 2007

I've been on Prozac for about 16 years, for depression. Initially, for a few months, some restless leg syndrome, now gone. Decreased libido (win some, lose some). Flattening, or clamping down, of emotional experience, which, frankly, at 72, I've mostly forgotten about. It got me through the last 10 years of a meaningless corpoprate job, and has continued to hold up well through 7 years of retirement. For me, after trying 4 or 5 other types of antidepressant, it works.
posted by rasputin400 at 7:18 AM on December 21, 2007

The only effect Prozac had on me for the month or two I was on it was to make me so consistently nauseous that I ate practically nothing and lost 10lb. Whether you think that's a good thing or not is up to you. Other antidepressants served me better for actually helping the depression.

Don't get all freaked out by it being a 'big name drug'. It's just another antidepressant.
posted by corvine at 7:33 AM on December 21, 2007

I take Zoloft for dysthymia in conjunction with therapy and it's been quite helpful. Be aware that tapering off of it, should you ever want to, can be a little hard. I didn't know that when I started, but I'd do it again even knowing. If you're near Arlington, VA and ever looking for a new therapist, btw, I have a great one I can recommend.
posted by callmejay at 9:12 AM on December 21, 2007

not sure if this happens with prozac, but when i started lexapro for something similar, i felt sort of dizzy and stupid for about two weeks. it does go away...maybe the time to start is over the holidays (when we're all a little dizzy and stupid anyway) so you can dive back into work in the new year with a couple of weeks' experience under your belt.
posted by thinkingwoman at 10:32 AM on December 21, 2007

I had side effects from Prozac - panic attacks - and switched to zoloft. It's been very effective, and I tolerate it well. Make sure your doctor is experienced with anti-depressants, and see a meds specialist if necessary. Pharmacists are generally helpful, although I just found a not-very-helpful one for the 1st time ever. Be persistent.
posted by theora55 at 10:36 AM on December 21, 2007

I take generic Prozac for anxiety attacks, and it's worked wonders. My anxiety attacks are basically completely gone. Sometimes I'll forget to take it for several days, start getting the anxiety attacks, and go "I can't believe I used to live like this."

I've taken Prozac for about a year. I took Lexapro for a year before that, but switched to generic Prozac because of the much lower cost. Lexapro also worked well, and I've had no side effects with either (except perhaps some weight gain, which could also be caused by lifestyle changes, and maayybe some mild sexual effects). Starting SSRIs was scary for me at first because I was expecting to feel wildly different once I started taking them, but in truth the change is so gradual that you only notice it after it happens.
posted by Burns Ave. at 1:22 PM on December 21, 2007

Prozac worked for me (mild-moderate, long-term depression). It did have a few costs - lowered libido and lowered inhibitions. This second one is worth bearing in mind with regards to your job - I found myself saying and doing some rather stupid things, that I might not have done before I went on the prozac. Some self-monitoring could be wise.

Also, I found that I was significantly worse off mentally for the few weeks after I began the prozac - I got worse before I got better.
posted by Infinite Jest at 1:41 PM on December 21, 2007

I was in a very similar situation a few years ago. Prozac did not make me cloudy or have mental-acuity side effects after the first 7-10 days. In that initial settling-in period I did find myself very jittery and not getting a lot of sleep, which was not ideal since I was in the thick of college final exams. If I ever have to go back on it again, I will probably see if I can find some way to take a little time off the first week I'm on it.

Once that initial jittery thing wore off, the only lasting side effect was a lowered libido. And at least for me, it's not as if I had been so terribly in the mood anyway given the mental state that sent me to the meds in the first place.

Around the time I started taking Prozac, I read Lauren Slater's Prozac Diary and was completely stunned at how clearly it described my experience in a way I still haven't seen anyone else do in all the years since. Might be worth taking a look at if you're wondering what it might be like for you, although it's all very individual how anyone reacts to a particular antidepressant.
posted by Stacey at 2:25 PM on December 21, 2007

Response by poster: Many thanks to everyone for your responses. I now have a list of things to discuss with my psych next week, and I'm a lot less freaked out than I was.

Happy Christmas.
posted by Rubyspicer at 3:10 AM on December 22, 2007

Take a look at CrazyMeds. It's one of the best websites for giving you non-doctorspeak information about all kinds of "head meds".

I've been on Prozac for about six months now. I never had the fuzzy brain problem, although it did do some weird stuff to my hair. It did take quite a while to achieve the correct dosage but that may be due to the fact I have a conservative psychiatrist.

Oh, and one added bonus - Generic Prozac is one of the meds you can get for $4 at Wal-Mart. So, if it doesn't work, you aren't out much money.

Good luck!
posted by Serena at 8:52 PM on December 23, 2007