Posted by Dr. Bob on June 9, 2003, at 3:33:04
In reply to hello, new to the board, posted by lucy_fyrr on June 8, 2003, at 23:33:36
> hi everyone, I've read over a couple of random threads over the past month or so, and now I'm just about ready to post my own.
> Here it goes...
> I have a long history of depression, anxiety, marked by several nervous and emotional breakdowns. Currently, I'm on Prozac, and unlike other times, I do not see a psychiatrist. (Hopefully, though, I will find a psychiatrist once I get back home from my vacation)
> I'm not very trusting of drugs, but I got to a very low point at which I was very desperate so I agreed to try this Prozac. During this low point, I had a flood of suicidal thoughts interchanged with cravings for cocaine or amphetamines. I generally have a bad relationship with drugs of most sorts. I become easily addicted.
> Anyhow, I went to my reg. doctor to see my blood test results. (I had gotten a blood test done because I recently put on quite a bit of weight during a short period of time). The doc told me my results were fine, so I admit that the weight gain must have been due to my depression... my doc suggested Prozac.
> She took a look at my body, and weighed me. She claimed that Prozac would help me lose some weight and that it should help. I had never before been told that I needed to lose some weight, it was always quite the opposite. I was anorexic on and off for about three and a half years, and only lately did I recover. I am currently (what I think is) a normal weight (5'7, 127lbs.) I don't want to fall back into my awful obsession of exercising and counting calories, but then again, I don't want to put on anymore weight. I've already gained 20lbs over the past year and a half, I don't know if I could handle anymore. It's very depressing to see my body become fatter.
> I've only been on prozac for 2 weeks so I'm not feeling very much yet. I've been sleeping a lot more than usual, and my mind was a little cloudy the first couple of days, but otherwise nothing physical has changed significantly. My depression has cooled down a bit. I don't have half as many suicidal thoughts, but my outlook isn't exactly the most sunny. But I guess I prefer feeling some sadness than not being able to tap into that part of me at all.
> Last year I was on Effexor, but I took myself off of it after 3 months because it was making me numb. I was not able to feel anger or sadness. I don't know if my dose was too high, but nevertheless I didn't react to it well.
> I apologize now for my excessively long post.
> But there's a question of sorts in here...
> I am feeling nearly like myself, but I am not sure if it would be a good idea to be on prozac for an extended period of time? if I should try to deal without it? or if I should take it during times when I need it?
> It would be great to hear about anyone else's experiences with coming off of prozac, or any other experiences with any SSRIs. I am a university student, so i'm very concerned with how SSRIs may affect concentration skills, or anything study-related.
> This forum is a great idea, and thanks for reading if you got this far.
> bye for now.
poster:Dr. Bob
thread:232552
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030604/msgs/232552.html