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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Joy on July 20, 2001, at 21:52:31
I am taking 60 mgs of Prozac. My boyfriend of 5 months broke off with me by phone with no real explanation. I did not freak out, have terrible anxiety, cry, go nuts, etc. because of the Prozac. I felt 'insulated' and ready to move on without any bad feelings about him. {He treated me well the whole time]. Even though I don't feel very different, I am amazed at my handling emotionally of this matter. I still have feelings of joy and caring, but I don't go overboard anymore. Just wanted to post a positive piece.
Joy
Posted by SalArmy4me on July 21, 2001, at 1:20:00
In reply to Supportive of Prozac, posted by Joy on July 20, 2001, at 21:52:31
Be ever vigilant: God forbid you suffer a relapse, be ready with augmentation ideas like Lithium, buspirone, or pindolol: http://www.med.nyu.edu/Psych/aug/
Posted by JohnL on July 21, 2001, at 4:36:40
In reply to Supportive of Prozac, posted by Joy on July 20, 2001, at 21:52:31
> I am taking 60 mgs of Prozac. My boyfriend of 5 months broke off with me by phone with no real explanation. I did not freak out, have terrible anxiety, cry, go nuts, etc. because of the Prozac. I felt 'insulated' and ready to move on without any bad feelings about him. {He treated me well the whole time]. Even though I don't feel very different, I am amazed at my handling emotionally of this matter. I still have feelings of joy and caring, but I don't go overboard anymore. Just wanted to post a positive piece.
> JoyHi Joy,
I can definitely relate. In my opinion, and it is just my opinion, Prozac is still the most time-tested antidepressant there is, and is much better in a lot of ways than all the other copycat ADs. Prozac has worked wonders for me too, and I kick myself in the butt every time I think of all the other dozens of drugs I tried first before I tried Prozac. Prozac should have been the very first drug on the list, and I wonder why I didn't try it earlier. I guess we all like to think the newer copycat ADs have something new or special to offer compared to the older ones. But they don't. I think the psychiatric world would be a whole lot more successful if all we had to choose from in the AD category was Prozac first, Zoloft second, Effexor third. If none of them worked out, then move on to antipyschotics and stimulants and forget about other ADs. Just my opinion.Like you, I am very supportive of Prozac. It is the standard to which all others should be compared.
John
Posted by sar on July 21, 2001, at 9:04:17
In reply to Re: Supportive of Prozac, posted by JohnL on July 21, 2001, at 4:36:40
I love Prozac.
Posted by Roo on July 23, 2001, at 7:40:08
In reply to Re: Supportive of Prozac, posted by sar on July 21, 2001, at 9:04:17
Me too, just to add to the poll. It's been a great
drug for me. I have taken it for 7 or 8 years, however,
and just recently I have wondered if it's "pooped out"
on me. It's strange, I can tell when I go off, I get
depressed again, and I go back on and feel better, but
still...I don't know...it seems like it's enough for
maintanence, for my every day self...but if a crisis
hits, it dosen't seem to be enough to keep me from going
down too deep. I've tried a higher dose (doubling
it at 40 mg's, but it didn't seem to make a difference).
I've wondered about augmenting it, but I'm not sure with
what.
Posted by Joy on July 23, 2001, at 8:46:22
In reply to Re: Supportive of Prozac, posted by Roo on July 23, 2001, at 7:40:08
I am on 60 mgs after being on 40 mgs a few months. I feel insulated from emotional pain and can live much better now. Some people say to add a tiny bit of naltrexone; a few add Buspar with some success [not everybody]. Also, a little Zyprexa added has helped. Discuss with your doctor. Good luck.
Joy> Me too, just to add to the poll. It's been a great
> drug for me. I have taken it for 7 or 8 years, however,
> and just recently I have wondered if it's "pooped out"
> on me. It's strange, I can tell when I go off, I get
> depressed again, and I go back on and feel better, but
> still...I don't know...it seems like it's enough for
> maintanence, for my every day self...but if a crisis
> hits, it dosen't seem to be enough to keep me from going
> down too deep. I've tried a higher dose (doubling
> it at 40 mg's, but it didn't seem to make a difference).
> I've wondered about augmenting it, but I'm not sure with
> what.
Posted by Marie1 on July 23, 2001, at 10:53:14
In reply to Re: Supportive of Prozac, posted by Roo on July 23, 2001, at 7:40:08
Roo -
Last year I sunk into a major depression after having switched from Prozac (which was working) to Wellbutrin (which did not). Don't ask me why I switched - long story. Anyway, went back to Prozac, up to 60 mgs. with no relief. Pdoc suggested augmentation with Buspar, and after about a week I felt considerably better. My pdoc says he has had a lot of success using Buspar to kick start Prozac. I do not have anxiety; the Buspar was not intended to help that - just depression. Maybe it will work for you too.Marie
Posted by JohnL on July 24, 2001, at 2:02:33
In reply to Re: Supportive of Prozac, posted by Roo on July 23, 2001, at 7:40:08
Hi Roo,
I know what you mean about the crisis thing. Even though I am 98% well, I have come to realize I am susceptible to negative real life situations. For example, an unexpected money problem, or an unexpected hand slap from my boss at work, stuff like that. I can fall rather fast, but thankfully it doesn't last long. The way I look at it is that this is what normal people experience anyway, so I'm at least glad to be back in the normal category.For those temporary dips I have found Amisulpride to be highly successful at lifting me up back up again. The cool thing is that it always works the very first day. I only need about 25mg for one or two days to get me back to goodness again. And then it lasts for weeks until another crisis comes along. But like you, Prozac alone does not protect me from those crisis situations.
In my own opinion and my own experience the best augment drugs to go with Prozac are Zyprexa 5mg, and/or Adrafinil 300mg. I also really like Amisulpride, as I mentioned above, but from what others have said the European source I used now requires a prescription. I have not verified that. However, I do know there are other sources. I got mine about a year ago from a place in Germany mailorder. I don't even remember the name. But I found it by doing some online searches with stuff like "Amisulpride+German+farmacia", or "Solian+farmacia", or something along those lines. Any European country could be used in a search. Then, once a couple possibilities had been uncovered, I simply emailed them asking if they could supply me with Amisulpride.
At the time I got 100 pills of 200mg each, but I only do 25mg during crisis times, so obviously my supply will last a long long time, and I accidentally lost the info of where I got it. Some place in Germany is all I remember. But the point is I think Amisulpride is the absolute best augmentator for Prozac, but will require some creative online searching to find it. My second favorite augmentator is Zyprexa, closely followed by Adrafinil. All the other stuff like Buspar, Pindolol, tricyclics, Wellbutrin, etc etc are absolute crap in comparison to any of these drugs I mentioned. Mileage varies of course, but that is just my experience. \
John> Me too, just to add to the poll. It's been a great
> drug for me. I have taken it for 7 or 8 years, however,
> and just recently I have wondered if it's "pooped out"
> on me. It's strange, I can tell when I go off, I get
> depressed again, and I go back on and feel better, but
> still...I don't know...it seems like it's enough for
> maintanence, for my every day self...but if a crisis
> hits, it dosen't seem to be enough to keep me from going
> down too deep. I've tried a higher dose (doubling
> it at 40 mg's, but it didn't seem to make a difference).
> I've wondered about augmenting it, but I'm not sure with
> what.
Posted by Jocor on July 25, 2001, at 10:49:10
In reply to Supportive of Prozac, posted by Joy on July 20, 2001, at 21:52:31
Hi Joy,
I support Prozac too. I switched to Effexor in 1995 because I was too tired on Prozac but now I am trying to go back to Prozac because the Effexor is not working as well anymore. I hated Effexor - more side effects like increased sweating at night, weird dreams and BAD withdrawal symptoms.
Jocor
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