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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by slippinaway on February 14, 2004, at 17:46:36
hello,
i'm sure someone out there can answer this for me.
i have been taking prozac for a week now for ocd/depression. i was on paxil but it seemed to stop working and lexapro did nothing more my ocd.
the problem with prozac is i'm beginning to feel like i am a teapot and my insides are boiling over and there's no where for the steam to go!!
i keep flexing my muscles and i feel so tense and revved up that i'm ready to explode.
is this something that goes away or is this just the expected stimulating effect of prozac?
i'd hate to quit it because it really seems to help with my ocd already~~
someone? anyone?
thankyou
Posted by thunder on February 14, 2004, at 21:01:59
In reply to prozac side effect??, posted by slippinaway on February 14, 2004, at 17:46:36
> hello,
> i'm sure someone out there can answer this for me.
> i have been taking prozac for a week now for ocd/depression. i was on paxil but it seemed to stop working and lexapro did nothing more my ocd.
> the problem with prozac is i'm beginning to feel like i am a teapot and my insides are boiling over and there's no where for the steam to go!!
> i keep flexing my muscles and i feel so tense and revved up that i'm ready to explode.
> is this something that goes away or is this just the expected stimulating effect of prozac?
> i'd hate to quit it because it really seems to help with my ocd already~~
> someone? anyone?
> thankyou
I sent a reply, but it didn't show up. Anyway the attitude at the Univ. outpatient clinic where I go is: try to tolerate all side effects that may go away with time. I don't have experience with Prozac, but I almost stopped Effexor many times during the first 4 weeks I was on it due to bad side effects. They all went away or are very minor now. Glad I didn't quit, as it is helping me. I'm surprised that someone with Prozac experience hasn't replied. As you may know this site has a lot of people who will tell you all of the horrible things that antidepressants will do to you , but relatively few who tell of successes.
Just keep that in mind.
Posted by bipolarspectrum on February 14, 2004, at 23:39:24
In reply to Re: prozac side effect??, posted by thunder on February 14, 2004, at 21:01:59
Hi,
I had a similar problem with prozac... i couldn't tolerate the anti-psychotics and therefore augmented prozac with serzone low dose.. It has reduced my anxiety significantly...
Posted by Phil on February 15, 2004, at 0:04:42
In reply to prozac side effect??, posted by slippinaway on February 14, 2004, at 17:46:36
If you started at 20 mg, drop to ten and work up a little slower. Some people here have started at like 2 mg. You can mix it with cranberry juice or something and drink 1/2, and the rest the next day. It never hurt to start low and slow.
A lot of people are very sensitive to meds and don't need much.
Posted by Flipsactown on February 15, 2004, at 8:14:39
In reply to prozac side effect??, posted by slippinaway on February 14, 2004, at 17:46:36
I have been on ADs over 12 years and for a good part of those 12 years I was on prozac. I am currently on 100mg prozac which is 20 mg over the recommended max dose and I don't ever recall having the feelings you described. However, we all react differently to meds. Prozac was the first AD I took and at that time it saved my life. Currently, I am on lamictal, remeron and lithium along with the prozac. It appears that over a long period of time prozac loses it's effectiveness or the term "poops out". Hang in there and let your body get used to it before you decide to stay on it or not.
Flipsactown
> hello,
> i'm sure someone out there can answer this for me.
> i have been taking prozac for a week now for ocd/depression. i was on paxil but it seemed to stop working and lexapro did nothing more my ocd.
> the problem with prozac is i'm beginning to feel like i am a teapot and my insides are boiling over and there's no where for the steam to go!!
> i keep flexing my muscles and i feel so tense and revved up that i'm ready to explode.
> is this something that goes away or is this just the expected stimulating effect of prozac?
> i'd hate to quit it because it really seems to help with my ocd already~~
> someone? anyone?
> thankyou
Posted by HenryO on February 15, 2004, at 17:18:37
In reply to prozac side effect??, posted by slippinaway on February 14, 2004, at 17:46:36
How much Prozac? That sort of sounds like seritonin syndrome. All of us have very different reactions to these meds. There are so many meds available. If you may to, you may find a better one.
The whole game here is to get the effect you want from a med while not getting intolerable side effects. You are the only judge of what is intolerable.
Posted by KathrynLex on February 16, 2004, at 17:32:40
In reply to prozac side effect??, posted by slippinaway on February 14, 2004, at 17:46:36
Hi Slippinaway,
I've heard this is fairly common with Prozac. Give it another week to see if this side effect doesn't subside, or as someone said earlier you might try lowering your dose.
Good Luck!
K.
Posted by Phil on February 16, 2004, at 18:50:14
In reply to Re: prozac side effect??, posted by KathrynLex on February 16, 2004, at 17:32:40
Your depression came on gradually, if you feel the SE's are intolerable, start low and go slow. Read the archives.
Prozac has been prescibed at least to 160mg by the way.
Go to Dr. Goldberg's site.
Posted by Flipsactown on February 16, 2004, at 19:38:08
In reply to Re: Lower your dose for a week or two, posted by Phil on February 16, 2004, at 18:50:14
Phil,
Do you have citation for 160mg prozac dosage? I am on 100mg and was doing quite well on 140mg but my pdoc refused to script it at 160mg. I have been on AD's for over 12 years and currently, am on 400mg lamictal, 90mg remeron, 900mg lithium and 100mg prozac. If I could show my pdoc a cite stating 160mg prozac being scripted. I already know about Dr.Goldberg's cite, but it is not specific, stating only that 200mg could be scripted. Thanks
Flipsactown
> Your depression came on gradually, if you feel the SE's are intolerable, start low and go slow. Read the archives.
>
> Prozac has been prescibed at least to 160mg by the way.
>
> Go to Dr. Goldberg's site.
Posted by traveler on February 17, 2004, at 18:15:30
In reply to Re: prozac side effect??, posted by KathrynLex on February 16, 2004, at 17:32:40
I started out with a very low dose of Prozac (5mg) and worked my way up until I found a comfortable amount. I had very little side effects on 5 mg, and the few side effects I did experience after each upping of the dose(jaw clenching, minor anxiety) would go away after about a few days.
I am very interested to hear from anyone who has had a positive response from Prozac for anxiety.
Posted by Aussie on February 17, 2004, at 21:46:56
In reply to Re: prozac side effect??, posted by KathrynLex on February 16, 2004, at 17:32:40
What does it mean about me that Prozac made me like a Zombie? I had to take myself off it. I would sit at my desk and wonder what I had been doing. Isn't it supposed to be stimmulating?
Posted by traveler on February 18, 2004, at 18:28:59
In reply to Re: prozac side effect??, posted by Aussie on February 17, 2004, at 21:46:56
I think different drugs just effect people differently. I didn't feel any stimulating effect at all (of course I only take 10 mg) - I didn't feel any side effects at all, I have just noticed recently as I have been reducing my Serzone, I just feel normal. So I guess that means it is working on some level.
Posted by noa on February 20, 2004, at 16:55:14
In reply to prozac side effect??, posted by slippinaway on February 14, 2004, at 17:46:36
I think it can be hard to differentiate between what will be ongoing side effects and what might be side effects that are just there during the initiation of the medication.
Depending on the dose you started at and the rate at which you have been increasing the dosage, there could be room to start lower and increase slower. I recommend talking to your doctor about this. Some people take longer to adjust to medication at first and introducing the med slowly can sometimes help to lessen initial side effects.
OTOH, if even after slowing the rise to therapeutic dose, and after you've been on the therapeutic dose for a while, you are experiencing these effects to a degree that feels uncomfortable, you can decide to change meds, or you can look at combining it with another med to counteract these unwanted effects.
Talk to your pdoc. Good luck.
Posted by noa on February 20, 2004, at 16:57:32
In reply to Re: prozac side effect??, posted by Aussie on February 17, 2004, at 21:46:56
Some people find SSRIs stimulating and others find it sedating, and others still find that it does a mixture of both.
This is the end of the thread.
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