my doc gave me prozac coz i suffer from depression.my frineds say not to take it.wat do u think?

Question

i dont know why, but lately i am suffering from severe depression and to help me recover faster prozac is prescribed to me.my friends hate the ideacoz they say, i have another problem that is i have an addictive personility theythink i am not gonna be able to get off this stuff. it gives me headaches in the morning and sometime hurts my tummy. but i just wanna get rid of this depression coz haveing it makes me more depressed as well....

Answer 1

hey--depression is a *****. if you doc prescribed prozac, take it. if the side effects are too much--ask the doc for something else. there's a lot of different meds out there that can help you.

i wouldn't put any faith in your friend's opinions. they didn't go to medical school. i'd put even less faith in the bozo who suggested chiropractic adjustments were the cure for your depression. run, don't walk, from this kind of advice.

I was on effexor for 3 years for depression. it knocked the depression in the head but had 3 main side effects that i didn't like. after 3 years i'd had enough of the side effects and told my doc i wanted something else. she put me on Lexapro 20mg a day, and i've gotten rid of the depression and two of the bad side effects. one side effect lingers on---i'll just have to put up with it.

prozac just may not be the ideal anti-depressant for you. keep trying till you find one that knocks the depression in the head and has little or few side effects.

if you want a more in-depth answer go to my 360 page and check out my blog for Sept 12th. leave a comment if it helped you make a decision.

Best of luck to you!

Answer 2

Here is the real deal about these kind of drugs. I have taken many of them over the years and I am now a mental health clinician.

I am personally of the opinion that if depression is seriously interrupting your life, that you should take medication if you are comfortable with it. If you think you can live without it, than try. I also don't recommend taking medication without seeing a therapist for talk therapy while you are in treatment. Psychotherapy is very effective for depression and can give you coping strategies for the future which may enable you to get off the meds. They are NOT physically addictive and can be stopped with the help of a qualified doctor.

Make sure you are seeing a psychiatrist for your prescription. Family doctors hand out these drugs too easily and don't have a lot of training with them or psychiatric disorders. Please don't be afraid to seek a psychiatrist for this. They know all about this stuff and do it all day long.

Yes, crazy side effects can occur when taking these drugs. They can make someone feel worse. If this is the case you can tell your dr. right away so he/she can switch you to somesthing else. Medicines also do cause headache and stomach aches sometimes. The good thing is these side effects usually go away after a couple weeks. Try eating when you take the pill to help your stomach.

Exercise and good diet are very important too. Working on these things will definitely help. Other types of alternative medications have not been researched and proven effective the way anti-depressants have. Their safety has not been validated either.

Give the medicine at least 6 weeks for full effect to see if it helps. Your doctor can alter the dosage if it isn't working or can try something else. Good luck with all of this. Please take everything I said seriously. It is important for recovery.

Answer 3

ask your doctor for a different type of anti-depressant, there are many out there. Some people react differently to it than others. I didn't feel right taking Prozac when i needed it, and they switched me to a different medication. It is not the addictive part that you really need to worry about, it is feeling better emotionally. If you have gone through period of life lately that you think that may have fluctuated your hormones, this may be something to look into as a cause for the depression instead of just treating it. As for feeling down. Try and do a few things that may help your body deal with a better balance. Try and exercise regularly. This will boost your immune system and let your body deal with other things like helping you be less depressed. Also, getting a full 8 will help also. This of course lets your body replenish and your brain to work out the events going on in your life. If you can't get to sleep, try and make a schedule, and stick to it. Make a list of the things you need to do the next day. This will relieve your mind of things, and help you relax.
I hope some of this helps. I have been dealing with depression for years, and have been fortunate enough to help others with it. Being in the medical field and learning about things like this has also helped. Talk to your doc about a different antidepressant and a hormone workup. Either one can help.
good luck.

Answer 4

Prozac is in a class of drugs called SSRI's or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. They are great with the treatment of depression and panic disorder. They may however, not be right for you. There are several antidepressants out there. You just have to try different ones to see which will work for you. Prozac takes longer to work than most other antidepressants. It is a long acting drug, it takes up to 3 to 4 weeks to start working. Nausea and diarrhea along with constipation, abdominal pain, flatulence or bloating. Headache is another side effect of this medication.
My advice to you is this, don't listen to your friends. Listen to someone who is more qualified than they are. Prozac IS NOT an addicting drug. In order for this drug to work you have to take it everyday exactly as prescribed, no more and no less.Speak with your doctor and explain your condition with him and I bet they will switch you to something else.
As for your addictive personality, it would be interesting to know more about you. Are your friends making this diagnosis or have you been told by a psychologist, psychiatrist, family doctor or treatment counselor that you have an addiction problem. Maybe you have a friend problem. I don't know you, but I hope you will consider what I have written to you.
And by the way, don't listen to the dumbass who told you to take St. John's Wort with Prozac. St. John's Wort may increase sedative and hypnotic effects and may cause serotonin syndrome, and that my friend is some bad stuff. Take care and best of luck to you.

Answer 5

Depression can be caused by nutritional deficiencies. Just like the rest of your body, if your brain doesn't get the vitamins it needs, it will cease to function properly. If you start to get worse on Prozac, notify your doctor immediately. Keep your friends posted as well. Many prescription drugs take a while to build up in your system, but also need to be removed from your system slowly to avoid certain side effects.

If you want to try a more natural approach, take a good multi-vitamin, with lots of B. Avoid coffee, and other stimulants that will wear your brain out. You might also look into choline and 5-HTP.

"Choline is important for normal cellular membrane composition and repair, normal brain function and normal cardiovascular function."

"5-Hydroxytryptophan or 5-HTP is a precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin and an intermediate in tryptophan metabolism. It is marketed in the United States and other countries as a dietary supplement for use as an antidepressant, appetite suppressant, and sleep aid.....In fact, a survey of all published studies of clinical outcomes with 5-HTP indicate that it yields similar results to those obtained for small scale studies of prescription SSRI antidepressants."

Answer 6

how many doctorate degrees do your friends have? once your body adjusts to the meds that should help with the side effects. if not call your doctor, you know the one who went to college then med school then did an internship, and ask if he can put you on something else or lower doses.
never listen to friends over doctors, unless those friends are medical specialists in the field your doctor is in as well. *gesh*\


by the way. the addictive personality can be and sometimes is a sign of the depression.

Answer 7

If you are having problems with Prozac then you should talk to your doc. There are other alternatives to Prozac. My husband is taking Celixia ( If I spelled it right). It is really working for him. Prozac isn't for everyone. My husband can't take Prozac it makes him worse. Before you do anything about it talk with your doc. first because he can asset the situation and maybe come up with an alternative. Good luck and hope it works out I know from experience that If my husbands wasn't on meds. we couldn't handle him. He also couldn't handle himself. On meds. he is fine.

Answer 8

DONT TAKE IT!!! You are suffering from depression because your body is lacking something. Your body is NOT Prozac deficient and the side effects are not worth the so called benefits.
Some things that you might loook into that are triggers for depression are amino acid therapy- amino acids occur naturally in the brain and help your brain communicate with the rest of your body, they affect brain function- if you are lacking in amino acids, you can suffer from depression, ADD, and other manner of brain function difficulties. A lot of these depression drugs supposedly regulate transmissions in the brain- this is done chemically whereas amino acids do this naturally with no side effects. Get the book called "The Diet Cure" there is a checklist of symptoms and a detailed description of each amino acid and what exactly its function is- you will be able to figure out which one (s) you may need to take and get on the road to healing. The good thing is you don't have to take them forever and if you are taking them properly there are no side effects.
Another thing you may consider is getting food and environmental allergy tested. Allergies can also trigger poor brain function and cause symptoms of depression- I have seen firsthand how food allergies can alter moods and how avoiding the offending foods makes a big difference in emotional health.
Lastly, I reccomend chiropractic care- find a good chiropractor who will not just give adjustments but take xrays and find out what is going on in your spine and keep you informed and active in the process of healing. Your spine is the protective covering for oyur nervous system, when something is out of whack there , it can affect any manner of things in your body, especially brain function. A really good chiropractor can also assist you on the road to natural healing.
Remember- your body is not Prozac deficient and the side effects and uncertain long term effects are not worth it- nourish your body, give it what it is lacking and you will be amazed at the changes!

Answer 9

Prozac is NOT addictive...but if you are having stomach problems and headaches, it may be the wrong antidepressant for you. Go back to your Doctor and tell him/her about the side effects....and keep taking your medicine until the Doctor changes it!

Answer 10

Try it for a few weeks.It worked for me.It did make me feel a little jittery,but that doesn't mean it will cause you any problems.Everyone reacts differently to drugs and for someone to say that it absolutely should not be taken is going a bit too far.Just try it,like I said,and if it makes you feel peculiar ,or more depressed,tell your doctor right away.I wish you well and hope you are soon feeling better.