Has Anyone Else Been on Prozac for Anxiety Related Issues?

I had depression and anxiety after my first baby and was first put on prozac. I found it helped with the depression symptoms (insomnia was the worst for me) but made the anxiety much, much worse. I came off it and onto Effexor which was much better - really helped me so much. My dad who is a doctor subsequently told me that prozac making anxiety worse is quite a common experience.
I had PPD after my second baby too and was told Effexor is now known to have some worse side effects (? heart issues I think?)and is not recommended for first line treatment so that time I was put onto mirtazipine and I have to say it worked very well too. Prozac was the only one that did not suit me but it is a very personal thing and I believe it works very well for some people.
Also, I found counselling in conjunction with meds was the best approach rather than just drugs alone.
I hope you start to feel better very soon.

i have no experience with Prozac, but am an advocate of Zoloft. I suffered from severe anxiety, panic attacks, agoraphobia for YEARS. finally went on zoloft after my first child was 1 (he's 6 now) and it has been my savior.
I HIGHLY recommend it. It definitely changed my life. and being a mom of 2 (and one more on the way) i never would have been able to accomplish what i have accomplished as a wife, mom, and entrepreneur - if i didn't finally give in to taking medication to help me with my anxiety. i wish you all the luck and health in 2009! best, S.

D.,

Why would you resort to drugs that nobody knows what they really do to you? Have you tried natural approaches? I can e-mail you some info if you are open to it.

T.

Hi D.
I have taken prozac and it did work for me. I also had problems w/Lexipro. My Doc switched me to Effexor , but I also have depression issues. (I believe it was the reason she switched me.)The prozac helped the anxiety a lot. It took me about a week to feel differently.We also had to switch doses, so be sure to try that too if need be. Also, if your really not feeling better in a week or so ask your doc about xynax, which you can take as needed and works immediatly(not for long term use, consistantly, as it can be addictive.) Good luck.

I took it for a few months a couple of years ago. It totally changed my life during that time. I had been so stressed and inpatient and was blowing up all the time, even yelling at the kids when they really didn't deserve it. When my son (then 3.5 years old) told me that he liked "nice mommy" better than "mean mommy" I realized I needed help. It tok a couple of weeks I think but it did work for me. I stopped taking it on my own and was fine. Good luck and i hope it works great for you! From what my Dr. told me, Lexapro is also in Prozac so hopefully it doesn't bother you too.

I have been and have a friend who also has and it works great for us! I was sceptical after trying a couple others but it really makes a difference. I truly can say it just returned me to the old me. It will take a little time to kick in (my doctor gave me some anxiety pills to get through that time if I felt I needed them.) I also started with some fatigue but stick with it and it will hopefully help you as well! And consider the dosage being adjusted if it doesn't work. Hope you are feeling better soon!

I have been on Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Risperdal and Effexor. Usually when I got pregnant (3 kiddos), I would go off meds and then need them again to deal with the Post-partum. I can tell you that with each Rx, I would feel somewhat better but I always had side effects to deal with. Recently, I went off Effexor. Due to circumstances out of my control, it was an abrupt discontinuation - which you are not supposed to do. What I experienced was, in a nutshell, horrible. Dizziness, Nausea, Headaches, Hot flashes, to name a few. I went online and found that this is very common - some people even have trouble when they wean slowly off the meds. If I had known how horrible the "detox" would be, I would never have gone on it in the first place. I certainly don't want to be medicated for the rest of my life! My recommendation would be to try any and all Natural approaches first - Exercise, Diet, Massage, Chiropractic, Light therapy, herbal remedies. Then, if those don't work, then go the Rx route. Sure it's easier to just take a pill (that's how the pharmaceutical industry wants you to think) but my thought is that if these meds are so difficult to get off of, then they can't be all that great for you. Hope that helps!

D.,

Hi. I have been on all different kinds of medications for depression and ansiety since atleast 1998. I was on Prosac for at least 4 years. It really didn't work for me. Unfortunately, dealing with anxiety and other issues is such a trial and error procedure when it comes to medications. Just have patience and give any meds your md puts you on a try. I have also been in therapy for many years, and have my managed/monitored by a psychiatrist. I feel that all these 3 things have helped me so much. After my daughter was born, it was hard to determine if I had postpartum or if it was just my depression. I was put on Cymbalta and it has worked very well for me.

I wish you much success in this time ahead for you.

M.

I love it! I take it for my PMDD (prementrual dysphoric disorder...nasty PMS). 20 mg for the 2 weeks before my period. It has changed my life for those weeks that used to be a nightmare for me & anyone who crossed my path.

I was told that it would take 3 weeks as well but I felt a change almost immediately. The proof was 2 weeks after I started taking it, my in-laws came for a 10 day visit and not once did I feel like killing my husband! And I even enjoyed the visit...all during my PMS time!

However, from my understanding it does effect people differently. So if you really do not feel any better in a few weeks talk with your dr. My best to you!

i am not a doctor but my husband is a chiropractor and my father was diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenia in 1970. before he was under regular chiropractic care, getting adjusted 3 times per week, he was on 4 different meds including haldol. with continued chirpractic care, he has been taken off all the meds and replaced with respideral. my suggestion is to see if you can do anything more natural to help adjust your chemical imbalance. if you have already looked into exercise and changing your diet, then you should try chiropractic. in the 20's and 30's, there were several psychiatric/chiropractic hospitals. the patients were getting better quicker than those on drugs. chiropractic works on the fact that your brain controls all the functions of the body, including producing the chemicals it needs and it does this in combination with the nervous system. if a bone, vertebra, is out of alignment, putting presure on the nerve, there will be interference with the function of the body. if you change the structure of any object,you change its functions. you change the sturcture of the spine, you change its function. the brain stem goes down into the first 3 bones in the neck. if any of the first 3 bones are out of alignment, then the bones are putting pressure on the brain. even if you have never had neck pain or been in an auto accident with a whiplash, you may still have a subluxation in the neck putting pressure on your brain stem. getting adjusted is painless and will help your body restore balance. find a traditional chiropractor in your town, graduate from Life University or Palmer. what do you have to loose?

I have been on Prozc but only stayed on it 3 weeks, I stopped taking it because it did not think it was working. Also, I wanted to inform you that ny dr told me 4 to 6 weeks before it started to work. Sorry, but I thought it would be better to know.

I was on prozac for awhile for anxiety. I loved it. It took about a week to kick in and it made me very relaxed. I was on it from during my pregnancy to a few months after my delivery. The baby and myself are healthy. I did not have any side effects. It is a great anti anxiety medication and would recommend it to everyone. The important thing is to see the doctor while you are on it. I have been off of prozac for over a year now.

I have not, but one of my good friends has been on it for 14 years, and she says it works wonders. I had no idea she was on it until about 6 months ago when I started having problems with anxiety and depression myself, and she shared her experience with me. She has had no negative side effects at all. I asked her if she ever considered stopping, and she said she tried stopping once and her symptoms returned, so she hasn't been off of it since. Hope that helps.