Started Prozac

I have been on and off SSRIs now for about 20 years. Some periods of non use longer than others. Was on Lexapro for probably about a year and stopped taking it and went through all the SSRI discontinuation stuff about 6 months ago, and naturally everything seemed fine and then had a Depression/Anxiety relapse (seems like it never goes away). At least I can be grateful that I have been functional and employed and relatively successful, many have it worse.

My question is this, Prozac and all the other SSRIs for me seem to make anxiety worse almost at the beginning. I am now 3 weeks into prozac and I have some VERY good moment followed by some very anxious. It seems to really help with the depression but the anxiety seems worse and I remember that it seems.

Lexapro made my heart pound like a racehorse at first when I started it and Prozac seems a bit milder in those side effect, but I am a little more irritable, lazy and so on.

Taking Xanax .25 twice a day but as needed so usually once in the AM and then I'm good. I usually fill a prescription for it once a year and don't use it all.

darn panic attacks though at the start.

Guess I'm just sharing experience.

Yes, I have been in therapy off and on, hard to find a good one. I have been an LCSW since 2004, but I work in the Gov because it's safer these days with the economy and so forth (health care and all).

I have often thought (when not symptomatic) that the anxiety and depressive disorders are fictional and a product society (which in part they may be). But when I am symptomatic it's not subtle and I am convinced they are legit medical concerns. I think the truth is somewhere in between. They are real and legit and probably the product of a very sick society.

So no flyer on having issues. Anxiety and depression are equal opportunity employers. I can't find a therapist I like very much and many are not very good when they know you are also a mental health professional.

Yes I tend to save the Xanax and only try to use it when I really need it, and it can get worse as I wait. I don't want them to lose their effectiveness and I only really use them while I adjust to the SSRI. Ususally the anxiety gets much better after the first month or so, this time it was delayed a bit by a couple weeks and not as severe as the last time I went back on Lexapro, so the Prozac is a little different.

I think that the depression and anxiety probably result from both situational and biological factors in my case, and in most cases as well, although I do think that it can be purely situational in nature. I have definite triggers that are situational, but maybe if the biology was different they would not have the same effect. Same with people that don't appear to have any triggers and yet the biology is off regardless, so the anxiety and depression probably has as many "causes" as there are people.

@ yankeefanz

In our current society, there are many factors that can cause or contribute to anxiety and depression. Certainly money and work problems, relationship and family issues are major contributors to anxiety and depression. I learned early in life that other people valued me because of how much I  accomplished or achieved as well as how I looked and behaved.  As a result I learned to value myself on the basis of other people’s approval. Thus my self-esteem came to be based primarily on external standards. So I do believe that society can contribute to anxiety.

However, I also believe there are times when we all feel normal anxiety and moodiness.  Anxiety and depression are normal part of life. Who has not studied for an exam without having test anxiety, and then scored much higher for it? Anxiety can keep us alert. Depression, on the other hand, can slow us down, giving us time to reflect and recollect ourselves.  In other words, anxiety and depression express moods that are familiar to everybody.

But, when anxiety and depression seem to come from nowhere, last for weeks without relief, and get in the way of everyday activities, then we are not talking ordinary moods anymore; they are now illnesses. Anxiety and depressions are one of the most common mental illnesses in the world today.

Believed to be caused in part by a malfunction of brain chemistry, generalized anxiety is not the normal apprehension one feels before taking a test or awaiting the outcome of a biopsy. For a reason that is only partially known, the brain's fight-or-flight mechanism becomes activated, even when no real threat exists. Being chronically anxious is like being stalked by an imaginary tiger.

The cause of major depressive disorder is a combination of brain chemistry, family history, and psychosocial environment. It is not certain which of these factors dominates, but abnormal levels of the neurotransmitters norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine are closely linked with depression. Thus, the cause of depression is often attributed to a "chemical imbalance." These neurotransmitters play important roles in how we experience pleasure and moods.

These our just my personal beliefs and each of us is entitle to share our personal thoughts so I do understand what you are trying to convey in your post.

Kindly,

Kitt

 

 

What I am noticing now after about 4 weeks of Prozac is a sort of low grade anxiety, a sort of edginess, maes me think I'm having a panic attack (very beginning) but never progresses to it. Just uncomfortable, sort of a tension that rises sometimes and settles at others.

I am taking one .25 Xanax in the AM before work and letting that take the edge of for most of the day until about 3-4 when I start getting edgy and restless. The low grade anxiety starts to come back and waxes and wanes for the rest of the day and saps my energy. I end up ready for bed earlier than normal and force a two mile walk on the treadmill and feel a little better after.

Then it's to bed without a xanax if possible. Wondering if this sounds common.

Karen

I try to just take the Xanax .25 MG once in the AM, and in the PM (early afternoon) I run into some difficult times.

Also I am not getting gastro issues I think that are tied to the Prozac. Feeling tired at night and so on, I guess what I want to hear is that 4 weeks is still early and that things will get better. I am giving the prozac one more refill so by August 22 I will have an idea of what this is going to do. I'm thinking that at 60 days I should have a pretty good idea of what to expect.

Lexapro seemed to have a much quicker kick in time and was MORE anxiety provoking. But the low grade anxiety is difficult.

Plus I think I am too busy and need to give up some things. Some work that I keep thinking I have to keep because it brings in an extra $200 a month could probably go but I don't want to give it up until I know what the meds will do. So I am caught kind of in a double bind of trying to maintain a full time job, teaching a couple classes and doing extra work on the side (what I was doing pretty well before the most recent "relapse").

I keep thinking that the meds will kick in and that I will be able to maintain my current pace. Trying to rest more when able and trying hard to pace myself. I usually do not teach as much and that will end soon and that will be back to the manageable level next month. So come on meds kick in already and don't make things WORSE.

Better day today so far, although I'm complaining a lot and that's sort of a good sign, means I'm getting some of my old attitude back. When I start talking crap I'm getting back to the old me. I think it lets out anxiety too.

Good day today, worked my buns off about a 13 hour day and felt really good towards the end. Only one Xanax today at .25mg taken with the prozac early AM. A little jittery at about 3-4 PM and a little early evening but nothing that made me take anything. Improved day overall.

Hopefully this is a trend towards the meds kicking in and hitting the anxiety so the xanax is no longer necessary, that would fit my previous pattern with other SSRIs. This really builds empathy for those who are more severe. Very difficult I imagine to live with the anxiety all the time.

I think things are turning for the better now. Yesterday seemed worse even though I worked less. Strange.

I seem to have energy still even though it's 10:30.

Also doing Mantra during the day to help clear the mind. I use just a simple "Ram" repeated over and over and it serves as an anchor for the mind and keeps my thoughts from going on tangents or worrying. If I can stay right here and now I am ok, it's when I start to obsess about anything that it gets out of control.

Feeling waves of energy tonight. Good feeling of well being in the torso that was tight and stressed before. Meds must be kicking in.

Been so busy have had little time to update. Just took in a newborn baby(adoption) and of course had to take time off work. Was doing REALLY WELL until last night. Took my Prozac 20MG very late in the day because just too busy, then tried to go to bed and was VERY ANXIOUS with racing heartbeat, pretty much a mild panic attack. Took a Xanax .25 MG, and that helped after about a half hour or so, but it was a long half hour. The new change is a good change but unexpected. Even good changes can of course create anxiety, especially when the outcome of the adoption isn't final yet. There is an 85% chance that we will be OK and be able to keep the baby but some unknowns that need to be worked out.

We have adopted before and been there, it is difficult to wait for the results of the whole process but so much worth it in the end.

Of course we were thinking we would be matched sometime next year, and then suddenly out of the blue BAM, but a good BAM.

I am now about halfway through the second 30 day prescription of prozac so that would mean 45 days in, or a little over 6 weeks. I am certainly not lethargic anymore (even with the baby) I seem to have plenty of energy, maybe at times too much which can get the anxiety going. Trying to take it easy enjoy the baby and the time off from work.

I know that the baby will be easier to adjust to as time goes on and that maybe the worst of the Prozac is over with. I made sure to take the dose early in the AM same as I have been. Funny, but I was even considering not taking it anymore prior to last night because I was doing so well, and now I am considering not taking it anymore wondering if it was the cause of the panic. However, family tells me they notice a difference in me since I started taking it, better mood and easier to deal with.

No real panic issues for almost 3 weeks until last night, some elevated anxiety, but last night was the worst I have had in about a month.

Still here.......

Hi Yankee,
Just wanted to say congrats on the new baby! How exciting...I'm sure that that would bring on anxiety for even someone who isn't prone to anxiety like us in the forum!
Best of luck to you and your new baby...awwww

I have been reading all your posts and would like to make some comments.
First, if you have not had a physical done by your physician, please have one done to rule out co existing diseases.
Yankeezfans, I am a diabetic and have panic attacks. When my blood sugars get low, I get panicky.
In addition I noticed that all of you are on Xanax. Speak to your doctor and see if you can get put on Klondike. Klonopin has a lot longer half life, which means it stays in your system for a long time. You do not want to take it as needed but you want to take it regularly. This allows the drug to get into your system and get to a good level.
My pharmacist told me that when you take a drug for a long time your liver(where the drug is metabolized), will develop enzymes. These enzymes will cause the efficacy of the drug to be less. At that time it may be good to switch to another medication.
I was told by my former physician that Prozac can cause panic attacks when you first begin taking them. It takes several weeks for the Prozac to get into your system, after it gets into your system. Therefore the panic attacks should decrease.
In addition, you may have to change to many Anti-Depressants and dosing to find the correct combination. I went through the following in the following order with the last one being the correct one: Paxil, Serzone; Celexa. Effexor, Zoloft, and finally Prozac.
I hope this helps all of you dealing with this terrible disease.

The Prozac certainly is taking longer to help with anxiety than lexapro. Usually after about a month on lexapro the benzo prescription that I use is only about half gone and it sits unused for months. The last time I filled a Xanax Prescription was July of 2011 (then again June 2012 when starting Prozac). I still had about a week left over. Now I am taking the Xanax a little more with the prozac, hopefully the same result comes soon.

So for me at least I am finding Prozac to be much slower in action than lexapro. However Lexapro caused WORSE panic attacks when starting with racing heartbeat, I still have had a few on prozac but not as severe.

I think my benzo dose is very low and It is rare for me to even take two .25 MG in one day, usually 1 is fine and keeps my anxiety in good shape. Then when the SSRI kicks in I no longer need it at all. That's been the pattern so I am hopeful that in another week or two that will be the case.

Some of the symptoms/side effects have already come and gone, the sluggishness and drugged feeling is over with, depression seems to have lifted, now I just want to calm down.

I need to elevate my GABA.

Had a couple mild panic attacks, would be called subclinical. Nothing full blown that would incapacitate me. I think the Prozac is starting to help with these. I remember that the SSRIs sometimes do not completely stop panic attacks, especially in the beginning, but they occur in a muted way. They feel strange, and don't always require a benzo to go away. So some improvement, Starting to not need a benzo everyday.