extremely depressed and anxious

[SLB__0]

  I have had problems with anxiety for many many years -- mostly baseed around my heart. I have palpitations that, although checked out thoroughly by several cardiologistrs and  deemed "benign" scare me so much.
  Anyway, at times I have been agoraphobic. I took prozac for
  a couple of years , along with a low dose of xanax , and it
  did help but did not solve my problems. I went off the prozac for a while
  to try other therapies, including zoloft and celexa. unfortunately,/
  they made me feel much worse.
  I am super sensitive to drugs so before, when i started prozac, i had to work up to 10 mg. via the method of using the liguid
  dosage at tiny amounts.
  This time, I started off with 5 mg. and in a week began taking 10 mg. my psychiatrist
  thinks I  need to push it up as quickly as possible. due to horrendous
  life stresses --  marriage broke up unexpectedly and due to reasons that were extremely upsetting, father  critically ill, lost my job -- I am now not only
  extremely anxious but extremely depressed.
  I am very disappointed that the prozac seems to be taking so long to "kick in". I have taken 21 of the 10 mg. pills ( within about 25 days -- some
  days i skipped them) and i upped that to 15 mg. yesterday. If eel MORE anxious which I know can be a side effect to the SRRIs.
  my questions:
  1. how long should I continue the prozac before giving up on its helpgin me?
  2. could it simply be that I need more?
  3. will the increased anxiety, if it is a symptom of the prozac, eventually go away ( I am taking xanax to try
  to take the edge off, but it's not working)
  
  I am in REALLY bad shape. I'm not at all suicidal or anything. but extremely anxious and obsessive about my heart and health... i look up possible heart conditions on the web for hours and can't stop.
  does prozac help this obsessive/compulsive/ hypochondriacal aspect too?
  thank you. i am clinging to hope something will change. i feel horrible, horrible.

[HFHS M.D.-JK]

_
Dear SLB,
It must be distressing to have had the stressors of having your marriage break up and your father become so ill. However, I sense that you are determined to get through all this.
I recommend discussing your concerns about your medication with your psychiatrist if you have not done so already.  As far as your question about how long to take the Prozac, most times it is recommended that you take the therapeutic dose of the medication for at least 4-6 weeks.  Patients with panic disorder are often started at very low doses of Prozac, as the antidepressants can at times increase the anxiety before it alleviates it.  The transient anxiety, if caused by the Prozac, usually goes away.  Do not adjust the dosage on your own, as this can lead to increased side effects or other potential problems.  It can be very frustrating to wait for relief of your symptoms, but if Prozac helped you in the past, it will probably do so again.  If you have any problems with your medication, call your doctor first.  As far as whether you need more, that is a possibility, but that depends on your psychiatrist’s evaluation.  Good luck.
This response is being provided for general informational purposes only & should not be considered medical advice or consultation.  Always check with your personal physician when you have a question pertaining to your health.
keywords: Prozac,anxiety