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From Cymbalta back to Prozac
I was taking Prozac for 10 yrs when I started having mild panic attacks sometimes in the afternoon/early evening.
Tried Cylexa but too many side effects. Switched to Cymbalta but had shaky hands and severe headaches. Switched back to Prozac a week ago but still feel a little blue. Does it take the normal 1-4 weeks for the Prozac to take full effect?
Tried Cylexa but too many side effects. Switched to Cymbalta but had shaky hands and severe headaches. Switched back to Prozac a week ago but still feel a little blue. Does it take the normal 1-4 weeks for the Prozac to take full effect?
The next time you get on the Anxiety Forum, up at the top there is a green box that says "Post a Question." Just hit that and a new thread............YOUR thread will open up. When your done, just do what you've been doing by hitting the "Post Comment" box and that's all there is to it!
(Don't feel bad, there are STILL rooms I haven't been in around here..........place is freaking HUGE!) And we were ALL new at one time!
I know it's so difficult to be patient when we feel like crap, but it's just what we gotta do. These meds aren't magic bullets and take time to "do their thing," but they will.
Try keeping a journal of how you're feeling every day or use a "Mood Tracker" on the forum. You'll see that you're making progress every day even if it's just a tiny step. But that's how we get anywhere...........one step after the other, big or littlte.
The anxiety is most definitely having an affect on you and while taking the occassioanl Ativan is fine, try finding other ways to cope with your anxiety. Yoga is very good for anxiety and you can download stuff from your computer. There are also some great sites on relieving stress which leads to anxiety.
Just hang in there, OK and come talk to us anytime you need to. We're open just like 7/11.............24 hours a day!
Peace
Greenlydia
(Don't feel bad, there are STILL rooms I haven't been in around here..........place is freaking HUGE!) And we were ALL new at one time!
I know it's so difficult to be patient when we feel like crap, but it's just what we gotta do. These meds aren't magic bullets and take time to "do their thing," but they will.
Try keeping a journal of how you're feeling every day or use a "Mood Tracker" on the forum. You'll see that you're making progress every day even if it's just a tiny step. But that's how we get anywhere...........one step after the other, big or littlte.
The anxiety is most definitely having an affect on you and while taking the occassioanl Ativan is fine, try finding other ways to cope with your anxiety. Yoga is very good for anxiety and you can download stuff from your computer. There are also some great sites on relieving stress which leads to anxiety.
Just hang in there, OK and come talk to us anytime you need to. We're open just like 7/11.............24 hours a day!
Peace
Greenlydia
of course can you tell i am knew to chat room scene. ***could you try to explain to me how to create my own thread? i have never done this before. and yes..i am also taking the prozac for depression so i do have both. unfortunately. it's wonderfulm to have someone to talk to especially when you feel like jumping out of your skin. patience is not my virtue but i also think it is the anxiety working on me. i just never felt this bad before.
Welcome to the forum! Just a quick FYI. Even tho this thread is about Prozac, for YOUR sake, it would be best to begin a new thread just about you and your issues. That way, all the answers will be directed at your questions.
Going back to the fact that I failed pharmacology, if you are suffering from anxiety, I'm not sure why you're on Prozac which is primarily rx'd for depression. But going along to get along, it can take up to 4 weeks for Prozac to reach therapeutic levels and that's not written in stone. Everybody is different and it may take a bit longer for some. I would say that by week 6 if you are not beginning to feel some relief, it would be time to talk to your doctor. 20mg is the standard starting dose for Prozac. If, after you and your doctor have decided you've given that dose a fair trial, the dose can be adjusted.
The Ativan is a good choice for prn (as needed) use while you are adjusting to the Prozac. Try to use ONLY when you absolutely have to. Ativan, like Xanax, should be used short term only, (<4 months) unless it is used strictly prn. If it is used prn and sparingly at that, the question of addiction/tolerance/dependance will not be an issue. This is something else you need to disuss at length with your doctor.
My advice, humble though it is..........give the Prozac some more time but keep your doctor in the loop as to how you're feeling. Use the Ativan only when you feel you're going to explode, and get outside in the sun.
Let us know how you're doing, OK? (In your own thread!) :)
Peace
Greenlydia
Going back to the fact that I failed pharmacology, if you are suffering from anxiety, I'm not sure why you're on Prozac which is primarily rx'd for depression. But going along to get along, it can take up to 4 weeks for Prozac to reach therapeutic levels and that's not written in stone. Everybody is different and it may take a bit longer for some. I would say that by week 6 if you are not beginning to feel some relief, it would be time to talk to your doctor. 20mg is the standard starting dose for Prozac. If, after you and your doctor have decided you've given that dose a fair trial, the dose can be adjusted.
The Ativan is a good choice for prn (as needed) use while you are adjusting to the Prozac. Try to use ONLY when you absolutely have to. Ativan, like Xanax, should be used short term only, (<4 months) unless it is used strictly prn. If it is used prn and sparingly at that, the question of addiction/tolerance/dependance will not be an issue. This is something else you need to disuss at length with your doctor.
My advice, humble though it is..........give the Prozac some more time but keep your doctor in the loop as to how you're feeling. Use the Ativan only when you feel you're going to explode, and get outside in the sun.
Let us know how you're doing, OK? (In your own thread!) :)
Peace
Greenlydia
Yes, the Xanax would be considered an "adjunct." I hope you are only taking it on a prn (AS NEEDED) basis. Taken that way, in the smallest dose that works, is fine with this particular med. You do not want to get into taking Xanax on a daily basis for longer than four months. If you and your doctor have decided that the Porzac is possibly not working as well for you anymore, it there any room left to adjust your dose, or are you at the max now? If that is the case, switching may be your only alternative. There are quite a few ADs out there that control both depression AND anxiety, it just depends on which condition is the primary one......the depression or the anxiety. I'm not endorsing this in any way, but Zoloft has been proven very effective in controlling both and is known to have a low side effect rate. Again, I am not endorsing Zoloft, it's the one that sprang to mind.
I wasn't aware that Prozac could lose it's efficacy, but I failed pharmacology several times. Quite spectactularly I might add! Is this what your doctor believes has happened?
One WOULD think that as long as you kept SOME level of seretonin in your system, it wouldn't take as long for another AD to kick in, but I'm sure that is just one of many quesitons I got wrong on those pesky finals. I'd ask someone who actually passed the class.
l know what happens to YOU when you "assume." That never happens to me! LOL
Good for you for getting into therapy. And I understand the impatience. But just keep hanging in there, OK? It will be SO worth it in the end.
For those of us with anxiety, talking to others who know what we're going through is all that keeps us sane.
I use to talk to my German Shepard when I was feeling anxious, but everytime I had a breakthrough, he was off peeing on the shrubbery.
We are always here if you need to talk and most of us have indoor plumbing!
You're gonna be fine!
Peace
Greenlyia
I wasn't aware that Prozac could lose it's efficacy, but I failed pharmacology several times. Quite spectactularly I might add! Is this what your doctor believes has happened?
One WOULD think that as long as you kept SOME level of seretonin in your system, it wouldn't take as long for another AD to kick in, but I'm sure that is just one of many quesitons I got wrong on those pesky finals. I'd ask someone who actually passed the class.
l know what happens to YOU when you "assume." That never happens to me! LOL
Good for you for getting into therapy. And I understand the impatience. But just keep hanging in there, OK? It will be SO worth it in the end.
For those of us with anxiety, talking to others who know what we're going through is all that keeps us sane.
I use to talk to my German Shepard when I was feeling anxious, but everytime I had a breakthrough, he was off peeing on the shrubbery.
We are always here if you need to talk and most of us have indoor plumbing!
You're gonna be fine!
Peace
Greenlyia
I do take Xanax if that is what you're refering to as an adjunct. I had heard that Prozac quits working after a while which is why I tried to switch. And, yes, I have been off Prozac since December. I just assumed that since I was on some type of SSRI that the seretonin issue would continue even though the med had changed. (We all know what happens when we "assume". Ha!)
I did start therapy about 6 weeks ago and it is helping!
I guess I'm just being impatient which is just another symptom of anxiety for me.
Thanks! It helps to talk to others about anxiety. When you feel anxious it can feel like you're drowning and will reach for anyone who can toss you a lifeline.
I did start therapy about 6 weeks ago and it is helping!
I guess I'm just being impatient which is just another symptom of anxiety for me.
Thanks! It helps to talk to others about anxiety. When you feel anxious it can feel like you're drowning and will reach for anyone who can toss you a lifeline.
i am suffering a current bout of bad anxiety right now. have been on prozac 20mg for exactly 3 weeks but am still feeling the anxiety. some of it has disappated but i am still feeling awful. does prozac take a while to kick in? i have some ativan but i don't want to use it to much and get addicted to it. any advice would help? is 20mg a good dosage?
You were on Prozac for 10 years and began to experience some mild panic attacks. If the Prozac was working for your depression, why didn't you and your doctor discuss adding a mild antianxiety med as an adjunct, rather than switching horses in mid-stream? Not a judgement, just a question.
As you know, all ADs are going to have some side effects, did you give the Cylexa and the Cymbalta adequate trial times?
You said you began taking the Prozac again a week ago, but you didn't say how long you had been off it. My GUESS is that if you had been off it long enough for all of it to leave your system, then yes, you more than likely will have to wait the 1-4 week for it to reestablish therapeutic levels.
I would double check this with my doctor or pharmacist.
Have you considered therapy for your depression?
Peace
Greenlydia
As you know, all ADs are going to have some side effects, did you give the Cylexa and the Cymbalta adequate trial times?
You said you began taking the Prozac again a week ago, but you didn't say how long you had been off it. My GUESS is that if you had been off it long enough for all of it to leave your system, then yes, you more than likely will have to wait the 1-4 week for it to reestablish therapeutic levels.
I would double check this with my doctor or pharmacist.
Have you considered therapy for your depression?
Peace
Greenlydia
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