Someone talk to me about this!!!

[beentrying2quit]

I've had anxiety for years and at the age I am now I'm no longer able to fight it with just excercise and diet.  I finally went to the doctor....told him my symptoms...and he instantly prescribed me Prozac...without hesitation.  I've done days of research on this drug.  Prozac was the first ever ssri introduced in 1986 so the medical establishment has over 20 years of experience with this drug.

My question is this.  Is anyone currently taking this med?  If so...what are the good and bad points about it?  I know the drug company has to list everything under the sun as a side effect in order to protect themselves but I would really love to hear from real people.  

I picked up my script today and took my first doseage..10mg.  This was around 9am and about 1pm found myself so tired I could have slept for hours.  I also see that these side effects can disappear after a week or so.  

Any help would be appreciated.

[toejam_muncher]

i have no personal experience with prozac, but the above poster gave great advice....and yes, i would take it at night. ssri's make many people tired...that's something you may need to adjust to. and like the above person said, it may take a while for them to work. i take a fairly low dose of zoloft and imipramine. so far it's helped a lot...but it took a few weeks before i felt much real change...and for a while i thought i was getting worse.

anyway...good luck with it.

[cj29]

You are on a proven SSRI with a great track record for what it is designed to do.  It has a long half life, meaning that it will take awhile to 'build up' in your system, but it is also easier to come off of when you are done taking it in my opinion.

Yes, the drug companies have to list every POSSIBLE side effect no matter how remote.  I was first VERY against any forms of medications because of the horror stories that I read online.  I reluctantly decided to start an SSRI and it was probably the best decision of my life.  

I look at it this way; remember, for every horror story you will read about, there are thousands of good stories that you will never really read about...we tend to gravitate toward the bad when we are worried.  Second, in my experience with meds like these, it is going to take a little while to build up in your system and there is an adjustment period.  For example, when I first started, I was actually a little more on edge for awhile but after awhile they pretty much went away....if it makes you tired, you may try taking it at night..that is what I do and it works for me.  Third, while I am a big proponent of meds like these, ensure you are going through talk therapy.  Only by learning about it, will you gain long term relief from this, in my opinion.

You can be very active on this.  I still run over 40 miles a week, play sports, travel, and do many things...please keep us posted!