prozac or not

[Maj]

I posted a message earlier saying that I got prozac from the doctor today and was worried about side affects. I have terrible missed heartbeats and nothing I do seems to make them go away. My g.p. decided to give me prozac to see if it made me less anxious and less aware of the beats. To be honest I've only taken one prozac so far and I am now wondering if I should carry on with the course or should I try and get over this myself. I would be grateful for any advice.

Thanks

[pollyanna]

Myra,

I have had missed heartbeats, palpatations etc for a long time, they were becoming unbearable and my anxiety was spiralling out of control, and as terrified as i was, i decided to take medication to see if it would help me, i was already taking anti depressants , so i was prescribed beta blockers for the palpatations by a cardioligist, well what a difference, it tookl me a while to calm down and realise that they werent doing anything dreadful to me, in fact they were really helpful, and i still take them when i need to, and i take anti depressants and have done for a long time ( i have written a reply to a similar post today if you want to have a look).

Although medication is not for everyone, what you have to ask yourself is, how long have these symptoms been bothering me? Am i coping well with them?How bad are they?How do they make me feel? Do i have a good quality of life at the moment with this anxiety?
from reading your post, it sounds like you are distressed by them( me too), and the more anxious you are , the more likely you are to notice them even more, or your thoughts to be consumed by them.You have been to your Gp and got the prescription and taken one, so my thinking is, that you wanted to give it a go, but now are not so sure, that is understandable, only you can decide whether you want to continue with this treatment, although i have not had prozac, i do take dosulepin ( and i have had citalopram too)which gives me some side effects, but on balance, they keep me reasonably well and i have a better quality of life with them , than without.

I would not like to sway you either way, but answer the questions above honestly, and take it from there. there is no shame in taking medication, but its not a miracle pill either, its only 50% of the solution, we are the other 50%

Goodluck with whatever you decide.


P x

I posted a message earlier saying that I got prozac from the doctor today and was worried about side affects. I have terrible missed heartbeats and nothing I do seems to make them go away. My g.p. decided to give me prozac to see if it made me less anxious and less aware of the beats. To be honest I've only taken one prozac so far and I am now wondering if I should carry on with the course or should I try and get over this myself. I would be grateful for any advice.

Thanks

[nomorepanic]

I am not an expert on this but I wouldn't have thought Prozac would help with missed beats. I would have thought a beta-blocker would be better for that.

[Maj]

Thank you Pollyana and Nicola, yes beta-blockers would probably have helped but apparently I can't take them because I have asthma. I agree that there is no shame in taking medication. I told my g.p. I also felt a bit tearful at times and I think that's why she gave me prozac. I probably also feel like this because of my age. About 12 years ago I took sertraline and that really helped me as I was suffering from anxiety which led to a pattern of ocd - sertraline was a Godsend to me. I wish my g.p. had given me this. Oh I don't know - I'm so mixed up - I just don't want to take a medication that won't be right for me.

x

[gtrgrl3369]

If you dont feel comfortable with what your doctor gave you, you can ask for what you have been on before especially if it worked. Meds are not for everyone, it is a personal decision based on how you feel about them. I was prescribed prozac, and didnt take a pill at all because Im med phobic so I cant tell you how they will do. I have heard that lexapro offers the least side effects for anxiety and depression. Good luck with your decision. Take care.

[Maj]

Me again!!

I took another prozac today but I am really beginning to feel that I shouldn't really be taking them. I can't say I feel depressed. I am probably going through the menopause at the moment and feel a bit emotional at times. My main symptom as I said is chronic ectopic beats which I have been told are harmless. It was only because they were worse at the moment that I went to see my g.p. again. I can't take betablockers because of asthma apparently. I think I will just really need to accept the ectopics and try and even use some natural remedies and try and relax a bit. It's so difficult at times though but I'm sure if I keep reading the forums I will get support just reading everyone's stories and knowing that I am not alone.
Thanks for all your support so far.

x

[sue.b]

Hi Myra

I had ectopic heartbeats years ago. I found it hard to accept at the time that they were due to stress and would not harm me.

I saw a couple of different doctors, cardiologist, had a heart tape for 24 hrs, all showed ectopics.

I was put on a beta blocker which helped a bit but once i accepted that i would come to no harm my stress levels reduced and so did the ectopic beat and eventually went completely.

I know it is easy said and hard to do but just trust what you have been told by the medical professionals and they will sudside eventually.

Wish you well

Sue xxxx

[Maj]

Thank you for that Sue. I know that you are right and I am going to make a determined effort to accept these and hopefully through time I'll calm down and realise that they really were nothing to worry about. It's so good to hear from someone who knows what you are going through.

Myra x