Prescribed wrong meds?/ Prozac

[joe8]

Hi can anyone help?

I have had depression for years and have never found much relief from anti-depressants. So I gave up taking them in January for first time in three years but have been even worse since then. So I saw my psychiatrist on thursday and we decided I should go back on something. I wanted to try something new - no point trying what had not worked before - so we decided on Prozac.

My psych. wrote out a note for my GP to prescribe "Paroxetine" and I thought nothing of it. Then I started to have panic attacks as you hear mixed things about Prozac dont you? So I decided not to take it but to come on here and ask how people had got on with prozac only to find I seem to have been prescribed the wrong drug! It appears what I have been prescribed (paroxetine) is Seroxat and I should have been prescribed "Fluoxetine!" Theres no way Im taking the Seroxat as I have had it before and it didnt help.

I cant do anything about it today as its bank holiday. I am really feeling panicky as if my own psychiatrist doesnt know the correct names of medication it makes it really hard to believe they know what they are doing. I have been in and out of psychiatric services for three and a half years and have never met a good psychiatrist.

So just to check Prozac= Fluoxetine? Seroxat = Paroxetine?

I really could do without the hassle of sorting this out. What should I do? and how can I get my money back on the Seroxat? Theres no way I should pay for both prescriptions as its not my fault and Im in massive financial difficulties. STRESSED!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also can I ask anyone who has been on Prozac how they got on with it. Did it help? I have previously taken Seroxat, Venlafaxine and Citalopram to no effect so Im very cynical about taking Prozac?

Cheers, joe

[florence]

Hi Joe

Wow , I can understand your frustration!! :(
Yeah Prozac is certainly Fluoxetine, I've been prescribed it before when I had post-natal depression, and it helped!
I 've tried Seroxat , venlafaxine (effexor), and citalopram too, unfortunately they gave me bad side effects. Better without.
I was prescribed then Prozac again , last year , for anxiety, but surprisingly , it didnt do much for me, so I gave up.
From my own experience, Prozac helped me a lot with depression but not with anxiety.

Best of luck.
Florence.

**To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.**

[seh1980]

hi Joe,

I'm sure it was just a small mistake and that you will get it sorted out tomorrow when things are open again..

Sarah :D

[nomorepanic]

Joe

What a pain with the mix up eh?

Unfortunately unless you have a very understanding doctor of pharmacist they won't refund the money. I was prescribed penicillin once and I am allergic to it. Didn't realise their mistake until I picked it up but when I took it back to get my money back they said they couldn't as I could have "interfered" with it in some way. I was fuming as it was their mistake and not mine but they wouldn't budge on it so I had to pay twice!

As for Prozac I was on it for about 9 months and it helped with the depression but didn't even touch the panic attacks so I just stopped taking it one day.

Hope you get it sorted tomorrow.

Nicola

[joe8]

Hi everyone,

Just to let you guys know I spoke to my psych. and she admitted she got the name of the drug wrong! Doesnt fill me with much confidence in her tho as I had to tell her Paroxetine is not Prozac! As expected tho nobody seems able to give me my money back. I felt like asking my psych. to pay for it herself;)

But now I am panicing again about something else. I am in a support group for long term mental health problems and told the other group members today I am starting Prozac. One of the other group members started telling me about people who became more psychotic on it and committed murders and stuff. This was not what I wanted to hear and it really freaked me out. I am not a bad person but I shamefully have crazy ideas sometimes as result of my illness and Im told Prozac can make you more impulsive.

Im very worried now. From speaking to people on here (and a friend who said it made her feel human again) who said it could help with my depression I had decided I would take it. I think if I could get some relief from depression the panicing would decrease and I could get my life back but now Im scared to take the Prozac. I told my psych. about this and she said she could not deny there were cases where Prozac has made people more inclined to act out their thoughts.

I so wish I had not gone to the group today. I wish the person who said those things had thought about it before she told me that, it has upset me. But I guess the person who told me that isnt too well either but I dont think group therapy is helping me. I didnt want to hear these horror stories

I dont know what to do. I think I will probably still take the Prozac but its scary

Thanks for listening

[LisaD]

Hi Joe,

I had the same issue when I started the Celexa, because the father of one of my friends had a psychotic episode when starting an SSRI (no murders etc, just went a bit bonkers for a few days). Sorry, that probably isn't going to help your fear....but hopefully this will. Think about how many millions of people are on anti-d (especially in the states, and especially prozac). Yes, there have been a few cases where it doesn't react well, but these are ALWAYS blown out of proportion in the media and I would guess constitute less than 1% of people taking them. I know that it is hard to ignore, but try to keep this in mind. My mother was given prozac after a nervous breakdown, and she said that she was at the doctor's office within 2 weeks thanking the lord for whoever made this drug! I know how much I've come along since starting the Celexa...and incidently, have been sleeping much better since they became effective (something to think about since you are wanting to stop the zopiclone).
Joe, I definitely have been in this position...it is the product of your anxiety. Once my anxiety started lifting I didn't worry about this issue anymore. All I can say is try to trust it and believe that it will make you better. PM me about this if you'd like. Take care,

xxx Lisa

Lisa

[Piglet]

Hi Joe,

What a frustrating experience, I almost want to stamp my foot on your behalf, perhaps you could give your pillow a damn good thump or two to get rid of that paticular bit of irritation.

Meanwhile about the Prozac - a friend and I both had similiar symptoms at the same time years ago, I was prescribed Prozac and she wasn't prescribed anything infact didn't even go to the GP's as she was feeling so agoraphobic at the time. To cut a long story short we both felt an awful lot better a few months later despite our different approaches.

Would I take it again? I think it was appropriate at the time but like Nicola it didn't really touch the anxiety and I hadn't realised I was depressed so not sure about that angle either. I didn't have any side effects and I've known a couple of people who didn't either.

Is it worth weighing up in your mind which of the symptoms is bothering you more, the anxiety or the depression and basing it on that.

In the beginning when I felt anxious I lost confidence in me having any idea of what might be right for me so just did whatever anyone said I should do and took it that they must be right. I think you need more reassurance about this medicine otherwise you're not going to feel comfortable taking it, would ringing NHS direct be of any use if you can't get hold of your doctor.

Love Piglet

[seh1980]

hello Joe,

You really have nothing to be worried about. Although it is true that some meds can react badly with a very small percentage of people, this doesn't even come close to the amount of people that they help every year around the world. It was very wrong of that person to even scare you like that in the first place!!

Sarah :D

[Meg]

**I shamefully have crazy ideas **

This is not shameful at all . We have all been there ...it's part of the disorder and does pass.

Thoughts not instructions


Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com

Watch your thoughts, they become your words...
Watch your words, they become your actions... Watch your actions, they become your habits... Watch your habits, they become your character... Watch your character, it becomes your destiny...