Nervous about starting Prozac today....other SSRIs have made me feel rubbish before
Hi,
I am Emma. I am 37 and suffer terrible anxiety and in particular health anxiety and I am awaiting a breast clinic referral for a lump. I know these tablets will not work in time for the referral but I need something as this is the 3rd legitimate health scare in 18 months so I need something to help me cope long term if and when I ever experience something again. I am also starting counselling next week.
My GP prescribed me Prozac but very nervous as tried sertraline last year on a mega low dose and had awful side effect of a huge panic attack a week in with all over flushing and numbmess in middle of the night. I was so so scared I vowed never to take it again. Then I tried Citralopram and experienced a weird side effect of out of body experience and then another huge panic attack that saw me in emergency dept for an hour.
So I fear this will do the same. Are there any good positive stories?
Re: Nervous about starting Prozac today....other SSRIs have made me feel rubbish befo
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Originally Posted by
shera83
Hi, I am Emma.
:welcome: to NMP, Emma
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My GP prescribed me Prozac but very nervous as tried sertraline last year on a mega low dose and had awful side effect of a huge panic attack a week in with all over flushing and numbmess in middle of the night. I was so so scared I vowed never to take it again. Then I tried Citralopram and experienced a weird side effect of out of body experience and then another huge panic attack that saw me in emergency dept for an hour.
Unfortunately, all serotonergic antidepressants (ADs) may make anxiety worse at the beginning because of the initial increase in serotonin activity. Despite the popular myths, serotonin isn't a 'feel good' neurotransmitter. This does diminish within a few weeks as biofeedback mechanisms kick-in to down-regulate serotonin synthesis and expression. Starting on a low dose, no more than 10mg for fluoxetine (Prozac), and ramping it up by the same amount every 2 weeks can reduce the severity of any anxiety spikes. Also ask your GP to prescribe a small dose of one of the benzodiazepines such as diazepam (Valium) for the first week or two.
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So I fear this will do the same. Are there any good positive stories?
Most people have only moderate side-effects when first taking ADs and not all of them are necessarily caused by the meds. An anxious mind is very capable of producing our worst side-effect nightmares if given half a chance so attitude is very important. The two things to keep in mind are that side-effects are not usually signs of physical harm - treating them as mere nuisances can ease their impact - and the results are usually worth the initial trauma. When they work well ADs can transform lives.
