My experience taking Fluxetine (with some retalin)

[ChristopherT]

Hi OncewasSupergirl.

Yeah I think sometimes I use alcohol as a social lubricant, and also as a release, and for the fun moods it seems to put me in. So I guess the fluoxetine would kind of cover those bases, so I would hope that my need for drinking in excess on the occasion would lessen. Last year, when I started using something similar to Ritalin for the first time, I also took another tablet, which stopped me being able to drink. I took that for two months, but then I decided I was getting too anxious on Ritalin type tablets socially, so I wanted to drink again.

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Day 18

Well last night I went out. I did drink, and I did get drunk, rather drunk. It seems much easier to get drunk while taking Fluoxetine, even though I knew that, and tried to pace myself, it didn't seem to matter.

Luckily i had no real problems relating from being drunk. This is going to sound silly, but I thought at the time it was almost like I had super powers. I really hope I don't get depressed tomorrow, because I know that I felt really up yesterday, almost too up. I currently live out of the city, and I made friends with some people, and they let me sleep in there house. That's the second time I drank a lot on Prozac and the second time I woke up, not exactly remembering that I wasn't in my bed... It hasn't been that I was sleeping with anyone. It was just I have been so friendly, and people have been friendly to me. Maybe Prozac is affecting my sex drive. Anyway at the moment, I'm not looking to get involved with anyone just yet. It's obviously not good timing, and I am still not sure if I am getting back with my ex yet. I haven't made contact with her, nor she has with me. I'm not sure how long that will go on for.

As fun and free as I felt yesterday, it is a bit scary, given that if I met the wrong people something bad may well have happened.

[ChristopherT]

Day 19.
Well today wasn't that bad really. I was expecting to crash after the weekend, but I was just okay today. Last night I had the Fluoxetine tablet 20 mg at about 9pm instead of the morning, so I decided to have it at 3pm today to give myself more time in between tablets. I was a bit vague/vacant but i guess that can be expected. Anyway here's hoping for a positive week ahead.

I still haven't contacted the lady I am seeing, but had a break from. Maybe the tablets are helping in that way. I have still stopped taking Ritalin, since around when we decided to have the break, as they seemed to be making me more anxious, and creating stronger side affects for the Fluoxetine. So I think it's normal to just feel okay, hopefully it will improve during this week.

Yesterday I met a good friend quickly for a catch up. I could tell he was worried for me and my situation, without saying anything. He was also so busy, and has the opinion that I will find a way out of it, as I always do.

[ChristopherT]

Day 20. I guess I felt average today, but I have been waking up at an early time, which is a good sign.

[ChristopherT]

Day 21. Now three full weeks of taking Fluoxetine.

Hmm today, I felt maybe a little worse than yesterday. Not that bad, but a bit down, unmotivated.

I kinda found out on the grapevine, that my girlfriend, who I had to live apart from, and recently had a break with, was telling someone we had broken up. I know it's high school kind of stuff, but when we talked we were just having a break. I guess she was worried the way I have been recently, I wouldn't do well the whole break up thing.

Anyway i'm kind of hoping the Fluoxetine will lift my spirits me out of this strange rut that I have been in. I guess I have matured since my younger days, in that I would be keen to get out and meet new people. But I actually tried to make a mature attachment/relationship this time, which is why I'm still not interested to meet new females. I can't really imagine right now I would find the right type if I was looking for anyway. hmm hurry up Proozacccc.

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So here I am in my first three weeks.

In the Book I was reading called The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt where he talks about Meditation, Cognitive therapy and Prozac being three effective means of helping you change your mind, he says

"For the first few weeks I had only side effects: some nausea, difficulty sleeping through the night, and a variety of physical sensations that I did not know my body could produce, including a feeling I can only describe by saying that my brain felt dry. But then one day in week five, the world changed color."

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"I woke up one morning and no longer felt anxious about the heavy work load and uncertain prospects of an untenured professor. It was like magic. A set of changes I had wanted to make in myself for years-loosening up, lightening up, accepting my mistakes without dwelling on them—happened overnight."

Okay, so bring this on!!

[ChristopherT]

Day 22
I guess today I was having a bad day, even had a bit of sweaty palms... But by nightfall, I had seen a movie called Life of Pi. Put me in a better mood, and I maybe even feel a bit positive I think.

The day though wasn't good at all, but it's hard to tell if that's any problem of the Flouxetine. I spent too long, lying on my bed feeling sorry for myself. I really need to shake this feeling!

[ChristopherT]

Day 23. Mj
Today was more like it. Except for an hour or two an hour after I took my pill, when I felt kind of down , I felt good and more positive then of late.

It‘s worth mentioning that instead of using an over the counter sleeing pill last night, for the fourth night in a row, I used a hypnotic audio file to help me sleep.

I had a quick dip in the ocean with sunlight, which might have helped too.

[ChristopherT]

Day 24. It's another Friday and not yet night.
I will though write this in, anyway. I hope nobody minds me doing a day to day thing, I just thought it's good for me to keep track, and in a part a release to take my mind of things, and feel in control, and also I hope they I might give some insight for someone who may be similar to me.

Anyway, so last night, I didn't feel sleepy, after listening to the hypnotise audio file I had. I think I had anxiety, over what I should say to my ex, now that I know she had lied, saying to someone we were broken up, when we just agreed to a break. I thought if I should confront and leave her with guilt, or just let it go, and say goodbye. So anyway, I had over the counter sleeping tablets. I had 1 and half tabs 30 mgs of Doxylamine Succinate. It got me sleeping, but in the morning I felt groggy, and I slept in.

I felt slow, almost to the point of autism, and anyway I had a big coffee, which is something I don't do recently. It sped me up, and I felt much smarter than usual. It's weird the two extremes I go through sometimes. I would be happy to have coffee instead of Ritalin, if it always worked, but I seem to crash, and get a bit of "mania", and it also makes my anxiety much worse. But it will be something I will consider too, if I can't have Ritalin with Fluoxetine.

Now tonight, I am sure I will meet people to drink. The trick is my limit. Usually I could drink 10 drinks over a number of hours and be fine, but on Fluoxetine, 10 drinks seems like 20 drinks, and I get completely wild, and happy drunk. That's the thing, it seems like such a happy drunk, that it's hard for me to stop. I seem to be in such a good mood, and people seem to really like me at the time...

But I realise the key is to limit myself. I think on 5 drinks over a number of hours, I would be a bit more than tipsy, but not out of control and in a good mood.

I have read the forums like this, and realise some people say it's not healthy and some people say they did it with no side effects, and I'm still undecided.

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=19518

[footballking]

Well done man, you seem to be doing pretty well. I was given lexapro also known as escitroplam, but i'm afraid to take it because of the side effects. What makes you not care about the side effects of anti-depressants? Also that book you're reading? does it just talk about prozac or any other anti-depressants also? And did you say he came of the prozac? after 5 weeks? sounds a bit absurd.

[ChristopherT]

Hey man.

Yeah the types of anti depressants, are not really talked about, just that the idea of medication like Prozac can be useful, for people who don't benefit as much from therapy, or meditating. I'm not sure it was clear how long it was that he took what he took for, but he said after he decided it was affecting his memory for his work, he stopped it after a few weeks I think.

Hmm I don't know... I guess I was already taking Ritalin, so I thought it would make taking that easier. The side effects, I just figured would be something I would need to work through, and because I was entering a possible break up among other things, the increase of anxiety and depression was a scarier motivation then the side effects of the meds.

I guess the positives out weighed the negatives. I had originally had the tablets years before and I think I didn't need it, but this time, I thought I needed to swallow pride and that I did indeed need it.

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Day 25. 26 . 27

Day 25 Saturday

Again, like I imagined, last night I drank, and went out. I did okay, my friend offered me to crash on his sofa, I figured I might as well. I had brought an extra pill, as I thought this might happen.

I noticed while making me relaxed, it seems as though fluoxetine makes me talk alot, if I am drunk. Too much I think. Anyway maybe it's just still a sign of nerves.

I didn't drink so much, but still felt drunk, but it wasn't till i got back to his place with him and his girlfriend, that I had a really strong cocktail, and was drunk and slept. I feel like it made me a little bit high tension, but not really nervous I guess.

It ended up I continued tonight by going out to a birthday drinks, and I kept drinking to an okay level. At night I went with my friend, to calm down a female friend, who was depressed about a guy or something. I talked too much again. I hope that goes away, I prefer to be a bit more chilled out. Anyway after that I planned to go home, but I thought since I was single, and my girlfriend was telling people I had broken up, I should go for another drink. I was not that drunk when I started but,

Day 26 Sunday
Okay so that one drink, meant I didn't go home. I went to one place, made some friends, suddenly they were buying lots of drinks, jugs of beer. I think I had forgotten how I would get drunk easily, in the excitement of the night.. Anyway I met some more guys, it seemed like might energy was so high and enthusiasm was catching.

Maybe because of the break/break up. I didn't really want to go home and continued to drink with these guys, going around to various bars....

Sadly, as fun as it was at the time, I didn't get home until Monday early morning.. So Friday night, turned into me geting back home at Monday. For a variety of reasons, by Monday I was quite scared at what I had done. I also did not take my tablet on Sunday, so I wonder if that might have had some effect.

Day 27 Monday.
I guess I did have fun yesterday, but why did I strive to have never ending fun. Made me wonder if the tablets were making me a little crazy, or was it just a side effect of the break up. Probably a bit of both. I realise I was almost too relaxed on the weekend when I would go out. But I didn't feel overly that I was thinking about sex exactly. It was more just chasing fun. I was happy to talk to girls, to get other people to meet them. I also seemed to have once again these grandiose thoughts while drinking, it seems to inspire people I meet, but it kind of bothers me afterwards.

Oh well, I guess it's better than being negative or depressed when I drink. But this last weekend was so big, I have to really be concerned for myself, not to mention drinking for three days, isn't entirely cheap.

[ChristopherT]

Day 28 Tuesday.

Well, I felt better today... I was a little worried I would end up with a three day hangover or other things I read about along with Fluoxetine and alcohol. But I guess I have felt worse, when I wasn't on Fluoxetine, so I can't use it as an excuse.

It is also, a trait I remember, that I tend to drink more in a breakup up, or end of a bad relationship... So I don't know if I can blame the Fluoxetine, for making me want to drink more. Except that I do seem happy when I do it, and as long as I'm having fun, it may be harder for me to go home.

I also lost my Jacket on the weekend, and there was a kind of altercation, where a guy I was with got in some trouble, with some underground characters, while having breakfast. These kind of things I worry about, that if I feel over happy, I may not realize problems under my nose. But anyway I will take it, and see how it goes.

I confronted my gf, about the problems, seems we are now broken up. She seems like she used me, and probably could lead me on for long, rather then letting me get through and over this. So in that way, I thank Fluoxetine, for getting me through something, which may have taken longer, and sucked more out of me energy wise. My chest was a bit in pain throughout today (broken heart) but I remained headstrong, and relatively optimistic that I can get through all this.