Thinking about starting again...

[milkcarton]

Hi All,

I'm thinking about starting Prozac again, after a very successful course the first time round. I was on them for 9 months after having really bad anxiety and depression. I am starting to spiral down again with my health anxiety and negative thinking.

My Dr has recommended Sertaline this time as she says the side effects are less severe as Prozac. I am confused what to do as I know Prozac worked wonders for me before but the first 4-6 weeks were very difficult for me.

Do you also take time off work during the first month? I was signed off work last time I started taking them but do not want to do that again. However, I am expecting myself to struggle if I start again and I don't think I would be fit to work.

Advice and personal experiences would be greatly appreciated to hear!

Milk x

[anthrokid]

Hey Milk,

Setraline is an SSRI, which is the same family as Fluoxetine (Prozac). Generally a doctor will try and recommend a different medication in the same family the second time around in case your body now has a tolerance to the first medication. Because you've been on Fluoxetine before, she's probably recommended Sertaline because it's likely that your body will react to it faster and won't require a dose as high as fluoxetine for positive effects. For example, when I was 16 I took a 20mg dose of Fluoxetine for a year for depression. When I had to go back on it at 19 for panic disorder I had to increase the dose to 40mg before it started to work.

Interesting, I never had ANY side effects either time except for some odd dreams and increased thirst - seems that Fluoxetine really likes me, haha. If you found the side effects were quite bad last time, your doctor may also have recommended Sertaline because there is a chance that it may be a better match for your body and may not have as many side effects. This is often true for a lot of people. Another example for you - before I tried fluoxetine a second time my psychiatrist put me on Amitriptyline (a tricyclic antidepressant that also acts as a sedative and pain relief, completely different family). I had awful side effects that I had never experienced before, and after only 2 days I was back at the doctor who quickly decided that it definitely wasn't a good medication for me. He put me back on Fluoxetine, but also cautioned me that it may take longer to work than the last time and I may need more. And BAM, I started to improve dramatically after a couple of months.

I guess what I am trying to say is that your doctor is trying their best to find something that will work for you with as little problems as possible, and that may very well be Sertaline You may find that you have fewer side effects on Sertaline and may not need the time off work as you did last time. However, if you try Sertaline and the side effects are unbearable, you have every right to go to your doctor and request Fluoxetine again. Just be aware that taking a medication a second time can sometimes take longer to work and often requires a higher dose.

Hope that helped! Apologies if I rambled :P

[littlemissjo]

Hi, I'm on my second week of my second course and am only just starting to do work bit by bit the last few days, the first week was really rough and I couldn't bring myself to work. But I'm self employed so I knew I had to do some! The first time around I know I suffered with side effects I couldn't tell you now if they were better or worse but I was in fulltime emp and couldn't take the time off or felt I couldn't so I just suffered it. Looking back now I should have asked my doctor to sign me off work to recover - I think that's called being kind to yourself! I guess you can only make that call once you're into it and if the side effects get really bad go back to the docs and get signed off

[milkcarton]

Hey All,

Thanks for your comments and advice, I took the weekend to really think over and decide what to do. Finally, I have decided to take the Fluox for the second time. I know it worked so well for me the last time and I was in a worse state of mind starting them than I am now.

However, I am so so so so worried that I will feel as bad as the last time. I put off taking my first tablet tonight and will take one with breakfast tomorrow.

I will be peeled to this forum for a while now as it was a life saver last time.

milk x

[anthrokid]

Glad to hear you took some time to consider what would be the best option for you I think it is quite likely that because this is the second time for you the sife effects will probably be less severe than last time. Remember, you got through the side effects last time and it was absolutely worth it! Stick around and let us know how you are going. Good luck