Posted by Bob on September 26, 1999, at 16:54:30
In reply to Prozac and Celexa, posted by Tammy on September 26, 1999, at 16:03:15
> I was taking 20 mg of Celexa for about 2 months,I thought it wasn't working so I stopped without asking or telling my Dr.
NEVER do that again, okay? Taking psychopharms is serious business -- it isn't something you can take or leave like some OTC cold rememdy.
> Now I have had anxiety attacks and a little depression back.
And that is one reason why. My first trial with ADs was on Zoloft, prescribed by my GP. After six months, I stopped taking them *at* his suggestion ... no taper off, no suggestion of monitoring closely any change, no warning about potential withdrawal. My depression rebounded with a vengeance, and no SSRI has come close to being as effective as Zoloft was on that first trial.
I now get my meds from a psychiatrist, I take his advice on dosage seriously, and we look at any change in meds **very** carefully. It's been over two years, and I still haven't found a combination of meds as effective as Zoloft was for me those first few months.
Sorry about the lecture, but you can't treat this stuff seriously enough.
Is your doctor your GP, or is she a psych-doc? If this is going to be a long term thing for you, you should consider the level of expertise you want to have looking out for you -- both in terms of meds AND in terms of therapy.
As for Prozac -- if you look at the side effect profiles of most SSRIs, they say that they can cause weight gain or weight loss (or not do either) as a side effect. Different people react differently. When I took prozac, I dropped about 10 lbs. or 5% of my weight pre-prozac. Since then, I'm back on zoloft (with some other meds), and I've since gained 40 lbs. or 20% of my pre-current-med weight. I'm sure there are people out there who have had the opposite reaction.
In any event, you're not taking an AD to help with your weight -- that's what diet and exercise are for.
Again, sorry for coming down so hard -- but I started off not taking my meds seriously enough, and I have paid a heavy price for that lack of care. If being a pain in your *ss will get you to think twice about what you *should* be concerned about, then maybe its done some good.
Bob
poster:Bob
thread:12076
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990914/msgs/12080.html