Posted by finelinebob on May 7, 2004, at 14:26:17
In reply to Prozac-need advice, posted by lexman on May 7, 2004, at 13:12:13
lexman--
Your doc or pdoc should have told you this, so I hope its not the first time you're getting it. SSRIs like Prozac take time to build up to their "therapeutic effect". Four to eight weeks, in general.What happens in those weeks, tho, is a different story ... your mileage may vary (YMMV). The first SSRI I was prescribed was Zoloft. For me, it was a roller coaster -- one week I was manic, the next I felt like I was dying. I went through about three cycles of that before things settled into a stable pattern.
This is some of the hardest advice to hear when you're having a rough time building up to that therapeutic level, but you need to have a lot of patience. I'm not saying suffer in silence -- come here to Babble and talk all you need, talk to friends, talk to your doc especially and keep him/her informed. Take baths. Meditate. Remember to breathe. Whatever soothes you, do it. On the flip side, if your mood takes a 180 be ready for it. Don't go signing up for any credit cards or anything like that (one manic episode was enough to bankrupt me!).
Keep a journal. Document how you feel. Chart your moods. What you need more than anything right now is perspective, and perspective only comes with time and reflection. Then, four weeks from now, if you can take your journal and see some improvement, you can have some confidence you're heading in the right direction. If you don't see improvement, then you have some documentation to share with your pdoc that will help the two of you make an informed decision about how to proceed.
Of course, this just means you have to be extra special to yourself today -- Happy Birthday!!! Go out of your way to treat yourself special ... you deserve it doubly, since (1) you're you in the first place, and that's enough of a reason, and (2) you are taking this step, going on meds, to make your life better. Go do two things nice for yourself, and keep in mind that you WILL get through this!
hth, flb
poster:finelinebob
thread:344426
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040505/msgs/344444.html