Posted by Bonnie_CA on May 17, 2006, at 17:35:32
In reply to Re: Starting Prozac tomorrow, posted by Paul on Long Island on May 17, 2006, at 6:39:45
My doctor told me to just stop taking the Effexor, that I shouldn't have any side effects, but I was an absolute mess, the worst withdrawal I have ever had. I'm getting off of Effexor because it was inconsistent with relieving my anxiety and it made me nauseous and gave me a headache more days than not. At the higher dose (that I HAD to have adjusted, 150 mg), my heart was pounding 24-7 and I couldn't sleep at all. Within a few hours of taking Effexor, my eyes would feel like they had a lot of pressure, and sometimes it was hard to focus, even with the lower dosage. The side effects of Effexor are a mile long. It's supposed to be really good for GAD, but it just made everything worse. I don't think my norpinephren needed help, just the seritonin. LOL Today is my first 20 mg tablet, and I feel a lot better, better than I did with just the 10 mg. I'm going to start tapering my Effexor down my way, little by little, taking beads out of the tablet. Like I said, my doc told me just to stop, and I was such a mess I couldn't stand it. So I think I'll taper my way. I've got plenty of Effexor, so I can just taper a few beads at a time until I'm off of it. You have OCD eh... I understand. I don't have it, but I read about it a long time ago, and have seen many examples of it since. You know that what you are doing is silly, but you HAVE to do it or you will go crazy! When I'm not medicated, I get a bit of OCD-like habits, but I don't have OCD. I'll just be very picky about cleanliness (which may not be so bad!), but I don't have rituals, so I'm definitely not OCD. :D
So, the break down of my medication history with my GAD is...
BuSpar (I think I took as much as 30mg)- Made me unbelieveably sleepy (falling asleep while sitting, and it's touted as non-drowsy!), made my anxiety worse.
Paxil (20mg) - Worked like a dream, but I gained 20 lbs and was unable to have sex... physical disfunction, not loss of desire. Kind of a problem when you're a newlywed.
Celexa (20mg, then 40mg) - Worked, but not for very long. After about a year, had my dosage raised, then it only worked for another 8 months or so. The only side effect I ever had from it was loss of appetite with initial starting and dosage change.
Effexor (150mg, then 75mg)- I've explained already.
Now I'm on Prozac (20 mg). Hopefully the Prozac won't cause weight gain or sexual disfunction. We shall see!Good luck, hopefully the more Prozac that is in your system, the better you'll feel! Keep me posted!
-Bonnie
poster:Bonnie_CA
thread:642452
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060515/msgs/645246.html