Posted by Seraphine on July 9, 2009, at 12:25:01
It can be hard to know if I am giving up on a medication too soon. How do you know when you need to stick it out and when to follow your gut that says this is not feeling right.
I started fluoxetine 11 days ago. Still only at 10 mg (though have taken 5 on some days and havent taken since Tuesday). I have taken sertraline in the past with success and I tolerated it well. But I noticed that even at a low dose my clarity of thought was compromised (I know now this to be a common side effect of SSRIs). Since Id only ever tried one SSRI, we decided to try fluoxetine (after being off completely for many months).
Ive noticed that when the fluox kicks in I feel terribly inert. Dull, unmotivated, complete bump on a log. And worse, I feel sadder, a little unreal, and cant think to save my life (oddly though the inability to think is mostly subjective (though severe), objectively I could tend to tasks that required thought). I called my doc yesterday to discuss (left a message, we havent spoken yet) and I just sat with the phone in my hand for many minutes before calling. I had a hard time formulating sentences while leaving the message. Again, I probably sounded normal. But my internal experience was anything but.
I take SSRIs for anxiety/ADD/mild depression. Its not clear what the most salient or primary problem is, but probably anxiety. It manifests most obviously as *relentless* thinking, black-and-white thinking, being extremely over analytical. (that might not sound like much, but it destroys my quality of life!)
At any rate, my main question is how you know when you are being too quick to judge a drug, and when you should stick it out. Its only been 11 days. When I start to feel relief/better as the drug begins to leave my body, I tend to feel Ive made the right decision. Im tempted to go back to the devil I know (sertraline, helpful devil ;-) rather than wait and see with the one I dont. With sertraline I had some strange sensations at times early on, and some increased anxiety, but nothing like the mental/emotional discomfort of trying to stick with fluoxetine.
Your 2 cents?
poster:Seraphine
thread:905805
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090709/msgs/905805.html