Posted by Michelle41 on February 23, 2010, at 12:31:18
Hello! I posted this on the withdrawal page, but it probably should have been posted here..
**FRUSTRATED WITH SSRI's**
I was on paxil for 1 year (evil drug LOL) Zoloft for about 8 years, Prozac for 2 years (added strattera to the prozac and that was not a good thing)
I stopped taking Prozac and strattera for almost a year but the anxiety came creeping back..
I just went back on Prozac 2 1/2 months ago and it is a nightmare! Since starting on prozac originally in 2006, I have had missed or no periods, hot flashes, heart palpitations w/chest tightness and pain, weird dull pains in my abdomen where my ovaries are.. Recently, just when I am about to fall asleep, I gasp for air and have a panic attack which keeps me up for hours :( By the way, I will be 41 next month so maybe my hormones are changing :(
I am so scared that I am going to fall asleep and never wake up due to my heart stopping!! I have tried dropping the dose from 10 mg a day (had chest pain every day at this dose since starting back on Prozac 2 mos ago) Now, I am down to less than 5mg every other day which has possibly triggered ssri withdrawals ( more heart palpitations, gasping for air before falling asleep, panic) Over the past few days, I went back up to 5mg from 2.5mg which seems to help the gasping issue.. Still struggling with heart issues after taking the meds ( usually happens within 20 min)
I did have my TSH checked a few months ago and it was "normal" However, my FSH and LH were way too high, almost double from normal range. I have also been lactating for years now since I have been on SSRI's.
I am so frustrated and sick of being on the SSRI crazy train!! I am going to make an appointment with an endocronologist to see if my thyroid is messed up. I never had a full thyroid screen, just the TSH.
I am tempted to switch to celexa or Lexapro to see if it calms the panic attacks but I am scared to go on it :(
I am afraid that once I start, I won't be able to stop taking it..
I truly think that these SSRI's were a bad choice for me.. But I was never able to really find the root cause of my anxiety due to no health insurance.. I swear this is a thyroid problem so I am hoping that a thyroid med will help me more than these nasty SSRI's have!!
Sorry for the long post, I am scared out of my mind with this heart issue :(
It seems that the only thing that Paxil, Zoloft and did for me was make me a fat zombie while still having anxiety at some level :( I have lost 15 lbs on Prozac, but I think it is because of the energizing effects. The SSRI's I have taken also killed my sex drive!!
poster:Michelle41
thread:937748
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100216/msgs/937748.html