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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Lisa on September 7, 1999, at 10:40:53
I was wondering how long it took for Prozac to work on
you? I was on 20 mg for two weeks and 40 mg for two
weeks, and I'm still feeling depressed and suicidal,
unable to enjoy much of anything. The first week I
started the drug, I felt manic and couldn't sleep, which
was really a welcome change from my typical slovenliness.
The second week and the third week I was starting to feel
better, but the effect has leveled off and I'm back in
the dumps.
Posted by roo on September 7, 1999, at 13:02:59
In reply to Prozac, posted by Lisa on September 7, 1999, at 10:40:53
Well...I might not be a good person to ask b/c
prozac is just an unusually good fit for me. I
can usually tell an improvement within a few days,
then it levels off..I don't feel the major benefit
until 3 weeks or a month...
Have you tried anything but prozac? It might not
be a good fit for you. I think a fair trial to
give an ad is about 2 months...UNLESS, like you,
you're feeling horrible and suicidal...and especially
if a drug makes you worse (a few have done that
to me...). Have you told your doctor how you're
feeling? Hopefully you're dealing with a psychiatrist
and not a general practicioner...
Posted by Bob (not Dr.) on September 7, 1999, at 13:12:01
In reply to Prozac, posted by Lisa on September 7, 1999, at 10:40:53
I know it seems like medicine should work right
away, so taking it over a month can be worrisome.
When I first started taking meds (zoloft), it
took about two months for my mood to stabilize.
I had the same sort of rollercoaster ride as well-
waaay up one week, then overnight waaaaay down.
The peaks and valleys did level off, though, and
my baseline mood was at a level I had *never*
known before. Maybe someone else has some better
idea for riding it out than I do, but what worked
for me was being open with my docs about how I
was feeling, as well as with a trusted friend.
They all knew well enough to keep close tabs on
me and made me promise to call them or, failing
that, check myself into a hospital before doing
anything rash. Having been there, I know that
there are times when killing yourself seems like
the most sensible thing to do ... and one problem
with antidepressants is that they can give you
enough energy and motivation to act before you
take any steps to stop yourself.As a matter of fact, I just had a mood swing so
low I to revive that promise with my therapist and my
best friend just two weeks ago.So please, take the time to find two or three people
you can count on and get their help. Make them
the same promise and keep it if you need it. Or
just keep coming back here and chatting. It seems
like there's someone on-line at about any time
(even Dr. Bob at 2:42 am?!) and most if not all
of us have been down a similar road to yours.Cheers (and I mean it;^),
Bob
Posted by Bob (still not Dr.) on September 7, 1999, at 13:25:02
In reply to Re: Prozac, posted by roo on September 7, 1999, at 13:02:59
> Have you told your doctor how you're
> feeling? Hopefully you're dealing with a psychiatrist
> and not a general practicioner...My GP's been wonderfully supportive and a great
part of my team which includes (officially) me,
my therapist, my psychopharmacologist, my GP and
(unofficially;^) my partner (who knows more about
psychotropic meds than my GP) and two of my best
friends. Still, I started without my pdoc, with
my GP proscribing the meds. He advised me to go
off after 6 months. It was the worst thing I could
have done at the time. The place that 100mg of
zoloft put me is way above where I am at twice
that amount plus a TCA as an augmentor and another
med for my panic disorder.My therapist is a psychologist, so I see my pdoc
for my scripts and for a session on how the meds
have been working once a month.If you don't keep a journal, you might want to
start one -- if only to track your moods compared
to your meds. I wish I had started mine much longer
ago. I tend to cycle quite a bit, but over long
periods of time. I can't say for certain, though,
nor can I say exactly what role my meds have played
because I haven't kept a close track of matters.
Posted by Janice on September 8, 1999, at 0:32:38
In reply to Amen to that, Roo!, posted by Bob (still not Dr.) on September 7, 1999, at 13:25:02
Hi, have you two ever thought about trying a mood stabilizers? Janice
Posted by roo on September 8, 1999, at 7:30:25
In reply to Roo and Bob, posted by Janice on September 8, 1999, at 0:32:38
I don't know anything about them...I thought they
were for manic-depressives, which I'm definately
not...
I'm curious--Why do you suggest it?
Posted by Bob (of Roo and Bob fame) on September 8, 1999, at 9:10:48
In reply to Re: Roo and Bob, posted by roo on September 8, 1999, at 7:30:25
> I'm curious--Why do you suggest it?
Ditto. BLTC, or so they say. ;^)
Cheers,
Bob
Posted by Janice on September 8, 1999, at 22:33:48
In reply to Re: Roo and Bob, posted by Bob (of Roo and Bob fame) on September 8, 1999, at 9:10:48
Hi, Only because I was thinking maybe a stabilizer could help your depression. Lithium helps my depression in 3 ways. My lithium helps stop my mood swings that can happen during one day.I call these episodes my reactive type depression; if something 'bad' happens and I react with my emotions and moods.
Lithium also generally helps lift my depressions (I'm not sure if that's because I'm manic-depressive or not).
and of course, it stops my 'highs'.
Just an idea. Hoping you're good, Janice
Posted by Bob (...) on September 9, 1999, at 8:31:01
In reply to Re: Roo and Bob, posted by Janice on September 8, 1999, at 22:33:48
I tried Lithium as an augmentor to first Prozac
then to Zoloft. It did give me somewhat of a
boost (from a pretty low level -- I crashed
pretty hard waiting for Lithium to wash out before
starting on nortriptyline) but I could hardly
tolerate 300mg/day. Right now, the SSRI-TCA cocktail
seems to be working okay ... not great, but it
allows me to take care of business 90% of the
time.Cheers,
Bob
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