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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Lini on September 7, 2001, at 14:10:20
hello hellodoing the prozac thing still, feel alot better, BUT definitely having some problems with too much sleeping and now some general brain fogginess. I feel the best directly after I take prozac and it lasts for about four hours. I have changed dose times to the morning, but still an idiotic Zombie by 3:00 in the afternoon (right about now) Suggestions on the board have indicated that maybe Wellbutrin could help, any thoughts about what I should expect? Side effects etc? I want an idea of what to talk through with my doctor - more prozac or adding another med? Any thoughts appreciated!
thanks
Posted by JohnL on September 7, 2001, at 18:00:09
In reply to Wellbutrin or More Prozac?, posted by Lini on September 7, 2001, at 14:10:20
Wow, I thought it was my imagination, but I know what you mean about Prozac feeling good for the first few hours or so. I told my doc once that I felt best when I took 10mg at breakfast and then another 10mg at lunch, instead of 20mg all at once. He said that was nonsense. And since the halflife of Prozac is about a week, it indeed does seem like nonsense. Regardless, I still swear Prozac for me worked a lot better with split doses than taking it all at once. Imagination? Fluke? I don't think so. How to explain it though is a total mystery to me.
Anyway, the easiest thing for you to try, before increasing dosage or adding something else, would be to try split doses. Take Prozac twice a day instead of just once. It theoretically doesn't make sense. However, the fact that you and I both have experienced the same thing leads me to believe there might be something valid here to pay attention to. It is certainly the easiest of all options to try.
John>
> hello hello
>
> doing the prozac thing still, feel alot better, BUT definitely having some problems with too much sleeping and now some general brain fogginess. I feel the best directly after I take prozac and it lasts for about four hours. I have changed dose times to the morning, but still an idiotic Zombie by 3:00 in the afternoon (right about now) Suggestions on the board have indicated that maybe Wellbutrin could help, any thoughts about what I should expect? Side effects etc? I want an idea of what to talk through with my doctor - more prozac or adding another med? Any thoughts appreciated!
>
> thanks
>
>
Posted by Lini on September 8, 2001, at 18:19:08
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin or More Prozac?, posted by JohnL on September 7, 2001, at 18:00:09
thanks John - I will try that first. I definitely feel a difference right after taking a dose and I feel the way I wish I felt all the time for atleast those few hours. I don't think it could just be a placebo effect do you? Has anybody else experienced this with Prozac? Curiously John, what were/are your side effects on prozac?
Posted by JohnL on September 9, 2001, at 5:42:12
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin or More Prozac? » JohnL, posted by Lini on September 8, 2001, at 18:19:08
Hi Lini,
You asked what side effects I get from Prozac. Actually, other than insomnia, none. Zyprexa does a good job for me of eliminating the insomnia.I did have the common SSRI side effects when I first started. Things like the fuzzy mouth feeling, slight headache, a touch of jitters or anxiety. Those all went away on their own in about a week. The only side effect that never went away was poor sleep quality.
John> thanks John - I will try that first. I definitely feel a difference right after taking a dose and I feel the way I wish I felt all the time for atleast those few hours. I don't think it could just be a placebo effect do you? Has anybody else experienced this with Prozac? Curiously John, what were/are your side effects on prozac?
Posted by dove on September 13, 2001, at 14:12:08
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin or More Prozac? Lini, posted by JohnL on September 9, 2001, at 5:42:12
I'm another immediate responder to Prozac. I'll feel great for 2-3 hours and then feel a slow drain. When I split the dose in half I was able to gain more good benefits.
I've shared my med history a number of times and the only item I want to share in regard to the immediate reaction is the fact that the first time I tried Prozac I was ramped in at 20 mgs and went kinda nuts and suicidal. When it was time to take my normal dose I decided not to take it. One hour later I already felt the med leaving me.
I had called my p-doc earlier in the morning, so I had to go into my p-doc on an urgent need, possible in-patient stay appointment. By the time I got there I was like a different person. He looked at me unbelievingly, told me to *double* my Amitriptyline dose to counter the Prozac withdrawal, I said I would do so if needed. Not!!!
Now (1 year or 2 years ago already), I'm back on it, and just switched to generic last week. I've seen real improvement with splitting the dose (20 mgs currently) but I really want to convince my p-doc that just maybe, one could push the dose up to 40-to-60 mgs, digested *only* in split and staggered dosages and see some real improvement in the ones who seem to respond to that method over the standard drug regimen.
My current p-doc (another new one as my previous new p-doc left town again) leans towards psychotherapy, CBT, Exposure w/ the MAP-3 outline, and psycho-analytical something and hates prescribing meds--unlike my previous p-doc who left town and loved complicated schematics of low dose multi-drug cocktails. So, I have to be careful about views on certain meds and certain therapies :o)
Making a short story of "Yep! Been there and know it's true.", into a long tale of great complexity, I just want to support you and your own gut instincts and the fact that p-docs (all docs really) are "Practicing" medicine and don't have every answer even though they--and we--wish they did.
signing off as the babbling rambler-
dove
BTW: I am still on a med-cocktail of 6 different meds per day, so Prozac isn't my anti-depressant base med.
This is the end of the thread.
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