Shown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Christ_empowered on October 8, 2013, at 18:16:11
Currently, 1200mgs/Trileptal+300mgs/Neurontin+30mgs/Abilify.
That's my anti-batsh!t cocktail. My doc added in 20mgs/Prozac today. I was thinking, hoping, praying Effexor XR because...well...SRIs haven't always been good to me (apathy, all that), but...Prozac it is. My BP was weirdly elevated (120/110), so Effexor was out.
Do you think the Abilify should be adjusted downwards a bit, because of the Prozac? I need to stay stable, but I read that Prozac interferes with Abilify somehow. My doc...I trust her and all, but...she's real big on the anti-manic, anti-agitation meds...and she's busy, so that interaction might have slipped her mind (the addition was made towards the tail end of our session).
What can I expect from good ole Prozac? How do I know if I could benefit from a dosage increase or decrease? There's a 10mgs/capsule, right?
Anyone tried Abilify+Prozac?
Ugh. Antidepressants. I was hoping, for a while there, to make a go of things without one. Sadly, I'm depressed to the point that I've adjusted mentally, but I have physical symptoms (excessive sleeping, some anxiety, weight gain, etc.), and there's mild, residual, quasi-psychotic stuff going on. I guess its time to try something to get out of this pit.
Anyway, please hit me up with your Prozac stories and insights and...thanks.
:-)
Posted by Phillipa on October 8, 2013, at 22:49:54
In reply to It's Prozac for this guy!, posted by Christ_empowered on October 8, 2013, at 18:16:11
I will anxiously await how this l0mg of prozac works for you. As when newly released as new med only 20mg was available and it made me very anxious by day three. Day one was stupendous lots of energy and felt good. Day three diaster so I took myself off it. The doc then was a really good one and thought I'd had a dramatic response to it. Wanted me to take it every three days. I refused. So now that lower doses are available might be the thing. Phillipa
Posted by rjlockhart37 on October 10, 2013, at 12:24:59
In reply to Re: It's Prozac for this guy! » Christ_empowered, posted by Phillipa on October 8, 2013, at 22:49:54
i've been on prozac since 2005....i've had it adjusted over the years to 60mgs....it gives you a warm feeling....well for me it did, i've taken it long enough that my body adapted to it...but during the first phases you will see a lift in mood
Posted by ed_uk2010 on October 12, 2013, at 15:58:53
In reply to It's Prozac for this guy!, posted by Christ_empowered on October 8, 2013, at 18:16:11
>Do you think the Abilify should be adjusted downwards a bit, because of the Prozac? I need to stay stable, but I read that Prozac interferes with Abilify somehow.
You might need to adjust Abilify, yes. Fluoxetine does interfere with the metabolism of aripiprazole. A reduction from 30mg Abilify to 20mg could be about right, but you'll obviously need to discuss this with your pdoc.
Although 20mg of fluoxetine is the 'standard' dose, starting at a lower dose probably reduces the risk of adverse effects. If you have the 10mg tablets, you could take 5mg or 10mg for a week or two and then increase if appropriate.
Fluoxetine's dose-response curve is relatively flat. 40-60mg is not consistently more effective than 20mg/day, but the risk of adverse effects is higher. The minimum effective dose is not well established. Doses less than 20mg are often considered to be subtherapeutic, but there is some evidence that 5-10mg may be enough for some patients. If I were you (history of SSRI adverse effects) I'd be tempted to start at 10mg/day and see how you do.
Take care.
Posted by ed_uk2010 on October 12, 2013, at 16:16:47
In reply to It's Prozac for this guy!, posted by Christ_empowered on October 8, 2013, at 18:16:11
Oh, and by the way, have you tried sertraline (Zoloft)? Overall, it seems to be marginally more effective and slightly better tolerated than fluoxetine. It may also work a bit more rapidly, and has far fewer drug interactions. The reduced propensity for drug interactions is very useful for people on multiple psych meds. Sertraline is believed to be a bit more on the 'activating' side compared to citalopram, but it still useful for a variety of anxiety disorders.
For those with a history of SSRI side effects, and pts with anxiety, an initial dose of 25mg for 1-2 weeks is appropriate before increasing to 50mg. If there is no improvement after 2 weeks on 50mg, but it is well tolerated, an increase to 100mg is sensible. Obviously, anyone with a history of bipolar needs to be very closely monitored whilst taking SSRIs.
Hope this is useful.
Posted by SLS on October 12, 2013, at 16:34:21
In reply to Re: It's Prozac for this guy!, posted by ed_uk2010 on October 12, 2013, at 16:16:47
> Hope this is useful.
Your contributions always are, Ed.
Visit more often!
- Scott
Posted by ed_uk2010 on October 12, 2013, at 18:51:06
In reply to Re: It's Prozac for this guy! » ed_uk2010, posted by SLS on October 12, 2013, at 16:34:21
> > Hope this is useful.
>
> Your contributions always are, Ed.
>
> Visit more often!
>
>
> - ScottThanks Scott!!!
>
Posted by bleauberry on October 13, 2013, at 17:24:42
In reply to It's Prozac for this guy!, posted by Christ_empowered on October 8, 2013, at 18:16:11
I was on prozac for quite a few years. It was the best of all the household name antidepressants. It hits some norepinephrine and dopamine in ways the others don't. It combined really well with zyprexa, and I think pretty much any antipsychotic. It did have some of the emotional numbing, but not as bad as the other ADs. And it had sort of stimulating side to it that sort of counter balanced that a bit. Best of the bunch in my journeys.
Being very sensitive I started with the orange juice trick, mixing the prozac powder from the capsule into juice and drinking a measured custom dose of any desired size. I started at 2mg and worked up. 20mg was my highest. I know someone who takes 60mg and they barely feel it, but someone else like me would feel overdosed on that.
Mileage varies so it is hard to say. I wouldn't worry about any interaction between prozac and any of your other meds. If there is your body will tell you and then you can adjust doses but I doubt that will happen. If anything, the interaction could likely be a good one.
The emotional numbing thing is something that almost all the psychiatric meds do, can do, or have done. But it varies from person to person. I think it is because the meds force excess serotonin to be taken up by dopamine receptors, thus either crowding out dopamine or corrupting the whole mechanism.
But I've had emotional numbing from too much ritalin or too much nortriptyline, which don't involve much serotonin, so who knows. I think emotional numbing maybe is just a sign that there is not a deficiency of something, but rather too much of something? I dunno.
Anyway, rambling, yeah, prozac, good.
This is the end of the thread.
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