I imagine the situation is quite different in America. You all pay for non-emergency health care, don’t you? We have the National Health Service here in the UK. It’s the world’s third bigest employer.
I think the problem here isn’t the doctor thinking “I’ll give them some Prozac and get them out of the way, a quick customer” but the patient saying (in some areas) “Come on, give me some Prozac, the miracle cure!”
Anyway, about this 5htp: Does serotonin increase or decrease the amount of REM? If it increases it, that doesn’t sound like something which will make you happier.
Well, back to the topic, which is… oh, it’s sleep drugs! How handy.
Oh! I didn’t mean to sound like I was advocating any drugs. I fully support decriminalizing so-called [.doublespeak]victimless crimes[./doublespeak], but that was just basically an aspect of my story. Actually, I don’t do marijuana at all anymore. But thank you kindly for the compliment. I will always consider it a great honor to threaten you.
(joking, of course)
“holy reality”: You said you still have some side effects from the the anti-deprssants. Could I ask you a question? How long did you take the medication, and how long is it since you stopped the medication?
I took a light dosage of zoloft since the 9th grade which would be close to 5 years ago…
then junior year I got my dosage increased to just abuot as high as it could safely go, then was put on effexxor instead and had that up as high as it could go, got it quadrupled within a one month time span… and senior year, a year and a half ago, I quit the drugs.
ever since being on them i’ve been prone to seeing “auras” if you will, my vision has been a bit quirky, and my sex drive has never recovered, I guess that could be due to other things.
Some people have beneftted from taking anti depressents. A combination of medication and therapy can be helpful or just one of them. It depends on the person. I’ve been on low doses of various anti depressants for a while now and they definitely helped me through my worst time. I’ve never experienced very bad side effects.
Anyway, back on topic, the only time I noticed myself having some weird and frightening dreams was when I’d forgotten to take my effexor 3 days running. I don’t usually have nightmares but these were like that and kept waking me up for up to 3hrs after I went to bed.
I have been on antidepressant and antianxiety medication before and… wowowowow… I got even more depressed even though it was supposed to make me numb from it. It was hell for me when I was on it. It made me really disconnected and numb, but yet… I still felt my depression and it was much worse than before.
My doctor just quickly determined that I had those problems (after seeing her about my lungs problem) and shoved that medications to my mouth… (that’s how I felt)… I quitted those medications against my doctor advice because when I came back and told her how I hated being on them… she was like, “You seem to do much better. Keep going with it ok? Don’t quit on it.” I was like arrrrrrrgh can’t she ever listen to me? So I just quitted them cold turkey. Now I’m doing much better with them… meditation and exercise do help a lot and personally I think I got over with depression a long time ago and when I had that nasty manic depression long time ago… no one could help me… not even pyscological counselors could (I have seen diff. 4 of them so far) help at all. When I began to meditate to help myself recover… I just suddenly got over with it as if nothing happened. And right now yes I do get frustrated sometimes in a while… very natural to feel that right? But it seems that I’m at that “labeled” age and “labeled” group where I’m most likely to be depressed… I am not at all.
Because of that… my doctor didn’t correctly diagonise me so I ended up having to go to ER few times because of my serious asthma attacks and my lungs was going out of control. It took me a while to get it under control with herbs, etc. Now I’m on the road to recovery before I can go back to college… which I have failed twice because of my health. I just feel that if my doctor wasn’t so determined that I had problems with depression and anxiety that she could’ve inspected me correctly and have given me those correct medications to control my asthma and lungs, I’d do much better.
I just had to vent as well… I apologize for that…
I just wanted to say… “Be careful.”
And yes Procraz can affect your dreaming from what I have heard. Some antidepressant medications do affect your sternion therefore it does affect your REM.
I have been on the fluoxetine medication for 5 days now. Hopefully, the dosage will not be increased.
I have not noticed any side effects. Therefore, I wonder how long it usually takes before the side effects occur. Could they start to occur very long after the medication is started?
Well, Holy Reality and others definitely have some strong views about this and I will address some of their concerns. I work as an advocate for people with disabilities and I work mostly with people who suffer from psychiatric symptoms ( depression, bi polar etc). I believe in a persons self determination in there own recovery. So I strongly object to someone telling you what to do.
Medication can be helpful for some people. I have also seen people recover without medication. I suggest getting all the facts and then make your own decision.
First off I want to tell you that I am not a doctor. So verify every thing below with your physician or pharmacist:
Yes, some medications can be addicting however, Prozac is not in that class of medication. There are very rare instances where people had trouble stopping Prozac but, like I said they are rare. All medication, addictive or not, should be reduced slowly before stopping it anyway.
Yes there are instances where Prozac can make you more depressed. This is true with almost all anti-depressant medications. It is something that can happen. Since your doctor has just started you on it he should closely monitor you to make sure you do not have any adverse reactions.
Some advice: Talk openly with your doctor about any medication you take. Ask about side-effects and adverse reactions. I also recommend that you go online get as much information as you can about the medication. Find other people who take the medication and read what there experience was like. If your doctor is uncomfortable with your questions or does not take your concerns seriously that is not a good sign. I would recommend you change your doctor. Still that is your decision.
In general most people have no problems with Prozac but, as with any medication there are “horror stories”. If you look you can find cases where people have died from taking just one Aspin.
With all that said, doctors do tend to hand out anti-depressants like Mc D’s hands out fries.
For some people medication can be helpful while others choose alternative treatments which can also be helpful. Only you can decide what is right for you. In the end you have to weigh the potential benefits with any risks. Do your own research so you can make an informed decision as to what is best for you. Everyone is different.
I do not doubt that you went through a very hard time with Zoloft ( similar to Prozac ) but, that is the exception rather than the rule. Don’t get me wrong. I am not an advocate for medication. I just believe that people need to make that decision for themselves. Many people recover with alternative treatment. Meditation, herbal supplements, exercise, peer-counseling just to name a few. Some people use a combination of both traditional and alternative treatment.
Dm7
It is hard to find a good doctor who does not just assume that you have x disorder without even looking into any physical causes.
Many doctors also do not really explain what the medication is or it’s side effects. So, I think “Having meds shoved down your throat” is an appropriate description in many cases.
That is the worst side effect of being labeled with a “mental illness” is the loss of “credibility”. Any symptoms from that point on becomes a part of your depression or in your case anxiety. Doctors often waste critical time treating you for your “mental illness” and as in your case people often go misdiagnosed.
neptun, i can’t answer your question so i’m echoing it, as i’m also very much interested to find out about this…
i’ve just been prescribed prozac also…what i’ve heard from various sources seems to conflict; some say it lengthens REM sleep and others say it suppresses it? i’m concerned about how the drug will affect my sleep cycle/dream recall aswell, and if it will when this will come into effect…
needless to say i don’t really have a ‘choice’ about taking it and it more or less comes to these pills being shoved down my throat but i may aswell find out what i can…?
It have been more difficult (but not impossible) for me to remember my dreams the last days.
Maybe the medication suppresses the REM sleep to me, but it could also be other reasons, because I use to go to bed a little earlier than I have done this last days. And therefore, I have also got less sleep, since I wake up to a alarm clock at the same time every day.
Prozac can have an effect on your dreams. I have heard of people having very vivid dreams and even nightmares with it. It should not effect you dream recall or cause you to have less dreams as near as I can tell. However, noone can say for sure how it will effect you. Everyone responds to medication differently.
You can check the link below to learn more about the medication. Keep in mind that this site is maintained by people opposed to Prozac and medication in general. I chose this site because it described potential side effects in plain language so that the lay person can understand them. When reading this site keep in mind that the vast majority of people experience little or no side effects. But, you should be informed of everything.
oh, i didn’t mean to sound melodramatic (i’m wont to) but it is true that i can’t really protest…since my parents beleive my dysfunctionalities run deep (cough)…it’s really not going to be fun for me if i object to taking the things. i don’t really know how to put it, “arguement” doesn’t really cover it anymore because the reason for my prescription is that i’m mute. i lost my voice about…two months ago now. there’s nothing wrong with my vocal chords but i just…can’t talk. i suppose they think if i’m happier my voice might come back?
i mentioned it in a “but perhaps i should try hiding them under my tongue?” kind of way…as in…i don’t yet have an adverse opinion of them, but obviously not a positive one either, so i was trying to form one.
i’m looking at the website now; and though obviously it’s biased i’m sure there is truth in it. the problem is that it seems to focus a lot on what i would suspect to be isolated or dubiously linked cases of side effects? so it seems to end up listing every nasty bodily reaction there exists.
nightmares and vivid dreams are ok with me. just as long as my recall or my length of REM isn’t affected - we’ll see how it is after…some weeks? or can the side effects kick in before the effect of medication?
oh, and r3m0t, the word for a placebo that causes harm is a ‘nocebo’. and i do perhaps agree…i am a little hypochrondriac sometimes, heh.
I think if you’re going to have any side effects, they happen during the first two weeks (might be longer). If they’re particularly bad though, then you’d have to see your doctor and try something else.
I hadn’t heard of ‘nocebo’ before. It isn’t very reassuring when you see all the possible side effects on the packet That’s the main reason, I haven’t tried more medications and found one that suits me better.
I’m not sure if I addressed this or not but I quit zoloft due to “it not working” and side effects, and they put me on effexxor, which, at first made me happy, then made me feel like ■■■■, but obviously pills aren’t going to solve deeply rooted screwed up relationship problems…
So anyway, the effexor I took a lot of in the end, 300 mg or more I guess, I don’t know, I had the biggest pills available…
I took one less a day (i was taking like 3 of these pink ones I think, versus one big one) and went down one per week, such as 3 every day one week, 2 every day one week, 1 every day one week, none…
and i kept it secret until my spying family found out…
effexxor Is a weird one. I have met many people who have had strange reactions to it. It is an ssri but not really. It is like two different types of antidepressants in one. Are you looking into anything else besides medication. I mean medication can help with your recovery but, it is just a tool and the more tools you have the better your chances for recovery. How did you feel when you stopped the medication?
r3m0t:
I have to disagree with you on this one. In this instance what you do not know can hurt you very badly. Besides, how can you make an informed decision if you do not have all the facts about a medication. While it is true that prozac, zoloft, lexapro etc are well tolerated by most people. Some people do have a hard time with side effects. Making an informed choice means weighing the risks with the best possible outcome. You can not do that if you do not know what those risks are.
pheelie
I am curious did a doctor prescribe this medication for you or do you live in a country where you can buy Prozac over the counter?
I will always consider it a great honor to threaten you. 
I knew you would get it, since we had that mini-dialogue about your signature (although you’ve changed it now, along with poor old Hobbes…).
but i may aswell find out what i can…?
That’s the main reason, I haven’t tried more medications and found one that suits me better.