# I'm back ! Prozac actually WORKS!!!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-prozac-actually-works/503847
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [July 22, 2009, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-prozac-actually-works/503847 "2009-07-22T12:01:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-prozac-actually-works/503847/21 "2009-07-22T20:01:23Z")
> [@Tyler\_Durden](#):
>
> Congratulations, **Maastricht**! As someone who is starting to worry that he has a similar problem to the one you are solving for yourself, it’s inspiring to hear about your recovery.
>
> Thank you, **BlinkingDuck** , for this perspective.
>
> I’ve always brushed off depression as a source of my lack of motivation in life because I don’t really feel all that sad most of the time. Which drug has the wierd little mopey cartoon rock-looking thingy that becomes all bouncy again? Yeah, I’ve never seen that as being me.
>
> But loss in confidence in my abilities, a general feeling of not being quite the same person I used to be… I can see myself in that.
>
> Did either of you (or anyone else with similar experiences) deal with any reluctance over seeking help, or admitting to loved ones that you might have a problem? Did you feel embarrassed, ashamed, etc? How did you get over yourself and finally make the leap?
I didn’t…but I also didn’t tell anyone. Not out of fear of rejection or humiliation but that I didn’t really consider it their business anymore than anti-cholesterol pills would be. I guess in my mind I considered it like any other disease. Either I would be cured or it would consume me. The prove was in the pudding so to speak…how I acted was what was important.
Making the leap was easy…I saw I might have a problem so I had it checked out. I went to a medical doctor (not a shrink). Maybe I’m a bit weird but diseases of the mind are as physical as other diseases, IMO. Get em cured. If they can’t be cured, try to live with em. If you can’t live with em, I guess it’s over.
My family did notice the abrupt change but probably left it unsaid because they didn’t want to spoil it.
At work, it must have been something. When I left teaching…I became hungry and driven career-wise. In my downward spiral, I did good at my job but didn’t push it. After I was on prozac, the ambition came back with a vengence. I smoked by 2 of my competitors (coworkers) so fast their heads probably spinned.
---
### Author:  [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-prozac-actually-works/503847/22 "2009-07-22T20:46:01Z")
> [@BlinkingDuck](#):
>
> …you won’t feel like shit when you have no reason to
Exactly! There was nothing wrong, and I kept feeling bad. For a few years, I changed everything I could about my life. I left my SO for a new man, moved, twice, did all sorts of things, because I thougth my low feeling indicated that something in my life was wrong and that I had to fix it. Fortunately, all those choices worked out fine, but I don’t know if I would have left my SO four years ago if I had taken Prozac back then.
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#):
>
> Is there a reason for the weight loss- less emotional eating, or affects your metabolism?
Right now, I just eat less. Less hunger, less craving for sweets, food is just less important.
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#):
>
> “Sorrow drips into your heart through a pinhole
> Just like a faucet that leaks and there is comfort in the sound
> But while you debate half empty or half full
> It slowly rises, your love is going to drown”
That’s beautiful. especially the part about “comfort in the sound”. Because being depressed and lying in bed alone thinking down thoughts is comforting, yet about as prodoctive as listening to a dripping faucet.
> [@Tyler\_Durden](#):
>
> I’ve always brushed off depression as a source of my lack of motivation in life because I don’t really feel all that sad most of the time.
> Did either of you deal with any reluctance over seeking help?
I didn’t feel that sad either, and I didn’t have the feelings of worthlessness, either. Depression is different for everyone. For me, it was how everything was just _work_, Fun things and social things were work too. I had a feeling of hopelessness, because what could I look forward to? Fun things to do? What fun things? The best feeling I could hope for was getting all my chores done and at least feel a little bit more relaxed. That isn’t enough to base a life on. I thought that maybe life was like that, for everyone and untill now I had just escaped it.
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#):
>
> \*\*\*\*… …But when emotional response diverges from reality …so many people are unprepared to observe the divergence and override the wayward emotion.
So true! Reluctance can be a part of the depression. And ..I think that everyones reluctance takes the form of the depression itself. For me, it was an irritated feeling of " Meds? Aint gonna help anyway, studies say so, and it will just be side effects and more side effects and I don’t have the energy for that right now".
Someone with even less energy then I had, might just not get physically around to asking a doctor for help. Someone with self esteem issues may feel too ashamed. Depression is insidious that way.
---
### Author:  [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2009, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-prozac-actually-works/503847/23 "2009-07-22T21:07:03Z")
That orgasm bit (welcome back, by the way!)…
I have an employee of mine who’s all of 20 years old and was suffering from mild erectile dysfunction. His doc prescribed one of those drugs (it may have been Zoloft) and he’s to take a half a one an hour prior to expecting intimacy.
He told me it really helps him. Is that a real “side effect” of drugs like Zoloft and Prozac?
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### Author:  [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2009, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-prozac-actually-works/503847/24 "2009-07-22T21:35:06Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#):
>
> That orgasm bit (welcome back, by the way!)…
>
> I have an employee of mine who’s all of 20 years old and was suffering from mild erectile dysfunction. His doc prescribed one of those drugs (it may have been Zoloft) and he’s to take a half a one an hour prior to expecting intimacy.
>
> He told me it really helps him. Is that a real “side effect” of drugs like Zoloft and Prozac?
Was for me. Prozac, Paxil and Wellbutrin. No problem starting, but often had to just give up trying to finish.
---
### Author:  [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)
#### Post date: [July 23, 2009, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-prozac-actually-works/503847/25 "2009-07-23T13:26:29Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#):
>
> That orgasm bit (welcome back, by the way!)…
>
> I have an employee of mine who’s all of 20 years old and was suffering from mild erectile dysfunction. His doc prescribed one of those drugs (it may have been Zoloft) and he’s to take a half a one an hour prior to expecting intimacy.
>
> He told me it really helps him. Is that a real “side effect” of drugs like Zoloft and Prozac?
I don’t know about erectile dysfunction…but males have much more ‘control’ while on prozac. For females, this is a bad thing but for males it really increases the enjoyment because you don’t have to try to not orgasm too soon. Sometimes you really have to try/work at it. It was great! 🙂
---
### Author:  [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)
#### Post date: [July 23, 2009, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-prozac-actually-works/503847/26 "2009-07-23T13:32:42Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#):
>
> Was for me. Prozac, Paxil and Wellbutrin. No problem starting, but often had to just give up trying to finish.
+1
This is what I experienced with Lexapro…Wellbutrin didn’t affect me that way.
---
### Author:  [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-prozac-actually-works/503847/27 "2009-07-30T20:46:24Z")
Bumping with a question-
Just started Prozac yesterday. I think I’m having some pretty wonky side effects. I your past experiences do these go away after you settled on the med, or will I have to try something different? I also started some antibiotics for a UTI yesterday, so it’s hard to distinguish those effects from the Prozac.
I plan on calling my doctor tomorrow if I don’t feel better, but would love to hear some anecdotes…
---
### Author:  [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2009, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-prozac-actually-works/503847/28 "2009-07-30T21:18:31Z")
Just wanted to say I’m glad you’re feeling much better and that I hope things stay at such a point as to continue ‘rocking your socks off.’ 🙂
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### Author:  [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2009, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-prozac-actually-works/503847/29 "2009-07-30T22:03:12Z")
**IvoryTowerDenizen** , it’s so cool that you tried meds and I really hope it worsk out for you as it did for me. The wikipedia [entry on prozac](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prozac) lists all known side effects. From what my doc told me, there is usually quite a lot of trial and error in finding the right drug and the right dose for an individual. Most often, the side effects kick in right away, while the mood improvement starts happening two, three weeks in. So it is a matter of persevering three weeks, and then consult with your doc how it is working for you. And you should consult your doc if the side effects are too much too bear, so he can adapt the drug or the dose for you.
Me, I think I was extremely lucky to have the first drug I tried working for me so fast and good and with so few side effects. I hope you and your doc find something that works as well for you.
---
### Author:  [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2009, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-prozac-actually-works/503847/30 "2009-07-30T23:55:18Z")
Congratulations! I know just how your feel. Depression and anxiety run rampant in my family, and for years I put off any sort of treatment. But my husband kept encouraging me and prodding me, and when that didn’t work, he said “ask your doctor or I will!” So I did. And I’ve never looked back. I was initially on Celexa, then Lexapro. When it was time to try for babies, my OB asked if I thought I really needed my meds. Hah! Hell yeah I needed 'em! Since the risks of me being unmedicated were far worse than the risks associated with the drugs, I kept right on taking them through pregnancy, breastfeeding, and pregnancy again. After my second son was born, we tweaked my dose a little bit, because it just wasn’t working quite right. I haven’t had a “bad day” since then (almost 18 months ago). (You don’t wanna know what that entails.)
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### Author:  [@Mom-of-Andrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mom-of-Andrew)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2009, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-prozac-actually-works/503847/31 "2009-07-31T03:04:28Z")
> [@Maastricht](#):
>
> And the side effects? Hardly any. Orgasming is harder, but frankly, that is worth it ten times over.
I am also on fluoxetine, and I had issues when I first started. My GP said it was the double whammy of the fluoxetine and birth control pills. He switched me to the nuva ring (localized hormones, so not systemic) and now it’s wonderful. Everyone’s body chemistry is different, but you might ask about possible interactions with other things.
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#):
>
> Just started Prozac yesterday. I think I’m having some pretty wonky side effects. I your past experiences do these go away after you settled on the med, or will I have to try something different? I also started some antibiotics for a UTI yesterday, so it’s hard to distinguish those effects from the Prozac.
>
> I plan on calling my doctor tomorrow if I don’t feel better, but would love to hear some anecdotes…
I’ve always had far more side effects from antibiotics than from the fluoxetine. And some of them could be interactions. If you have access to a ‘nurse line,’ you might call it to see if they know of any interactions. I would wait until the antibiotics are well out of your system before making a judgement on the Prozac.
---
### Author:  [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-prozac-actually-works/503847/32 "2009-07-31T03:41:29Z")
Prozac wore out on me; doesn’t work anymore. And no insurance to try something else.
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### Author:  [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2009, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-prozac-actually-works/503847/33 "2009-07-31T04:46:04Z")
**lissener** , if you have been off of the prozac a while and would still be covered for it, you might try it again. You can get the much less expensive generic form. And _maybe_ it won’t be long before you are covered.
Could you see a regular doctor long enough to explain to him your situation? Leaving depression untreated is risky. You are so worth making it a priority.
**Maastricht** , I showed signs of depression in adolescence but wasn’t diagnosed until my late teens in about 1962. It wasn’t until I had my first prozac in 1989 that I could begin to depend on my strengths. It allowed me to be fully me – warts and all.
It’s good that you let people know that medication is not a conspiracy!
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### Author:  [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2009, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-prozac-actually-works/503847/34 "2009-07-31T13:22:27Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#):
>
> Was for me. Prozac, Paxil and Wellbutrin. No problem starting, but often had to just give up trying to finish.
I had that problem with Effexor and it got better when I switched to Welbutrin.
---
### Author:  [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2009, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-prozac-actually-works/503847/35 "2009-07-31T13:48:19Z")
Hey, **Maastricht**! Congrats on feeling better!
I took Zoloft for about 9 months after the birth of my 3rd (and final) baby. I was suffering from postpartum depression, but that was only a magnified version of what I’d been dealing with for years prior. That description up-thread of how your baseline happiness is just much, much lower than other people’s was about right. I started Zoloft and suddenly I stopped yelling at my kids all the time, I had the motivation to get off the couch and get out of the house, and I started finding pleasure in daily activities. It was amazing.
I do sometimes want to smack people who confidently proclaim that antidepressants are overprescribed, or “a crutch” or whatever. Yes, a crutch. If someone broke their leg, you’d give them a crutch, right? Well, the inside of my head was broken, and Zoloft helped, so cram it, buddy.
Sorry, didn’t mean to project my issues all over your thread. 🙂
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### Author:  [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2009, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-prozac-actually-works/503847/36 "2009-07-31T14:04:25Z")
> [@Mom-of-Andrew](#):
>
> I’ve always had far more side effects from antibiotics than from the fluoxetine. And some of them could be interactions. If you have access to a ‘nurse line,’ you might call it to see if they know of any interactions. I would wait until the antibiotics are well out of your system before making a judgement on the Prozac.
I am definitely going to reserve judgment for awhile yet. My husband actually has some of the same symptoms I do, so it might also be a little bug going around.
I (tentatively) think it’s helping, but I really need to not feel so wonky soon!
---
### Author:  [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2009, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-prozac-actually-works/503847/37 "2009-07-31T14:16:23Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#):
>
> Bumping with a question-
>
> Just started Prozac yesterday. I think I’m having some pretty wonky side effects. I your past experiences do these go away after you settled on the med, or will I have to try something different? I also started some antibiotics for a UTI yesterday, so it’s hard to distinguish those effects from the Prozac.
>
> I plan on calling my doctor tomorrow if I don’t feel better, but would love to hear some anecdotes…
I didn’t have any.
However, the doc did tell me there was a very small, but nonzero chance I would have a manic episode…and if I was I needed to get to an emergency room pronto. (I have no history of mania and he knew that)
So…if by ‘wonky’ you mean that…
---
### Author:  [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-prozac-actually-works/503847/38 "2009-07-31T14:39:20Z")
> [@BlinkingDuck](#):
>
> I didn’t have any.
>
> However, the doc did tell me there was a very small, but nonzero chance I would have a manic episode…and if I was I needed to get to an emergency room pronto. (I have no history of mania and he knew that)
>
> So…if by ‘wonky’ you mean that…
No, no, no. 🙂
By wonky I mean headache and feeling a little foggy- like if I was sick or didn’t get enough sleep.
---
### Author:  [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-prozac-actually-works/503847/39 "2009-07-31T17:16:43Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#):
>
> “Sorrow drips into your heart through a pinhole
> Just like a faucet that leaks and there is comfort in the sound
> But while you debate half empty or half full
> It slowly rises, your love is going to drown”
An excellent description. Did you write that? If not, where did you get it?
---
### Author:  [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-back-prozac-actually-works/503847/40 "2009-07-31T19:02:30Z")
> [@MLS](#):
>
> An excellent description. Did you write that? If not, where did you get it?
Deathcab for Cutie.
[Marching Bands of Manhattan](http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107858551145/)
Everytime I hear that song I always get something in my eye and my allergies start acting up. Damndest thing…
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