I was on Prozac after I had my second son , as I was suffering from Post Natal Depression , like you I went to the Dr after everyone persuaded me to go.

I found that I din't really think they had much affect on me , but they must have because I did come out of it , I spose I was expecting to feel a great difference and I didn't.

I think as long as the Dr hasn't just taken the easy option and took time in deciding this is what you need then give it a try , I stopped taking mine after a month , and ever since been ok

If you ever need to chat hun then contact me ok all the ways are on my profile

My doctor recently put me on anti-depressants so are most of my friends (maybe is a new fad i dunno ) they have told me the tablets they are one have helped them (mine have done nothing for me except make me ill so my doctor just prescribed more....im sure there's logic in there somewhere) but they have stood sturn by going to see a counciler (sp i know) and that seeing someone and talking about their problems have done A LOT more the the tablets but then maybe its a combination of both.
I had always had my doubts about councilers (damn spelling) but after seeing the difference in one or two of my friends I've stopped the taking the tablets and I'm waiting on my first session. Ask your doctor about having someone to talk to I havent done it myself but I've seen it do wonders for those who have and I'm looking forward to it.

I've been prescribed a few anti depresants in my time. none worked.

why? beacuse it was my situation making me drpressed not my body.

some people do have a seratonin imbalance, they need drugs, for everyone else, you need to sort your your problems.

anti depresseant did nothing for me. at all. in fact i did something very stupid on them so they were obviously no help. i also have a friend who's been on them from 3 yrs. he has done nothing to change his life, hence is still depressed despite the pills.

prozac itself taked 3 months to work. it's not a quick fix.

i'd recoment talking to someone and finding out what the problem is, then fixing it. it's not easy but, to be happy, you need to be in controle of your life.

in my experience it's people who feel they dont controle their lives, who get depressed. (not just me there, i worked in the NHS for a while so i saw a lot)

as for your illnesses, they could be psychosomatic. every time my nana gets stressed she's admitted to hospital for chest pains. she has no heart problems, it's just the stress causing the pain. when younger she used to get migrains and rashes instead of chest pains.

take the pills, they cant harm you, I just dont think it will fix everything.

I'm on Prozac at the moment - have been for the past four years (since I was 14) I think that it has helped me, or at lkeast it seems too. People notice a change in me when I haven't been taking them, although it might just be because I think there should be a change...it might just be me being paranoid!!!

I'm not too sure whether putting you on prozac was the right thing to do though - why would the Dr think that you were depressed if you were just ill ?? Forgive me if I'm just being dense!

Anyway, what I think I'm trying to say is keep taking the pills, like Cat said, they won't harm you. You never know, you might notice a difference

ive been on anti-depressonts since i was 9, i was even in a medical book because i was so young

i wasn't on prozac till i was 16 and i never thought that any of them helped me really, many for a few weeks but then i became almost imune to them. i suffered a hell of a lot from the side affects, mainly the putting on weight one and i was ill *all* the time and i just hated being on the happy pills that i was more depressed and upset

also done the councilers and people like that and i think the onyl one that really helped was my college one because she didn't speak, she just listened and then asked questions, i just needed to vent and its hard to vent to friends.

so find someone to vent to

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by head2head
People notice a change in me when I haven't been taking them, although it might just be because I think there should be a change...it might just be me being paranoid!!!

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prozac also takes about three months to wear off (according to my pharmacology teacher) so it's a psychological change in you when you havent taken them, not a physical change. unelss you didnt take then for 3 months.

Thanks for the thoughts people.

I know that my being ill is down to being very stressed at work and consequently my immune system has pretty much decided that I could do with the rest. So I get every bug that's coming around, and a few things that are pure stress symptoms (like the stomachache) )

However, I also know what my mother will say when I tell her this. I just had the same argument with my other half His view, my mum's view and to be honest my view is that stress and depression are caused by life events and you have to deal. I've been depressed a lot of times before and got through it by counselling or just working stuff out for myself.

However, this is a bit different. When I've been depressed before, I've had *big* things to feel down about - schoolfriends not talking to me, breaking up with my first boyfriend, leaving uni with no job to go to. The situation at the moment is a bit different. I have a great life. i'm getting married to the most wonderful guy ever in 3 months. I love my job. But the job is very stressful. The senior accountant has been on maternity leave since early May. I'm covering her job and we're now on the 3rd contract person covering mine, so I've pretty much been doing 2 jobs for the last couple of months. It's also been our year end, so the busiest time of the year . Hence the stress.

See, I don't think talking about this will help much. Everyone I work with is doing their best to help, but at the end of the day most of this responsibility rests with me. My other half just says I should talk to my boss, but I've delegated everything I can. And I just feel like a little girly crybaby trying to play with the big kids and not coping at all.

So I don't know what to do. Will the antidepressants at least get me through the next few weeks, after which things should get easier? Or should I just have time off? The doctor offered me a sick note, but I feel bad enough with the time off I've had, and if I'm off for longer I just think about the work that'll be piling up for when I get back.

I just don't know what to do. And now I've argued with the other half, which is really just a rehearsal for having the same row with my mum when I speak to her... I just want to feel like myself again!!

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by white hart
Will the antidepressants at least get me through the next few weeks, after which things should get easier?

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Prozac isnt a quick fix so i dont know how much use it will be for a few weeks, but try it.

It sounds to me that your depression is a side effect of stress. stress causes the body to produce extra hormones (eg adrenalin) and this can deplete your seratonin levels as a side effect.

maybe you could look into stress relief. anything from setting 1/2 an hr aside each day as "my time" when no one's allowed to speak to you, to yoga or other "theraputic" hobbies.

exercise is also supposed to be good since it causes the release of endorphins, the feel good hormones. but be careful because it obviously increases heart rate, blood pressure and adrenalin levels and can leave you feeling more stressed.

hope you find something that works

In case you're not very familiar with anti-ds in general or prozac in particular, I'll make a couple of comments.

I'll kick off by saying that you may wish to consider psychotherapy if you find either that the depression is impacting greatly on your life, or that you're concerned about taking the drugs; in either case have a chat with your GP.

Prozac is a brand name for "fluoxetine", so you may find that your pills say "fluoxetine" or "fuoxetine hydrochloride" rather than prozac - it's still the same medication. Fluoxetine belongs to a class of anti-ds called SSRIs - selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which is the preffered type as other classes generally have more significant side effects (though SSRI side effects tend to be rather more, um... gastro-intestinal than others along with possible insomnia and loss of libido - so you'll lie awake in bed with nothing to do ).

Serotonin is a messenger-chemical (neurotransmitter) used in your brain, and if you don't have enough serotonin then signals can't propogate effectively, one of the most common consequences of which is the big black dog of depression. Normally your brain will re-absorb excess amounts of serotonin and only produce more when it needs to, SSRIs prevent the re-absorbtion causing your brain to produce more serotonin than it otherwise would and making far more available to serve as messengers and keep the bits of your brain talking to one another.

If after a four to eight weeks you find that prozac hasn't had a great effect then your GP may alter the dose, move you on to a different class of anti-d (probably tricyclics), or prescribe a course of a different type of SSRI (probably sertraline). The third major class of anti-ds you'll probably not encounter, but for the sake of completeness they're monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) - unlike SSRIs which create new serotonin, MAOIs prevent the destruction of exisiting serotonin by the enzyme monoamine oxidase; MAOIs have extensive interections and side effects, and so are usually only used when SSRIs and tricyclics can't be prescribed or have been ineffective.

It is widely reccommended that you NOT take St Johns Wort while on anti-ds - you may well experience significantly increased side effects. Check with your GP.

And lastly, please note that I have no medical or pharmaceutical qualifications, if your GP, pharmacist or any other healthcare proffessional disagrees in any way with any of my comments believe them not me.

(Edited by Callum 13/07/2002 15:30)

Hey White Hart - sorry you are feeling blue.
I would suggest Echincea for your poor immune system, it shouldn't react with the anti-d's.
St John's Wort is a no-no as all anti-d's have an effect on the liver - natural or man-made!
Also - lots of Vitamin C (1 gram minimum a day) and zinc and magnesium supplements, also a B-vitamins supplement.
Many people with depression are found to have deficiencies of vitamins, and a lot of these are recommended for PMT as well.
Try and get plenty of sleep - chamomile tea is good for that - I'm always more prone to be a bit 'weepy' when I'm tired.
I'm on Cipramil which is mainly used for anxiety - but I'm hoping to come off of those soon - coz mine is unfortunately just 'life' and I'm going to try and tackle it head on!!

I hope you are feeling much better soon WH
*huggles*

St John's wort , also reduces the effect of the pill quiet considerably .

Hope your feeling a wee bit better hunny

Thanks everyone I managed to get through a whole day at work today so that's got to be a good sign

Thanks for the advice. I am trying to make the effort to get away from work on time so I can get to the gym because that always helps sort my head out, I'm taking multivitamins and having lots of herbal tea and aromatherapy baths. It seems to be helping, I'm feeling more relaxed now. I'll take the anti-d's for a month, it can't hurt and even if they have no effect in that time I'm a firm believer that if you *believe* something'll help you then it probably will even if really it's just Smarties.

And it's good to know there are people out here to talk to when I feel low

Good to hear you're feeling better White Hart.

EW - *hugs* babe xxx

I've been on anti-depressants a couple of times, reluctantly I have to say! Being a psychologist, taking drugs to solve problems like this isn't the first solution that springs to mind for me! I found that, like someone said before I didn't feel sudden change, or even a big difference in the way I felt, but I slowly came round.

My personal opinion is that people are all different, and what works for one will not always work for another. You need to find your happy balance, something you feel comfy with, because then your state of mind will make you more receptive to change.

Lots of good advice on this thread and some *very* knowledgable people!!

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by Cat
maybe you could look into stress relief. anything from setting 1/2 an hr aside each day as "my time" when no one's allowed to speak to you, to yoga or other "theraputic" hobbies.

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I do this! I do a watercolour class on a Sunday - not even every week, but I find that that afternoon away from work and my overflowing desk really helps me to refocus my mind. Worth a try perhaps?