POZ Community Forums
Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits => Mental Health & HIV => Topic started by: SecretKeeper on February 01, 2008, 01:50:53 pm
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My 29th birthday was in December. My first birthday with HIV, my last birthday before 30 and it really hit me hard. I was super depressed and recognized my depression was causing anger and bitterness with my family so I went to the doctor and she prescribed me Prozac. So I've been taking 20MG of Prozac since mid-December - since mid-January all I've been able to do is sleep. It is ridiculous. I sleep 8 to 10 hours a night and still wake up exhausted and fatigued. So I finally decide to call the doctor again thinking they'll change my medicine to something else. I have noticed that I've been in a better mood and my husband has noticed so I thought it was working fine other than I'm tired all the time. Instead of switching to a diffrent antidepressant the nurse tells me it sounds like I'm still depressed and they upped my dosage to 40MG. So then that made me think ... am i still depressed? Maybe I am and just don't recognize it this time. Maybe I end up feeling however people tell me how to feel instead of what's really going on inside - because I didn't feel depressed until they upped my dosage. I just don't know what to think about any of this and I was hoping for some good feedback.
Anyone else find that Prozac caused them to feel drowsy? The doc says it should give me energy, but the side-effects on the sheet say may cause drowsiness - what should I believe?!
Anyone else find that someone told you that you're depressed so you became depressed for that mere fact?
I just feel like I was starting to feel sane, but all of a sudden I feel like I'm going of my rocker again.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
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Secret, it might be a myriad of reasons for you feeling depressed, other than just people telling you that you do. I would suggest a good therapist to be coupled with the medication to work out any issues you might have going on that aren't easily recognizable.
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Agreed. I'm *SO* not a believer in GPs dispensing anti-depressants (unless it's one you've been on for a while and thus just refills). Why isn't he entertaining the thought that the fatigue is from... oh, I don't know -- HIV infection? Or something. Sleep apnea? Could be lots of things.
Still seems off to me -- since when did SSRI's make one drowsy?
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I was on Prozac for a short time, and it made me sleepy during the day. Currently on Cymbalta which doesn't make me sleepy during the day at all.
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Hi Secret,
One thing to bear in mind is that antidepressants affect different people differently. Just because SSRIs don't tend to make most people drowsy doesn't mean that they're not making you drowsy. If you're feeling really drowsy now, and you weren't before, it could be the Prozac.
I recommend seeing a psychiatrist for these meds, and ideally, a psychopharmacologist. Many of them will test you for blood levels of the drug to know whether you've got an effective level in your system. This can make a huge difference. I was taking a normal dose of trazodone for a while and found it unhelpful. My psychopharmacologist measured my blood level, and it was negligible. My body was just eliminating the drug too quickly. He upped the dose, and now it works fine.
John
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Someone hit the nail on the head about sleep issues. I next week am going to do a sleep study because I like you am depressed and can sleep for hours and hours and hours and still feel tired. I am sick of dosing off at work. I know sleep issues can cause depression so it might be worth a shot. I would start with a nightly sleep diary and log when you went to sleep and if and when you wake up and how you feel. That way if you do go to a sleep doctor you then have some stuff for them to look at.
Good Luck!
AppleBoy
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Anyone else find that Prozac caused them to feel drowsy? The doc says it should give me energy, but the side-effects on the sheet say may cause drowsiness - what should I believe?!
Are you seeing a psychiatrist or a physician?
Any doctor with a passing knowledge of psychopharmacology will know that high levels of serotonin (and Prozac is designed to boost available serotonin levels) can cause you to feel drowsy, and downright snoozy. Hell, it says so right on the bottle!
Get a better doctor, I say.
Good luck,
Mark
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I was on Prozac for a short time, and it made me sleepy during the day. Currently on Cymbalta which doesn't make me sleepy during the day at all.
I was on PROZAC about 10 yrs ago..........that didn't last very long.....I wanted to KILL MYSELF, but couldn't understand why I felt this way all the time
so, my Doctor ( the one I had back then in 98) took me off of the PROZAC very fast...........and said "I don't think anti-depessants are for you"
and to date I have NEVER taken any anti-depressants EVER again :-X I gotta agree with PHILLY267 on that one, they aren't for everyone.........
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I have been on many anti depressants. I have always returned to prozac as the drug of choice for myself. It does not make me feel sleepy and I feel cognitively in charge of myself with it. I have to agree with most people here. You need to seek out a psychiatrist. Psycho tropic drugs are not an end all to our problems but can help, as well different drugs seem to work differently with different people. Stick in there it is a process to find the right drug for your body and your situation.
Peter
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I have been on many anti depressants. I have always returned to prozac as the drug of choice for myself. It does not make me feel sleepy and I feel cognitively in charge of myself with it. I have to agree with most people here. You need to seek out a psychiatrist. Psycho tropic drugs are not an end all to our problems but can help, as well different drugs seem to work differently with different people. Stick in there it is a process to find the right drug for your body and your situation.
Peter
My problem (10 yrs ago) wasn't that I was depressed..........so that was a MISTAKE by my doctor, I was misdiagnosed...............later I found out that I have Post Dramatic Stress Syndrome ( Job related for what I used to do for the last 20Yr. being in the Military & after than having a Career in Law Enforcement).......so, I take LORAZEPAM...that's generic for ATAVAN...............so, whenever the walls start closing in on me, I just take one of them, and after about 20 min, I'm fine and clam as a old dog..............sure helps me alot ;D so, case in point, antidepressants are WAY over prescribed, and I think this pratice SHOULD BE STOP! it's just WRONG on so many levels, that's it's not even funny..........it's DOWN RIGHT DANGEROUS.......................
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antidepressants are WAY over prescribed, and I think this pratice SHOULD BE STOP! it's just WRONG on so many levels, that's it's not even funny..........it's DOWN RIGHT DANGEROUS.......................
Den, while I do agree that antidepressants are overprescribed, some people really do need them because of abnormalities (chemical imbalances) in the brain. I don't believe that for doctors to stop prescribing them for everyone would be a good idea.
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Den, while I do agree that antidepressants are overprescribed, some people really do need them because of abnormalities (chemical imbalances) in the brain. I don't believe that for doctors to stop prescribing them for everyone would be a good idea.
That may be a fact, but, not every one is depressed, only some are clinicaly depressed...... all I was saying, was most are misdiagnosed, that is what they need to stop...........but, I'm seeing a lot less people on antidepressants.......so maybe that's a good thing ;D
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Hi ,SK
Rule #1 : If you `re asking yourself a Q like that you`re not a loonie -toonie for sure , yet.........( a friend of mine that study Psycho sciences had told me that a long ago)
Rule #2 : You have to try various AD`s and find which is best for you.And to vary a dosage too.And it is a long job.Beware of the fact that sometimes it needs a few months for some of them to start working.
Rule #3 : Depression is sometimes mixed with PDSS .If that stage last ( and depression is a stage ) more than a year , than you should be worried.
Hang on
Al