Anything & Everything ADHD
A LITTLE PROZAC CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE!
Looking back on my younger years, I recall that I have struggled with depression since I was a rebellious teenager, academically challenged and undiagnosed with ADHD. As a young woman in my 20's, I started to seek counseling to get a grip on my chaotic life & roller coaster of emotions. By the time I was in my 30's, with at least two younger children, I started taking antidepressants to treat depression. Prozac was the very first choice that my doctor choose for me and there were AMAZING & IMMEDIATE positive results! My husband was delighted to discover that after I was taking Prozac that my severe PMS totally resolved and it made a huge impression on both of us.
The down side of Prozac for me was that I started to gain unwanted pounds. As most females already know, this is a serious concern and a something that we fear. Although, it is vitally important to be emotionally stable, it is just as important to me and most women, to continue to maintain our weight and feel good about our appearance. I am not certain that men feel the same way about taking antidepressants that cause negative side effects, such as weight gain. However, the average female does NOT feel good about adding on additional pounds! For instance, the Prozac caused me to gain at least 15 extra pounds and this brought on depression. So here I was, taking an antidepressant to reduce or "cure" depression, yet, it was causing me to gain unwanted pounds, which resulted in depression.
The end result? I discontinued Prozac. The PMS returned with a vengeance! For a while, I attempted to just try to cope with life's challenges and difficulties, but within a year, I was experiencing more depression and feeling pretty lousy. This led me back to counseling and back to another prescription, but this time it was Effexor. In comparison, the Prozac was much more beneficial in reducing PMS, sadness and the overall depression symptoms, but I was aiming to maintain my weight, not to gain anymore pounds.
After about one year, the Effexor suddenly appeared to quit working. I found myself having daily crying spells. It became a serious concern when even TV commercials would have me grabbing the tissue to dry my eyes! Enough was enough! There is something wrong when an individual is taking antidepressants for depression, yet, they are always sniffling at the drop of a hat!
This led me to contact my physician and share the symptoms that I was having. I shared my concern with my doctor and he told me to "quit taking the Effexor." I said, "Do you mean that I should wean off of the Effexor?" My doctor said, "No. Just stop taking it!" I had my doubts and now I wish that I would have followed my own intuition, but instead, I followed my doctors orders and I stopped the Effexor "cold turkey."
Within days of discontinuing the Effexor "cold turkey", I started to have horrible symptoms, headaches, severe crying spells and I felt like my life was racing out of control fast. After a few days of researching on the internet how to wean correctly off of Effexor, I tried to gradually take some of the medication. I thought that if I attempted to wean from the medication that the symptoms would not be so severe or terrible.
My attempt failed and I felt awful. I was driving to work on morning, feeling extremely low, when I decided to call off work and head to the nearest psychiatric emergency room. I decided to do myself a BIG favor and get help. Obviously, my own family doctor was clearly NOT the answer since he was the one who put me in this negative position to begin with.
Therefore, I called off work and drove to the best psychiatric ER, which happened to be located a few miles from my workplace.
Once I was seen by the ER physician, it became clear that my family doctor provided incorrect medical advice to actual cause more harm than good. The psychiatric physician told me to NEVER stop any medication "cold turkey" and that I should look for a new family physician that I could trust. From there, he set me an appointment to begin medical treatment right away.
For one month, I attended a women's group for mental health that teaches life skills and positive strategies to learn to cope with depression. Each woman in the group took turns going to the psychiatrist for a proper evaluation and treatment plan to be placed on medication. My psychiatrist chose to place me on Lexapro. Thankfully, I started to feel much better and was no longer experiencing the horrid side effects of stopping Effexor. The group setting for therapy was extremely helpful in learning new life skills and strategies for coping with my difficulties in life. It was very insightful and empowering. I felt like I received a new lease on life!
Unfortunately, after close to two years taking Lexapro, it gradually stopped working. Since I had already gone through this with other medications, I knew to use wisdom when it came to discontinuing the Lexapro. I came up with a logical plan to gradually and very slowly wean myself off of the Lexapro. Thankfully, this time, it was not nearly as rough as it was with the Effexor. A slow weaning process is vital and important in reducing the negative side effects.
Some individuals take several months to wean off of medication. I took one day at a time and it paid off in the end.
By March 2008, I was totally weaned off of Lexapro. I had opted for a natural alternative and began taking 5HTP as well as Phenylalanine, which both are for depression. During this same exact time, I was diagnosed with four bulging disks, advanced degenerative disk disease, fibromyalgia and an enlarged thyroid with nodules. Life was getting more stressful for me and coping was an everyday challenge.
To add to the health matters, I was diagnosed in the Autumn with low estrogen and told that I was in the beginning stages of menopause. Lucky me, I needed to learn how to juggle all of my unique, but disturbing medical conditions along with the unmedicated ADHD all at the exact SAME time. In the meanwhile, my 10 year old was crying everyday because her elementary school merged with another school, my 13 year old was having chronic technical difficulties on her laptop computer for cyber schooling at home and I found myself in the emergency room having an emergency appendectomy! NO JOKE! So to say this mildly, I was having a tough year in 2008, is an understatement to say the least.
By November, I am hot flashing bad, moody as ever, losing my patients with anyone and everything, aching all over from the untreated fibromyalgia and back conditions as well as reaching high levels of stress that were feeling very unpleasant. I continued struggling through each day, as rough as it was, to discover that my 13 year old possibly has inattentive ADD and learning disabilities. Off I went with my 13 year old daughter to the ADD expert who initially diagnosed me. After a thorough evaluation and several counseling sessions, my daughter was diagnosed with inattentive ADD. Her educational evaluation began with another professional to look into possible learning disabilities.
Once December arrived, I was at my all time peak of stress, adding a whole new spectrum to my additional challenges & frustrations to juggle. During several days of intense stress, I remembered that I had a bottle of Prozac in my drawer from earlier this year. I must have inquired about taking another antidepressant after I weaned off of the Lexapro, but once I picked up the bottle of Prozac at the pharmacy, I decided to use an alternative method for treating depression.
God must have known that I would need this medication in a time of crisis because my Prozac was still hidden away in my drawer and I was feeling more than ready to find relief!
Call it a blessing, call it a fluke, but it was truly lifesaving this holiday season when I reached the end of my rope. I began the Prozac without any fear at all. At this point, what is a few pounds compared to a raging lunatic?
So now that I have been on Prozac for several weeks, life is calming down for me. For once, I am able to relax, feel more at peace, enjoy the holidays, celebrate the true reason for the season and thank the Lord up above for the little Prozac pills that truly make all the difference in my life.
The down side of Prozac for me was that I started to gain unwanted pounds. As most females already know, this is a serious concern and a something that we fear. Although, it is vitally important to be emotionally stable, it is just as important to me and most women, to continue to maintain our weight and feel good about our appearance. I am not certain that men feel the same way about taking antidepressants that cause negative side effects, such as weight gain. However, the average female does NOT feel good about adding on additional pounds! For instance, the Prozac caused me to gain at least 15 extra pounds and this brought on depression. So here I was, taking an antidepressant to reduce or "cure" depression, yet, it was causing me to gain unwanted pounds, which resulted in depression.
The end result? I discontinued Prozac. The PMS returned with a vengeance! For a while, I attempted to just try to cope with life's challenges and difficulties, but within a year, I was experiencing more depression and feeling pretty lousy. This led me back to counseling and back to another prescription, but this time it was Effexor. In comparison, the Prozac was much more beneficial in reducing PMS, sadness and the overall depression symptoms, but I was aiming to maintain my weight, not to gain anymore pounds.
After about one year, the Effexor suddenly appeared to quit working. I found myself having daily crying spells. It became a serious concern when even TV commercials would have me grabbing the tissue to dry my eyes! Enough was enough! There is something wrong when an individual is taking antidepressants for depression, yet, they are always sniffling at the drop of a hat!
This led me to contact my physician and share the symptoms that I was having. I shared my concern with my doctor and he told me to "quit taking the Effexor." I said, "Do you mean that I should wean off of the Effexor?" My doctor said, "No. Just stop taking it!" I had my doubts and now I wish that I would have followed my own intuition, but instead, I followed my doctors orders and I stopped the Effexor "cold turkey."
Within days of discontinuing the Effexor "cold turkey", I started to have horrible symptoms, headaches, severe crying spells and I felt like my life was racing out of control fast. After a few days of researching on the internet how to wean correctly off of Effexor, I tried to gradually take some of the medication. I thought that if I attempted to wean from the medication that the symptoms would not be so severe or terrible.
My attempt failed and I felt awful. I was driving to work on morning, feeling extremely low, when I decided to call off work and head to the nearest psychiatric emergency room. I decided to do myself a BIG favor and get help. Obviously, my own family doctor was clearly NOT the answer since he was the one who put me in this negative position to begin with.
Therefore, I called off work and drove to the best psychiatric ER, which happened to be located a few miles from my workplace.
Once I was seen by the ER physician, it became clear that my family doctor provided incorrect medical advice to actual cause more harm than good. The psychiatric physician told me to NEVER stop any medication "cold turkey" and that I should look for a new family physician that I could trust. From there, he set me an appointment to begin medical treatment right away.
For one month, I attended a women's group for mental health that teaches life skills and positive strategies to learn to cope with depression. Each woman in the group took turns going to the psychiatrist for a proper evaluation and treatment plan to be placed on medication. My psychiatrist chose to place me on Lexapro. Thankfully, I started to feel much better and was no longer experiencing the horrid side effects of stopping Effexor. The group setting for therapy was extremely helpful in learning new life skills and strategies for coping with my difficulties in life. It was very insightful and empowering. I felt like I received a new lease on life!
Unfortunately, after close to two years taking Lexapro, it gradually stopped working. Since I had already gone through this with other medications, I knew to use wisdom when it came to discontinuing the Lexapro. I came up with a logical plan to gradually and very slowly wean myself off of the Lexapro. Thankfully, this time, it was not nearly as rough as it was with the Effexor. A slow weaning process is vital and important in reducing the negative side effects.
Some individuals take several months to wean off of medication. I took one day at a time and it paid off in the end.
By March 2008, I was totally weaned off of Lexapro. I had opted for a natural alternative and began taking 5HTP as well as Phenylalanine, which both are for depression. During this same exact time, I was diagnosed with four bulging disks, advanced degenerative disk disease, fibromyalgia and an enlarged thyroid with nodules. Life was getting more stressful for me and coping was an everyday challenge.
To add to the health matters, I was diagnosed in the Autumn with low estrogen and told that I was in the beginning stages of menopause. Lucky me, I needed to learn how to juggle all of my unique, but disturbing medical conditions along with the unmedicated ADHD all at the exact SAME time. In the meanwhile, my 10 year old was crying everyday because her elementary school merged with another school, my 13 year old was having chronic technical difficulties on her laptop computer for cyber schooling at home and I found myself in the emergency room having an emergency appendectomy! NO JOKE! So to say this mildly, I was having a tough year in 2008, is an understatement to say the least.
By November, I am hot flashing bad, moody as ever, losing my patients with anyone and everything, aching all over from the untreated fibromyalgia and back conditions as well as reaching high levels of stress that were feeling very unpleasant. I continued struggling through each day, as rough as it was, to discover that my 13 year old possibly has inattentive ADD and learning disabilities. Off I went with my 13 year old daughter to the ADD expert who initially diagnosed me. After a thorough evaluation and several counseling sessions, my daughter was diagnosed with inattentive ADD. Her educational evaluation began with another professional to look into possible learning disabilities.
Once December arrived, I was at my all time peak of stress, adding a whole new spectrum to my additional challenges & frustrations to juggle. During several days of intense stress, I remembered that I had a bottle of Prozac in my drawer from earlier this year. I must have inquired about taking another antidepressant after I weaned off of the Lexapro, but once I picked up the bottle of Prozac at the pharmacy, I decided to use an alternative method for treating depression.
God must have known that I would need this medication in a time of crisis because my Prozac was still hidden away in my drawer and I was feeling more than ready to find relief!
Call it a blessing, call it a fluke, but it was truly lifesaving this holiday season when I reached the end of my rope. I began the Prozac without any fear at all. At this point, what is a few pounds compared to a raging lunatic?
So now that I have been on Prozac for several weeks, life is calming down for me. For once, I am able to relax, feel more at peace, enjoy the holidays, celebrate the true reason for the season and thank the Lord up above for the little Prozac pills that truly make all the difference in my life.
Tags: antidepressants, prozac
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Chief 45 on -
wow, Dana - let's hope 2009 turns things around for you!
I know how you felt with the withdrawal - if i forget to take my effexor for a day, i start to feel crappy - jitters, headache, pounding heartbeat, etc. -your post does remind me that i should talk to my doc about whether or not my meds are working anymore.
cheers - happy new year!
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Permalink Reply by DANA on -
Hi Chief 45! Thank you for your well wishes for 2009! I agree, I hope that 2009 is a better year for me.
Yes, if you are starting to question whether your medication is working correctly, I would get back in touch with your doctor and make an appointment to discuss the dosage and/or changing meds.
Best wishes to you and your new year!
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Permalink Reply by sherry mulberry on -
I definetly can relate to the medicine for my depression . I was on five different things first and I was on celexa . Celexa worked for awhile and like you say you have to keep on top of your meds. It was making me sad alot more and boy was I moody, and yes I gained some unwanted weight. But, now I'm prozac and feel so much better. you have to just fine the best meds for your body. Thanks Dana for the story it made me feel like I wasn't alone. take care
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Permalink Reply by DANA on
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Hi Sherry! I am glad to hear that Prozac is helping you feel much better! It is such a big relief to find medication that does help us find some form of balance.
I am no longer on Prozac since my doctor switched me to Cymbalta because I have fibromyalgia as well as ADHD. In all honesty, the Prozac works better in my opinion. After several months being on the Cymbalta, I think that it has stopped working successfully. My psychiatrist is debating on what to do with my medication and I have another appointment this Friday.
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Permalink Reply by sharon on -
I'm still breast feeding, so doc says I should lay off on the meds.
As the winter roll around early this year, I'm starting to feel myself going down the drain again.
Especially this Canadian winter in a small town that we've just moved in last year.
I'm trying to go out, join the Y, do the natural drug-free method, EXERCISE!
But it's hard, whenever I see snow outside, it takes 30 minutes just to get myself and baby ready to go out, and that's not including time to feed and change the baby.
Of course, there's always exercises I can do at home, I just need motivation.
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