![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by amandatush on November 3, 2005, at 13:04:14
Hi, I have been on 20mg of prozac for 9 years now.
I have tried to come off them in the past but gone back on them.
The last time i cam off them was 8 months ago 3 weeks before my father died. I thought i was having a nervous breakdown, i felt like hell, so i went back on them.
About 2 months ago i started tapering till i was taking only 1 a week and i felt fine, i thought i was ready to pack them in altogether.
It has been 4 weeks now but the last few days i feel so down. I seem to be angry all the time, shouting at my children for no reason and i hate myself for being like this.
Will i ever be normal again? will i have to take them for the rest of my life? am i feeling like this because they are coming out of my system? i dont know anymore. I ask myself is this the real me, am i doomed to be depressed for ever.
i feel so frightened and wish to god i didnt go on them in the first place.Is it not better to stay on them then have to go through this everytime. Last time i came off them i felt suicidal and i am scared of feeling like that again. Sorry this is such a long post but talking to my doctor is useless, he just tells me to stay on them or wants to change them for something else.
Amanda
Posted by SLS on November 4, 2005, at 8:57:39
In reply to withdrawel and will i always feel like this, posted by amandatush on November 3, 2005, at 13:04:14
Hi.
How would you react if God came down and told you that you have an incurable disease, but one for which medications are available to treat? What if he told you that you would need to continue treatment indefinitely, but that you would lead a happy life for doing so?
I am in this position with one exception. I have not found a treatment that works. You have. You might want to consider your good fortune.
Nobody wants to be dependent on drugs. I would like to depend only on my own body and mind to overcome all obstacles in life. Unfortunately, this was not to be. If I could find a drug that would continue to work for me, I would take it religiously every day and thank God for it.
Now it's your turn.
I'm sorry for coming down so hard on you, but there is a phenomenon known as drug-discontinuation-induced drug refractoriness. Many people, after discontinuing an antidepressant that had kept them stable for years, find that it no longer works when they restart it. They become treatment-resistant. I don't want to see that happen to you.
I'm not a doctor, and I don't know the infomation critical to your case, but it does sound like you relapse into depression every time you discontinue Prozac. Because of how long it takes for you to relapse, and your current trend towards deterioration, I doubt that your depression is a withdrawal symptom.
Please think about it.
I could be wrong...
- Scott
Posted by amandatush on November 4, 2005, at 9:13:53
In reply to Re: withdrawel and will i always feel like this » amandatush, posted by SLS on November 4, 2005, at 8:57:39
> Hi.
>
> How would you react if God came down and told you that you have an incurable disease, but one for which medications are available to treat? What if he told you that you would need to continue treatment indefinitely, but that you would lead a happy life for doing so?
>
> I am in this position with one exception. I have not found a treatment that works. You have. You might want to consider your good fortune.
>
> Nobody wants to be dependent on drugs. I would like to depend only on my own body and mind to overcome all obstacles in life. Unfortunately, this was not to be. If I could find a drug that would continue to work for me, I would take it religiously every day and thank God for it.
>
> Now it's your turn.
>
> I'm sorry for coming down so hard on you, but there is a phenomenon known as drug-discontinuation-induced drug refractoriness. Many people, after discontinuing an antidepressant that had kept them stable for years, find that it no longer works when they restart it. They become treatment-resistant. I don't want to see that happen to you.
>
> I'm not a doctor, and I don't know the infomation critical to your case, but it does sound like you relapse into depression every time you discontinue Prozac. Because of how long it takes for you to relapse, and your current trend towards deterioration, I doubt that your depression is a withdrawal symptom.
>
> Please think about it.
>
> I could be wrong...
>
>
> - Scott
>Hi Scott,
Thankyou for your honest post. I completly understand what you are saying.
Usually i am such a happy go lucky kind of person and there has never been a truer saying than...there is always someone worse off than yourself. I was quite happy on one 20mg prozac a week, maybe i should just stick to that. Or maybe i should just count my blessings and realise how lucky i am.
My sister is very ill with stills disease but she doesnt feel the need to take AD's.
Best wishes to you scott.
Kind regards
Amanda x
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Withdrawal | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.