![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 19 of 19. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Gerri on January 20, 2012, at 23:29:58
I have reactive depression to a recent hopefully treatable breast cancer diagnosis which will involve 6 weeks of radiotherapy. I am 61 years old.
I have had long-standing depression and was on 20 -40 mg fluoxetine for many years with good effect. I went off it for a few years and recommenced 3 weeks ago but it doesn't seem to be having the desired effect. For the first week I felt good (I know this is not usual but it has happened in the past that I get an immediate lift.) However now I am waking at 2 am and not able to get back to sleep. I am not having the dreams I have had when I was on fluoextine in the past so I wonder if it has not reached therapeutic levels. My Dr has suggested that I increase to 40mg.
I have periods of feeling more down that I have ever felt, especially in the morning and during the wakeful hours from 2 am on. I am filled with feelings of doom and dread and thinking about people dying. Initially I thought I had (cancer) secondaries so maybe it is a ptsd reaction.
Any suggestions of extra meds to help the nighttime wakefullness and the morning downs would be gratefully accepted or any other strategies.Thanks
gerri
Posted by Christ_empowered on January 21, 2012, at 0:07:47
In reply to Feeling very down despite Fluoxetine 20 mg 3 wks, posted by Gerri on January 20, 2012, at 23:29:58
I am very sorry about your situation. Its perfectly understandable that you'd be feeling more than a little down right now.
Maybe prozac just isn't right this time around? I'd personally just add something for sleep--ambien, a benzodiazepine (valium, ativan, xanax, etc.), or maybe Remeron. Remeron is an antidepressant that acts differently from Prozac. I think the 2 are sometimes combined to good effect. Remeron is also a very effective sedative, especially at lower doses (I forget why, but as you increase the dose, the sedative effect starts to wear off).
Anyway, that's really all I can think. Please keep us posted.
Posted by rjlockhart04-08 on January 21, 2012, at 0:10:09
In reply to Feeling very down despite Fluoxetine 20 mg 3 wks, posted by Gerri on January 20, 2012, at 23:29:58
Before I say anything ... you said "doom". I've felt that so many times during the day...I'm just so glad im not the only one!! read my posts.
Anyways I take fluoxtine 60mg and its lost its effect with me too. You may want to ask your doctor about something to help you sleep, but sometimes depression and insomnia have the same cause...low serotonin and low levels cause you to lose sleep, depending on the case. You should try to serotonigenic medciation before maybe using sedatives to help you get to sleep.
BUT yes 40mg or even 60mg would benefit but there tends to be more side effects with prozac at higher doses. I acutally have no effect at all and no side effects. It's absolutly lost its effect with me. I'm very sorry about your condition. There should be some more posters with better advice that will imput soon.
Matt
Posted by rjlockhart04-08 on January 21, 2012, at 0:13:16
In reply to Feeling very down despite Fluoxetine 20 mg 3 wks, posted by Gerri on January 20, 2012, at 23:29:58
Before I say anything ... you said "doom". I've felt that so many times during the day...I'm just so glad im not the only one!! read my posts.
Anyways I take fluoxtine 60mg and its lost its effect with me too. You may want to ask your doctor about something to help you sleep, but sometimes depression and insomnia have the same cause...low serotonin and low levels cause you to lose sleep, depending on the case. You should try to serotonigenic medciation before maybe using sedatives to help you get to sleep.
BUT yes 40mg or even 60mg would benefit but there tends to be more side effects with prozac at higher doses. I acutally have no effect at all and no side effects. It's absolutly lost its effect with me. I'm very sorry about your condition. There should be some more posters with better advice that will imput soon.
Matt
Posted by morgan miller on January 21, 2012, at 0:59:44
In reply to Feeling very down despite Fluoxetine 20 mg 3 wks, posted by Gerri on January 20, 2012, at 23:29:58
Give it another few weeks. You may need 40 mg.
Ever tried Zoloft?
Posted by Phillipa on January 21, 2012, at 10:06:01
In reply to Feeling very down despite Fluoxetine 20 mg 3 wks, posted by Gerri on January 20, 2012, at 23:29:58
I'm so sorry about your breast cancer diagnosis. I feel so many females fear this diagnosis. Have you been offered support groups to deal with the feelings of the dx of breast cancer and treatment? Which doc has suggested the prozac for you? I do agree with benzos to help you such a scary time. Do you have a strong support system? Phillipa
Posted by novelagent on January 21, 2012, at 10:37:12
In reply to Feeling very down despite Fluoxetine 20 mg 3 wks, posted by Gerri on January 20, 2012, at 23:29:58
no one is going to ge anything but a placebo effect in 3 weeks, so take heart.... it took me 3 full months for Lexapro to do its thing on me. Just don't start switching meds every 3 or 4 weeks, because that just resets the clock.
> I have reactive depression to a recent hopefully treatable breast cancer diagnosis which will involve 6 weeks of radiotherapy. I am 61 years old.
> I have had long-standing depression and was on 20 -40 mg fluoxetine for many years with good effect. I went off it for a few years and recommenced 3 weeks ago but it doesn't seem to be having the desired effect. For the first week I felt good (I know this is not usual but it has happened in the past that I get an immediate lift.) However now I am waking at 2 am and not able to get back to sleep. I am not having the dreams I have had when I was on fluoextine in the past so I wonder if it has not reached therapeutic levels. My Dr has suggested that I increase to 40mg.
> I have periods of feeling more down that I have ever felt, especially in the morning and during the wakeful hours from 2 am on. I am filled with feelings of doom and dread and thinking about people dying. Initially I thought I had (cancer) secondaries so maybe it is a ptsd reaction.
> Any suggestions of extra meds to help the nighttime wakefullness and the morning downs would be gratefully accepted or any other strategies.
>
> Thanks
>
> gerri
>
Posted by Gerri on January 21, 2012, at 20:15:25
In reply to Re: Feeling very down despite Fluoxetine 20 mg 3 wks, posted by novelagent on January 21, 2012, at 10:37:12
Thanks so much to all of you. I find it very helpful to be able to post here and be understood.
I will follow the advice to keep on with the fluoxetine. I get a few hives when I increase the dose but if it improves my mood then I can bare the hives and just take antihistamines to counteract the itchiness. I get a worse skin problem with anything over 25 mg Zoloft so that is not an option as I don't think it is therapeutic at that dose.
Phillipa there is quite a lot of support for women with breast cancer where I live in Australia. However I am single with no direct relatives. My sister is here from Canada at the moment but she is returning soon so I will be going through the radiotherapy with the support of only neighbours and friends, but I think I should get through it fine.
I'm finding exercise helps. And yes I have some Valium so I use that when I need it. Usually about2mg during the day. From reading posts here it is reassuring to note that it is not always as addictive as doctors lead you to believe. I also have some Temazapam so took that last night at 2 am and went back to sleep. Feeling better today. I just have to accept that I will have good and bad days
Thanks for your support. I really appreciate itGerri
Posted by Phillipa on January 21, 2012, at 21:08:38
In reply to Re: Feeling very down despite Fluoxetine 20 mg 3 wks, posted by Gerri on January 21, 2012, at 20:15:25
Gerri please feel free to write me anytime. Babblemail me. Phillipa
Posted by bleauberry on January 22, 2012, at 18:09:18
In reply to Feeling very down despite Fluoxetine 20 mg 3 wks, posted by Gerri on January 20, 2012, at 23:29:58
Well, any of the meds we take can actually create or worsen the very feelings you are experiencing. Sometimes just not do anything. Those are the chances we take. But hey 20mg is fairly low. 40mg and 60mg I think are more common doses. I actually know of someone taking 200!!! Now ok let's say you increase your dose and then feel even worse than now. Well then you have a pretty good clue the med itself is the problem and it needs to be swapped out for something else. Or another option is to just try to give it some more time because sometimes it can take 6 weeks or more to even get a hint something is happening. I dunno, I was on prozac for 8 years, then I switched to other meds for a couple years, and then when I went back to prozac it was not friendly to me at all. Somehow things had changed on the second go-around. That doesn't happen with everyone but it happens enough to mention it.
Posted by Gerri on January 22, 2012, at 19:18:32
In reply to Re: Feeling very down despite Fluoxetine 20 mg 3 wks, posted by bleauberry on January 22, 2012, at 18:09:18
> Gerri please feel free to write me anytime. Babblemail me. Phillipa
Thanks Phillipa. I will probably take you up on that.
Re increasing my dose. I am finding that if I take more than 20 mg I get a number of large hard red hives which eventually break out into small sores. I think I have vasculitis and that is why I went off fluoextine a couple of years ago as it is a known unusual reaction. I had a similar reaction to low dose Zoloft. I am so desperate to get a lift in serotonin that I am prepared to put up with a small number of hive but I am worried about the big ones which turn into sores
Gerri
Posted by Lou Pilder on January 22, 2012, at 20:09:24
In reply to Re: Feeling very down despite Fluoxetine 20 mg 3 wks, posted by Gerri on January 22, 2012, at 19:18:32
> > Gerri please feel free to write me anytime. Babblemail me. Phillipa
>
> Thanks Phillipa. I will probably take you up on that.
>
> Re increasing my dose. I am finding that if I take more than 20 mg I get a number of large hard red hives which eventually break out into small sores. I think I have vasculitis and that is why I went off fluoextine a couple of years ago as it is a known unusual reaction. I had a similar reaction to low dose Zoloft. I am so desperate to get a lift in serotonin that I am prepared to put up with a small number of hive but I am worried about the big ones which turn into sores
>
> GerriGerri,
You wrote,[...a number of large hard red hives..went off (prozac)...reaction to..zoloft...I am worried abnout the big ones that turn into sores..].
If you are willing to read this, it could save your life and also prevent you from experiancing a horrible death.
What you have described here is a possible reaction from prozac. The drug can cause a type of allergic response that shows up as a rash at first, and then progreses to where all the mucous membranes are inflamed including the eyes as the skin is like being burned alive over your entire body. When it evolves into this state, it is called Stevens Johnson Syndrome. There are other forms with different names. The chemical make up of prozac is one of the drugs that can induce SJS. There are others, like Lamactil, and over-the-counter pain drugs such as Motrin and Advil and such. I read that you are willing to put up with a small number of hives. SJS can be over the whole body including the eyes that could lead to blindness and death.
There are people here that could tell you to take this or that drug. But is the potential of death from SJS worth it?
I can not tell you here due to prohibitions made to me by Mr. Hsiung as to how you could get "a lift" without the risk of death from drugs by suicide or the drug inducing cariac arrest or other causes of death from these drugs.
The lift that I am prohibited from posting here could give you a new heart and a new mind and take you to a kingdom of a marvelous light. But my posting would need for me to post the foundation of Judaism as revealed to me , which Mr. Hsiung has posted to me a prohibition to do so.
I have no kick against modern drugs, as long as they don't cause a deadly rash. But is not taking these drugs like playing roulette?
Lou
Posted by Phillipa on January 22, 2012, at 20:27:20
In reply to Re: Feeling very down despite Fluoxetine 20 mg 3 wks, posted by Gerri on January 22, 2012, at 19:18:32
Gerri no that is surely not a good thing and I'd let your doc know right away could become infected and vasculitis is autoimmune illness isn't it? Will be looking forward to hearing from you. I mean this sincerly!!! Phillipa
Posted by jono_in_adelaide on January 23, 2012, at 19:33:38
In reply to Re: Feeling very down despite Fluoxetine 20 mg 3 wks » Gerri, posted by Phillipa on January 22, 2012, at 20:27:20
Ask your doctor if you can switch to mirtazapine (Remeron, Avanza) 30mg at night
It is an effective antidepressant (more effective than SSRI's) and it is also a very effective anti anxiety drug and sleep aid
Posted by Lou Pilder on January 23, 2012, at 20:09:28
In reply to Re: Feeling very down despite Fluoxetine 20 mg 3 wks, posted by Gerri on January 22, 2012, at 19:18:32
> > Gerri please feel free to write me anytime. Babblemail me. Phillipa
>
> Thanks Phillipa. I will probably take you up on that.
>
> Re increasing my dose. I am finding that if I take more than 20 mg I get a number of large hard red hives which eventually break out into small sores. I think I have vasculitis and that is why I went off fluoextine a couple of years ago as it is a known unusual reaction. I had a similar reaction to low dose Zoloft. I am so desperate to get a lift in serotonin that I am prepared to put up with a small number of hive but I am worried about the big ones which turn into sores
>
> GerriGerri,
Someone here has requested that you ask your doctor to give you a drug called Remeron. Now if Prozac could induce SJS, could not other psychotropic drugs have that potential as well?
You see, Remeron could also induce SJS. And other life-ruining conditions also.
Now here is the warning from the FDA
Lou
http://www.fda.gov/safety/medwatch/safetyinfomation/ucm215532.htm
Posted by Lou Pilder on January 23, 2012, at 20:14:07
In reply to Lou's response- » Gerri, posted by Lou Pilder on January 23, 2012, at 20:09:28
> > > Gerri please feel free to write me anytime. Babblemail me. Phillipa
> >
> > Thanks Phillipa. I will probably take you up on that.
> >
> > Re increasing my dose. I am finding that if I take more than 20 mg I get a number of large hard red hives which eventually break out into small sores. I think I have vasculitis and that is why I went off fluoextine a couple of years ago as it is a known unusual reaction. I had a similar reaction to low dose Zoloft. I am so desperate to get a lift in serotonin that I am prepared to put up with a small number of hive but I am worried about the big ones which turn into sores
> >
> > Gerri
>
> Gerri,
> Someone here has requested that you ask your doctor to give you a drug called Remeron. Now if Prozac could induce SJS, could not other psychotropic drugs have that potential as well?
> You see, Remeron could also induce SJS. And other life-ruining conditions also.
> Now here is the warning from the FDA
> Lou
> http://www.fda.gov/safety/medwatch/safetyinfomation/ucm215532.htm
> correction:
http://www.fda.gov/safety/madwatch/safetyinformation/ucm215532.htm
>
Posted by Lou Pilder on January 23, 2012, at 20:18:35
In reply to Re: Lou's response-correction, posted by Lou Pilder on January 23, 2012, at 20:14:07
> > > > Gerri please feel free to write me anytime. Babblemail me. Phillipa
> > >
> > > Thanks Phillipa. I will probably take you up on that.
> > >
> > > Re increasing my dose. I am finding that if I take more than 20 mg I get a number of large hard red hives which eventually break out into small sores. I think I have vasculitis and that is why I went off fluoextine a couple of years ago as it is a known unusual reaction. I had a similar reaction to low dose Zoloft. I am so desperate to get a lift in serotonin that I am prepared to put up with a small number of hive but I am worried about the big ones which turn into sores
> > >
> > > Gerri
> >
> > Gerri,
> > Someone here has requested that you ask your doctor to give you a drug called Remeron. Now if Prozac could induce SJS, could not other psychotropic drugs have that potential as well?
> > You see, Remeron could also induce SJS. And other life-ruining conditions also.
> > Now here is the warning from the FDA
> > Lou
> > http://www.fda.gov/safety/medwatch/safetyinfomation/ucm215532.htm
> > correction:
> http://www.fda.gov/safety/madwatch/safetyinformation/ucm215532.htm
> > correction to correction:
> http://www.fda.gov/safety/medwatch/safetyinformation/ucm215532.htm
>
Posted by Phillipa on January 23, 2012, at 21:23:06
In reply to Re: Lou's response-correction to correction, posted by Lou Pilder on January 23, 2012, at 20:18:35
Please stop. No questions asked please. Write me if you prefer. Phillipa
Posted by Gerri on January 25, 2012, at 16:48:04
In reply to Re: Lou's response-correction to correction » Lou Pilder, posted by Phillipa on January 23, 2012, at 21:23:06
Hi
I've just read the posts from Lou. I don't know whether this is fearmongering
Anyway I have dropped beck to 20 mg fluoextine and only get a few hives not the big hard ones that develop into sores that I got when I increased the dose to 30 mg. I have chronic idiopathic hives anyway but seem to get more hives when I take SSRIs. I am desperate to overcome the depression I am experiencing so want to persevere with the fluoextine.
Thank you to the poster re Remeron. I will keep that in mind if the fluo.. doesn't work out for me.
And Phillipa I've posted on the Admin Board about how to open my Babblemails. Can't work out how to do itThanks
Gerri
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]
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.