can you take your self off prozac??
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Hiya,
I'm sorry to hear you are suffering with depression - an illness that is extremely debilitating and only really understood by those that have suffered with it.
I suffered from depression on and off for five years and have been well for about two years now. At the time I never thought I would ever be well.
I was on a variety of medications including Fluoxetine (otherwise known by the brand name Prozac). I had some initial success with it in the early days but did feel listless and often tired in the afternoon. As the depression became more serious I found the medication was less and less effective. The doctor prescribed me higher and higher doses.
What I later learned after working my way through the "system" is that prescribing higher doses rarely helps. There are hundreds of variants of SSRI's and they work slightly differently with different people. You should go back to your doctor and describe your situation. Do no be afraid to ask to see a doctor that specialises in mental health - GP's rarely understand all the types of medication.
For what it is worth I finally got better from one or both of two things: CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and dropping the Fluoxetine medication in favour of a herbal remedy St. Johns Wort.
I was highly skeptical about herbal remedies but did some research and decided to give it a try. I cannot say if it helped, or was simply a "placebo effect" as the CBT therapy is an extrememly powerful technique.
If you do consider St Johns Wort then there are some important things to know about it. You shouldn't take it if you are on the contraceptive pill and you should stop taking SSRI's before you switch (my doctor advised me to switch straight over the next day and did not taper out the Fluoxetine).
There's more medical advise available on the net: -
http://www.medic8.com/healthguide/articles/stjohnswort.html
I took "Herbtech" 300mg @ 0.33% Hypericin from Holland & Barrett 3 times a day. If you find one that works it worth sticking with that brand - herbal medicines are unregulated so concentrations can be imprecise between manufacturers.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a very powerful technique though it is not easy to get it through the UK NHS. You can find out more about it here
http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinformation/therapies/cognitivebehaviouraltherapy.aspx
and there are many workbooks listed on amazon that might be useful.
Hope this helps. Remember you can and will get over your depression.
Ask the doctor, moron.
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