Diagnosed with depression, after a little support...

Hi everyone. I'm Sophie. 19 and at University. Posted a couple times mainly regarding my unhealthy attitudes towards food. After some advice on CC I went to my GP and she said I am suffering from severe depression. I have been put on AD's (fluxotine) and am hoping for the best.

I have deveopled an unhealthy relationship with food over the course of this year. I record every morsel that I eat in a diary and only eat low-cal super healthy foods. I also exercise vigourously 5-7 days a week. This started off as a means to loose a bit of weight. I am now comfortable with my weight but I have not been able to relax with my calorie counting at all. I also feel terrible if I don't go to the gym. I have to force myself to take rest days.

My doctor said that this isn't an eating disorder in isolation, but rather tool I use to 'control' an aspect of my life. I am scared that if I stop 'dieting' and exercising I will balloon up/become lazy/something terrible will happen. It's irrational, I know. But I can't shake that anxiety and I don't know why it is there

It has been my second day on the meds and I have no appetite and have been feeling quite sick. I don't know whether this is from the AD's or because I have a cold at the moment. Or if it's just the depression in itself. But I am using it as an excuse not to get calories in which I know is really bad.

I suffer from insomnia, fatigue, anxiety and pretty much every other symptom of clinical depression. But I am quite concerned about the lack of appetite/nausea that I've recently been experiencing. Does anyone have any advice? I have literally been forcing myself to eat.

Also, what are other peoples experiences on AD's? In particular fluxotine (prozac). Did it change you for the worse in any way? Did you notice any dramatic changes? And did it affect your weight? I am quite scared.

I would be grateful for any feedback at all...

Hi Sophie,

Sorry you are having such a hard time right now.  I've never been on Prozac, but have been on Celexa, Zoloft, and Lexapro.  I've had the opposite issue on the Lexapro and the Celexa.  They both made my want to eat all the time, and I gained over 35 pounds on the Lexapro (which is why I'm here). 

Everyone reacts differently to the medications, but in general they take 2-3 weeks b/f you will notice the effects of them.  You can check out rxlist.com to find out more about the Prozac.

I wish you the best.

J.

Hi Sophie,

First if all well done for taking the first step and going to ask for help. You sound exactly like me in the situation I was in a few months back. I've suffered from depression for years, I'm 21 now and in April I started to have the same issues with food as you did.

I eventually went to the doctor and he put me on 20mg flouxetine and referred me to the eating disorder association, which I never went to.

At first I noticed a difference but I just felt like I couldn't feel anything, happy or sad. But I thought I'd carry on and see how it turns out. Then I started gettting panic attacks, which was really weird for me since I'd only ever had one before in my life and that was in the most stressful situation you could ever imagine! These were like when a customer got annoyed or impatient at me or soemthing. Then I was getting really worried thinking I was even more crazy than I'd thought!

Then one weekend I went into total melt down. I won't go into too much detail, suffice to say I was a total wreck, crying and screaming in the street. I managed to get home and was totaly certain I was going to slit my wrists (I used to self harm anyway).

Anyway, I ended up not doing it and managed to get another appointment with the doc. He upped my dosage to 40mg, prescribed me diazepam for the anxiety, which I've never had to take. He also told me that things generally get worse before they get better. Anxiety can be a side effect of Flouextine. They might have to play around with your dose, or even try you with something different all together. All I can say is: Stick with it! Give it time. And stay in near constant contact with your doc. Make appointments every two weeks at first so they can keep an eye on you.

I've been on it for about 4 months now and I can honestly say I've never felt better. Like never ever in my whole life ever! I can deal with stressful situations like a normal person now!! I don't cry, or panic or beat myself up endlessly about things that weren't my fault.

I'm making a real effort to change my way of thinking as well. Instead of saying something negative to myself in my head I'll make a concious effort to say something positive instead. I feel like the AD's just give me a support to be able to do that for myself. I'm going to be on them for another few months then review it with my doc and see if I feel able to come gradually off them. If I do that and can't cope, for instance, if there's a lot of other things going on in my life at that time, then I'll stay on them for a bit longer.

Everyone's different, they've worked so well for me, I never thought I'd be able to feel like this! I literally thought I could never be happy. But you may not respond to them but need to try something else. That's why it's so important to see your doc regularly and understand that things may get worse before they get better.

Good luck

just started prozac too. made me feel so crap i cut my dose down to 5mg and will work up. best of luck. if i have more to offer - i will

I have been on and off to a psych and on many meds for depression/anxiety and sleep. I then took a break for awhile because I had other health conditions physically. Anyhow a long story short I really was in a horrible mental spot for most of a year. Ed aside. I was just not coping or rational at all. I went back about 5 months ago and am back on meds which have been a lot of changing,up,trying/adding etc but the difference is major. Don't get me wrong to the average person they would think not in them but even family has commented and I feel a difference. It takes time and a combo approach of self tools and meds can really assist. Many side effects last a short time though I know how hard it is. When I started Cymbalta I really spent nights in the bathroom feeling ill but with in 2 weeks it settled down. You have to nurish your body or meds can't work as well. I encourage you to discuss your concerns and fears/side effects with your doctor. Sometimes you can even just call and speak with nurse. Some meds changing the time you take it or with food etc can help.

Ahh, prozac.

I had a nervous breakdown about two months ago, at the lowest point of my eating issues (yet, not my lowest weight).  I was prescribed prozac before I went through with any of my plans of driving out in front of an oncoming truck.

Let me tell you... within about 3 weeks, my obsession with calorie counting diminished.  It is in fact used to treat anorexia, as well as other things.  I became less obsessed with the numbers in the foods I was eating.  I was able to stop weighing food.  I could even enjoy a splurge.

The minute I quit losing though and was just maintaining and feeling good, it all came back.  It's still no where near as bad as it was (fainting spells, etc) and I thank the prozac for that.  Give it a while and I have a feeling you will be feeling better.

Also, if you need a friend... I know what you're feeling, (perhaps your problems are worse, perhaps mine, who knows) and depression is a horrible thing to cope with alone.  If you ever need someone to talk to, feel free to drop me a message.  I really mean that.

Please feel better. :)

I was on Prozac for a little over a year. 

For the first two weeks I suffered from fatigue, a slight headache, and decreased appetite (which led to some initial, noticeable, weight loss) but those went away quite quickly.

In return though I got vastly decreased anxiety, my social anxiety especially. My temper completely dissipated, things which made me angry or irritated before no longer did.  I also noticed an increase in patience and focus (schoolwork).  Heck, I'd even go so far as to say it was Prozac that got me on the Honor Roll.  :) 

More importantly though is that my perpetual sadness was removed.  It didn't make me super happy, but I was no longer suffering from the blues 24/7.  I was a lot happier, upbeat, and optimistic on Prozac.  A few months after having gone off of it my boss at work asked me if there was something 'wrong' because I wasn't 'bubbly' anymore.  ^_^

Although different people have different reactions to different drugs, Prozac worked fantastic for me, and I'd definitely recommend at least trying it.

first of all im sorry youve been having such a bad time, but hopefully things will start to get better from here. im on prozac and have been for 7 years i would recommend it , it took some time to get into my system but it has helped very much and ive been alot happier and able to tackle things far better since being on it , i also feel it has helped with my ocd and black and white thinking . there was a period last year where i stopped taking it and i was beside myself . so id definitely recommend it . good luck you can do this and all us guys are behind you h x

Thank you all so much for your kind words and support. Went back to the GP and talked about some of the issues you guys had mentioned.

I'm still feeling scared but you all give me hope...

We're here for you!