need advice re prozac and pni

[majella]

hi wondering can anyone help me. diagnosed with pni when my 2nd baby was 5 months old. never had aqnythingon the first. anyway after several problems and thinking i was dying it was a elief to be told i wasn't going mad and this was quite common. i suffered really bad panic attacks at start and have been very down to the point where i thought i could do something to stop it all but thank god i didn't. anyway iwas on ciprimil 10mg for 5 weeks then upto 20mg for 2 weeks. 3 weeks ago i was changed to affex(prozac) 20mg as the ciprimil just were not doing anything. even though there has been a slight improvement in my mood with affex i have had a relly few bad days again and psyc has decided to up me to 40mg. i am totally distraught about this and feel such a failure. what should i do. should i give it another while on 20mg and hope for best. will i experience any major effects from going up. i was also prescribed xanex for anxiety but haven't been taken them. can somone please help me are there any positive stories out there.

[francoise]

hi majella
we are similiar in that i only have pni with my third child and nothing with previous children.
i have been on meds now for about 6 weeks or so and i have found that they dont take the panic away , i think they up your mood so that we can deal with it better and work on our issues we have , i to are suffering with anxiety and panic ,im stuck in the house like a prison most of the time but i now know what i have to do to beat it and its like people can guide us and help to a point but we have to do it ourselves with support its possible and we get loads of support on here .
as regards your meds , i would honestly do what your gp says to and then you can go back and tell him or her whats happening and then they can reduce or up them , ive stayed on 20 mg and i wanted them put higher but ive left it to see how i go first and the gp wants me to wait another month,
you shouldnt feel like a failiure as there was nothing you could of done to stop getting this , there are lots of positive stories on here from women who have recovered and even stronger then they were before , you only have to look back in the threads to see it , its amazing and there is a part of this forum for positive stories of recovery ,
anway keep talking and we will keep listening , take care
love fran

[Vonda]

I don't know anything about the meds that you are on but I am on Citalopram. I started originally on 20mg but this wasn't enough so it was upped to 30mg and this started to work. I even got to the stage where I thought that I was cured. I started to reduce the dose and unfortunately started to go downhill again when I got to 10mg. So I am back up to 20mg and am starting to feel a little better. The other girls on here might have started to notice the difference as my posts are not so much doom and gloom as they were. I can only say that Citalopram is working for me - I just think that I started to come off it too early.

I would do as your doctor tells you - sometimes its just a case of getting the dose right or finding something that suits you. Also, it can take a while for the meds to kick in. I am only just starting to feel better after having my dosage put back up again over 5 weeks ago.

Have you talked to your health visitor? Mine has been an angel and comes out to see me when I need her to for listening visits.

Hang in there. I hope you start to feel better soon.

Vonda

[Carmen not logged on]

Hi Majella

I am like you and have only had PNI this time around - not after my first. I only really improved after taking the AD's for a month. I was on only 10mg of one particular drug but it made me like a zombie so I changed to another. Starting on 10mg and gradually increasing it to 30mg which I'm on now. I think this is the right dose now as even when I have bad days now I dont feel so helpless and I can control my emotions so much more. I have to agree with Fran though in that it hasnt gotten rid of my anxiety but I seem to be able to cope through it better - its very difficult to explain. Unfortunately it hasnt brought my brain back either - will I be this dumb for ever? - hope not.

Hang in there (I know its easy for me to say now.......) my doctor told me that it could even take up to trying 5 different sorts of AD's before I found the right one - Luckily for me though we got it right second time around.

Good Luck and Take Care
Please come and talk to us again
We would love to hear more of your story
Love Carmen

[lisa1234]

Hi Majella,

I took prozac when I had depression previously. It would be worth trying the increase in dose as it can help but what I would say is that if you notice the panic attacks increasing go back to your GP. This happened to me and my medication was changed. I think all the others have said that medication really does work so differently from one person to another. I took Efexor before which worked great for me.

I hope you get everything sorted.

take care
Love Lisa xxx

[jennie]

I'm on Efexor which really suits me.when things are tough my gp upsthedoseand aftera while when I'm more settled it gets droppedagain...I'm on the higher dose at the mo and'll drop it after Xmas....I'vebeen taking medication for 8yrs now(with a break of 9monthswhen I was pregnant...I think I'll take them for the rest of my life and I'm fine with that.
Feeling of failiure was the main feeling I used to have when first ill.Sometimes I sink into the same feelings.take it slowly and don't push yourself to hard....remember you are ill.

[Ryn]

Hi Majella,
I agree with everything the others have said. I have taken Prozac for the last 6 months after PNI with my second baby (fine with 1st). I am on 20mgs, and found my mood started to lift after about 2 weeks. I too suffered with anxiety - I couldn't be alone with my kids - and found this was the last of the symptoms that lifted - It was also my most severe symptom. As the other said - stick with it, and go back to your GP if you have any questions worries - they are there to help you. They are paid great saleries so don't worry about hassling them - that is what they are there for!!
I also had a community psychiatric nurse who visited and provided some really useful talk therapy. If you can get something like this it can help - you should be able to if you are in the UK. I found this really good at dealing with and getting to the heart of what was causing my anxiety and dealing with it.

It does take time for the meds to work, and each of us are different - so it may take a few changes in meds, or increases in dose to start to see any changes, but stick with it and you will get there.

Good luck and thinking of you.
Kathy

[majella]

hi everyone, thanks so much for all your replies. feeling no better today well i have noticed a lift in my mood but nothing major. still full of anxiety. i was on ciprimil 10mg for 7 weeks then up to 20mg for two weeks and then they changed me to prozac. i thought at this stage i would see a major improvement. i feel so low and so afraid that this is never going to go away. i try to remember good days and stay positive but i just can't. thank God my children keep me going. anyway sorry to keep moaning talk to all soon

[Carmen]

Keep on moaning Majella - it really does help and we would love to help you.

I havnt taken prozac before so I'm not sure how long it takes for it to "kick in" but it took me 4 weeks on ad's to start having more good days than bad. But please go back to your GP and tell her/him how you are feeling.

In the mean time - as I said - moan away - we are all here for you.

Take Care
Love Carmen

[cinders]

Hiya Marjella,
If your Doctor has suggested that you up the meds then I would go with that. It will help you in the long run and when you're feeling a lot stronger you can reduce the dose as you and the Dr see fit.
I never had PNI with my first two kids, but got it on my third, which was a real shock to the system. I was started on Citalapram, which didnt concern me at all cause I was so down I would have taken anything to help me to feel better. The dose was gradually increased until I did start to feel a difference. It can take up to a month to actually kick in, which is a reason not to stop taking them too soon, as it takes a while to get out of your system too. I have been taking the meds for months now and I was feeling so much stronger that I was happy to start weaning myself off them (with my DRs advice), but as I've found out you cant rush these things. You have to try and go with what makes you feel good. Its understandable that we'll all have bad days, but I started having the horrible feelings back again, like when I was first diagnosed, so I knew I wasnt ready to come off them completely.
I had all the feelings of being a failure as I was so sure I was ' cured ' , but I'm obviously not ready just yet, but I'm sure in time I will get there.......hopefully!!!
I had really bad panic attacks and anxiety (not even wanting to be alone) and I have to say that the Citalapram does seem to have calmed these feelings down, or is it due to the fact that I'm feeling stronger in myself and able to cope more with these feelings? Whatever the reason I'm happy to keep taking them and wean myself off them VERY slowly.
At the end of the day we are ill and shouldnt feel ashamed or a failure. Just take each day at a time, dont look too far ahead and remember that one day we will all recover from this horrible illness.
Keep your chin up and remember we are all here for you. I dont speak on here too often, but I do read the threads most days.
Take good care of yourself and you will get better.
Hugs from Cinders xx

[Carol X]

Hi Majella!

Don't want to alarm you but 'Prozac' actually made my p.n.i. worse!!! After my 2nd child I took Prozac and it worked fine. However, after my 3rd child I was prescribed the same Prozac only to find that it made me much worse. It made me have suicidal tendencies and also made me feel like killing my children. The whole episode was terrifying and my medication was changed. I am now on a tricyclic s.s.r.i. 'Dosulepin' which is working wonders, however, I am on a very high dose (250mg) You may find that you are okay on Prozac but please be aware of how you feel and if you are not happy ask for your meds to be changed. Sometimes it can take a long time to find the right meds / right dose so you must persevere and also be patient!

Good Luck, Big Hugs, Carol X:)

[Vikki]

I am sorry you had problems with Prozac Carol.

Medication is very different for each person, and when you begin taking an anti depressant it is usual for your GP to ask to see you after 7-14 days after you start taking them to make sure that the medication is right for you.

I have had problems with a lot of different medication, but I have to stress that my problems are very particular to my own circumstances.

I am now taking Prozac, and so far so good, although it is not having much effect yet so I may have to ask for the dosage to be looked at.

At the end of the day, your GP does not want to give you anything that causes you more problems, but most side effects do go away after a week or two, so it is worth perservering with unless theside effects are too bad.

I did have a similar problem with paroxetine, it made me feel very unstable, so I told my Doctor and we changed to something new.