Prozac: My Mental Health Journey
I haven't blogged in a while. The reason is because I've spent the last week being someone else. I started medication for my GERD and my anxiety/panic attacks. I was prescribed dexilant and prozac. I've never taken prozac (or dexilant) before, but I was really happy to try something to relieve some of the discomfort I was in. I've been dealing with increased anxiety over the last year and GERD so bad that it was burning my throat.
I started the medication last Tuesday. I felt better immediately when it came to my GERD, but of course, I didn't feel anything with my prozac except I slept through the night. Then I slowly became relaxed. I don't think I've done anything since I started it other than sit and stare. This weekend, though, I started having panic attacks that were worse than normal. Unfortunately, I started graduate school again on Monday (yesterday) and I felt like garbage and actually left class early.
I was nauseated. I felt like vomiting any time I ate or drank water. I had the poops. I was jittery. I was listless. I was panicking more than normal. I had headaches. I had stomach cramps. My hands and feet were in a permanent cold sweat state. I couldn't stop yawning. My heart rate changed (65-100 to 50-70). I felt absolutely awful to the point where I slept in a recliner for a few days while my mom slept in the other recliner next to me.
I told my doctor and she pretty much told me that she was completely changing the medication that she prescribed me for both problems. She told me that she wanted me to stop Prozac immediately. Guess what happened? I did. I didn't sleep except maybe 3 hours and it wasn't restful at all. I had panic attacks when I woke up. My heart rate went from 50 to 115. I feel better and worse at the same time. The way I feel right now has made me terrified to try any other medication for my anxiety. She wants me to try Zoloft (which is similar to Prozac but not) and omprenazole (which sometimes gives me nighttime panic attacks). I'm so apprehensive to try this new combination, but I have to do something so I don't feel like the way I did before too. I need to feel better not worse.
Health stuff rather than mental health stuff:
I also have to take a H Pylori breath test to make sure I don't have a bacterium in my stomach that's causing some of these problems. H Pylori can cause peptic ulcers. So, I'll have to take that test soon. Also, I have an ENT (ear-nose-throat) appointment on Thursday. I'm slowly but surely getting some of my problems taken care of. I hope I feel at least 80% better by March.
The reason I'm writing this all down is for my benefit. I'm trying to remember what I feel like when I take these medications so I know not to do it again. This journey is going to be a lot of trial and error. I hope that I find peace sooner than later.
I started the medication last Tuesday. I felt better immediately when it came to my GERD, but of course, I didn't feel anything with my prozac except I slept through the night. Then I slowly became relaxed. I don't think I've done anything since I started it other than sit and stare. This weekend, though, I started having panic attacks that were worse than normal. Unfortunately, I started graduate school again on Monday (yesterday) and I felt like garbage and actually left class early.
I was nauseated. I felt like vomiting any time I ate or drank water. I had the poops. I was jittery. I was listless. I was panicking more than normal. I had headaches. I had stomach cramps. My hands and feet were in a permanent cold sweat state. I couldn't stop yawning. My heart rate changed (65-100 to 50-70). I felt absolutely awful to the point where I slept in a recliner for a few days while my mom slept in the other recliner next to me.
I told my doctor and she pretty much told me that she was completely changing the medication that she prescribed me for both problems. She told me that she wanted me to stop Prozac immediately. Guess what happened? I did. I didn't sleep except maybe 3 hours and it wasn't restful at all. I had panic attacks when I woke up. My heart rate went from 50 to 115. I feel better and worse at the same time. The way I feel right now has made me terrified to try any other medication for my anxiety. She wants me to try Zoloft (which is similar to Prozac but not) and omprenazole (which sometimes gives me nighttime panic attacks). I'm so apprehensive to try this new combination, but I have to do something so I don't feel like the way I did before too. I need to feel better not worse.
Health stuff rather than mental health stuff:
I also have to take a H Pylori breath test to make sure I don't have a bacterium in my stomach that's causing some of these problems. H Pylori can cause peptic ulcers. So, I'll have to take that test soon. Also, I have an ENT (ear-nose-throat) appointment on Thursday. I'm slowly but surely getting some of my problems taken care of. I hope I feel at least 80% better by March.
The reason I'm writing this all down is for my benefit. I'm trying to remember what I feel like when I take these medications so I know not to do it again. This journey is going to be a lot of trial and error. I hope that I find peace sooner than later.
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