Prozac /sertraline to help anxiety

[mmittens]

I really need some opinions and advie with this. I saw my gp yesterday and she is unsure whether prozac or sertraline would be best to help with my anxiety problems. she actully seemed quite lacking in knowledge and said she'll call me nect week when she's found out the best one! I thought this was a fairly common problem so really was quite surprised at this. The things i need to know about both drugs are:

1 - do they help with anxiety
2 - are they easy to come off
3 - do they cause weight gain
4 - can you take them whilst pregnant

would be so grateful some of you could share your experiences with me - having to wait a week for the gp to call me back is driving me mad!

Thanks

[lilymolly]

As a medical rep and fellow taker of anti depressents, I know a little, first of all GP should know the answers, they are old drugs been around for years. suggest you see another gp
Prozac tends to "lift" people so not good for anxiety as this makes it worse, sertraline more neutral so better for anxiety, but i found effexor was brilliant, but you will get withdrawl effects when you come off any of them, but you must reduce dose slowly, I never gained any weight, and did not atke during pregnacy cos I was better, but have a friend who stopped for first 12 weeks and then took them after this and had a healthy baby, the benefits have to out weigh the risks, they will be no studies in pregnant women to asses the risks cos it is unethical, but chances are there is no risk, it is better to avoid,but if your health is at risk such as (to be brutally honest) suicide self harm etc, then you must take them. But seriously see another GP, who know their stuff, or have referall to psychiatrist, let me know what happens, thinking of you x

[mmittens]

thanks so much for your reply. I was actually more keen on the sound of prozac as it appears to have less of a problem with withdrawal due to its long half life. If prozac "lifts" won't that help with me being overcome and not being able to cope when the slightest thing goes wrong? When bad things happen i often feel i wish i could go to sleep and not wake up and plan ways of ending things

[mellowma]

Message withdrawn

[desperateSCOUSEwife]

mittens good on your gp for looking into the matter thoroughly
sure be more of them around

i have been on prozac for a few months now, feel alot better
was more depressed more than anxious tbh, and i have no idea re pg etc
but wishing you best of luck, and hopefully an AD will be found to suit your needs
good luck
xxx

[lilymolly]

Sorry, if you are just anxious, then proxac could heighten you even more, but if you are low and depressed as I was, then you may need lifting, but I found it made me high as a kite. you are right about long half life, but effexor that I mentioned works on dopamine as well as serotonin, and has dual effect ( i think) and has less side effects. The other alternative is cipramil, but do not try paroxitine, as it is linked to suicide, I would NEVER take it. Sorry to hear you are so unwell, I had dep for about 6 years, and kept coming off tablets and having got go back on them, but have been drug free for 2 years and find I can cope with most things, I keep busy and occupy my time more.

[lilymolly]

agree gp is good to research more, but the issue is so common,I think they should know really without having to wait another week. that was my point.

[mmittens]

I'm on citalopram (same as ciprimil?)at the mo but the gp i saw said that if i may become pg again next year not to take it. However the more i read about it, it may be the best compared to sertraline and prozac to treat my problem and sounds like it's easier to come off than seetraline? took paroxetine a few years ago - would never go near it agian!

[madmarchingforfreedomhare]

mmittens, I didnt realise you were already taking citalopram (as per your other thread). I presume then, that it is not working and would be surprised if fluoxetine (prozac) was going to to a better job.

Ask your GP if Betablockers might be more suitable.

[mmittens]

I've only been taking it for a few days so too early to tell if it's working. I was prescribed it 2 months ago and it's taken me this long to persaud myself to take it. I wanted to discuss with the dr to check it was most suitable for my anxiety and if ok for when pg. she said not suitable for pregnacy and that's why she's finding out about sertraline and prozac. the more i read tho, i think prozac would actually make me worse. I've also read that the generic citalopram (whih i have been prescribed ) is not effective as cipramil - anyone else noticed this?

[lilymolly]

getting the gist now, I very much doubt the GP will prescribe in pregnancy, but prob a psychiatrist would, so maybe ask for a referral. Yes i agree if cipramil does not work, then the others prob will not as they are all same class of drugs SSRIs, then try Effexor as different typr of drug, but cipramil will take at least 2 weeks to kick in and even then you may need to up the dose, so stick with it.

[mmittens]

do you know if generic citalopram works aswell as cipramil? i have read reports that say it doesn't

[lilymolly]

should do as exactly drug, but the original company who makes citpramil - lundbeck- may tell that generic citalopram is not as good, but it is the same. There is however a newer version of cipramil/citalopram and I think it is estitalopram/cipralex which should be as effective but with less side effects.

[madmarchhare]

Not sure about specific generic issues and can only say that Ive never heard of any problems.

Interesting re less side effects with the estitalopram/cipralex, will remember that .

mmittens, if you are feeling anything after just starting to take them, hang in there, it does pass.

[expatinscotland]

I have PND marked w/terrible anxiety. Twice.

Prozac didn't work for me.

Lustral/sertaline did, however, w/some occassional help from Diazepam and Ambien (a sleep drug prescribed for me in the US).

I never gained weight b/c the anxiety lead me to lose my appetite - I've never been a comfort eater.

I'm having a rough patch right now, in fact, and have only been eating a meal a day. Just NOT hungry.

You can take both whilst pregnant, IIRC.

I took about 12 weeks to come off Lustral last time.

Still on it now, though.

[WigWamBam]

The GP will have gone off to research it as they're not experts in mental health, and when in doubt a decent GP will refer to a psychiatrist to get the most up-to-date information about each particular drug. At least she's going to check it out for you rather than fob you off.

Generic citalopram works just as well as Cipramil does - it's the one I was on and I certainly didn't notice any difference when I was given one rather than the other.

Are you planning on becoming pregnant soon? If not it might be worth sticking with the Citalopram for now - you may well be feeling better and not needing to take it anymore by the time you want to think about becoming pregnant. It's certainly the one that seems most commonly prescribed for general anxiety or depression with anxiety.

[mmittens]

no, not planning on becoming pg again for at least a year, if at all! I just wanted to know if it was safe to take during pregancy just in case we decided to try for another baby in the future. I've read quite alot about citalopram today and it really sounds like it's the right ad for me. day 5 on it today and no bad side effects really so far. Sounds like prozac may actually make me worse, i so much hope that the citalopram does help. dh bought me flowers today to say what a wonderful mummy and wife i am - wish i really could be...

[lilymolly]

Sweetie You are wonderful mother and wife, you have an illness and hopefully when medication kicks in, you will feel much better. What ever you do , do not be afraid to ask for help. Always here if you need advice. x

[mmittens]

thanks so much lilymolly and everyone else! can't believe what a source of support mumsnet is - would be lost without it now i think!

[lilymolly]

you are welcome, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I would NEVER have thought I would be "drug free" (of the anti depressent variety!!!) and here I am 2 years without taking anything, surviving the post natal depression which I was convinced I was going to get. The only issue I have from depression days is low sex drive but hey am dealing with it. You will get back to normal promise x

[mmittens]

It's the 10th day of taking citalopram today and i feel completely exhausted. Been sleeping very well since i started them but am just shattered today - is this normal? Also i don't know if this is anything to do with the pills but suddenly developed a sharp pain in calf yesterday and it soon changed to a dull ache. Any ideas anyone?

[Quootiepie]

ADs make me drowsy...as for the calf pain, do you sit/lie alot?

[mmittens]

No don't sit/lie that much - the pain started walking down the stairs. it feels a bit like a pulled muscle but don't know how i could have done it

[Sugarpop]

I found Prozac horrendous to stop taking! Took months and the anxiety really hit in then! Took it for depression ended up a very anxious frightened person for while. It wore off though

[Quootiepie]

sorry, lost this thread. Is there swelling/redness on your calf?