Does this prescription sound right?

[PierceDeere]

So, I suffer from anxiety.
It's not every day and is worse in the mornings.
There doesn't seem to be a pattern to it and i don't know what sets it off, I can wake up at 5-6am and be feeling dreadful before I've evn had a chance to think of anything!

I went to the GP's yesterday because it was getting particularly bad and i was puking in the mornings from it.

After quite a long talk, she has prescribed me 20mg of Fluoxetine daily.
That's Prozac, right?
A pretty strong anti-depressant?
With a lot of side-effects?

I'm pretty sure I won't be taking it and have been thinking about trying something like St. John's Wort.
Does anyone have any advice or experience of this, please?

I am not remotely qualified to speculate on whether the prescription was right. All I know is that 20 mg is a pretty standard starting dose, and that at a general level it is no stronger or worse than any other antidepressant drug. What I can say is that I had far worse side effects from SJW than from Prozac! When I foolishly tried to self-medication with SJW, I had to give up after a few days as I ended up with a horrible tic of constantly stroking my chin. Whereas with Prozac I just had a bit of a loose stomach for a week or two, but nothing too distressing. Also bear in mind SJW can make hormonal contraception and other medication less effective.

I think you should go back to the GP and talk to him further if you don't feel comfortable about taking the Prozac. But tbh if you are prepared to medicate, seems more sensible to me to go with the one prescribed by the GP, that's always a proper standardised dose etc than to self-medicate.

I've taken fluoxetine, didn't find it worked for me (but other SSRIs do). 20mg is a very standard starting dose, I wouldn't say it was strong. The only side effect I remember was the dry mouth. TBH, there is always a long list of side effects that are possible, but not everyone gets them.

I know some people have used St John's Wort with some success, just make sure you don't take both at the same time.

20mg fluoxetine is a standard starting dose.

Personally if I needed an antidepressant I would much rather take fluoxetine than SJW.

Ditto what TLP said. Please don't take any herbal/alternative stuff without discussing them with your gp as some of them have bad side effects and interact with other drugs quite badly.

Prozac is an SSRI - a type of anti-depressant that can also work very well on anxiety. If you are puking with anxiety it is quite bad and you should not rule out meds. The side effects for the most part disappear in a few weeks.

St Johnswort is a mild anti-depressant but not generally very effective for anxiety.

I don't know about your fluoxetine prescription, but I wanted to say that SJW works because it is an SSRI - like fluoxetine. I wouldn't view it as somehow better or different because it is herbal. Being herbal means that the amount you take will be less well regulated and you will probably be taking it without medical supervision. It also interacts with fluoxetine so don't take them both (not that you suggested you might). I'd go back to the GP and share your concerns.

SJW is not just an SSRI, it has a more mixed profile, in addition to serotonin it also has effects on dopamine, noradrenaline, GABA and glutamate.

Agree with most posts on here. Prozac is an SSRIand is not any stronger than other SSRIs. The problem is ADs act differently on different people, and so sometimes you have try one or two to get the right one. Given that anxiety and depression are very linked, the ADs cope with the anxiety too.

Also as catsareevil says SJW is not an SSRI.

I think you need to either take the meds or continue to suffer from the anxiety which could get worse if you just leave it - anxiety doesn't usually just clear up on it's own. If you know the root of the anxiety it may be that therapy will help, but you can't really make good use of this until you have the anxiety under control.

All drugs have side effects (so does SJW) but it doesn't mean that you will get them. The drug companies are legally bound to list every side effect that is known.

Not sure what the point was of going to GP if you did not want to try a possible remedy to your anxiety.

Sorry for abandoning the thread and thanks for all the replies.

I will go back to my GP and talk to her about it, I think she either didn't understand what I said to her about how I feel or didn't listen.