Do you suffer with depression, stress or anxiety? Ask yourself this; what came first, the anxiety or the depressed feelings? Most people identify that the stress or anxiety came first and the depressive thoughts followed.
What does this mean to YOU?
This means that you actually have an anxiety disorder which can produce pretty horrible feelings and thoughts you would normally associate with depression. This being the case, you MUST address the root of your anxiety and not any kind of depressive illness.
Prozac (fluoxetine) is licensed as an SSRI which stops the reuptake of Serotonin in the brain – this allows Serotonin levels to stabilize in the brain. Serotonin is the 'feel good' hormone and, while its levels can become affected by true clinical depression, it is not effected dramatically by high anxiety.
Can Prozac cure high anxiety?
Prozac can not erase the subconscious anxious behaviors which cause high anxiety – it was not developed for that purpose.
Read on and we will show you that medication is not the solution... but we will show you what is!
Identifying Prozac side effects
In the last several years, Prozac (Fluoxetine) has become the most widely prescribed anti-depressant in the western world. Besides treating depression, Prozac is used to treat obsessive-compulsive and panic disorders. It is the oldest SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor, meaning it works by altering the action of the neurotransmitter, serotonin in the brain), with twenty years of research behind it showing now known long-term side effects. Prozac has few side effects when compared to other anti-depressant drugs, but common side effects may include dry mouth, constipation, urinary retention, sedation, and weight gain.
Prozac is associated with insomnia, restlessness, nausea, and tension headaches, which normally go away within one to two weeks from the time it was first taken. One possible Prozac side effect, which remains for the time it is taken, is its effect on your sex life. It often reduces desire and can delay or interfere with orgasm, in both women and men. Fatigue and memory loss are other possible problems. These side effects subside when you stop taking the drug.
In some people, the effectiveness of Prozac seems to diminish with time. So, if you are experiencing a new symptom that you did not have before starting your course of Prozac, it is probably a Prozac side effect.
So how do you know that what you are experiencing is in fact a Prozac side effect? Well, if you are experiencing a symptom that wasn't there previously, it's most probably a Prozac side effect but, through our research at The Linden Centers, having helped so many people who have taken or are taking prozac, we can say with certainty that the majority of Prozac side effects complained of by clients are, in fact, anxiety symptoms.
What do I do if I feel that I am suffering from a Prozac side effect?
Don't worry! The symptom that you are experiencing is probably what is called a transient Prozac side effect; this means that the side effect is not permanent and could disappear as your body adjusts to taking the drug. BUT, most of what you experience is due to the reaction Prozac is having on your anxiety levels. Some symptoms feel harmful, but are not and but just by understanding what these are is enough to reassure the sufferer.
Common Symptoms interpreted as Prozac side effects
- Allergic or Toxic - Rash, Pruritus (skin inflammation)
- Neurological - Headache, Tremor, Dizziness, Asthenia
- Behavioral changes
- Insomnia
- Anxiety
- Nervousness
- Agitation
- Abnormal dreams
- Drowsiness
- Fatigue
- Autonomic - Excessive sweating
- Gastrointestinal - Nausea, Disturbances of appetite, Diarrhea
- Respiratory - Bronchitis, Rhinitis (inflammation of the nasal mucous membranes), Yawning
- Endocrine - Weight loss
- Musculoskeletal - Muscle pain, Back pain, Joint pain
- Urogenital - Painful menstruation, Sexual dysfunction, Urinary tract infection, Frequent micturition
- Miscellaneous - Chills
Anxiety disorders are caused by the way a small organ in the brain called the Amygdala reacts. It's like an anxiety switch, when it's ON we feel anxious, when it's OFF we feel no anxiety. When this switch gets stuck in the anxiety ON position during anxiety disorders, we experience all the horrible symptoms of the condition.
By addressing this directly, we can learn to switch OFF this anxiety switch, quickly, easily and permanently, sometimes in HOURS, not days!
The most powerful method of reducing the symptoms of anxiety disorders is within your grasp. You have it in you to return to normal, become symptom free and make your Prozac side effects a thing of the past.
By addressing the cause of your symptoms at its core, you will eliminate them permanently.
Prozac and other SSRI drugs are not a quick fix; in fact, it is our experience of treating thousands of sufferers which has shown us that these medications have almost zero effect on anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, OCD or PTSD.
