How does Prozac make you feel?

Question

what do you know about Prozac? Is it just an upper? make you feel more happy?

Answer 1

I switched from Lexapro to Prozac.  The first time I was on Prozac it seemed to only work on my anxiety.  I later told my mom that I felt like my anxiety was much better but my depression wasn't.  So then the doctor added Wellbutrin, which worked for the depression more.

Prozac did wonders for my anxiety.  Though, since I felt more depressed (the lexapro had helped my depression, and once I was only on the prozac, I felt the depression again), I felt more tired and listless.  But that was just from the depression.

It should give you more energy.  Are you taking it already?  Keep me posted!  I just started taking it for the second time because I have gotton to the point where I am so anxious I cannot eat anything. (I have a huge phobia of vomiting, so my stomach is just nervous all the time right now.)

Good luck on prozac.  It worked for me a lot.  It's weird that it didn't affect my depression though, so just give it a chance and keep trying.  You may need to take 2 different kinds.

Keep us posted!

Answer 2

When I had a bout with depression in college (before they diagnosed my bipolar disorder) Prozac was one of the meds they tried.  I had more success with it than with some of the others.  It definitely made me feel better without some of the side effects I got from the other SSRI's.  It was the only one that I didn't stop taking after only 3 days.

The only word of caution I would give you about asking other people about psych meds is that everybody is different, and will respond differently to medications.  Among people with my same diagnosis, I've had people tell me some medications were horrible or ineffective and had them do wonders for me and vice versa.  You'll find the same with depression, anxiety disorders, and any other mental health concern that involves meds.  So I generally take other people's opinions and experiences under advisement but still try to keep an open mind about them.  You may want to do the same, but it certainly doesn't hurt to be informed about your meds either.

Edit:  I just saw the rest of your question.  You asked what we know about it and if it is just an upper--Are you wanting to know how it works?

Prozac is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor.  Serotonin is a neurotransmitter (chemical messenger) that is present in the synapses of the brain (the area between the neurons, or nerve cells).  It has multiple functions, but one of them is to regulate mood.  I'm trying to keep this fairly simple.  You don't want too little serotonin in the synapse, because then you get depression, but you don't want too much, because then all sorts of other ugly things can happen--look up serotonin syndrome if you're curious.  So there are cells that absorb serotonin out of the synapse in an attempt to regulate its concentration.

When you get depressed, one of the possible causes is too little serotonin in the synapse--other neurotransmitters can play a role, also, but they tend to focus on serotonin.  Either too little is being produced, it's degrading at too rapid a rate, or its being reabsorbed too quickly.  What Prozac and other SSRI's do is block the reuptake of the serotonin in the synapse.  

Because it's not being reabsorbed into your system as quickly, the overall concentration of serotonin in the synapse is increased, correcting the imbalance and restoring the ability to regulate mood correctly--elevating your mood, basically.  

It's not a cure, because you have to continue taking the Prozac.  There are other, similar, drugs that focus on other neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine.  I think I covered all of the basics--I hope this helped somewhat if it's what you were looking for and I didn't confuse you further.

Answer 3

yes it has more of an upper effect than a sedative effect