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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Crystal on February 26, 2001, at 7:47:41
Hello again
I was needing some advice/opinions.
I have been on Prozac for one month and one week. One week on Buspar 20 mg. I have been on 40 mg prozac for almost two weeks. I have seen some improvements. Do you think I should give it another week or two? I am still having the OCD which brings on depression. I cannot remember how long the Paxil took. It worked wonderfully except for the weight gain. I am so tempted to switch back but I want to give prozac a fair trial since I have came this far. Ughh what a tuff decision. Any advice would be appreciated. My doctor keeps telling me to be patient.
Just wanting to be back to where I was.
Thank you
Posted by Bill L on February 26, 2001, at 9:28:40
In reply to Prozac/Buspar for Depression and OCD, posted by Crystal on February 26, 2001, at 7:47:41
When I took Prozac, it took about 3 months to fully kick in.
> Hello again
> I was needing some advice/opinions.
> I have been on Prozac for one month and one week. One week on Buspar 20 mg. I have been on 40 mg prozac for almost two weeks. I have seen some improvements. Do you think I should give it another week or two? I am still having the OCD which brings on depression. I cannot remember how long the Paxil took. It worked wonderfully except for the weight gain. I am so tempted to switch back but I want to give prozac a fair trial since I have came this far. Ughh what a tuff decision. Any advice would be appreciated. My doctor keeps telling me to be patient.
> Just wanting to be back to where I was.
> Thank you
Posted by JahL on February 26, 2001, at 12:21:52
In reply to Prozac/Buspar for Depression and OCD, posted by Crystal on February 26, 2001, at 7:47:41
> Hello again
> I was needing some advice/opinions.
> I have been on Prozac for one month and one week. One week on Buspar 20 mg. I have been on 40 mg prozac for almost two weeks. I have seen some improvements. Do you think I should give it another week or two? I am still having the OCD which brings on depression. I cannot remember how long the Paxil took. It worked wonderfully except for the weight gain. I am so tempted to switch back but I want to give prozac a fair trial since I have came this far. Ughh what a tuff decision. Any advice would be appreciated. My doctor keeps telling me to be patient.
> Just wanting to be back to where I was.
> Thank youHi Crystal.
OCD is notorious for taking longer to respond to ADs than simple depression, and often higher doses are required. It could take say,8-12 weeks, on a high-ish dose (say 40-60mg/Prozac), to achieve good results, as opposed to 2-4 weeks for depression.
Try & stick it out for another month (not easy I know); the fact that you are beginning to get a response is v encouraging.
Good Luck,
Jah.
Posted by SLS on February 26, 2001, at 14:14:20
In reply to Prozac/Buspar for Depression and OCD, posted by Crystal on February 26, 2001, at 7:47:41
Dear Crystal,
> I have been on Prozac for one month and one week. One week on Buspar 20 mg. I have been on 40 mg prozac for almost two weeks. I have seen some improvements. Do you think I should give it another week or two? appreciated. My doctor keeps telling me to be patient.
I would give the Prozac just a few more weeks if you are happy with the lack of weight gain. Buspar is not like other antianxiety drugs. It can sometimes take a few weeks to work. I have seen it work quite well for some people. Luvox (fluvoxamine) is an SSRI antidepressant that is approved for OCD. If for some reason you find yourself not wanting to go back directly to Paxil, or if Paxil does not work as well for you as it did before (an all too common scenario), you may want to ask your doctor what are his impressions of Luvox.
> Just wanting to be back to where I was.
Weight-gain is one of the side effects that I loath most. My good looks :-) are very important to me. If I were in your position, assuming that you are not treatment-resistant, I would have done the same thing and switched to Prozac. Unfortunately, I am treatment resistant, and I must take any singular precious remission with all of the crap that goes along with it.
Just a few thoughts.
- Scott
Posted by SLS on February 26, 2001, at 14:24:20
In reply to Re: Prozac/Buspar for Depression and OCD » Crystal, posted by JahL on February 26, 2001, at 12:21:52
Hi.
Just me again.
JahL has offered you excellent advice and managed to teach me something at the same time. I hadn't realized that there was a trend for OCD to resolve more slowly than depression. I agree with him that any sign of improvement at this point is a good prognosis of response. As an added point to bolster cautious optimism, Prozac also generally takes longer to work for depression than other antidepressants.
In this case, trust your doctor. He or she seems to know what their doing.
* Thanks Jah
- Scott
Posted by Joy on February 26, 2001, at 18:47:31
In reply to Prozac/Buspar for Depression and OCD, posted by Crystal on February 26, 2001, at 7:47:41
I would definitely stick with the Prozac a while longer. I don't have OCD but had obsessive thoughts, anxiety and depression. My doc upped from from 20 to 40 mg of Prozac which I'm taking for a total of about almost 6 weeks [2.5 on 40 mg] and it has helped a lot. The depression was helped first, but I needed 40 mg for anxiety, so you may need that or higher. Buspar gives Prozac that extra kick. Stick with it and good luck.
Joy
Posted by Crystal on February 27, 2001, at 7:19:40
In reply to Re: Prozac/Buspar for Depression and OCD, posted by Joy on February 26, 2001, at 18:47:31
Thanks for the advice. I didn't think I was a strong person before going through depression but I realize you have to be to get through it and wait it out hoping you find something to help. Everyone on this board get's a thank you from me for you support and education that you have given me. Hopefully we will all find that "magic pill"! : )
It seems like I am very up and down at this point. Is this a sign that it is working? The buspar is helping with my anxiety! YES! :)Sometimes my frustration and worry gets to me and other times I can look at it and say you always have options and it can only get better hang in there. Some days I cry and want to switch back to paxil hoping that it would work as good as last times and other days I find the determination to give the prozac "a few more days". What a struggle.
Joy, it sounds like we have a similar situation. E-mail me and we can be support for eachother if you would like. crystal_ginn@yahoo.com
> I would definitely stick with the Prozac a while longer. I don't have OCD but had obsessive thoughts, anxiety and depression. My doc upped from from 20 to 40 mg of Prozac which I'm taking for a total of about almost 6 weeks [2.5 on 40 mg] and it has helped a lot. The depression was helped first, but I needed 40 mg for anxiety, so you may need that or higher. Buspar gives Prozac that extra kick. Stick with it and good luck.
> Joy
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