The Student Room Group

Prozac

Hi peeps,
My doctor has attributed many problems with my health at the moment down to depression, and urged me to go on anti-depressants. However, I really don't want them on my medical record as it would cause major problems in the medical part of a career I really want to join.
Does anyone know a way to get them off the internet reliably? Or any efficient holeistic suggestions?
All advice appreciated.
Thanks.

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Reply 1
*bump*
Anonymous
*bump*

NEVER EVER TRY THIS!!!

YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GETTING! AT BEST, SUGAR CAPSULES, AT WORSE....
Anonymous
Hi peeps,
My doctor has attributed many problems with my health at the moment down to depression, and urged me to go on anti-depressants. However, I really don't want them on my medical record as it would cause major problems in the medical part of a career I really want to join.
Does anyone know a way to get them off the internet reliably? Or any efficient holeistic suggestions?
All advice appreciated.
Thanks.


Why on earth would your job be compomised by taking SSRI's? its an illness they cant descriminate against that.

Herb suppliments are not a good alternative, st Johns wart whihc some people take is unreliable becuase the doasges vary in one tablet you may get 25g of SSRI whereas in another tablet you may get 300G of SSRI, they are quite dangerous to treat depression. Please listen to your doctor and take the medication, or if unsure get a second opinion.
Military job?

In general previous mental health problems is no automatic bar to studying medicine.
Uncontrolled problems, or a record for illegal drug possession on the otherhand - could well be! ordering them off the internet = bad bad idea.

If you're anti-prescribed drugs you could ask you GP to refer you to a counsellor perhaps - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy can be quite effective in some cases of depression apparently.. :smile:
Reply 5
Anonymous
Why on earth would your job be compomised by taking SSRI's? its an illness they cant descriminate against that.



Herb suppliments are not a good alternative, st Johns wart whihc some people take is unreliable becuase the doasges vary in one tablet you may get 25g of SSRI whereas in another tablet you may get 300G of SSRI, they are quite dangerous to treat depression. Please listen to your doctor and take the medication, or if unsure get a second opinion.




Police force, none want to look at you if you've got a recent history of anti-depressants, for any reason.
Thanks for your input people. :smile:
Reply 6
Aaaaah yes. Prozac.

Take it at your own peril. Prozac masks depression, it doesn't fix it and make anything any better. I suggest you see a therapist, which won't be on your record. Once you start taking prozac you feel after a while that you are all better, when really, you're not. When you come of it you're still in a dark hole and that makes you even more in despair. You are prolonging your own illness, and it never has decent consequences.
Chase Me
Aaaaah yes. Prozac.

Take it at your own peril. Prozac masks depression, it doesn't fix it and make anything any better. I suggest you see a therapist, which won't be on your record. Once you start taking prozac you feel after a while that you are all better, when really, you're not. When you come of it you're still in a dark hole and that makes you even more in despair. You are prolonging your own illness, and it never has decent consequences.


Have you ever been on it, or is that all conjecture?
Reply 8
I used to take Fluoxetine, which is Prozac, I think. But it doesn't help just having it on its own; you definitely need to combine it with therapy in my opinion. It's not something you can take for a short period either, really; you need to take it for a while for it to be in your system, get therapy to help you solve it, and then come off it v. slowly. Good luck whatever you decide to do (cognitive behavioural therapy might be a good plan).
why not get perscribed another SSRI if Prozac isnt working, like Lovan or Zoloft?
Anonymous
Have you ever been on it, or is that all conjecture?

I think its someone pretending they know a lot about mental illness drugs.
Reply 11
I was on fluoxetine and you have to be careful as I was put on it and I got some of the side effects and the health problems it gave me just made me feel worse.
Reply 12
Anonymous
Police force, none want to look at you if you've got a recent history of anti-depressants, for any reason.
Thanks for your input people. :smile:


Are you sure about that?
Reply 13
Talking therpies can be just as effective, or even more effective than taking anti-depressants. If you are worried about this effecting your job (which Im not sure it will) then try some sort of therpay first. Then if this doesnt work try the tablets. But hopefully you should see some good effects through CBT or counselling and wont need to take medication. Ask your doctor for a refferal or see someone privatly
Reply 14
Well, several things.

#1) You can obtain them online; illegally of course, with all the risks that carries (customs seizures, poor quality drugs, no supervision by your doctor). Plus it's not that encouraging to the rest of us when a would-be policeman wants to break the law just to get the job.

#2) Herbal/"holistic" alternatives are barely if at all regulated; you've no idea what you're taking and "proofs" of their efficacy are usually just anecdotal or emotional. If you believe in them enough they may work through the placebo effect, but that's about it.

#3) Antidepressants are severely overprescribed, because, quite frankly, it's easier to give someone a pill to get them to shut up than to treat them properly. Mental health, along with perhaps geriatrics, is probably the most oversubscribed and underfunded area of the NHS. The waiting list for psychatrists is often several years in some areas. Lucky patients are usually fobbed off onto therapists and counsellors, the efficacy of which is seriously questionable. They did some fairly interesting studies comparing the success rates of treatment by professional counsellors, who had twenty years or more of experience, with treatment by college professors who had a reputation for being good listeners. The college profs were more efficacious. Talking can be useful, but you need to talk to the right people.

You really should put a lot of thought into the question of whether or not to take antidepressants. Despite their ubiquity, their effects are questionable. They do undoubtedly work in some people, although whether it's for the reasons the manufacturers claim is questionable. Some antidepressants have a host of fairly unpleasant side effects, and nasty discontinuation syndromes. They also tend to increase suicidality in the early stages. Prozac, being one of the oldest of the SSRIs, went through a rather less rigorous testing process than might be desired, and there are some studies to suggest its efficacy is no greater than that of a placebo.

Still, despite all this, it may be the case that antidepressants are for you. Check with your doctor or a competent authority how antidepressants will affect a future application for the police, especially given the provisions of the data protection act. Discuss the range of antidepressants (and other treatments available); as someone else suggested, get a second opinion. Do a little research online or in some books on medicine for laymen. The Merck Health Manual (home edition), available online, is quite good.
Reply 15
Anonymous
Hi peeps,
My doctor has attributed many problems with my health at the moment down to depression, and urged me to go on anti-depressants. However, I really don't want them on my medical record as it would cause major problems in the medical part of a career I really want to join.
Does anyone know a way to get them off the internet reliably? Or any efficient holeistic suggestions?
All advice appreciated.
Thanks.


Prozac... hmmm...

I heard it can create paranoia in ya or something. And delusions.
Tis quite an amazing drug, but possibly dangerous.

Maybe he should just prescribe ya a placebo instead. That might work, and be healthier.
creamcrackered
Maybe he should just prescribe ya a placebo instead. That might work, and be healthier.


The whole point is that you don't know it's a placebo...?

Personally I don't think a lot of the bad press that antidepressants get is deserved, and I wonder how many of the people who spout off a kneejerk tirade against them have actually used them. I'm having behavioural therapy at the moment and I know without a shadow of a doubt that if I wasn't on antidepressants to sufficiently flatten my mood, I would be so up and down that the therapy just would not make enough of an impact.

They're not supposed to be a long term solution and they're not really supposed to be the only solution because they don't help you work out what's wrong, but they are very useful to calm you down enough that you can start addressing the root causes of the problem. If they're prescribed responsibly (and of course that's the main problem...) then I definitely believe that they can be a big help.
Reply 17
misslibby
The whole point is that you don't know it's a placebo...?

Personally I don't think a lot of the bad press that antidepressants get is deserved, and I wonder how many of the people who spout off a kneejerk tirade against them have actually used them. I'm having behavioural therapy at the moment and I know without a shadow of a doubt that if I wasn't on antidepressants to sufficiently flatten my mood, I would be so up and down that the therapy just would not make enough of an impact.

They're not supposed to be a long term solution and they're not really supposed to be the only solution because they don't help you work out what's wrong, but they are very useful to calm you down enough that you can start addressing the root causes of the problem. If they're prescribed responsibly (and of course that's the main problem...) then I definitely believe that they can be a big help.


Thanks for that.
I haven't had first hand eperience with Prozac or placebos, I just was saying what I heard.
I think obviously your point must be relevant because it is actually based on experience, although I think maybe it differs from person to person.
I hope whatever you're having problems with, is soon all good again, and wish you well. :smile: Thanks for the very informative comment.
creamcrackered
Thanks for that.
I haven't had first hand eperience with Prozac or placebos, I just was saying what I heard.
I think obviously your point must be relevant because it is actually based on experience, although I think maybe it differs from person to person.
I hope whatever you're having problems with, is soon all good again, and wish you well. :smile: Thanks for the very informative comment.


It wasn't all directed at you, just the bit about the placebo :smile:
Reply 19
misslibby
It wasn't all directed at you, just the bit about the placebo :smile:


I know. I was a bit uncertain about the placebo thing myself... Thanks for setting it straight. :smile: