Prozac or alternative?

My therapist just upped my dose of Prozac to 20mgs/day from 10mgs/day because I wasn't noticing any effects. Is there anything else that I should maybe try? The also have me on Klonopin, which my girlfriend tells me makes me act like I'm drunk when I first take it. If I don't go to sleep anyway. What are some alternatives for Klonopin? I'm just seeing if I should stick with it, or if there is anything that is better for me to try.

It depends if there is anything else you should try at this point. A lot of psychiatric medication prescribing is just a guessing game until you hit something that works. Is Prozac the first antidepressant you have been on, and if not, what other medications have you tried? How long have you been taking it at 10mgs? What are you taking it for? There are, of course, a variety of other medications out there, but it's hard to know how to answer your question without those details.

Klonopin is a benzo, and can create physical dependence over time. I personally would not use it long-term, but everyone is different. I would be interested to know how you prescribed it: how often, how much, to treat what symptoms. For anxiety, a lot of people find that once they are on the correct antidepressant dose, their anxiety is effectively managed that way. At any rate, if you are staying on the Klonopin, you could try lowering your dose to see if that helps.

I have never been on any other antidepressant, my mother didn't believe in them. I was on 10mgs/day for about a month. She just upped it to 20 mgs last week. They perscribed it for depression. I am on klonopin for anxiety at .5mgs /day. I've been on it for a little over a month. One of my friends said that she had the same "drunk-like" effects and she got switched to adavan. I was just wondering what my other options might be.

My friend described me as a hyperactive cheerleader when I was on just Wellbutrin for a year. They had me on it more for depression than anything, cause I was suicidal so that was their number one concern. Now I'm on a low dose of it to help up my mood and counteract the 200mg Zoloft I take daily for anxiety. I couldn't handle Prozac, made me puke on even a quarter dose. Zoloft has helped immensely with my anxiety, but major fatigue, sexual side effects, and tremor side effects came with it.

If a person has depression and anxiety, they are often started on an SSRI + a benzo. Prozac is an SSRI; klonopin is a benzo. Many SSRIs help with both depression and anxiety, but they take a while to start to act. Once they have begun to act, the benzo is often discontinued, because the patient now has the SSRI to help with the anxiety. So when your doc has found the right dose of Prozac and its action has kicked in, your klonopin may be discontinued. Next time you see your doc, ask his plan. If your anxiety can be managed with an SSRI, definitely ditch the benzo, because as someone here mentioned, they can be addictive.

To deal with the acting drunk and sleepiness caused by klonopin, take it at bedtime. Or talk with your doc, and perhaps she will reduce your dose for now.

What are you being treated for?

My FWIW: Stay away from klonopin, ativan, xanax, valium unless it's for less than 2 months. It has been proven to cause alterations in the way the brain works, and you -do not want to take it long term-.

i'm being treated for depression and anxiety. And situational panic attacks.

Benzos do get you "drunk" sorta, they effect your brain in a similar but, less toxic, manner to alcohol. That's how they decrease anxiety. So, the "drunk" feeling you're getting is intended. Great, eh? Lots of psych drugs get you "high".

You can go up to something like 80 mg of Prozac. (Could be more?)

Hi. I just came off of Prozac after about 2-3 years of use. I started at 10 mg and then slowly had to keep upping the dosage to get the desired effects. Eventually I got to the max recommended dose of 80 mg and it just did not work anymore. This "poop out" can happen with any antidepressant. I think Prozac is a good starting point - it did wonders for me for awhile and had very few side effects. It is also supposed to be one of the easiest to come off of because of a long half life.

I've been on Xanax XR, which is a benzo like Klonopin, for about a year now for anxiety and panic. It works well, but I wish I had not started using it regularly (Prozac never worked for anxiety for me). While I'm on a low dose of Xanax XR, if I go without it for a day, my body lets me know about it - get very anxious as I begin to face withdrawal. Some people think that this feeling is also the condition of anxiety coming back since the benzo is stopped - I think it's probably a combination of both that and withdrawal. Anyway, I am going to try to start tapering down the Xanax eventually to see if I can do without it. I would recommend not using a benzo long term, as others have said. Hopefully whatever antidepressant you find works for you will help with anxiety and you won't need the benzo. Good luck!

So the Prozac is more of an upper than anything? Just to boost my mood? I'm looking to be on as few medications as possible, but my anxiety/panic attacks are my biggest problem; they're usually what sends me into my depressions.

i have tried prozac,zoloft,abilify,depakote and wellbutrin sr .. wellbutrin sr seems to help my depression perfectly without me being detatched from emotions , i might be wrong but im betting that prozac and klonopin together is what would make you feel drunkish on it , maybe you should try wellbutrin sr and klonopin together ,thats what im on and i feel normal ,no drunk feel and im on 1mg klonopin 3 times a day...i feel clear headed ,its nice

I think I am going to bring up wellbutrin the next time I see my doctor. It seems it be coming up with a few responces. I have a funny gut feeling that I would be better off on that as opposed to prozac.