Has anyone had any luck with Prozac for social phobia?

[crazydragon]

Hey, I just wanted to know if any of you have had a good outcome by using Prozac to help with social phobia... I started it about a month and a half ago, and it still feels like it's not helping me as much as I was told it should. Can any of you let me know if you have ever taken it, and if you have, could you please tell me how well it worked, or how bad it worked? Thanks!




Additional information:
Is Prozac(Fluoxetine) good for social anxiety?

 

[this_portrait]

I've been on it since last Thanksgiving, and to be honest I think it's done way more for my moods than it has for my anxiety. Before I got on it, I was practically an emotional roller coaster, and now I have mostly normal responses to various situations. As for my SA, well, in a way that's what therapy is for. Being on it does help a little with social situations (though I'm still not sure how), but mostly it's made me comfortable with being by myself.

Prozac is the first drug I've ever tried, and luckily it's been working for me. My body seems to take well to most pills, so I could probably try a variety of SSRIs and have a normal reaction to most, if not all, of them. It's different for everyone, though. It's possible that Prozac might not be for you, but I would step back and ask myself if I've noticed any changes in mood over the last 1.5 months, and if so, what? What did you expect to happen once the medication started taking effect? Things like that.

 

[crazydragon]

Thanks for the feedback and the help!

 

[crazydragon]

I honestly can say, that my anxiety hasn't changed much... ::I wonder if I should wait or try something else?

 

[Donnieboy]

I was on prozac for a month and it did help to reduce it but I used to sleep a lot( around 15-18 hours) so i was off it.

 

[OCDd]

stay on the meds, dont stop they take 2 - 6 weeks to work so i would wait. your seeing a psychiatrist though right? cause if its not working after 6 weeks then tell them and they'll put u on different meds, hope you get better

 

[truffleshuffle]

Hey, I just wanted to know if any of you have had a good outcome by using Prozac to help with social phobia... I started it about a month and a half ago, and it still feels like it's not helping me as much as I was told it should. Can any of you let me know if you have ever taken it, and if you have, could you please tell me how well it worked, or how bad it worked? Thanks!

I was put on the generic version and Was told that It takes quite a while before it actualy starts to kick in and do good. You may need to be on it two to three months before u actualy notice any diffrents.

 

[vj288]

I took it and don't think it really helped with anxiety much but while on it my depression was certainly lessened quite a bit. It had a lot of physical side effects too, it made me really tired and I'd fluctuate between having no appetite to having a huge one. But I didn't notice a significant change in Anxiety issues due to the Prozac.

 

[aNOTfox]

I've been on prozac since July originally for my OCD but it has surprisingly reduced my social anxiety as well. At first I was on 20mg which for me made no real difference
. In september I moved up to 40mg and since then my anxiety has reduced to the point where I can manage it. *IM NOT SAYING THAT THIS IS WHAT YOU SHOULD DO* everybody is different, 40mg worked for me, give it time. It can take a few months before you start to notice a difference

 

[Niceguy23]

I tried prozac for about 6 months did nothing. Maybe its just me I been several medications and none ever worked on mebesides the medication I use to knock me out so I sleep. I was prescribed prozac for depression and doc said it should help with the social feelings too but it didn't work at all

 

[ImNotMyIllness]

I've been on Prozac (generic 20mg) for about a week now. So far, I have not experienced any side effects, negative or positive. I have SA (among other things) and get nervous with prolonged eye contact with strangers (or coworkers). I'm also nervous in most social situations i.e parties, events etc.

 

[tizzy]

Prozac really does effect people differently. I started taking it 2 yrs ago....the minimal dose. After 2 months I started feeling better. It helped with my depression and anxiety. After 6 months I leveled off and it didn't seem to be helping anymore so dr. increased dosage. This pattern kept happening every 4 to 6 months and now I'v been on the max dose for 2 months. I hope it keeps working now but if not I will need to try something different.
When my daughter was taking prozac she had huge panic attacks so she stopped.
I've tried about 4 different ssri's throughout my adult life. Welbutrin did wonders for me. It was excellent...but, I had a seizure after 2 months.
Hopefully you will find the right one for you. Unfortunately it's a trial and error situation.

 

[EscapeArtist]

Well, it's really good to see some balanced and even positive reviews about prozac. My mom has been on the highest dose for years and she claims it helps her a lot. My only experience with it was when I was 16, I lost my appetite and became very suicidal and manic. I probably cared less socially though and was less anxious, but only because life didn't matter at all so...ha

 

[aNOTfox]

Well, it's really good to see some balanced and even positive reviews about prozac. My mom has been on the highest dose for years and she claims it helps her a lot. My only experience with it was when I was 16, I lost my appetite and became very suicidal and manic. I probably cared less socially though and was less anxious, but only because life didn't matter at all so...ha

Apparently prozac has a reputation for causing/ increasing suicidal thoughts. I haven't experienced any since I started but I definitely noticed an increase in anxiety for the first couple of weeks and again after increasing the dose.

 

[this_portrait]

As much as I like Prozac, my life has become increasingly more fast-paced, and I simply can't keep up. All I want to do is sleep, and most of the time when I do manage to be responsible, I feel like I'm dragging and going at a slower pace than everyone else. Not something I want happening when I'm looking at grad school in the near future.