From: Suki
Date: Sun Nov 28 10:58:03 MST 2004
Subject: On Prozac (And Off Again)

AS some of you know, I began taking Prozac (fluoxetine, 20 mg) 3 ½ weeks ago. It was a supposed cure for the extended PMS mood symptoms I have been experiencing for the past 6 months. So I took my first dose on Thursday, Nov. 4. By Saturday, I was feeling like my old self again. My REALLY old self – as in high school. I was hyped up with the energy of a 15-year-old. Woo hoo! I’m young again! I cooked and cleaned, I danced and painted. Every time I laid down, I had strong heart palpitations, but that didn’t seem so unusual at the time. By the 4th day, I didn’t even need to sleep. I spent the rest of the week awake most of the night, talking with people or writing. My brain was awash with activity. There was a lot going on that particular week, so that didn’t seem so unusual at the time… even though I’m usually a zombie on fewer than 8 hours of sleep. I wasn’t hungry, either. I easily skimped on meals. THE following Friday (the 12th), in a whirlwind of house cleaning, I noticed the Prozac information pamphlet and decided to read through it before throwing it away. The warning that caught my eye re: heart palpitations and pounding was not under ‘side effects’ (as was appetite suppression and insomnia) or ‘unusual side effects’ (mania) or even ‘serious side effects’, but under ‘serious and unusual side effects: call your doctor immediately.’ I tried to get ahold of my doctor, but neither she nor her nurse were available. Later, I laid down for a few minutes to read a book to Ashton and felt a renewed heart pounding. My pulse was 96, about 30 beats per minute above normal. When I started having chest pain and still couldn’t contact my doctor, I called my pharmacist Dad and was soon in the emergency room. The nice thing about chest pain is no waiting at the ER. Once those 2 words came out of my mouth, I was sitting with a nurse and about to go in for an EKG. So I spent Friday afternoon and evening at TMC… everything came out normal, and they just told me to pull the plug on the Prozac. Sad, but true. No more superwoman capabilities. IT took about 4 days for the effects to wear off, so I’ve been pretty sleepy the past two weeks while my body catches up with its true, needs-a-lot-of-sleep self. I think I’m back to normal now. A little bit grouchy, a little bit groggy, but alive. I’m glad for that. I do feel like what I got was a window into some of what my personality will be like as I learn to let go of the anxieties I battle regularly. I was less afraid of people, more affectionate. I hope that that part of the experience was the uninhibited ‘me’ who I’m growing into and not just another element of the drug haze. Either way, God is good. And that’s my November story.

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