# Prozac and Fibromyalgia results



## Rowe2

Hi to all my fellow fibro suffers. I would just like to express my gratitude for the medication Prozac that has seemed to help my fibro pain almost disappear, also my IBS symptoms. I have been taking 20 mg for almost three weeks now, and it is unbelievable how the muscle aches and pains have subsided. I am not trying to say it will work for all, but I have found hope. I don't know how long I will be able to take it, but I hope it is forever. Does anyone know how long one is able to continue this med?


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## M&M

I know folks who have taken it most of their adult life. I'm glad you found something that works for you! That's what we wish for everyone!


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## Rowe2

Thanks MrsMason...I always appreciate the fact you are alway positive and encouraging in your posts. I have stuggled with aches and pains from the fibro, plus my sleep has been affected, so I feel like the Prozac is an answer to prayer. I have taken it before at 10mg., but I didn't get the results I needed with that dosage. I wish I had suggested to my doctor to up the dose. That just goes to prove that anyone should try different doses before switching meds around. I have Kamie to thank also, because she encouraged me to try the Prozac again.


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## weener

Great news Rowe2. I haven't tried Prozac, but I am on Zoloft and have been for 8 years. I know anti-depressants aren't for everyone, but for me it has helped immensely.


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## Rowe2

Hi Weener..Glad you too have found something to help with this mysterious aliment. I took Prozac a while back, but only 10MG., it didn't seem to help. Much later, I started back but this time on 20 mg., and I found my correct dose. Wish I had experimented a little longer with the Prozac, and I would have avoided many sleepless nights due to taking Wellbutrin. Oh well, live and learn, is that what you think?


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## Rowe2

I had my first explosive D night before last since on Prozac for three weeks. I felt the cramps coming on out of no where. Hadn't ate anything that would be unusal, but it did hit. BUT, the best part is, since taking the Prozac I didn't sit on the potty breaking out in sweat, heart pounding, feeling dizzy, and like I was go to throw up. The guts just gurgled as usual, felt some slight sharp pains...then whamo. the bowels moved...and it was all over. I didn't even feel the usual wrung out feeling afterwards. Just wanted to offer some hope to anyone I can, cause I care for my fellow IBS suffers.


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## Rowe2

I guess I should have posted my last message on the IBS site, but the doctor told me that the IBS was a big factor in fibromyalgia. I am not quite so convinced of this, being I am 50 yrs. old and have suffered with this since the age of 7. Of course, I had one doctor to tell me I could have had fibro that long because my legs ached so bad as a child. She said this is one of the many traits FMS have. Who really know?


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## TaniaF

HI Rowe2,I'm 51 and feel that my FM/MPS has gotten worse as I'm getting older. Also my IBS--mine alternates but I feel little aches and pains that probably others don't. Some of my doctors said to try SSRI's and others said just to stay on my Xanax for panic/anxiety. I've been on the Xanax for many years (very low dose) and I'm somewhat afraid to start Effexor. I have a very weak stomach and get headaches--so I'm hesitant of all the side effects that these drugs have. So far, I have managed my FM with just Tylenol and a heating pad. My heart goes out to many with heavy pain. Please keep us posted on the use of the SSRI , maybe I'll get brave and try one. Anyone try SAM-e---I heard it helps up the Serotonin naturally? Also, finding myself a little agoraphobic---hate to go places alone---are the SSRI's for this problem? Sorry about all the questions---need some friendly advice.Tania


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## Rowe2

Hi TaniaF...I too have noticed the older I have gotten, the worse the symptoms have been. I have heard way to much about side effects to be brave enough to try Effexor..but, Paxil is the one best for fears. My 22 year son has started taking it for social anxiety, and two weeks after he started taking it, he said he could concentrate better and returned to college. He has always been shy, but the anxiety was much more than shyness. He said he sleeps better also. He started out on 10mg. *lowest dose* It wouldn't be a bad idea to try that one. SSRI also help with the Fibro pain. I take 20mg. Prozac once a day, and don't hurt near as bad as I did. Only if I really over do it physically. Also, The D stopped and I have not suffered spasms in weeks. Good Luckand let me know how you are doing. Also, Eric explains the effects of SSRI's great for this condition we suffer from.


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## Clair

Rowe2  I'm so pleased to hear that this increased dose of prozac is really helping!







I can certainly identify with what you say about taking an SSRi anti-depressant and the effects it can have on IBS, I took Cipramil/Celexa for nearly 3 years and it certainly had a great beneficial effect of calming my digestive system down! I stopped taking anti-depressants because I felt I could no longer know what my natural state of being was - but it is certinly good to hear that it is helping to ease your load.Keep us posted on your progress,Clair


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## Rowe2

Hi TaniaF...I just read your post again, and I failed to address your question about the SSRI's dealing with fear/going out alone. I was having problems before the Prozac of not wanting to be around people in a crowd..not from fear..but (embarassing)getting annoyed with people in general. In the stores..watch out!..don't poke around slow in front of me, or get in my way with your buggy! Also, on the road, don't turn in front of me when it is not your turn!!AND certainly do not blow your horn at me.(Is this what they call road rage)? Anyway, all of these issues have gotten much better since the Prozac. I feel like you may be dealing with Generalized Anxiety. Paxil is an SSRI that does deal with that problem.*I posted about my 22 year old son on this same thread* I sure hope you can find the right med, because it can surely make a better life for you. Good Luck!


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## Rowe2

Hi Clair..I always enjoy your posts. You are a very encouraging person. Your words were kind. I will keep you posted on the progress. I felt so good today. I have started doing things at work that needed to be done for awhile, but I was so tired all the time. I didn't have the ability to concentrate as I do now, and I was shocked at myself to see I had neglected some of the duties I should have been taking care of. That is a big advantage of the SSRI. It certainly has lifted a "don't care attitude". I did care deep inside, I just didn't seem to have the strength to do anything about it. At home, I am getting some neglected chores done also! Best of all, I can feel compassion..something I was not able to do on the Wellbutrin. Something else! I am not gaining weight from the Prozac.


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## M&M

Sounds great Rowe! I'm glad you found something that helps you feel so much better. I wish everyone the same thing!


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## squrts

hello rowe,you may want to up your dosage and pratice relaxation exercizes.road rage(and buggy rage)is embaresing and dangerious.ive been on prozac over ten years and tried every other anti depressant there is.i always came back to prozac,im so glad you found it.ive managed to learn to control my rage at people,but a pill alone wont do it,i think you need consoling(SP).as for the agoraphobia,i stay home alot just be cause its more comfortable with this dam disease.after awhile you get super sencsitive to being out doors,espicaly around people.im susspose to be weening myself off my house,so to speak,but its hard,im so uncomfortable out there.also senceory overload is common with fibro.a house full of people for a day will put me out for a week.


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## weener

Rowe2, I found your statement about "aching legs" as a child fascinating. I had aching legs for years while growing up. I did break my leg when I was a child and was in a cast, so I chalked it up to that. Now it makes me wonder. I use to get the pain in both knees and it was so painful that I couldn't walk. I had this until I was about 25 years old. Then all of a sudden it stopped and 4 years later I got fm. I find this statement by one of your doctors interesting. I wonder if others with fm had this while growing up.


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## M&M

I have that about "growing pains" while young in the legs, especially the shin area, on another site (which for the life of me I can't remember the address of) and that it is quite common among people who are now diagnosed with FMS. Now, it could be that "growing pains" are so common among the general population that it's a coincidence, or it could be yet another clue in the growing puzzle of auto-immune diseases. Things that make you go hmmmmm! If anyone else has any info, please share!


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## Feisty

Rowe2 and Denny,What about weight gain problems with Prozac? Do you have any? Also, does Prozac bother your stomach?Thanks.


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## squrts

if anything karen,it suppressed my hunger and stimulated my energy level,but that goes away just as other side effects do.no weight gain that ive notised.its got to be,im still just a growing boy.lol


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## Rowe2

Hello FiestyI have a decreased appetite with the Prozac. No weight gain so far. I noticed I can go longer in between meals. (my husband use to tease me saying I was like a baby..had to fed every three hours)







Also, I did not experience any side effects with my stomach/guts. If anything, things got really better for me fast. Hope this helps.


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## Rowe2

Hi Squrts...I don't feel at this point I need to up my dosage..may have to later if I notice a change in the colon spasms or increasing aches from fibro. Also, I may have portrayed myself as a "butt" before Prozac. I felt these emotions as I described, but no one ever knew it. I am the type that will take a cursing and stand there and smile,







then go off to myself and have a good cry







Think I need counseling for that?







If I may ask, why do you always return to the Prozac, and how much do you use per day? Were you having bad gut spasms, and did it help you as it has helped me?


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## Rowe2

Howdy Weener..noticed your from the far north. The "howdy" is southern slang here







I would have never given a second thought to how my legs ached as a child (hair pulling aches,I might add) if the lady doctor from India had not walked into my office one day and we began discussing Fibro and treatment. The second question she asked me was if my legs hurt as a child. This was before I told her that my legs still ache occasionally, which by the way has gotten much better since taking the Prozac. She was VERY knowledgeable on Fibromyalgia. She moved out of town shortly after she visited my office. I would love to know where she went. She is the doctor that told me to take guaifenesin. She explained the guai helps the kidneys eliminate unwanted stored matter such as oxalates or phosphates. She also said it wasn't a cure for Fibro, but an elimination process that helps the pain and increases energy. I am not sure if you read my post on Guaifenesin, but I did try it and like the doc told me, "you will feel worse before you feel better." Boy did I! I felt like I had a double dose of the flu. But, after a short while (a week, I think) I started seeing a great improvement of the pain, and I had more energy. The only drawback was it did nothing for my colon spasms. That is why I have elected to use the Prozac, because it helps me with the digestive issues, the depression (which I didn't realize I had until I started the med) the pain of Fibro, and I am sleeping deeper at night. I have a great report on Guai Therapy I found off of the internet. If you need to ask me any questions about it, please let me know.


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## mysterytome

Thought I would chime in on the issue of "growing pains" and FM.When I was a child, I had terrible times with pain in my legs. I was extremely restless at night, many many times waking up with severe leg cramps and my bed clothes completely off the bed. The doctors told my mother this was "growing pains", nothing to worry about. This started when I was about six or seven, and continued until I was about 21. At that age, I was actually able to sleep in one position, all night long. I would wake up in the morning with the bed clothes completely neat. Then, at about 28 or so, I started having major problems. Crampy feelings in my legs all the time, pain in the joints, constant moving at night, inability to sit in one position for very long. I was diagnosed as having FM, but I never knew for sure whether the doctors just told me that to shut me up. They did examine me for arthritis, and said that wasn't the problem.Anyway, one thing my doctor did tell me is that he did not believe in "growing pains". That any time anyone, child or adult, experiences pain, it is due to a problem, not just "growing". That no one grows so fast that it would actually hurt. Several other physicians and nurses I know are of the same opinion.One interesting aside on all of this -- I was "treated" as a child for being pigeon-toed. The "treatment" consisted of wearing a contraption to bed every night for two years. This thing was a metal bar, with hard shoes like saddle oxfords attached to the ends. The toes of the shoes were cut out. The ends where the bars joined the shoes were adjustable, so the angle of the shoes could be changed. I was pigeon-toed, so the shoes were pointing out, to force my legs to grow straight. I know now that this "treatment" was totally unnecessary, and that I probably would have adjusted on my own as I grew. But it was common practice in the early 60's.Considering that the problems I had started occurring right after this "treatment" ended, I wonder if there could be a connection between it, and the FM?


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## thomasw839

Hi everyone--"Ditto" here on the growing pains as a child. Have read several times lately that they are thinking there is a connection between this and fibro.About Prozak and Paxil--Which one causes diarrhea dn which one causes constipation? Also which one causes weight gain and which one causes weight loss?Thanks!Regards to all.


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## Rowe2

Hi..Unfortunantly it is hard to say how the two antidepressants will react to each indivual. I was alternating between C & D before the Prozac, and the spasms were unreal! I have been on Prozac for seven weeks now, and I have had two bouts with explosive D with no pain! My C has gotten much better also, but I take Magnesium/Calcium that could be enhancing the Prozac. I haven't gained any weight. In fact, my appetite has decreased. Everyone I know that takes Paxil seems to gain weight, but then again it may work different on you. Speaking of enhancing the Prozac, I read that taking folic acid would help the medication activate even better. I started taking it along with the Prozac, and I can't believe the increase in energy I am experiencing. I have Fibromyalgia (which drains energy) and this has been a plus for me to add the folic acid. Best of luck on your search to better health. It can be found!


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## squrts

hi rowe,yes,that s called stuffing your feelings,its not healthy.counseling wouldnt hurt.sorry if i came acrossed as condesending,its just that i had the rage problem real bad,and i wasnt smileing neither,lol.just wanted to help.i dont know if prozac really helps my FM that much,but as far as depression,it works better than any thing else ive tried.i take top dose right now,80mgs,but i taper down from time to time,depending on how i feel.


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## Rowe2

Hi squrts...How are you doing on the Prozac? I am into my third month, and still doing great on it. Also, the people on the road are safer







I forgot about us discussing this issue until I was browsing through the site. I am amazed how it has helped with the IBS. It's like when I was taking Pamelor, except I am not gaining weight from it.







Did you start out at 80mg.,or did you bump up to the dosage? I have wondered also what the once a week Prozac would be like. Have you heard anyone say? That sure would be easier to remember with Fibro-fog..huh? Thanks about the advice on the pent up road rage. It must have been a chemical imbalance. The county commissioner (which unfortunatly is not a well liked person) cut me off driving through the square one morning going to work, and I just shrugged it right off! I live in the mountains of North Georgia in a small town where there is no red light. You have to circle the square, and yield to the left unless you are going south, then you have the right of way. He didn't yield, and I didn't yell!! YAHOO! Now we are getting somewhere.


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## squrts

congratulations on the rage rowe!







i didnt start on 80,i started on 20 and went on from there.its been a while but i dont think he would let me bump up the doseage for at least a few(very long)weeks,you know,in order to make sure it isnt working.and now its been so many years i up or down the doseage as i like.i never asked the doc,but he knows and hasnt said no,so i do.i do believe its worth checking out the higher doses,ya just never know what benifits lie there(or adverse effects for that matter)till you try.i hope this helps.


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## Rowe2

Thanks squrts..I am very pleased with the raged feeling to be resolved. Also, another interesting change is how I use to be in such a hurry to leave work, even though I like my job. I don't seem so pushed to "meet a deadline?" even though there wasn't one to meet. I understand what you are saying about watching for side effects though







I've worked that one out!I think I will ask my doctor to bump me up a bit, the fibro pain is more intense after a few weeks, so maybe another mg. will solve this,too! Have a great day


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## Rowe2

Hi everyone..just wanted to do an update on the Prozac/Fibro pain/IBS. I am still doing GREAT with the IBS spasms. I am still taking 20 mg.,but I noticed my joints have been hurting more for the last few weeks. But, then I realized that I had not been taking my magnesium (1000 mgs.) as often as I had been. I took the magnesium last night before bedtime, and today I feel less achy and tired. Susan P.? Could you help me out here? Is it in my mind, or has this magnesium been a benefit I have neglected?


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## Feisty

Rowe2,Are you taking the Magnesium to manage the pain of Fibro or to combat the IBS/c? Or both? I've been doing a lot of research lately on using Magnesium to help with constipation and it seems most people don't have to use quite that many milligrams to get results. But for some, they need that much or a little more.Is there a specific reason you take it before bedtime? Thanks.


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## Rowe2

Hi Fiesty..I had been told by a lady at my local health food store that magnesium helped with the muscle/joint aches associated with Fibro. I really think there is something to it. I helped my son move yesterday, and did some heavy duty work. I was dreading the pain I was going to be facing today, so I took the same mg. of magnesium last night before bedtime. I got up this morning feeling a little stiffness until I got to moving around, but I am not in pain as bad. I was alternate C/D before the Prozac. I really don't think the magnesium has a lot to do with constipation problems. As I had previously posted, I got out of the habit of taking it after starting on Prozac, and still wasn't having the spasms/constipation issues. The reason I take it at bedtime is because I was also told at the health food store to take it before retiring to help aid with a deeper sleep that I was needing so bad. Good hearing from you!


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## M&M

I know a lady who has had CFS for many years. She is currently in a remission, and she attributes it to several supplements she was taking...One of which is Magnesium! Wild. I wouldn't have remembered, except when you mentioned it Rowe. Glad it helps you! (and her too)


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