Be happy with your knowledge of Prozac

In recent years the most high profile drug has been Viagra and its impact on men (and then its later impact on women) around the world. It has rightly been hailed as a modern cultural phenomenon and is known about by millions of people who do not use it as medication. Before Viagra, there was another medication that seemed to take the world by storm and was on everyone’s lips and this drug was Prozac. From bands singing about it, authors writing books about it, news stories talking about, everyone was talking about Prozac and for a while, it seemed as though everyone was using it.

The reason behind the massive rush of publicity and popularity surrounding Prozac is that it was viewed as a “miracle cure” for depression. Depression is clearly a serious state of affairs and one that has been becoming a larger problem in recent times. It seemed as though a depression epidemic was about to sweep the world and this meant that a new medication which threatened to banish depression for good was going to create news stories all over the world. There is no doubt that this latest form of medication was extremely good at doing what it set out to do, unfortunately the hype got ahead of itself and people started to question whether it was working fast enough.

With news stories and media hype pushing thoughts and views about Prozac onto everyone, many believed that it would cure depression overnight. When this didn’t turn out to be the case, many were disappointed and felt let down by this medication. No one claimed that this drug was a miracle and immediate cure for depression but it would certainly help in the long run if people gave it time. This led to a backlash by some people but over recent years after the fuss has died down, the true benefits of using Prozac has come to the fore.

So much so that this medication is the one that is used as initial treatment for many depression sufferers around the world and is recommended by many physicians and medical staff. If a person starts to show signs of suffering from major depression, it is very common for them to be prescribed Prozac. This is to allow them to have some time to come to terms with more serious issues behind depression and to allow their medical practitioners time to set about improving issues in a patient’s life. All forms of medication can bring benefits to a person suffering from depression but it should always be remembered that proper causes of depression may need a lot of attention to rectify. However, support and assistance provided by drugs can really help a person get their life back on track.

Prozac was launched in 1989 which means there is nearly 20 years worth of people having used this form of medication. In this time, over 35 million people have been prescribed this form of medication and numbers of users who weren’t prescribed would add to this total. It is not an exaggeration to say this drug is one of the most commonly used in recent years and even if you have not used it yourself, it is likely you will know someone who has.

Of course, you may be unaware that someone has used this form of medication. Depression is not a topic that everyone is comfortable with and many users will try and keep their news and condition to themselves. This means that even though friends, loved ones, colleagues or neighbors may use this medication to battle their depression and you may not even know about it.

Prozac works by increasing levels of serotonin into the brain and this helps to positively affect a person’s mood. Using a correct dosage will ensure that someone only needs to take one dose per day and they should be safe to use this medication in association with any other forms of medication they may be taking. No form of medication is going to be 100% effective and this is due to no two people being exactly alike. Everyone is different; they react differently to situations including substances in their bloodstream. When you also consider that medicine may be interacting with other substances in a person’s body or with different moods etc, it is fair to say that judging exact levels of medicine to take is extremely difficult. That said there appears to be around a 60-80% level of success associated with this form of medication which is extremely positive. Knowing that this medicine is more than halfway likely to make an improvement in a person’s life is more than enough reason for many users to start a course of Prozac.

As with all forms of medication, there are potential side effects associated with using drugs to counter depression. Again a lot can depend on the individual as opposed to any deficiencies with drugs but it can be handy for users to be aware of what potential issues may affect them. Some of the side effects associated with this form of medication include:

· Potentially increase suicidal thoughts

· Nausea

· Headaches

· Diarrhea

· Insomnia

· Impact on a persons sex life including delayed orgasms

The first listed side effect may have serious implications but the rest of the issues are not overly serious. Given what this medication has the potential to do to improve a person’s life, many users are extremely happy to put with a few minor side effects in order to get the positive aspects that are involved with it.

Some of these positive effects associated with Prozac include the ability for people to become more confident or overcome shyness. These may not seem like great afflictions but for people genuinely suffering from these conditions, life can be a living hell with difficulties every time they have to meet people or interact with others. Using medication like this can really help a person to get out and meet new folk or at least engage in more conversations and activities with people. If using this form of medication can improve a person’s life then it should be greatly encouraged.

A major problem with antidepressants is that sometimes results are not as immediate as many people would have hoped for and that they can take some time to achieve results. This leads to a situation where many people think they are experiencing no benefit from using antidepressants such as Prozac and may give up using their medication earlier than advised. Undertaking this plan of action lowers the likelihood of overcoming depression and quite often users, who stop using their medication before they are recommended to stop, are stuck with depression for a much longer period than they could have experienced.

As already discussed, many people are quick to mention the negative aspects of using this form of medication. It is true that there are numerous side effects and negative issues that comes with using this form of medication but is very easy to forget that there are a great number of positive points to be taken from using antidepressants in an attempt to improve a person’s life. No one should underestimate how unpleasant depression can be for a person and the fact it can greatly impact and affect a person.

Antidepressants are to provide help and assistance to individuals that are suffering and also to their friends and loved ones. It is very easy to forget about the people who suffer because they are around people experiencing depression and anything which can be done to help the sufferer should also have a positive effect on the lives of others. The following reasons are all extremely valid and useful points to consider why people should use medication to battle against depression.

· It can allow them to live their lives as normal

· It can speed up the process of defeating depression

· It can reduce temper

· It can make life more bearable for people close to the patient

When people use any type of medication, including Prozac, there is an increase likelihood that a person’s body will become immune to whatever substance they are taking. This leads to a situation over time where whatever impact a person gains from a medication dose will begin to reduce which often leads to people trying to increase levels of medication they use. This is commonly seen as a starting point for addiction as users will find they have to use more and more medication in order to really benefit in a way that they previously did. This is what happens for all types of drugs and substances and any user who regularly undergoes a series of medication will know what this situation entails.

Many people are starting to have concerns about developing an addiction to medication and will point to statistics where it shows that addictions are increasing. Unfortunately, no two people are alike and it is nigh on impossible to tell how much of this is due to a persons individual health or well-being as opposed to impacts of the medicine itself. This is why each user needs to take a degree of care when using medication. Drugs are on the whole very safe for users to take, it is only when they are used in manners not originally intended that problems begin.

One issue which still requires a greater deal of research and study has been claims that using Prozac has enabled many users to lose a considerable amount of weight. Trying to lose weight has become one of the largest industries across the world and any product which can be seen to offering support and assistance in this industry is likely to experience a spike in sales.

Although this medication would not be prescribed in such a manner, initial reports found that some users lost a lot of weight in a short space of time through using antidepressants. Whether this is because they felt more confident and could participate in more activities is one possibility but there may be a possibility that using these drugs had a positive aspect on a person’s weight control.

It may no longer be the medicine that is discussed most in national media or have celebrities rushing to endorse its use but Prozac remains a very important drug in trying to beat depression. As more and more people seem to be experiencing problems with depression, the need for better medication to improve peoples lives will continue so do not expect this to be the last we have heard of these anti-depressants.