h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

...what my feelings to this are. I am one of the many women who have to take SSRIs because of post natal depression and I found your entry not offensive but a little bit like making a joke of those of us who need these drugs to get by. Taking SSRIs is not a joke for me. I've been lucky to be on a low dosage but the nausea and lack of body temperature control that goes with the drugs I take is nothing to be laughed at.

In England and New Zealand Prozac is not nearly as popular as Test Cricket, which has the same soporific effect without the side effects or withdrawal symptoms. This is why the evil Australian Kerry Packer invented One Day Cricket, which fooled the public who went along expecting a Prozac day and instead found a combination of Viagra and Ecstacy resulting in unaccustomed Passion and Excitement. The question must be asked - Was Packer a subversive Alien or merely subversive, damnably clever and desiring to be hugely rich?

Smurf - Have you tried St Johns Wort? Available in health food shops I believe it is very effective in the treatment of depression and is a totally natural product. Good Luck.

Yes I tried it but it is only good for mild depressions. Unfortunately I don't really come into that category. It is very good at relieving panic attacks in some people. I also tried another homeopathic remedie (not to be confused with herbal like St. John's Wort) but although it made me feel ok while taking it, I was loads worse when I came off it. I think the herbal remedies are better at dealing with what is called the baby blues.

However, some recent research in the USA has suggested that women like myself who suffer from post natal depression for a long time (I think their definition was around four to five months) may actually be suffering from problems with their thyroid gland. This can be determined by a simple blood test and I'm currently waiting for the result of mine.

For the moment, I've come off the Seroxat (my particular SSRI) and seem to be better, although still quite lethargic I don't feel like the world is collapsing in on itself anymore.

Oh, and I don't think cricket is all that popular in England anymore. The world cup past with most people not batting an eyelid (or any very hard round balls).

I too suffer from depression. Not quite manic but pretty severe. I used to take seroxat, and found that really adversely effected my sex drive. I'm on Prozac now, and its great. I've had no side effects whatsover, except a bit of weightloss when I first went on it...but I cannae complain about that! Its help me function so much better - I can get out of bed of a morning, got to work and think about having a future, which i never could without the prozac. I take issue with the entry, not because it pokes fun, I have no problem with that, but because it implies that people take it to hide from the problems in their lives...that is soooo not the case! My depression is the problem in my life...there are no other problems! The prozac treats the depressive feelings and helps me get on with my life.

I suffered from depression of varying degrees for most of my life (I'm 46) much of the time thinking that what I felt was normal. Several years ago my doctor realised that I was depressed and prescribed Prozac. I took it for 3 or 4 months. I finally stopped taking it when I found that my moods were stable. To my delight my new normality was much more enjoyable than before.

It has been nearly three years since I was on Prozac and except for a couple of minor atttacks of the 'blues' I have not been depressed. It is wonderfull to have escaped that feeling of spiralling down into the black pit.

One thing that co-incided with this treatment was gaining of self esteem through achivements at work and in my personal life. I think that without the belief in myself the Prozac may have only had a temporary effect, but the two together worked wonders.

I take Seroxat, for anxiety attacks, and it seems to be doing a good job. I've also been in therapy for a long time to get a lot of 'demons' more permanantly dealt with.

I'm just wondering thou'...people here have spoke of 'manic depression' as if it is like mega depression, not the very happy/very sad kind of scene that i know. Is there more than one defintion?

I APPRECIATE ALL THE DIFFERENT OPINIONS BUT WHAT I WANT TO KNOW IS WILL PROZAC REALLY WORK???? I THINK THAT POSSIBALY I SUFFER FROM DEPRESSION AND BASICALLY MY LIFE IS A BIT BAD AT THE MOMENT. DO YOU HAVE TO HAVE PARENTAL CONSENT ETC. TO GO ONTO IT?

Well yes it makes you feel better, but you really do need to find out why you feel so down. I might just be a chemical imbalence, or hormonal, but then again it could be something that can be talked through. IMHO.

I suffer from Hyperventilation Syndrome, which is a bit like having a permanent panic attack! My body has learnt to prefer a low level of carbon dioxide in my blood and so I unconciously hyperventilate to try to compensate. This gives me all of the feelings of a panic attack, all of the time.
Possibly the worst thing is that, although I am receiveing physiotherapy in an attempt to retrain my breathing, I don't feel as though I am getting any better, which makes me feel very down, and hurts the ones I love and who love me because, from the outside, I don't seem to care about them, but I just feel trapped by the breathing which leaves me without the energy even to hold a conversation.
Does anyone think that Prozac would help?
And does anyone else, anywhere, have this condition? I feel I'm the only one.