I'm not a doctor. I'm a survivor. This is NOT a replacement for competent medical advice. With the exception of the sample inserts and FDA links, almost everything below is anecdotal. This does not carry much weight in the scientific community. In short, it's like talking to your neighbor down the street who is not a doctor, but who had bad reactions he can tell you about and some books he got on the subject he can loan you.. That said...

This webpage is an attempt to gather information scattered around the net about prozac into one place. I have tried to tailor it in a (more or less) top down fashion. The information here consists of links to other sources which I believe to be accurate, with exceptions noted below.

Start in Prozac Basic Information, then Prozac Adverse Reactions, and Prozac Recovery Room. The sooner you start to laugh, the sooner you start to heal. Also see information under FAQs. In fact you may want to go there first. Hit the rest of the links as your interest dictates. Here then is an expanded explanation of the links on my webpage.

Prozac Basic Information. If you haven't already read and understood all of the sample insert, this is the starting point. Information here from the manufacturer and FDA.

"Package Insert" and
"FDA update" links are online versions of the drug monograph. This is that little long narrow sheet with the microprint that comes with samples from the doctor. I don't believe it is generally given out at the pharmacy, and not to be confused with the one page handout some pharmacies give. It is a lengthy document showing the results of trial tests conducted by the manufacturer and submitted to the FDA before approval. If you are having bad reactions, you may want a loved one to read it in order to not "psych yourself out."

"Medscape Medical Dictionary" The source for my prozac dictionary (next). You have to subscribe the first time you login, but it's free, and after that it lets you in without a password. I'd write down the login/password just in case. This can help you find terms I may have skipped in...

"Dictionary of Prozac Related Terms... " The inserts are written in medical jargon. I looked up the terms and this can help you with some of the more arcane terms in the sample insert. This received a massive update in 4/98 and should contain almost all the medical terms in the US sample insert by 5/1/98.

Prozac Adverse Reactions. In addition to the warnings and contraindications listed on the drug monograph, (sample insert), there are lists of common reactions.

"Common Reactions..."
"Serotonin Syndrome"
"Withdrawals" are anecdotal lists.

"FDA Adverse Reaction Report", ADR for short, is a list of all the adverse reactions reported by doctors to the FDA. It is guesstimated that 1-10% of adverse reactions gets reported.

"FDA Medwatch Homepage" is a government site to check out every so often. They have current info on adverse reactions and an archive by month.

"International Coalition For Drug Awareness (ICFDA)" The title says it all. This is a new site (3/98) that should have the latest information on harmful side effects of psychoactive medicines.

"Prozac, Panacea or Pandora" The book is an expanded 2nd edition of Dr. Tracy's phd thesis. She interviewed over a thousand people and there is some graphic stuff. If you're having bad reactions now you might want to just skip to the Solutions chapter. Read the rest when you're feeling better. She details withdrawal and delayed withdrawal symptoms. This was valuable to me as I had them fairly severely. Yet another disclaimer. I'm in no way connected with the book or Dr. Tracy except as an email friend.

"Dr. Peter Breggins Homepage" The author of "Talking Back to Prozac." Must confess I haven't read it. Got Tracy's book first and it was all I could stand.

"Prozac Survivors Support Group.." a site under construction.

"Survivor Stories" are email I've received from people who wanted to share their experiences. I believe them to be true.

Prozac Survivors Recovery Room. Things you can do to take your mind off whatever side effect you are feeling at the moment.

"I'm Losing it..." is my story of the first 5-6 months. This was written during a time of high stress and the writing isn't my best. But I decided to leave it just for the record. It also includes in bold type a list of things I did to help myself. I would stress the diary/calender tip as it took me much longer to heal than I thought it would and being able to see my progress cheered me considerably. Most of the suggestions came from Dr. Tracy's book.

"Prozac Pen Pals" volunteers who've been there and are willing to take the time to share the experience. This wonderful group includes both survivors and survivor loved ones. (Watching somebody go through adverse reactions must be about as hard as going through them.) Find someone with a similar story and email them.

"Fun things..." just some links to humor, general interest, etc. Get in here and laugh dammit!

"Forward Day By Day" a different short meditation each day. It is Episcopalian, but I don't think it will offend anyone and might help a lot. If you are having really bad adverse reactions, you may find yourself praying a lot...or not at all.

Prozac General Information. This is odds and ends I've found on the web. Mostly interactive stuff. A couple of links could use some comment.

"alt.support.survivors.prozac" is a newsgroup. It was originally set up for survivors to have a way to communicate. It still serves that function. However, note there is a caution. If you are unfamiliar with newsgroups, they are places to trade opinions. For some reason I don't understand, there are people who love prozac who contribute their opinions. These opinions often erupt into what are known as flame wars. These can become quite bitter, protracted and boring. If you spend much time here, you'll quickly learn the combatants names and can just mark them read (in Netscape click on the little green diamond) which saves the time of having them display on screen. I would suggest avoiding getting involved as it only adds to the clutter and your stress load. I would not avoid the newsgroup entirely as announcements of interest to the survivor community are made there.

"Eli Lilly Homepage" is included for a couple of reasons. First, contrary to what you might think, my page is not anti-prozac. I have seen it work miracles on a friend, at least for the short term. My page is just information about a powerful drug. So Lilly is included to present both sides of the picture. Second it is a good source of statistics about prozac. As of the 10th anniversary (1997) prozac had generated some $6 billion in sales according to their SEC filings.

Prozac Articles. A group of magazine articles from the Mayo Clinic newsletter to Time. This is the source for the latest information in the news.

Prozac Alternatives. These are mainly herbal and dietary links to other sites, some commercial and some non-commercial. I can't make any claims for these. I've checked a few of them and I don't believe any of them to be life threatening. I use a minimal dose of gingko myself, along with a multivitamin, and have noticed an improvement in long term memory and general alertness. Dr. Tracy's book mentions that starting gingko after withdrawals set in can temporarily make them worse. This happened to me. I got pretty weepy for a couple of days after the gingko kicked in. It seems to work best to start ginkgo while tapering off prozac.

"Kelly's St. Johns Wort Page" is a non-commercial and an excellent starting point to find out about this medicine. It is an herb used in Germany extensively for mild depression and the side effect list is short. I haven't tried it since I wasn't depressed.

Mental Health Sites. Just a sampling of what's on the web. Most of these have numerous links to related sites.

General Health Sites. Again a sampling of what's out there.

FAQs. Frequently asked questions.

"About Prozac" (several bits of info here)
"About This Site" (probably only of interest to me),
"News Archives" (definitely of interest only to me.....see, I told you so. :^)

So, that's the nickel tour. To recap, the 1st 2 sections are of immediate interest if you're having adverse reactions. The 3rd section can provide some mental and spiritual relief. The remaining sections are general info and timely news.

If you are a survivor checking this site for the first time, the trick is:

Don't Panic! :^)

Have patience, and be kind to yourself.