Prozac Not Potatoes

I started a low dose of Prozac just over three weeks ago.  Several things have happened.  Actually a whole bunch of things have happened.  I am much happier.  Yup, this stuff works for me.  I'm singing and cracking jokes.  I'm giving my husband grief (this is part of our verbal horseplay).  I stopped taking trazadone for sleep since the Prozac makes me sleepy.  The Prozac has reset my sleep clock and I now go to bed between 8pm and 1am like a normal person.  Apparently the seratonin boost also boosts the production of melatonin and hence the clock reset.  I no longer need to take melatonin to get to sleep at night.  I'm already tired from the Prozac itself.  I'm not sleeping as deep but I'm also no longer drooling during my sleep.  It also takes me a tad longer to fall asleep.  When I took melatonin I would basically pass out as soon as my head hit the pillow.  Now my falling asleep is more like my old self preCFS.

Now one of the super odd things that has occurred is that prior to my starting Prozac I was craving carbs ALL the time.  The cravings were so intense that I was cheating on my Paleo diet on an almost daily basis.  I was eating toast and/or sandwiches without regard to my health.  The cravings were too intense and I would cave constantly.  Once I started the Prozac the cravings went away almost overnight.    I guess there is some connection between carb cravings and depression and seratonin but I haven't looked into it yet.  The whole episode reminded me of a book that came out in the 90s called Potatoes Not Prozac that encouraged people to eat more carbs instead of doing drugs.

Which brings me to my final thoughts on Prozac.  Because I'm hooked into the Real Food community I'm privy/subjected to fairly frequent statements to outright rants against big Phrama and the evils of medications.  But face it, because I am SO sick, I need meds!  When I had a bout with severe pain I was begging for pain meds.  Over Christmas I would have probably died from the UTI if I hadn't received two IV bags full of antibiotics and the ten day course of anitbiotic pills.  So here are my thoughts on Big Pharma and meds.  Sometimes we are just too broken for food alone to fix us.  Meds can be life saving.  Meds are more commonly helpful to make our lives more comfortable and hence more bearable.  As much as the Real Foodies rank on Big Pharma and the evils of meds, I am supremely grateful for them.  My celebrex keeps a lid on my pain and daily headaches and my Prozac has made me much more happy and has normalized my sleep.  I have my Tramadol and Oxycodone for those really REALLY bad days when I want to start removing body parts because of the intense pain.  And of course I'm really happy there is a wide variety of antibiotics to help keep me alive when infections threaten to wipe me off the face of the planet.  This isn't to say food hasn't helped me heal.  It has.  By going full fat, grain free, Paleo I got off cholesterol meds and heartburn meds.  My guts are way happier with the new foods.  Even my brain works better on pastured meats.  However, I still need meds so that I can be more comfortable each day.  I, for one, am very happy they are available to me.  I will continue to tinker with my diet hoping that it will continue to aid in my healing.  My big wish is to improve enough that I don't need any meds.  But in the meantime, thanks Big Pharma!  Without you my life would not be possible.