I am going to my doc on Monday to request to be put back on an SSRI for my depression, OCD, and chronic tension headaches. I took Prozac and Zoloft years ago for my depression, but stopped taking it due to a sudden lack of money / medical insurance. I thought that I could keep it in check for a while without the meds, but it seems that it is once again interfering with my life enough that I want to be put back on them. My quality of life was just so much better. Plus, now I have a wife and kids and want to spend my time with them instead of distracted, upset, depressed, and irritated all the time.

I was just browsing the web, and saw an article that said that Prozac is the weakest of the SSRIs. Now, I realize that you can find all manner of nonsense on the web, so I wanted to ask your opinions. Has anyone here taken Zoloft and found that it either works better, or is stronger, or vise versa? I know that so much depends on the indvidual, but I just wanted to check. Thanks! HD08

I was on Prozac for years. It was a wonder drug for me at the time. I'm currently taking 150mg of Zoloft and I feel it's working better than Prozac. The choice is really up to you and your pdoc which one to use. They're both available in less costly generic form. WalMart is the cheapest ($4) with generic Prozac.

Neither one worked for my tension headaches. You will probably need a different med for those.
Sheepwoman

The doc had orginally thought that I was having sinus headaches, so he did a septoplasty (to straighten out my nasal passages and remove a bone spur) and sinus surgery. That didn't fix the problem. I have read that SSRIs can help with tension headaches, either by correcting a chemical imbalance in the brain, or by fixing the depression that might be causing them in the first place. Honestly, even if it doesn't fix them, I will be happy if the Prozac helps me personally, as I would be taking it more to feel normal than anything else. I sure hope that it helps.

Also, with my original question about Zoloft being stronger than Prozac, I just wanted to know so that I don't spend a month (or two) waiting to the Prozac to kick in, then to only find out it isn't strong enough. I know that ADs are so hit and miss, but if humanly possible, I would like to get it right the first time. Is there any real study / proof / opinion that Prozac has been proven to be weak?

This post has been edited by happy days 08: Aug 15 2008, 02:55 PM

I don't think the words "stronger" or "weaker" have any meaning in this context. Prozac has the longest half-life, but that has nothing to do with potency. Whichever one happens to have the action that YOU need is the right one.

I would very much question the source of what you read. I suspect it was written by someone who found one to work better than the other (for HIM/HER) and thus concluded that it was "stronger". Or it may have been found that it has more chemical effects on receptor x and y, or whatever. But if what you need is action on receptor a and z, then no amount of battering the wrong part of your brain will help. If one was clearly stronger, we'd all be on it!

So it's a useless comparison to make - if the "stronger" one doesn't work for you, what use is its "strongness" for you? Know what I mean?

Very much so. I was thinking the same thing, especially since if you search the web long enough, you can find people telling you everything under the sun. Thanks for all the input, I just wanted to be sure that I was correct in thinking that was bogus info.

BTW moon, I love your sig!

This post has been edited by happy days 08: Aug 18 2008, 08:44 AM