First timer

Hi there try not to worry I was on 20mg for a while for the same symptoms as yourself, I am now on 80mg a day. You might not experience any side effects,but if you do stick with them as it will get better,I experienced headaches,tiredness to the point where I was barely functioning. I was going to work then coming home and sleeping, the tiredness is the worse apart from that I was fine, I only upped mine as I was still feeling anxious but I am doing well with the 80mg. Don't give up it takes about 6 weeks then u will feel better, I'm here if you need to talk this is a great forum for support take care.

I began my journey with ADs nearly 20 years ago, Prozac being the first.  No one ever said that I needed to be on them forever - it just sort of happened.  No one ever said it should be temporary either.  I can honestly say that being on ADs never really fixed the issues that led to depression and anxiety.  Are you in therapy?  What are the sources of your anxiety and depression?  I think these drugs may help initially, by keeping the serotonin in your synaptic gaps of your neurons, but then the neurons adapt and increase the number of receptors so that balance is achieved again.  Then, the symptoms you are trying to reduce reappear, as was the case for me  Doctors will keep upping the dose.  Then, when you want to come off, you have to taper VERY SLOWLY, or you will suffer withdrawal symptoms that appear like the original disorder, so the docs say you must go back on, or try a new one, or something to that affect! I have read countless stories of people failing to get off over and over because the withdrawal was so bad.  The doctors never tell you about that part when they prescribe this stuff!  So, ask your doc about what the plan is with going on Prozac, how long, and what about coming off?  Very few docs will admit to the WD and don't even know how to properly taper a patient off.  They will usually tell you to do it way too fast, within a month, when in fact it should be done over the course of many months with small drops along the way.

There is no problem with trying the med for a short term settling of a crisis, then going off again.  By being on for the long term, I would say my emotions have been blunted and I have not had a sex drive or been able to enjoy sex for 20 years!  I tried going off Effexor too fast last year and suffered horribly to the point that i am now on two meds, because no one including me recognized that I was in WD!  The second med has caused me to gain weight, which is an additional stressor for me.  So, just putting it all out there so you can be informed. 

I wish I had gotten access to proper therapy back before I took that first pill.  The trick is finding a therapist who is empathetic and will help you recognize destructive thought processes that lead to depression and anxiety, help you break them down, and replace them with healthier ones.  Ultimately, we are all deserving of self-love and compassion.  

Have you tried meditation?  There are lots of guided meditations on the web that focus on loving kindness and compassion, which is what all of us with depression and anxiety need!  We do deserve that! 

I wish you luck and wellness in whatever choice you decide to make, but please don't end up like me, wishing down the road that you hadn't followed a particular path :-)