Medication Confusion

I went back to my doctor (regular physician) for a follow-up on my meds on Thurs. I had been on the Celexa for about a month but I was still having some annoying side effects: hot flashes, headaches, and some occasional insomnia (which I never had before). We talked about a number of different meds I could switch to, to see if maybe there would be less side effects for me. I am beginning to feel like there are always trade-offs. There are always side effects. It's just a matter of which ones you feel like dealing with. I seem to be pretty sensitive to the side effects, I guess.

Anyway, he suggested I try switching to Prozac, which I haven't tried before. But I'm a little bit worried because I have read that a common side effect with it is anxiety and nervousness, which I DEFINITELY DON'T NEED MORE OF. And the Celexa seems to be helping my anxiety. So, is it worth risking a change again? I don't know. I filled the prescription for it (yay for $4 prescriptions!) but I had 5 more Celexa pills so I decided to finish it off before I start the Prozac.

He also prescribed trazedone, which is a tricyclic antidepressant, to help me sleep better. I guess at low doses, it is helpful for that. But I think my insomnia was mostly related to the Celexa. So, if I switch to Prozac, I may not need it at all. So I didn't fill that prescription at all. I am always a little wary of adding more medications to counteract side effects of another medication because it seems like then you are just adding more potential side effects and it could just go on and on and on.

But while I'm on the subject, I may as well tell my medication history. I saw a psychologist in 2003 (I think?) and she recommended Zoloft. But, as she couldn't prescribe meds, I went to my regular physician, who thought that Paxil would be better (I think it was a bit of a pharmaceutical push). So I started Paxil and stayed on it for almost 2 years. Got off during my pregnancy (my 4th, by the way). And then decided to get back on something postpartum. I really didn't like the side effects with the Paxil, especially getting on and off of it (weird dizziness, constipation, and feeling really weird, in general). So I wanted to try something different. I was also worried about the meds and breastfeeding (that's another issue I'll talk about some other time). Anyway - first I tried Zoloft. And broke out in a terrible rash. So I stopped it. Then a psychiatrist prescribed Prozac. But with the much longer half-life that Prozac has, it actually accumulates more in the breastmilk and I felt like maybe something else would be better. So then my midwives prescribed Celexa, which I filled, but never took. My baby had a heart defect and I really really didn't want to stop breastfeeding and I just didn't feel it was the right decision at the time to start meds, afterall. It was a really hard decision.

And here I am. My baby is now 2. And I finally decided it really was time to get back on some medication. The last 2 years have been pretty rough in a lot of ways. And I feel like medication might need to be a long-term treatment option for me. We'll see, I guess.
Looks like I have 1 more day of Celexa and then I may switch to the Prozac. Ho-hum. It's always such a difficult decision. What to do, what to do.