I just HAVE to respond to this post!!
I was once perscribed 50mg of Prozac a day for anxiety. This was a coupla' years ago and I didn't have insurance. The hospital provided my meds and prozac is one of the cheapest so that's what I got.
I mentioned this 50mg thing to my current Doc, and she thought that was VERY high and she was NOT suprised that I went into a self-mutilating freak out!
IMHO...Prozac is the WRONG drug for anxiety/panic disorders!!
Also, to go from 10 to 40mg in 20 days is OUTRAGOUS!!! That is NOT gradual at all. I would reccomend asking about lexapro, it's generally very well tolerated. It helped me a lot. (glad to be off the meds now but at the time it was needed)
If I were you, I would get a second opinion from a dif doctor. You have to be your own advocate. People make a lot of money off of these drugs, and the system is corrupt.
One last point for EVERYONE......If your doctor is ignoring your complaints about side effects, or saying it's all in your head, or rationalizing away your concerns....GO SEE A DIF DOCTOR!!! Now days their are plenty of open minded doctors who read the NEW studies on these drugs, who will listen to you, and actually HELP you.
Messing with brain chemistry is a very serious thing...we know more about outerspace than the bottom of the ocean, and we know more about the bottom of the ocean, than we do about the human mind. These drugs are a work in progress and can be EXTREMELY dangerous if perscribed irresponsibly. You deserve to be treated like a human being, not an experiment.
-Monica