I guess we must agree to disagree that its only a side effect in the beginning. My clinicians experience and mine (personal and experiences I've heard in Group Therapy) differ, though I'm happily on another anti-depressant that works for me. For what its worth, Prozac's effects were negligible for me. I still recommend it as a first treatment for those with symptoms.

The same goes for my statement that Prozac is one of the more mild anti-depressants in terms in side effects. Its often the first prescribed, specifically for the reason that its effects (side and primary) are more mild, thus a safer place to baseline to start from.