Generic Name: Fluoxetine
Brand Name: Prozac
This medication is not meant for treatment without a specialist's intervention.
Common Uses:
Prozac is an antidepressant in a group of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Prozac affects chemicals in the brain that may become unbalanced and cause depression, panic, anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
Prozac is used to treat depressive disorders, bulimia nervosa (an eating disorder) obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).
Prozac is sometimes used together with another medication called olanzapine (Zyprexa) to treat depression caused by bipolar disorder (manic depression).
How to use:
Take Prozac exactly as it was prescribed for you. Do not take the medication in larger amounts, or take it for longer than recommended by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label.
Your doctor may occasionally change your dose to make sure you get the best results from the medication.
Do not break, chew, or open an extended-release capsule. Swallow the capsule whole. It is specially made to release medicine slowly in the body.
Measure the liquid form of Prozac with a special dose-measuring spoon or cup, not a regular table spoon. If you do not have a dose-measuring device, ask your pharmacist where you can get one.
It may take 4 weeks or longer before you start feeling better. Do not stop using Prozac without first talking to your doctor. You may have unpleasant side effects if you stop taking this medication suddenly.
Important safety information:
Do not take Prozac together with Pimozide (Orap), Thioridazine (Mellaril), or a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) such as Isocarboxazid (Marplan), Phenelzine (Nardil), Rasagiline (Azilect), Selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam), or Tranylcypromine (Parnate).
You may have thoughts about suicide when you first start taking an antidepressant, especially if you are younger than 24 years old. Your doctor will need to check you at regular visits for at least the first 12 weeks of treatment with Prozac.
Call your doctor at once if you have any new or worsening symptoms such as: mood or behaviour changes, anxiety, panic attacks, trouble sleeping, or if you feel impulsive, irritable, agitated, hostile, aggressive, restless, hyperactive (mentally or physically), more depressed, or have thoughts about suicide or hurting yourself. SSRI antidepressants may cause serious or life-threatening lung problems in newborn babies whose mothers take the medication during pregnancy. However, you may have a relapse of depression if you stop taking your antidepressant during pregnancy. If you are planning a pregnancy, or if you become pregnant while taking Prozac, do not stop taking the medication without first talking to your doctor.
Side Effects:
Get medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: skin rash or hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Call your doctor at once if you have any new or worsening symptoms such as: mood or behaviour changes, anxiety, panic attacks, trouble sleeping, or if you feel impulsive, irritable, agitated, hostile, aggressive, restless, hyperactive (mentally or physically), more depressed, or have thoughts about suicide or hurting yourself.
Call your doctor at once if you experience any of these serious side effects from using Prozac:
- severe blistering, peeling, and red skin rash;
- very stiff (rigid) muscles, high fever, sweating, fast or uneven heartbeats, tremors, overactive reflexes;
- nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, feeling unsteady, loss of coordination; or
- headache, trouble concentrating, memory problems, weakness, confusion, hallucinations, fainting, seizure, shallow breathing or breathing that stops.
Less serious Prozac side effects may include:
- cold symptoms such as stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat;
- drowsiness, dizziness, feeling nervous;
- mild nausea, upset stomach, constipation;
- increased appetite, weight changes;
- sleep problems (insomnia);
- decreased sex drive, impotence, or difficulty having an orgasm; or
- dry mouth.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur.
Overdose:
Seek medical attention urgently if you think you have taken too much of this medication. Overdose may cause nausea, vomiting, fever, sleepiness, rapid or uneven heartbeat, confusion, fainting, seizures, or coma.
Missed Dose:
Take the missed dose as soon as you have remembered. However, if it is almost time for the next regularly scheduled dose, skip the missed dose and take the next one as directed. Do not take extra medicine to make up for the missed dose.
If you miss a dose of Prozac weekly, take the missed dose as soon as you have remembered and take the next dose 7 days later. However, if it is almost time for the next regularly scheduled weekly dose, skip the missed dose and take the next one as directed. Do not take extra medicine to make up for the missed dose.
Storage conditions:
Prozac should be kept away from heat, direct light, water, moisture at a room temperature (approximately 23 degrees C). The medicine should be kept in a place unreachable for children.
All the information given above is a summary. You have to visit your doctor to get more information about this medicine. Do not share Prozac with others for whom it was not prescribed. Do not use this medicine for other health conditions. Do not store the medication with an end term of its storage.
