Prozac / Fluoxetine Hcl
What is Prozac?
Prozac is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant. Fluoxetine affects certain chemical messengers (neurotransmitters) that communicate between brain cells and helps people with depression, panic, anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
Prozac is used to treat major depressive disorder, bulimia nervosa (an eating disorder), obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD).
If you also take olanzapine (Zyprexa), read the Zyprexa medication guide and all patient warnings and instructions provided with that medication.
How should this medicine be used?
Fluoxetine comes as a capsule, a tablet, a delayed-release (releases the medication in the intestine) capsule, and a solution (liquid) to take by mouth. Take fluoxetine at around the same time(s) every day. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Take fluoxetine exactly as directed. Do not take more or less of it or take it more often than prescribed by your doctor.
Swallow the delayed-release capsules whole; do not cut, crush, or chew them.
Your doctor may start you on a low dose of fluoxetine and gradually increase your dose.
What special precautions should I follow?
Before taking fluoxetine,
- tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to fluoxetine, any other medications, or any of the ingredients in fluoxetine capsules, tablets, or solution. Ask your pharmacist for a list of the ingredients.
- tell your doctor if you are taking pimozide (Orap), thioridazine, or a monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), linezolid (Zyvox), methylene blue, phenelzine (Nardil), selegiline (Emsam, Zelapar), and tranylcypromine (Parnate), or if you have stopped taking a monoamine oxidase inhibitor within the past 2 weeks. Your doctor will probably tell you that you should not take fluoxetine. If you stop taking fluoxetine, you should wait at least 5 weeks before you begin to take thioridazine or a monoamine oxidase inhibitor.
- Also check our Zoloft, Ambien, Hydrocodone Tablet, Nembutal sodium and Phenobarbital tablet.
