Suggest Remedies For Severe Diarrhea And Stomach Upset While On Prozac

Posted on Fri, 8 Jul 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 8 Jul 2016 Answered on

Fri, 29 Jul 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : Have been on Paxil 40 mg for 10 years & it it not working for me anymore so have switched to Prozac 40mg about 4 weeks now & my anxiety is very high, stomach upset & diarrhea, & not sleeping good at nite, just feel all keyed up, is this a side effect or do i need to change to a different medicine?

Answered by Dr. Ronald Schubert (48 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
side effect of prozac

Detailed Answer:
Thank you for contacting HCM with your health care concerns

I am sorry to hear that you are experiencing so may side effects from your prozac. I recommend that you contact your medical provider and see about changing your medication. You may be better off taking mirtazapine or cymbalta. These are not classified as SSRIs and may have better side effect profiles for you. I do not recommend that you stop your medication as you may need to wean because of some withdrawal effects from SSRIs.

I hope I answered your question. Please contact us again if you have any additional questions

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Ronald Schubert (17 hours later)

Would it help if I lowered the Prozac to 20mg instead of the 40mg?

Answered by Dr. Ronald Schubert (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
yes

Detailed Answer:
Yes try the lower dose for at least 1 week. If that does not help then reduce to 10 for 1 week. If at that time still things are not going well go to every other day for 1 week then stop. That is a usual weaning schedule so that you wouldn't have any withdrawal symptoms.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar