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Have Been Taking Prozac, Increased Dosage. Cannot Sleep, Loss Of Appetite And Nauseated. Advise?
I have been taking Prozac 10 mg x 3 yrs, I wanted to stop taking it. When I told my physician about it he strongly advised me against doing this. He then increased the dosage 1o 15 mg. I do not feel any better, in fact, I feel worse. I still cannot sleep at night without chemically inducing my sleep. My doctor then advised me to take Melatonin po qhs. This puts me to sleep but I still do not feel less depressed at all. Could the increase in dosage agitate my sleeping even moreso, and supress my appetite, make me feel nauseated and off balance. I have only been taking the increase dosage x 1 week. Please advise. thank you...
posted on
Fri, 5 Jul 2013
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Fri, 5 Jul 2013
Answered on
Sat, 6 Jul 2013
Last reviewed on
Hi,
From the history you provide, it seems like you still are not completely symptom free. You still have sleep disturbances and low mood. It is not advisable to stop the antidepressant till you are symptom free, that is the reason your doctor decided against stopping it and in turn increased the dose.
Melatonin induces sleep in a more natural way than the sedatives usually prescribed for sleep. It is a good choice.
Fluoxetine (prozac) has side effects of agitation or restlessness, reduced appetite, nausea and dizziness that you seem to be experiencing. The drug takes a minimum of 2 weeks to show improvement in mood, so be patient. Once you feel better these symptoms may not cause so much disturbance to you as much as it is doing now. When you feel low one tends to be more sensitive to these side effects.
What your doctor did is right. Be patient, you will feel better soon.
There are psychological forms of treatment as well like cognitive behavior therapy which in addition to medications can help you allay your symptoms. You can try it. Discuss it with your doctor.
Hope this helps,
Wishing you the best of health,
Dr A Rao
From the history you provide, it seems like you still are not completely symptom free. You still have sleep disturbances and low mood. It is not advisable to stop the antidepressant till you are symptom free, that is the reason your doctor decided against stopping it and in turn increased the dose.
Melatonin induces sleep in a more natural way than the sedatives usually prescribed for sleep. It is a good choice.
Fluoxetine (prozac) has side effects of agitation or restlessness, reduced appetite, nausea and dizziness that you seem to be experiencing. The drug takes a minimum of 2 weeks to show improvement in mood, so be patient. Once you feel better these symptoms may not cause so much disturbance to you as much as it is doing now. When you feel low one tends to be more sensitive to these side effects.
What your doctor did is right. Be patient, you will feel better soon.
There are psychological forms of treatment as well like cognitive behavior therapy which in addition to medications can help you allay your symptoms. You can try it. Discuss it with your doctor.
Hope this helps,
Wishing you the best of health,
Dr A Rao
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Hi,
Thanks for using healthcare magic.
FLuoxetine is very good, potent anti depressant agent. Usual dose is 20-60mg per day but it may vary between individual.
Your symptoms like lack of appetite or nausea or imbalance may be due to side effect of fluoxetine but it may occur as a symptoms of depression also.
You should not change/omit drug dosages on your own as it may make more harm to you.
Instead, You should consult qualified psychiatrist for detailed evaluation and management.
Doctor may switch over to different anti depressant drug like escitalopram or agomelatine or desvenlafaxine for better control over depression.
Menawhile , you may get benefit by doing stress management, yoga, meditation and relaxation exercise like breathing exercise for better control over stress and depression.
I hope It will help.
Thanks.
Thanks for using healthcare magic.
FLuoxetine is very good, potent anti depressant agent. Usual dose is 20-60mg per day but it may vary between individual.
Your symptoms like lack of appetite or nausea or imbalance may be due to side effect of fluoxetine but it may occur as a symptoms of depression also.
You should not change/omit drug dosages on your own as it may make more harm to you.
Instead, You should consult qualified psychiatrist for detailed evaluation and management.
Doctor may switch over to different anti depressant drug like escitalopram or agomelatine or desvenlafaxine for better control over depression.
Menawhile , you may get benefit by doing stress management, yoga, meditation and relaxation exercise like breathing exercise for better control over stress and depression.
I hope It will help.
Thanks.
I find this answer helpful
You haven't mentioned which part of the day you take tablet prozac. In case you have been taking it in evenings/night time, you may consider it switching to morning time after breakfast as this medicine can cause sleep disturbances in few patients if taken during night time. In case you are already taking morning dose then wait nd watch for improvement. However if you have persistent side effect or feel no improvement with higher doses then consult your psychiatrist. A further escalation in doses or change in molecule may help. Meanwhile a normal routine with physical exercise, and a optimistic thinking in any aspect of life is surely advisable. Wishing you a speedy recovery.
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