
A person who used fluoxetine for major depressive disorder may experience symptoms of depression again. It is important to remember that as Prozac is tapered, the symptoms that the medication was used to treat may return. In some cases, this may take months or even over a year. The longer a person has taken Prozac, the longer it will take to taper off the medication. Prozac should be tapered gradually until a person can function without the drug with no withdrawal symptoms. Stopping Prozac “cold turkey” is not recommended due to the withdrawal symptoms listed above. People who use fluoxetine and alcohol or fluoxetine and opioids together should receive treatment for abuse of those respective substances.Īs stated previously, people who want to end the use of medically prescribed fluoxetine should do so under the supervision of their physicians. For example, a person taking fluoxetine as an appetite suppressant should receive treatment for the eating disorder associated with this use of the medication. For people who abuse Prozac or take it in an attempt to self-medicate, treatment should focus on any other substances that are abused along with fluoxetine and on the conditions that people are attempting to treat. The types of treatment used to end dependence on fluoxetine depend on the circumstances surrounding how the medication is used. Still, caution should be taken when discontinuing fluoxetine, and ending the use of any antidepressant should be done under the supervision of a physician. Since fluoxetine is often used to treat long-term mental health conditions such as OCD, discontinuation syndrome may be more severe for these patients than for patients who use Prozac in the short term to manage withdrawal symptoms. This is concerning when viewed in light of the research results mentioned above, which indicate that fluoxetine carries the same risk of discontinuation syndrome. In fact, fluoxetine is often used as a treatment for discontinuation syndrome when a person is ending the use of another SSRI medication. 9 Interestingly, fluoxetine has the longest half-life of all the SSRI medications, so it is associated with the lowest risk of discontinuation syndrome. It is estimated that about 20% of patients who have taken an antidepressant for a month or more develop discontinuation syndrome, or antidepressant withdrawal, after stopping use of the medication. Fluoxetine can help to decrease the number of panic attacks that a person has and to lessen their severity. It also works to decrease anxiety and fear and to suppress unwanted thoughts. Prozac helps to elevate mood and energy levels, improve sleep, and increase appetite. 1 Fluoxetine is typically used to treat depression in adults but may be used in smaller doses to treat depression in children and adolescents over the age of 10. 1 It is also prescribed “off-label” (meaning the FDA does not approve these uses) for anxiety, obesity, binge-eating disorder, premature ejaculation, 2 body dysmorphic disorder, dysthymia, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Also known by its generic name, fluoxetine, this drug is currently approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), bulimia nervosa, panic disorder, and also for pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), which is more severe than premenstrual syndrome (PMS).

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