Fluoxetine (By mouth)

floo-OX-e-teen

Treats depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), bulimia nervosa, and panic disorder. This medicine is an SSRI.

Drug classes

Antidepressant, Central Nervous System Agent (About this – PubMed Health)

Uses

Uses of This Medicine

Fluoxetine is used to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), bulimia nervosa, premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), and panic disorder. It is also used together with olanzapine to treat depression that is part of bipolar disorder.

Fluoxetine is an antidepressant and belongs to a group of medicines known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). This medicine works by increasing the activity of a chemical called serotonin in the brain.

This medicine is available only with your doctor’s prescription.

Other uses (PubMed Health)

How To Use

Capsule, Delayed Release Capsule, Liquid, Tablet

Take your medicine as directed. Your dose may need to be changed several times to find what works best for you. Take your medicine at the same time each day.

You may need to take this medicine for a month or longer before you feel better. If you feel that the medicine is not working well, do not take more than your normal dose. Tell your doctor.

Measure the oral liquid medicine with a marked measuring spoon, oral syringe, or medicine cup.

Delayed-release capsule: Swallow whole. Do not crush, break, or chew the capsule.

This medicine should come with a Medication Guide. Ask your pharmacist for a copy if you do not have one.

Missed dose:

Every day dose (Prozac® or Sarafem®): If you miss a dose or forget to take your medicine, take it as soon as you can. If it is almost time for your next dose, wait until then to take the medicine and skip the missed dose. Do not use extra medicine to make up for a missed dose. Once-a-week dose (Prozac® Weekly™): If you miss a dose or forget to take your medicine, take it as soon as you can. Then go back to your regular schedule the next week. Do not use extra medicine to make up for a missed dose.

Store the medicine in a closed container at room temperature, away from heat, moisture, and direct light.

Drugs and Foods to Avoid

Ask your doctor or pharmacist before using any other medicine, including over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products.

Do not use this medicine together with pimozide or thioridazine. Do not use this medicine within 14 days of using an MAO inhibitor (MAOI), and do not start an MAOI for at least 5 weeks after you stop using fluoxetine.

Some foods and medicines can affect how fluoxetine works. Tell your doctor if you are using any of the following:

Buspirone, dolasetron, fentanyl, lithium, mefloquine, methadone, pentamidine, probucol, St John’s wort, tacrolimus, tramadol, tryptophan supplement, or vinblastine Other medicine to treat depression, medicine to treat migraine headaches, medicine to treat mental illness, an antibiotic, medicine for seizures (such as carbamazepine, phenytoin), a diuretic (water pill), medicine for heart rhythm problems, an NSAID pain or arthritis medicine (such as aspirin, celecoxib, diclofenac, ibuprofen, naproxen), or a blood thinner (such as warfarin)

Do not drink alcohol while you are using this medicine.

Tell your doctor if you use anything else that makes you sleepy. Some examples are allergy medicine, narcotic pain medicine, and alcohol.

When Not To Use

This medicine is not right for everyone. Do not use it if you had an allergic reaction to fluoxetine.

Warnings

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you have kidney disease, liver disease, bleeding problems, diabetes, or a history of seizures. Tell your doctor if you have had heart disease, a heart rhythm problem (such as QT prolongation), heart attack, heart failure, low blood pressure, or a stroke.

For some children, teenagers, and young adults, this medicine may increase mental or emotional problems. This may lead to thoughts of suicide and violence. Talk with your doctor right away if you have any thoughts or behavior changes that concern you. Tell your doctor if you or anyone in your family has a history of bipolar disorder or suicide attempts.

This medicine may cause the following problems:

Serotonin syndrome (may be life-threatening when used with certain other medicines) Higher risk of bleeding Low sodium levels in the blood Heart rhythm changes

Do not stop using this medicine suddenly. Your doctor will need to slowly decrease your dose before you stop it completely.

This medicine may make you dizzy or drowsy. Do not drive or do anything else that could be dangerous until you know how this medicine affects you.

Keep all medicine out of the reach of children. Never share your medicine with anyone.

Possible side effects

Summary More details

Call your doctor right away if you notice any of these side effects:

Allergic reaction: Itching or hives, swelling in your face or hands, swelling or tingling in your mouth or throat, chest tightness, trouble breathing

Anxiety, restlessness, fever, sweating, muscle spasms, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, seeing or hearing things that are not there

Confusion, weakness, and muscle twitching

Eye pain, trouble seeing, blurry vision

Fast, pounding, or uneven heartbeat, dizziness

Feeling more excited or energetic than usual, trouble sleeping

Seizures

Skin rash, blisters, peeling, or redness

Trouble breathing

Unusual behavior, thoughts of hurting yourself or others

Unusual bleeding or bruising

If you notice these less serious side effects, talk with your doctor:

Mild trouble sleeping, shaking

Nausea, changes in appetite, weight gain or loss

Sleepiness or unusual drowsiness

Sexual problems

Unusual dreams

If you notice other side effects that you think are caused by this medicine, tell your doctor.

Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

More side effects of this drug

Brand names include

FLUoxetine HCl, Gaboxetine, Phl-Fluoxetine, Prozac, Prozac Weekly, Rapiflux, Sarafem, Selfemra, Sentraflox AM-10, Sentroxatine

There may be other brand names for this medicine.