Here are some examples of doses. The normal adult dose for depression starts with 20 milligrams mg a day, taken by mouth, in the morning. It can be increased if symptoms do not improve after a few weeks.
The maintenance dose is from 20 to 60 mg a day, and the maximum dose is 80 mg a day. An adult who uses delayed release oral capsule to treat depression will take a 90 mg capsule once a week. Patients who suddenly reduce their dose or stop taking Prozac may experience a number of unwanted effects. Suddenly stopping an antidepressant that has been used for 6 weeks or more can lead to withdrawal syndrome.
Reducing intake can sometimes have this effect. Some patients do not experience withdrawal symptoms, while others will experience symptoms if they stop over several weeks. Some patients may need to stop suddenly, for example, due to adverse effects or pregnancy. It is important for the patient and their doctor to discuss how to stop using fluoxetine. Prozac is selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor SSRI. It works by blocking the absorption of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain.
Regulating the amount of serotonin helps brain cells transmit messages to each other. This results in a better and more stable mood. The hippocampus plays a role in forming memories. The U. Food and Drug Administration FDA currently approves Prozac for acute and maintenance treatment of major depressive disorder MDD , obsessive compulsive disorder OCD , bulimia nervosa, and panic disorder, with or without agoraphobia.
Prozac is normally used alone. However, fluoxetine combined with olanzapine OFC can also be used to treat depressive episodes in people with bipolar disorder. Fluoxetine combined with olanzapine is known as Symbyax. This combination can also help people with treatment-resistant depression. Prozac can be used to treat depression in adults. It can also be used for children and adolescents from the age of 10 to 19 years with severe, persistent depression.
A review comparing the effectiveness of Prozac with other antidepressants found that it appears to be similarly effective, and possibly better tolerated. However, the authors concluded that more research is needed, as a number of factors made an exact comparison difficult.
Not everybody should be taking medication, she says. Still, she knows people will continue to take antidepressants. Just as Viagra has changed lives - and provided fodder for late-night comedy skits - Prozac has altered the national discourse about mental illness. Many experts believe antidepressants are useful. Manchester University's Ian Anderson, a professor of psychiatry, says that people should not take a dogmatic approach to the drugs.
That doesn't seem fair. Dunant says antidepressants once got her through a bad breakup. She says she wishes the drugs were around when her father, a manager in the airline industry, suffered a breakdown in the s. He had to undergo electroshock therapy. Many people feel better when they are on the drugs.
But the precise mechanism is still not apparent. Antidepressants have an effect on serotonin levels in the brain, which seem to be related to emotional well-being. Yet the relationship between serotonin and happiness remains unclear. Researchers do not have an animal model to study the effects of the drugs.
Mood Disorders Centre, Exeter. Electroshock therapy was used to treat severe depression, although the use of this therapy was widely criticized. SSRIs replaced a class of drugs called benzodiazepines.
Each new class of drugs offered patients greater benefits and fewer side effects, with SSRIs now taking the lead in treatment for panic disorder , generalized anxiety disorder , and PTSD post-traumatic stress disorder. In recent years, however, headlines have widely touted the risk of suicide attributed to antidepressants.
A second, less publicized risk is that of triggering mania in people who have bipolar disorder , not major depressive disorder. Even as patients and physicians continue to rely on antidepressants for treating depression and anxiety, research is showing other effective methods for treatment. In addition to a prescription for fluoxetine or another antidepressant , people with a mood disorder should consider cognitive behavioral therapy, psychotherapy, and related therapeutic tools such as mindfulness and dialectical behavioral therapies, added Townsend.
With rates of depression, anxiety, and even stress consistent, you can rest assured that researchers are continuing to look for a safer and more effective depression treatment to one day make this a post-Prozac Nation.
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