Many people around us are suffering heavily because of depression. We too may have experience depression in our day to day lives. Depression is caused because of many factors and one of them is the imbalance in neurotransmitters. You may be aware that, neurotransmitters communicate messages from one nerve to another. And sometimes they attach themselves back to the surface of the nerve that has produced them, and have to be released once more [reuptake]. Scientifically, it is believed that this imbalance amongst neurotransmitters causes depression. Generic Prozac i.e. Fluoxetine helps in reducing this reuptake.

Prozac Generic Fluoxetine is an antidepressant medication in a group of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors i.e. SSRIs is used for treating depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder OCD major depressive disorder and panic disorder in adults and children. The chemicals of the brain that get affected because of an imbalance creates dreadful symptoms such as, panic, anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and can lead to suicidal ideation or suicide in severely depressed individuals. Generic Prozac Fluoxetine restores the balance of these chemicals in the brain treating such conditions as major depressive disorder and panic disorder.

Your health care provider may decide to prescribe it for such conditions as premenstrual Dysphoric disorder and bulimia nervosa. Fluoxetine is also used to treat bulimia nervosa, an eating disorder and premenstrual Dysphoric disorder PMDD.

It may also be used for other conditions as determined by your doctor. There are also some other off-label uses for this antidepressant – or doctor will decide whether this medicine is something you are going to benefit from based on the evaluation of your health condition and your personal needs.

It’s very essential to take Prozac Fluoxetine right as prescribed by your doctor even if his directions are slightly different from those provided on the label. It can be taken once or twice a day. The extended release capsule must be taken whole – Make sure you do not crush it and swallow the pill whole and with a glass of water to make sure it reaches your stomach and only then starts dissolving.
Breaking the pill would cause too much of the drug to be released at one time. If you have been prescribed the liquid form use a special measuring device to avoid an overdose or taking too little. The dosage may differ from adults to children.

Follow your doctor’s instructions for the dosage purpose. The dosage varies according to the disorder, such as it may be Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Panic Disorder, Depression, Bulimia, or Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder and is also based on individual response. To treat premenstrual Dysphoric disorder the usual dose of Prozac is once daily while you are having your period or 14 days before you expect your period to start.

To observe the benefits from the treatment with Fluoxetine can take approximately 4-5 weeks. However, excretion of the medicine may also take several weeks. Hence, consult your Health care provider for more information about the generic Prozac.

Consult your doctor immediately if you experience any of the below serious side effects from using Prozac. They may be, severe blistering, peeling and red skin, rashes, very stiff rigid muscles, high fever, increase in suicidal ideation, severe anxiety or mania, sweating, fast or uneven heartbeats, tremors, overactive reflexes, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, unusual bleeding as exhibited in dark vomit or black stools, feeling unsteady loss of coordination or headache trouble, concentrating memory problems, weakness, shallow breathing or breathing that stops, changes in vision, changes in libido, weight loss, fast or irregular heartbeat, chest pain, seizures, difficulty in breathing, confusion, hallucinations, fainting, seizure etc.

Consult your doctor immediately and stop taking the medicine, if any of the above symptoms become worse or any other unusual symptoms occurs.

Less serious Prozac side effects may include: Cold symptoms such as stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat, drowsiness, dizziness, feeling nervous, Mild nausea, upset stomach, constipation, Increased appetite, weight changes, sleep problems, insomnia, decreased sex drive, impotence or difficulty having an orgasm or dry mouth.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects.

Avoid taking the Prozac medication, if you are allergic to it or to its content.
Do not take with MAO inhibitors or for at least two weeks after their discontinuation. MAO inhibitors medications should not be taken for at least five weeks after discontinuing Fluoxetine Prozac. The same is true for Haldol.

Most medications affecting the brain have the potential to slow reflexes or impair judgment and caution is advised. This medication has not been studied extensively in the US and re-evaluation periodically by your physician is advised.

This medication should not be taken with: Aspirin, Isocarboxazid, Phenelzine, St. John’s Wort, Tranylcypromine, Tramadol, Selegiline, Procarbazine, Linezolid, Meperidine, Coumadin, Tryptophan, or other NSAIDs. If these medicines are taken with Prozac, it can produce life-threatening results.

Check with you pharmacist when taking with other medications and caution is advised, when taking this medication with the heart drug Lanoxin and the anticoagulant Coumadin.

In case of overdose call your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222.
If the suffering patient has collapsed or is not breathing call local emergency services at 911. Canadian residents should call their local poison control center directly.

Symptoms of overdose could include: Severe mood changes, persistent vomiting, fast/abnormal heartbeats, nausea, seizures, loss of consciousness, severe drowsiness.

Prozac Generic Fluoxetine relaxes the nerves of the brain which induces a feeling of well-being in the patient.

Do not double your doses in any case, if you miss a dose of this medicine, take it as soon as possible. And, if it is almost the time of your next dose, skip the missed dose and continue to your regular dose.

Prozac Fluoxetine is utilized in the treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder [amongst adults and pediatric patients] and severe depression.

It may also used to cure Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, Bulimia [eating disorder], and Panic Disorder.

Prozac can be used for other uses also, so please ask your pharmacist or doctor for more information.

Prozac capsules should be stored at room temperature below 68 - 77 degrees F 20 - 25 degrees C away from light. Capsules should be stored at or below room temperature between 59-77 degrees F 15-25 degrees C. In any case, do not store the medicine in the bathroom. Check Expiry date without fail. Keep all medicines away from women, newborns, children and pets. Also, keep it away from heat and direct light. Moisture or Heat may cause the medicine to break down.

Following precautions must be taken during consuming generic Prozac:

1. Acknowledge your doctor if you are suffering from some kind of severe diseases. It may be – Liver Disease/ Liver Cirrhosis, seizures, epilepsy, diabetes, heart attacks, allergies or suicide attempts, drug abuse, kidney disease or any other problem, so that the doctor can decide on the correct course of treatment and prescribe the right dose for you.

2. Alcohol and alcoholic beverages should be avoided during the course of treatment with any anti-depressant, including Fluoxetine.

3. Let the doctor also know if you are in-taking any prescribed or non prescribed medicines, health supplements or any OTC medications etc. for any other conditions. Always, keep all the appointments with your psychiatrist and the lab as the doctor may have to monitor the effect of the medicine on you regularly through lab tests, as well as therapy.

4. Do not take this Prozac, if you have any kind of allergies to it like Omeprаzоle and tell your doctor or pharmacist about the allergy and get treated.

5. Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or breast feeding before using this drug. Inform your doctor immediately even, if you are planning to conceive, or become pregnant during the course.

6. If you are in-taking an HIV protease inhibitor like Atаzаnаvir, avoid taking the Prozac medicine with it and ask doctor for more information about it.

7. If you are nursing to your child, do not breast feed your baby as Fluoxetine is released in breast milk.

7. Do not share the drug with others unless they are prescribed by the doctor themselves.

8. Use of generic Prozac i.e. Fluoxetine in the third trimester of pregnancy should be stopped as it can adversely affect the health of the fetus.

9. Should you require any surgery, inform the treating doctor that you are taking this medicine.

10. Prozac Fluoxetine dosage should be gradually reduced, when therapy has to be discontinued. Sudden withdrawal can cause complications resulting in insomnia, anxiety, nervousness and nausea.

11. The FDA requires all anti-depressants, including Fluoxetine, to carry a black box warning stating that the consumption of anti-depressants can increase the risk of suicide in the age group of 18-24.

12. Please, take the medicine in the prescribed amount and do not overdose it or use it for the longer period of time.

13. This medicine may cause drowsiness, and so it is advisable not to operate heavy machinery, drive or indulge yourself in any other hazardous activity that requires you to be fully alert, until you are sure that how this medicine affects you.