Should on stop Fluoxetine

[poortony]

My uncle has been given fluoxetine 20mg by his doctor, and now is suffering from panic attacks, (its a very busy practice) it is hard to get speaking to a doctor to ask if he should stop them.
Thanking you

[wolf63]

How long has he been on them? Some of the side effects of antidepressants take a while to settle down.

[poortony]

Just from last Thursday, but he is on a lot a tablets, has not been well since
his wife died in February.

[Baldric]

Is that Prozac, antidepressant?

[Sqad]

Not my scene, but Prozac and panic attacks or increase in panic attacks often go hand in hand.

If the panic attacks are worse than the original symptoms, then i would certainly stop them, if not then continue the Prozac.

Try and contact your doctor.

[poortony]

Baldric I think they stopped giving out Prozac a few years back and replaced it with Fluoxetine, but he has/had never been on prozac.

[Sqad]

Prozac....Fluoxetine....same thing.

[Mamyalynne]

As Sqad says they are one and the same , the increase in anxiety and panic can be short lived at the start but still worth contacting the GP if this is making his life worse and not better.

[poortony]

Thank you all for your help, I appreciate that. Am still trying to get in
touch with one of the doctors in the practice.

[Mamyalynne]

Good luck Tony, let us know please.

[divegirl]

You really do need to give Fluoxetine time to work, the first few days can be awful. Keep on at the receptionists though, he needs to see his doctor for reassurance.

Lisa x

[chrissa1]

Does his doctor do phone consultations? I booked one last week to change a prescription I had been prescribed.

[andy-hughes]

Ani anti-depressant takes around three weeks to balance out in the pateint's system, and side-effects of varying degrees can crop up, and then subside.

It may be that this medication is not suitable for your uncle - it wasn;t for me - and not all AD's suit all people. i would certainly give it a chance to work, and sudden cessation will do more harm than good.

You should never alter medication without medical advice and agreement - so see your GP a.s.a.p. or at least have a conversation by phone.

[McMouse]

I was prescribed Prozac to prevent panic attacks and it did the trick.

[islasmum]

I was on fluroxetine several years back and they took a good fortnight to start working, but they were good once they started to work, so it might be worthwhile continuing with them if he can.