Posted by orbital on August 8, 2010, at 22:04:41
In reply to Fluoxetine, posted by ed_uk2010 on August 8, 2010, at 20:31:25
Ed, I'm kicking myself for not bookmarking the page I mentioned. That early study concluded that once weekly dosing was a feasible strategy, but Lilly clearly preferred marketing Prozac as a once-daily med. I'll keep on looking for it.
I know someone who uses this strategy very successfully:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10362436
In any case, and to state the obvious, fluoxetine is one weird drug. It can work wonders when used correctly, but reckless dosing can be dynamite for some people.
On another note, for whatever reason, I've never suffered from SSRI withdrawal, I've always been able to quit them cold turkey without a problem. Paxil, Luvox etc.. I've had enough, I think I'm going to give them all a miss for a while.
Really appreciate your answer, thanks :)
> >I recall reading an unpublished paper in which the authors couldn't determine the appropriate dose range of Prozac; they tested something like 2mg/day, and went so far as to recommend one weekly 10mg dose. This was in 1987 I think.
>
> The manufacturer's early clinical trials (of fluoxetine) used a variety of doses. One trial used 5mg per day and did demonstrate some efficacy. Most trials used 20mg. Higher doses were also tried but did not appear to be any more effective for depression than 20mg, although they were somewhat better for OCD and bulimia. The higher doses all tended to cause more side effects. I don't think any trial used less than 5mg per day.
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> >Right now, though, I'm tempted to stop taking SSRIs to see how I feel without them. At the moment, it feels like I've had a lobotomy.
>
> I don't blame you. I suppose what I'm saying is that 5mg of fluoxetine might be a useful 'stepping stone' because it should reduce the risk of SSRI withdrawal symptoms, whilst at the same time allowing you to evaluate the efficacy of low-dose fluoxetine against your depression. You could then make a definite decision RE whether or not you want to stop all SSRIs completely.
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poster:orbital
thread:957856
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100731/msgs/957976.html