Advice to patients (12) Fluoxetine capsules
- Fluoxetine is used to treat depression, some eating disorders and occasionally other problems.
- This medicine takes some time to work fully. You may need to keep taking it for two to four weeks before you feel better.
- Fluoxetine is not an addictive or habit forming medicine, but you should not stop taking it without telling your doctor first.
- Fluoxetine does not usually cause drowsiness, but it might make some skilled tasks like driving difficult. If you have any problems, you should avoid driving and using machinery.
- Like all medicines this one can have some unwanted effects. Side effects, such as nausea, diarrhoea and headache, may go away after the first few weeks taking fluoxetine. If these are troublesome or persistent you should tell your doctor. If you get a skin rash stop taking the medicine and tell your doctor straight away.
- Problems occasionally occur with fluoxetine if you take or have recently taken some other medicines, especially other antidepressants. Are you taking or have you recently taken any other medicines?
This series of "advice tips" on commonly used drugs is written by
pharmacists from the Sussex Pharmacy Academic Practice Unit. It is intended
as a reminder of points to be made by pharmacists as they hand out dispensed
medicines. The list is not intended to be comprehensive but to cover some important
points.
By Carina and Duncan Livingstone
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