Child & adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Aly answers 5 QUESTIONS commonly asked about PROZAC (fluoxetine). *** Link to Dr. Aly’s FREE “Antidepressants: A Beginner’s Guide” ➡️
Welcome back street talkers today i’m going to answer five common questions that parents have about prozac so that you can feel more well informed when deciding whether or not to start your child on this medication prozac is one of the most commonly prescribed medications for children with mental health struggles however parents often feel uncertain when deciding
Whether or not they want to start their child on this medication many don’t know where to turn to for reliable information and this hesitation prevents children from receiving the care they need which often leads to worsening of symptoms one of the most common questions i receive from parents is what is prozac so prozac started to be prescribed in the united states
In the 1980s it’s used to treat a variety of conditions such as depression anxiety ocd premenstrual dysphoric disorder and bulimia nervosa it’s fda approved for the treatment of major depressive disorder in children ages 8 and older however it’s also commonly prescribed off label for other uses as well it’s important to recognize that medications often have
Two names a brand name and a generic name for this medication fluoxetine is the generic name and prozac is the brand name the generic medication has the same chemical formula as a brand medication but there might be some minor differences in the strength question number two that i’m frequently asked is how does prozac work prozac is considered to be a selective
Serotonin reuptake inhibitor or ssri for short it is thought that in some mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety certain areas of the brain have low levels of a neurotransmitter called serotonin which is often referred to as the happy chemical in the brain because of its role in well-being and happiness this medication works by decreasing the
Amount of serotonin that is broken down in the nerves which then increases the amount of serotonin available within the brain question number three is how long does it take for prozac to start working a lot of people notice a positive benefit from the medication after being on it for just a couple weeks however prozac can take up to one to two months to reach
Its full effect because of this delay it’s often helpful to start therapy during this time because the benefits from therapy can be seen right away if your child is currently taking or has benefited from prozic please comment below so that others can learn more from your experience question number four is what happens if my child misses a dose prozac is one of
My favorite medications to prescribe in children in adolescence because it’s considered to have a long half-life the half-life of a medication is used to estimate how long it takes for a medication to be removed from the body the longer the half-life the longer it takes for the medication to leave your system this is useful in children and adolescents because
It’s hard to remember to take medication seven days a week i see adults who struggle with this so i don’t expect kids to get it right 100 of the time typically if you miss a dose there’s a low chance of side effects occurring if you continue to take the medication as prescribed the following day with that being said there is a risk of your child having some
Uncomfortable symptoms if you were to abruptly stop the medication completely but the odds of this are less when comparing prozac to other similar ssri medications generally speaking it is important to take medications as prescribed please don’t stop taking medications without talking to your doctor first they can help work with you to come up with a plan on how
To stop your medication so that unwanted symptoms don’t occur question number five about prozac is how long will my child need to be on this medication so the answer this question will vary from person to person there was a study that was sponsored by the national institute of mental health that looked at depressed children and adolescents it showed that even when
A kid was in remission meaning they were having no or minimal symptoms the same treatment should be continued for another six to nine months those who followed these guidelines had less risk of relapse or recurrence of symptoms when coming off the medication head on over to the next video to find more ways that you can help your child live their best life
Transcribed from video
PSYCHIATRIST Answers 5 ?'s About Prozac (Fluoxetine) | Dr. Aly By Straight Talk Psychiatry
