High Levels of Fluoxetine and What it Does To The Body
Fluoxetine, the generic name for Prozac, is one of the most commonly prescribed antidepressant medications in the country today. It is regarded as an effective medication used to manage depression, one of the most common mental disorders in the United States. To understand how Fluoxetine affects the body, it is important to know more about the disease it is meant to cure.
Depression is so common that an estimate 5.3% of adults totaling to about 17.5 million Americans aged 18 and above experience this every year. It is a psychiatric disorder characterized by a prevailing low mood, a decreased ability to feel enjoyment or pleasure, which will eventually lead to a lack of interest in partaking in activities that used to be of interest.
As what was mentioned earlier, antidepressant medications like Fluoxetine are used to manage depression. Fluoxetine belongs to the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) type of anti-depressant. When the brain releases serotonin, a type of neurotransmitter, a persons mood lightens. When serotonin is reabsorbed, the lightened mood goes away. Fluoxetine works by delaying the reuptake of serotonin to prolong the effect of the lightened mood.
Fluoxetine is a very popular antidepressant medication. It is the third most prescribed antidepressant with more than 23.1 million prescription filled every year. Sadly though, it is also because of its popularity that it has become one of the most commonly abused medications in the United States.
Fluoxetine abuse leads to high levels of Fluoxetine in the system. Extra pyramidal symptom (EPS) is a set of neurological side effects connected to antipsychotic medications. High levels of Fluoxetine and EPS have often been linked together. Extra pyramidal symptoms can appear somewhere from within the first few days of or weeks of using Fluoxetine or after long term use of the anti-depressant medication.
A study discovered that different EPS side effects may manifest when a person has a high level of Fluoxetine in his system. Here are the different EPS side effects:
Body restlessness (akathisia). It is a condition associated with the use of certain medications and characterized by an internal sense of motor restlessness often described as an inability to resist the urge to move.
Involuntary movements (tardive dyskinesia). These are involuntary movements most often affecting the mouth, lips and tongue. For example, the patient may roll his tongue, lick his lips, and may have facial tics. Sometimes, also the trunk or other parts of the body are also affected.
Changing in breathing and heart rate (neuroleptic malignant syndrome). This syndrome includes diffuse muscle rigidity, tremor, high fever, labile blood pressure, cognitive dysfunction, and autonomic disturbances.
Tremors and rigidity (Parkinsonism). These are symptoms resembling those affecting people with Parkinssons disease. zolpidem. Aside from tremors and rigidity, the patient may also experience extreme slowness of movement. These symptoms usually appear in the first few days and weeks of medication administration.
Other EPS side effects. These minor side effects include abnormal gait, confusion, unresponsiveness, nervousness, pulmonary dysfunction, vertigo, elevated blood pressure, impotence, movement disorder, and hypomania.
Keep in mind that Fluoxetine and other anti-depressant medications are potentially habit forming when abused. This is why it is important to use such medications only when it is prescribed by a licensed physician and only when clearly needed.
