Posted by Cam W. on May 11, 2001, at 16:59:01
In reply to Fluoxetine Zopiclone- perhaps Cam W. please?, posted by Lisa Simpson on May 11, 2001, at 14:14:11
Lisa - The brand names of the drugs you are taking are Prozac™ (fluoxetine) and Imovane™ (zopiclone), but both are available in a number of different generic brands in Canada (zopiclone is not available in the U.S.).
Prozac (fluoxetine) is a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) which was orginally marketed as an antidepressant in 1990 in the U.S. and shortly thereafter in Canada. Today it is used in a number of conditions (PTSD, OCD, panic disorder, PMDD, etc.) that seem to have been due to an underlying serotonergic dysfunction in the brain.
It has the longest half-life of any of the SSRIs, so there is little risk of the withdrawl syndrome (as seen with short acting SSRIs like Effexor™ [venlafaxine] and Paxil [paroxetine]). Fluoxetine, like all SSRIs, has start-up side effects which last 2 to 3 weeks (nausea, headache, insomnia, blah feeling, anxiety, etc.). These initial side effects do go away in most cases. Side effects that last are sexual dysfunction (eg. anorgasmia, decreased libido) and weight gain, but Prozac has a lower propensity to cause these side effects than other SSRIs.
It takes fluoxetine 4 to 8 weeks to show an effect in depression and about 6 to 12 weeks to attain remission, in most people. Most people need to stay on Prozac for at least a year, but some people need to take it forever to prevent another relapse from happening. In other disorders, the effects of fluoxetine are noticed later (eg. panic disorder - 8 to 16 weeks; OCD - 26 weeks). Sometimes it is hard to stay on a medication that is seemingly not working, only to have it work in 6 months (I have seen this several times with different drugs).
All in all, if fluoxetine works for you, great. It is worth a shot and it is difficult if it is the correct med for you. You have to give it at least 6 to 8 weeks before giving up on it.
As for Imovane (zopiclone). It is a weird sleeping pill. It really doesn't interact with any other drugs, except to potentiate the hypnotic effects of other CNS depressants. It does work great, but taking more than one tablet doesn't seem to make you more tired, it just makes you tired for a longer duration. It is not a benzodiazepine, so it is supposed to have a lower addiction potential than Mogadon™ (nitrazepam) or Restoril™ (temazepam). This being said, there are a lot of forgeries for zopiclone being written and I know of people who abused it.
I don't think that you can get physically "hooked" on zopiclone, but you probably can get psychologically to them (eg. "need" them to get to sleep). Many times, once the fluoxetine kicks in, your sleep patterns normalize and you may not need to take the zopiclone to help you sleep (or you will only need to take it occasionally).
I hope that this is of some help. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask. - Cam
poster:Cam W.
thread:62497
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010507/msgs/62512.html