HOW LONG DOES PROZAC LAST IN THE BODY?
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One way of answering this question is to look at the half-life. The pharmacologic term “half-life” is used to describe the time it takes for the drug in the blood to decrease by half of its original administered amount The half-life of Prozac is approximately one to three days, while the half-life of its breakdown metabolic product (metabolite), norfluoxetine, ranges from seven to fifteen days, meaning that Prozac and its metabolite leave the system gradually. In comparison with other antidepressants, including the SSRIs Paxil and Zoloft, the half-life of Prozac is extended. The half-life of Zoloft is about twenty-six hours and mat of Paxil about twenty-one hours.
The extended half-life of Prozac may have several advantages. First of all, upon discontinuation it is less likely to precipitate withdrawal symptoms man an antidepressant with a short half-life. Within only twelve hours after suddenly discontinuing a large dose of a tricyclic antidepressant or an MAOI medication, a patient may experience nausea, dizziness, vomiting, sleep disturbance, symptoms of rapid withdrawal, and even rebound hypomania or mania in bipolar depressions not simultaneously treated with lithium. Prozac’s extended half-life prevents these acute withdrawal symptoms.
The stable blood levels associated with an extended half-life may help prevent relapse when the dose is lowered or when the patient simply forgets to take the medication for a day or two.
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Tags: Anti Depressants
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