Prozac and the Green Fairy

13^th December 2014

Dear Cassi,

       

I think most of us want to find a magic doorway that will transport us away from all our troubles. This has been a running theme in my family as the old man was fond of snake oil buying thousands of dollars of pills that eventually rotted in his cabinets.

       

Me, I’m no better. I read some were on the internet that alcohol hits you harder if you take Prozac. This is because the Prozac occupies your liver until it gets eaten up and so then the alcohol fills your liver like a flood. I reasoned that if it worked that way it might work the other way. This idea led me to have a shot of Absinthe ten minutes before taking my Prozac.

       

Much to the chagrin of my doctor I now take this medication on weekends as it makes me too drowsy for the night shift. I think my body was catching up on months of lost sleep but, well, the company has little love for sick men.

In any case, Absinthe is called the ‘Green Fairy’ because it’s one of the strongest alcohols you can get. It has a reputation of hallucinations and tastes oddly of bitter black liquorish.  

The Green Fairy didn’t heal my wounds. I didn’t feel any different after this experiment and I’m unlikely to try it again.

Do what you can to be well, little sister,

Richard Leland Neal

Fluoxetine, Prozac, Grapefruit, and 5-HTP

Okay, let me clarify that this is what a pharmacist wrote me but that I do not stand behind these statements in anyway. If you are taking medication it is your responsibility to talk to your doctor about it and you should not use this to treat or diagnose any condition.

Some tome in May of 2012

Dear Mr. NEAL,

Thank you for using (Our) on-line pharmacist question service.

Based on my most up-to-date references, there is no significant drug interaction listed between Prozac (brand name for fluoxetine) and grapefruit so you should be able to have grapefruit while taking Prozac.

As for 5-HTP, taking 5-HTP with Prozac may potentially increase serotonin levels and cause a condition called serotonin syndrome as well as a brain condition called as Call-Fleming syndrome. Serotonin syndrome is an uncomfortable and potentially serious reaction whose symptoms include fever, uncontrolled muscle movements, digestive symptoms, and others.

Therefore, this combination is not recommended.

In general, I don't recommend taking dietary supplements in the hopes of getting medical benefits from them, without first checking with your own clinician.

Many people are not aware that, in the U.S., products sold as dietary supplements (including herbs, glucosamine, chondroitin, SAM-e, enzymes, and even some hormones) are not standardized or regulated to the same extent, or in the same ways, that prescription medications, non-prescription (over-the-counter or 'OTC') medications, or even foods are.

Unless there is a USP (United States Pharmacopeia) standard (which exists for many vitamin and mineral products, but not for herbs, etc.), there is no assurance of :
identity (what the label says is in the bottle);
purity (lack of unwanted or even harmful contaminants);
or potency (the dose the label says is in the bottle);
and the manufacturer does not have to perform valid studies of safety or effectiveness.

Further, there is very little information on possible interactions among dietary supplements, or between dietary supplements and prescription or non-prescription medications.

Even if an up-to-date reference doesn't warn about interactions between a specific dietary supplement and another medication, this doesn't mean that an interaction isn't possible. It may be that interactions have occurred, but have not yet been recognized, reported, published, and integrated into the medical references.

If you haven't already, please discuss your use or interest in the use of dietary supplements with your regular clinician. Good medical care is based in large part on open communication!

Please read over any written information on your medications that you may have received from your doctor, nurse practitioner, or pharmacist if you haven't already done so. I also recommend reading the information on your medications in the drug encyclopedia on our Web site. This will help you familiarize yourself with the side effects, warnings, and other precautions relevant to your medications, and will help make your treatment as safe and effective as possible.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any additional questions or concerns about your medications, please feel free to contact your clinician or pharmacist.

Thanks again for your question. Sincerely,
(A pharmacist ) 

Prozac vs. Marijuana - Bill Maher

Wish I was Still this Fat

So, when I was twenty pounds lighter I wrote this as a blog and that now all but forgotten social network MySpace. I always looked at journaling as a way of documenting and evaluating my life and it never worked out that way.

Well, I found that the people in my life didn’t want me to be happy and healthy and that was the reason for my problems. I have less people in my life now but I’m still having trouble turning things around.

15^th December 2005

Okay,

          I’m no good at this journal stuff, and blogs are still a new thing for me, but I milled it over with some of you hard-core Myspacers out there and figured this was a good idea.

          To start things off I have a problem, at 285 pounds I could make a reasonable stand in for Fat Bastard, every time I try to sprint I bust a shin splint, and finding belts has gotten to be a real embarrassing exercise. So my intention with this blog is to record my feeble workout program in order to embarrass myself into good health.

          Let me start with what I know. What is the problem? I’m over weight. What causes this problem? I have no time for exercise, a bad diet, and (the biggest problem) a psychological condition that makes me feel hungry when I’m not. I know, I know now a day’s every one claims to have something wrong with their head that makes them what they are. Everyone has ADD or PTSD or some other problem. As for myself I’m not going to bother putting a name on whatever it is I have. Let’s just call it stress and say that I may or may not be taking Prozac for it. However, I have a limited supply of Prozac and once I’ve used it up I will have no more.

          Why? The point of medication is to treat illness that’s how drug companies make their money. I don’t feel I need a treatment I need a cure. Every day I will be recording my workouts, consumption of food and supplements, and sleep. I will also be blogging some of the things I do to relieve stress in my environment.