Depression Learning

baclofen and prozac

Question:

I am on both medications, still adjusting the baclofen dosage for maximum results. My wife (and caregiver) noticed that I was becoming more depressed, looked in "Complete guide to prescriptions & non-prescription drugs" and found the following under Baclofen: "possible interaction with other drugs": Fluoxetine (Prozac) "May increase depressant effects of either drug". I was definitely feeling more depressed, reduced the Baclofen and came out of the depression! Has anyone else experienced this? — Take care James

Response:

Hi James. I also was taking Baclofen and Prozac at the same time.  The Baclofen was making me short of breath, I would sigh so many times during the day and if I was able to walk up the steps it really took the wind right out of me.  When I would fall asleep it made me stop breathing, I also think it depressed me.  Then the one neurologist put me on Valium for muscle spasms, and a side effect for it is depression. I took it for a short time but it was depressing me also. Depression is something that goes along with M.S. Because of the chemical imbalance in the brain, it can cause depression, and this is not your fault or mine, but the disease itself. I still take Prozac during the day, and I take another anti-depressant at bedtime because I have chronic pain.  It helps to control nerve pain and helps me sleep. The only bad thing is dry mouth and weight gain.  You might want to try a different muscle relaxant like Robaxin. The pain specialist ordered it for me.  Seems to help but no feeling of being drugged like Baclofen. Take care. Barb

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Barb Huber wrote: > Hi James. I also was taking Baclofen and Prozac at the same time.  The > Baclofen was making me short of breath, I would sigh so many times > during the day and if I was able to walk up the steps it really took > the wind right out of me.  When I would fall asleep it made me stop > breathing, I also think it depressed me.  Then the one neurologist put > me on Valium for muscle spasms, and a side effect for it is > depression. I took it for a short time but it was depressing me also. > Depression is something that goes along with M.S. Because of the > chemical imbalance in the brain, it can cause depression, and this is > not your fault or mine, but the disease itself. I still take Prozac > during the day, and I take another anti-depressant at bedtime because > I have chronic pain.  It helps to control nerve pain and helps me > sleep. The only bad thing is dry mouth and weight gain.  You might > want to try a different muscle relaxant like Robaxin. The pain > specialist ordered it for me.  Seems to help but no feeling of being > drugged like Baclofen. Take care. Barb

Hi Barb, I think I have the ‘balance’ of Prozac and Baclofen under control now. I was increasing the Baclofen, looking for the most effective dosage (then the depression hit). When I reduced the Baclofen from 60 mg/day (3 x 20 mg) to 40 mg/day (4 x 10 mg) the depression receded. The effect was quite dramatic! What is important is that this possible side effect was not mentioned when my dr gave me the Rx for Baclofen. Just something more to understand about the drugs we need to give our lives the semblance of normalcy… — Take care James

Response:

In article <3584AD3B.668DE…@home.com>, James Bridges <jbridg…@home.com> writes >Hi Barb, >I think I have the ‘balance’ of Prozac and Baclofen under control now. I was >increasing the Baclofen, looking for the most effective dosage (then the >depression hit). When I reduced the Baclofen from 60 mg/day (3 x 20 mg) to 40 >mg/day (4 x 10 mg) the depression receded. The effect was quite dramatic! >What is important is that this possible side effect was not mentioned when my >dr gave me the Rx for Baclofen. Just something more to understand about the >drugs we need to give our lives the semblance of normalcy…

Hello James, I’m a different ‘Barb’ to the one in the previous letter. I have absolutely NO side-effects from my Baclofen even when I take 150 mgs in 24 hours (which I have to occasionally) I have NO depression caused by them so I don’t need Prozac or any other medication. (I sometimes feel ‘down’ but only when I have something to feel down about, and then its only short-term). My main reason for posting this is: Don’t ask the doc about side-effects, they rarely know enough about the drugs except what to prescribe, how much, and when to take. A qualified Pharmacist will give you far more information. And its a good idea to inform the pharmacist of all other medications you take (prescribed and OTC) so that he can check for contra-indications and potential cross effects of combinations. Someone I know was prescribed an anti- inflammatory drug by doctor for arthritis. Quite correctly. But the doc didn’t know she was buying OTC Ibuprofen. The pharmacist told her to go straight off the Ibuprofen and see the doc again because they MUST NOT be taken with the drug she was prescribed. The doc agreed and prescribed her a different pain-killer to take while taking the anti-inflamatory. If she hadn’t mentioned it to the pharmacist she could have done herself some harm. — Barbara B

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Barbara B wrote: > Hello James, > I’m a different ‘Barb’ to the one in the previous letter. I have > absolutely NO side-effects from my Baclofen even when I take 150 mgs in > 24 hours (which I have to occasionally) I have NO depression caused by > them so I don’t need Prozac or any other medication. (I sometimes feel > ‘down’ but only when I have something to feel down about, and then its > only short-term). > My main reason for posting this is: > Don’t ask the doc about side-effects, they rarely know enough about the > drugs except what to prescribe, how much, and when to take. A qualified > Pharmacist will give you far more information. And its a good idea to > inform the pharmacist of all other medications you take (prescribed and > OTC) so that he can check for contra-indications and potential cross > effects of combinations. Someone I know was prescribed an anti- > inflammatory drug by doctor for arthritis. Quite correctly. But the doc > didn’t know she was buying OTC Ibuprofen. The pharmacist told her to go > straight off the Ibuprofen and see the doc again because they MUST NOT > be taken with the drug she was prescribed. The doc agreed and prescribed > her a different pain-killer to take while taking the anti-inflamatory. > If she hadn’t mentioned it to the pharmacist she could have done herself > some harm. > — > Barbara B

Hi Barb, Thanks for the feedback! The only reason I first posted this was to make others in the ng aware of the possible conflict between the two drugs. If you don’t use Prozac, you probably won’t hit the problem in the conflict… Others in the ng that use both drugs might. From my experience it appears to depend on the specific dosage taken (i.e., I now take 3 x 10 mg of Baclofen) and can handle that (10 mg) with 20 mg/day of Prozac.. — Take care James

Response:

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