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Incivek blocks prozac - severe anxiety is with me
Hello this is not a question more an attempt to help anyone else going though SEVERE Anxiety, if you can't sleep or stop talking or don't feel like eating.
I started the Prozac 4 to 6 weeks before Incivek so it would be in my system to help with depression and anxiety
I just called the Specialty Pharmacist at Aetna and she said my problem is that the Incivek has been blocking my Prozac and that is why I am driving all of you crazy with pleas for help
I apologize from the bottom of my heart. I hope you can understand me wanting to share what the pharmacy told me. I mean no offense, I am still on treatment week 14 of 24 I was UND at 4 8 10 12 weeks
I would like to thank all the people that have PM'd me with support and suggestions, at least now I know what to do. I am in a little bit of trouble but I will be ok and I will be SVR!
You all are right, you have to fight and you have to be proactive and you can not give up, even when people te4ll you, oh that is not a side effect of Incivek, it's not but it blocked my prozac per pharmacy. I am now having panic attacks
Thank you all so very much. My HGB is now 9.8 and the doc says I am stable, no rescue drugs. My next call may be to a blood specialist,
I wish you all the very best as always. The Incivek is still in my system so I now do not know how much Prozac to take or how much was blocked for 12 weeks.
Dee1956
I started the Prozac 4 to 6 weeks before Incivek so it would be in my system to help with depression and anxiety
I just called the Specialty Pharmacist at Aetna and she said my problem is that the Incivek has been blocking my Prozac and that is why I am driving all of you crazy with pleas for help
I apologize from the bottom of my heart. I hope you can understand me wanting to share what the pharmacy told me. I mean no offense, I am still on treatment week 14 of 24 I was UND at 4 8 10 12 weeks
I would like to thank all the people that have PM'd me with support and suggestions, at least now I know what to do. I am in a little bit of trouble but I will be ok and I will be SVR!
You all are right, you have to fight and you have to be proactive and you can not give up, even when people te4ll you, oh that is not a side effect of Incivek, it's not but it blocked my prozac per pharmacy. I am now having panic attacks
Thank you all so very much. My HGB is now 9.8 and the doc says I am stable, no rescue drugs. My next call may be to a blood specialist,
I wish you all the very best as always. The Incivek is still in my system so I now do not know how much Prozac to take or how much was blocked for 12 weeks.
Dee1956
before tx i started an ad...i looked them up...paxel was # 1..i couldn't handle it...zoloft was 2nd........prozac was not recommended...btw zoloft did seem to work for me....good luck....billy
Oh Dee you have had such a rough time of it...it's so not fair but it is a great post warning others not to take Prozac but try something else that wont be blocked. Waaaaaaaa I feel so bad for you!
Hi Dee.. sorry to hear you are still having such a tough time,and there is certainly no need to apologize to anyone.
I seems a bit odd your pharmacist mentions that Prozac would be ineffective (or blocked as she said) with Incivek.
There is nowhere on the Incivek drug labeling (in the drug interaction )section that states this and I checked another site that lists many drugs that are affected by Incivek and there is nothing about Prozac
http://www.drugs.com/drug-interactions/incivek-with-prozac-1115-648-3328-15346.html .
Interactions between your selected drugs
There were no interactions found in our database between Prozac and Incivek
Possibly a good idea to speak with your treating doctor about this before you would stop or alter your dosing of Prozac.
Not saying the pharmacist is incorrect,however we have seen here before where a pharmacist gave conflicting info.from that of the treating doctor.
Hope things improve for you soon...
Will
I seems a bit odd your pharmacist mentions that Prozac would be ineffective (or blocked as she said) with Incivek.
There is nowhere on the Incivek drug labeling (in the drug interaction )section that states this and I checked another site that lists many drugs that are affected by Incivek and there is nothing about Prozac
http://www.drugs.com/drug-interactions/incivek-with-prozac-1115-648-3328-15346.html .
Interactions between your selected drugs
There were no interactions found in our database between Prozac and Incivek
Possibly a good idea to speak with your treating doctor about this before you would stop or alter your dosing of Prozac.
Not saying the pharmacist is incorrect,however we have seen here before where a pharmacist gave conflicting info.from that of the treating doctor.
Hope things improve for you soon...
Will
So sorry about all the trouble you are having. I think they are still learning which drugs interact with Incivek. I keep hearing of people using Zoloft, but my hepatologist that he made me switch from Zoloft to Cymbalta before he allowed me to start triple Tx. He worried because Zoloft is closely related to other drugs that are known to interact, even though it is not currently listed as interacting. The Cymbalta does seem to do its job well enough, in case you want to ask about trying it. Good luck - I'm sending you my best wishes and lots of healing thoughts!
there was someone here that posted a link listing the ads best for tx...prozac was one not recommended..i wish i saved the link..thats why i started with paxel and when that didn't work they tried zoloft...otherwise i would have started with prozac because it wasn't suppose to make you as tired as some of the other ads....billy
Hi dee, your not driving anyone crazy, interferon is doing that for us. ;-) I am so sorry you still feel bad but good you know what the problem is and great you are off incivek. Make it through this, you are almost there. My prayers are with you.
I used zoloft earlier in treatment, worked well, had to increase dose to 100 mg per day. Sometimes docs start at a dose and increase it to a therapeutic dose. You may need an increase. Not sure how prozac is dosed but a good question. So you have Aetna Specialty too?? I would suggest to your docs office to get auth going because it can take time. If I were you I would want the procrit available and in the fridge. It takes time for procrit to work. They could riba reduce to stablize your HGB, that works pretty quick. So don't worry too much. I would express my concern to the doc's office that since your HGB is below 10 which qualifies you for procrit, to get it in the works. If unwilling then you could go to your primary with your labwork and they can get the auth. But it's tricky to have another doctor involved in your blood and dosing. I get a call every week from my hep doc with this weeks dosing of riba and peg and helper drugs. Just some thoughts. I often don't agree with my docs recommendation. It's frustrating.
Hint for Aetna: If doc calls in any new order for a helper drug be sure they call it in as a STAT order otherwise it takes a much longer time to get auth in place.
Hint for Aetna: If doc calls in any new order for a helper drug be sure they call it in as a STAT order otherwise it takes a much longer time to get auth in place.
I agree with willbb that it's best to check with your Rxing doc about this, A quick way to check the quality of your pharmacist's advice would be to ask where this info comes from and why is Prozac different from all the other SSRIs. I know it sounds horribly cynical, but if she can't answer these questions to your satisfaction, it may be that the 'problem' with Prozac, is the low profit margin of a generic compared to brand name SSRIs.
I hope you can find an answer and your problems can be resolved.
Take care.
I hope you can find an answer and your problems can be resolved.
Take care.
Hello, the reason you can not find it in Vertex Infor is because this is brand new information that must have been given to all Specialty Pharmacies as they are handling the Protocol
Even the nurse at Vertex did not know. I gave my list to Vertex, the pharmacy back in Sept and my doctor every visit. This is going to be like other sx that are not known about until later. I will be fine, I am not giving up. I have an emergency request in for procrit for 9.8 and lowering hgb
My other doc has increased does of prozac and xanax to try to stabiize
NYGIRL7 Thank you so much for your encouragement
All if I had not call the pharmacist today I would still be jumping through my skin, no appetite, no sleeping. I have heard it can increase or decrease meds you take by 70%, that was on proscribing information so I guess that was discovered in the trial. I am not saying don't take it, it works. I am saying to people who are in my shoes that now that we know we can fix it and go on to SVR
Even the nurse at Vertex did not know. I gave my list to Vertex, the pharmacy back in Sept and my doctor every visit. This is going to be like other sx that are not known about until later. I will be fine, I am not giving up. I have an emergency request in for procrit for 9.8 and lowering hgb
My other doc has increased does of prozac and xanax to try to stabiize
NYGIRL7 Thank you so much for your encouragement
All if I had not call the pharmacist today I would still be jumping through my skin, no appetite, no sleeping. I have heard it can increase or decrease meds you take by 70%, that was on proscribing information so I guess that was discovered in the trial. I am not saying don't take it, it works. I am saying to people who are in my shoes that now that we know we can fix it and go on to SVR
Hi Dee,
I'm sorry to hear that you're having trouble with anxiety. I also checked the drug interactions information on the Vertex handout for Incivek, and Prozac is not listed as being contraindictated. Some other antidepressants are listed as interacting with Incivek in various ways. Incivek is listed as decreasing the effects of many of the antidepressants. Before you stop taking or decreasing your Prozac, I would strongly suggest that you call the doctor on call in your hepatologist's office and ask what to do. Your specialty pharmacy may be incorrect, since it isn't listed as contraindicated in the Vertex info. Even if its effects are being decreased by Incivek, it wouldn't be a good idea to stop taking it or decrease it without a doctor monitoring it. He/she may decide to increase or add something to the Prozac, or to taper you off of it and onto something else. Can you call the doc on call tonight?
Advocate1955
I'm sorry to hear that you're having trouble with anxiety. I also checked the drug interactions information on the Vertex handout for Incivek, and Prozac is not listed as being contraindictated. Some other antidepressants are listed as interacting with Incivek in various ways. Incivek is listed as decreasing the effects of many of the antidepressants. Before you stop taking or decreasing your Prozac, I would strongly suggest that you call the doctor on call in your hepatologist's office and ask what to do. Your specialty pharmacy may be incorrect, since it isn't listed as contraindicated in the Vertex info. Even if its effects are being decreased by Incivek, it wouldn't be a good idea to stop taking it or decrease it without a doctor monitoring it. He/she may decide to increase or add something to the Prozac, or to taper you off of it and onto something else. Can you call the doc on call tonight?
Advocate1955
I do appreciate information however I am talking to a specialty pharmacist who deals with these drugs all over the US, huge company that deals with HCV. They saqid Prozac was fine in Sept, something happened.The Vertex nurse could not believe I was not on rescue drugs. Yesterday I asked the doctor office to recheck all my meds, no call back.
This could be something that was discovered later.
Thank you all so much. I am trying to help people who are feeling like I am and encouraging them to check with their specialty pharmacy which is the way most of these HCV drugs are going through a full fupport full training pharmacy.
Thank you again
This could be something that was discovered later.
Thank you all so much. I am trying to help people who are feeling like I am and encouraging them to check with their specialty pharmacy which is the way most of these HCV drugs are going through a full fupport full training pharmacy.
Thank you again
Hi I understand that it is not showing up as a problem on those drug interaction checkers. zI don't think Xanax is either yest someone one here had a problem with it.. They may not be up to date, there are always newsworthy discoveries or changes to drugs after being approved.. The Vertex nurse took my information and going to report what has happened
There have been many times I have seen people come here and try to get help and if it is not in some study they are not believed, then a few months later we will hear different, medicine is constantly changing.
Thank you all
There have been many times I have seen people come here and try to get help and if it is not in some study they are not believed, then a few months later we will hear different, medicine is constantly changing.
Thank you all
Hi Dee.
while it is certainly true that the parameters of the current drugs listed as contraindicated and that interact with these new meds may likely change,my only point was thinking it possibly better to take up any dose disruptions or cessation with your treating doctor ,as an adjunct to taking that direction solely from a pharmacist.
Just hope it all goes well for you Dee..hang tough..
Will
while it is certainly true that the parameters of the current drugs listed as contraindicated and that interact with these new meds may likely change,my only point was thinking it possibly better to take up any dose disruptions or cessation with your treating doctor ,as an adjunct to taking that direction solely from a pharmacist.
Just hope it all goes well for you Dee..hang tough..
Will
I'm so sorry you're having these problems.
You always seem so sweet and reluctant, while you try to share and help others, an admirable thing.
Hang in there, and do what you need to do to stay as upbeat as possible.
Its not easy at times but the great thing, is this will change.
Take a deep breath, let it out and let all the difficulties go out with it,
Big hugs,
OH
You always seem so sweet and reluctant, while you try to share and help others, an admirable thing.
Hang in there, and do what you need to do to stay as upbeat as possible.
Its not easy at times but the great thing, is this will change.
Take a deep breath, let it out and let all the difficulties go out with it,
Big hugs,
OH
Dee, did you read the link I sent you about Prozac? Anxiety can actually be a side effect from Prozac, this may not be the best AD for you.
I am so sorry sweetheart! We do a lot of chasing side effects on here, don't we?
much love to you,
~carolyn
I am so sorry sweetheart! We do a lot of chasing side effects on here, don't we?
much love to you,
~carolyn
Hi I have been on prozac or 20 years for anxiety, the only problem for me was I was not getting my correct does due to Incivek, I am very happy.
Yes, I know exactly what prozac can do, been on it 20 years just had my first panic attack on Sunday. Thank goodness I found someone who had the latest drug information normally given to pharmacies so they can check interactions. I thought it was the xanan that was bothering me. There are a lot of things going on right now and while I understand that everyone has an opinion there is always new information coming out, I just thank God I have you guys HRSEWSPR brought the Xanax to my attention and that is when I went over every drug with the Aetna Specialty Pharmacy and a Vertex Nurse.
My doctor just keeps telling me it was the Incivek and after a week I was not buying that. No matter what I am already feeling 10 times better since 1:30 this afternoon so I do not care if it is osmosis, I am happy to sleep more than an hour or two for 10 days
Thank you all so very much for your support
@all, thank you for good wishes
Dee
Yes, I know exactly what prozac can do, been on it 20 years just had my first panic attack on Sunday. Thank goodness I found someone who had the latest drug information normally given to pharmacies so they can check interactions. I thought it was the xanan that was bothering me. There are a lot of things going on right now and while I understand that everyone has an opinion there is always new information coming out, I just thank God I have you guys HRSEWSPR brought the Xanax to my attention and that is when I went over every drug with the Aetna Specialty Pharmacy and a Vertex Nurse.
My doctor just keeps telling me it was the Incivek and after a week I was not buying that. No matter what I am already feeling 10 times better since 1:30 this afternoon so I do not care if it is osmosis, I am happy to sleep more than an hour or two for 10 days
Thank you all so very much for your support
@all, thank you for good wishes
Dee
It has been 5 hours and I slept for over 3. I think a small improvement occured. I am so grateful to all of you for your support, honesty
Just think back in 2008 if you had a 2 log drop by week 12 you went on, I was UND between week 6 and 8. Now a 2 log dro is nothing. At the begining they just had patients take the interferon mono for weeks and weeks even though it was not working they had hope. When I did 43 of 48 week Roches tiral (remember that Trish?) they just knew I had beat it, I was UND from 6 -8 week to 6 weeks after stopping treatment. I know that the doc would be the best bu he is not there for me right now, he is inundated with phone calls. Then I remembered that these Specialty pharmacies that have nurses and pharmacists who go to school for 6 years and receive monthly updates on new interactions may be able to help me. Please don't think I am suggessting this is everyones problem. Maybe my doc only looked (or had someone look) to see if there was an interaction then every visit as I updated the list they were not checking for interactions with Incivek, I do not know. You can call it magic :) I just want everyone to know how much I appreciate every word you have written. To the people who are going throuh same thing hang tough Incivek stays in intestine for a while I am on day 10 still seeing orange (Sorry, blush) even this am. I am eating fruits, veggies, a littl fat to help the incivek. No one told me what to do after the Incivek was finished. All they say is it is the medication, many people are having same problems we are doing the best we can. So, I feel I too must do the best I can. I will not write any more as I can tell some people might be angry with me,
Have you taken this Incivek or just read about it? Did you read about inf or take it. I took a triple tx 2008 did not experience this. Please remember we are sick and trying to help each other, I may have to take a reak as I can not write without ettin winded. I don't have a laptop
Thanks again
Dee
Just think back in 2008 if you had a 2 log drop by week 12 you went on, I was UND between week 6 and 8. Now a 2 log dro is nothing. At the begining they just had patients take the interferon mono for weeks and weeks even though it was not working they had hope. When I did 43 of 48 week Roches tiral (remember that Trish?) they just knew I had beat it, I was UND from 6 -8 week to 6 weeks after stopping treatment. I know that the doc would be the best bu he is not there for me right now, he is inundated with phone calls. Then I remembered that these Specialty pharmacies that have nurses and pharmacists who go to school for 6 years and receive monthly updates on new interactions may be able to help me. Please don't think I am suggessting this is everyones problem. Maybe my doc only looked (or had someone look) to see if there was an interaction then every visit as I updated the list they were not checking for interactions with Incivek, I do not know. You can call it magic :) I just want everyone to know how much I appreciate every word you have written. To the people who are going throuh same thing hang tough Incivek stays in intestine for a while I am on day 10 still seeing orange (Sorry, blush) even this am. I am eating fruits, veggies, a littl fat to help the incivek. No one told me what to do after the Incivek was finished. All they say is it is the medication, many people are having same problems we are doing the best we can. So, I feel I too must do the best I can. I will not write any more as I can tell some people might be angry with me,
Have you taken this Incivek or just read about it? Did you read about inf or take it. I took a triple tx 2008 did not experience this. Please remember we are sick and trying to help each other, I may have to take a reak as I can not write without ettin winded. I don't have a laptop
Thanks again
Dee
Oh Dee, My heart is with you. I absolutely know what your are talking about. I have been on Lexa Pro for 10 years and knew in advance that INC might cause Potential loss of concomitant medication activity. So the doctor pumped it up a little and increased my ativan to 3 mg a day. All I can say is that it has been an emotional and physical roller coaster over the last 12 weeks on INC. I just was not willing to change my AD, because of previous sx and adverse reactions, so I just fought it out. But I will say that there were times that the anxiety was pretty well kept under control because the INC made me really sleepy, so in the long run it was all good.
Now on my 4th day post INC and I am starting to see some comeback qualities from my AD, ie: a little more motivation and energy, but I am still hitting a wall around 4-5PM everyday and the confusion & brain fog sets in along with body aches and pain. My sleep has been intermittent at night and I am not getting solid sleep until about 3AM-6AM.
Hang tough girl Prayers
Now on my 4th day post INC and I am starting to see some comeback qualities from my AD, ie: a little more motivation and energy, but I am still hitting a wall around 4-5PM everyday and the confusion & brain fog sets in along with body aches and pain. My sleep has been intermittent at night and I am not getting solid sleep until about 3AM-6AM.
Hang tough girl Prayers
Dee,
You wrote: * I will not write any more as I can tell some people might be angry with me,*
I'm sure no one on this forum is angry with you. I'm sure everyone cares about you and wants you to be well and have relief from the side effects of therapy. Best wishes for a calm, happy, relaxing day!
Advocate1955
You wrote: * I will not write any more as I can tell some people might be angry with me,*
I'm sure no one on this forum is angry with you. I'm sure everyone cares about you and wants you to be well and have relief from the side effects of therapy. Best wishes for a calm, happy, relaxing day!
Advocate1955
dee...i thought it was riba and prozac that could be trouble with some folks...when i have more time i'll try to look up that link someone sent me..hopefully last tx that wasn't a problem for you...good luck....billy
After 8 days of severe abrupt withdrawal from my Prozac because Incivek has been blocking absorption, and withdrawal for Xanax because for every xanax I appropriately took the Incivek turned it into 2 doses and for my thyroid TSH which went from 3 d.35 down to 1 which means my thyroid meds were being increased
I just received a call from my top hepatologist and he told me that it is unfortunate that that you are experiencing this problem. We did not realize until yesterday when you called (again and again) that there is a problem and I am not sure what we could have done. I asked why we did not change my prozac, etc., and he said that most of those antidepressants are going to have the same symptoms.
For all of you like me fight, call your doctors and tell them what you are experiencing. I am feeling withdrawals for the first time in my life. He never said he was sorry for my pain or mistake in not checking the meds when I called to ask for them to recheck drug interactions.
Please e4xcuse me I am so hurt and upset that no one believed me because it was not written down yet. Now the Doc has checked with Vertex it is fact. For all of you who have supported amd comforted me thank you God Bless you and never give up in this fight against Hep C. It will not happen to every one but it will happen. I guess the part that gets me is how hwsaid how unfortunate it was that I started treatment so early (Sept 1st)
I love all of you very much
Dee
I just received a call from my top hepatologist and he told me that it is unfortunate that that you are experiencing this problem. We did not realize until yesterday when you called (again and again) that there is a problem and I am not sure what we could have done. I asked why we did not change my prozac, etc., and he said that most of those antidepressants are going to have the same symptoms.
For all of you like me fight, call your doctors and tell them what you are experiencing. I am feeling withdrawals for the first time in my life. He never said he was sorry for my pain or mistake in not checking the meds when I called to ask for them to recheck drug interactions.
Please e4xcuse me I am so hurt and upset that no one believed me because it was not written down yet. Now the Doc has checked with Vertex it is fact. For all of you who have supported amd comforted me thank you God Bless you and never give up in this fight against Hep C. It will not happen to every one but it will happen. I guess the part that gets me is how hwsaid how unfortunate it was that I started treatment so early (Sept 1st)
I love all of you very much
Dee
You have every right to be upset. This is infuriating.
I wish you were here and could go to my hepatologist, He is always so kind, compassionate and willing to work with me.
And I love that he never hesitates to say, ' we don't know." His ego is not his main interest.
Hopefully, you will feel better soon and can move forward.
Good luck,
OH
I wish you were here and could go to my hepatologist, He is always so kind, compassionate and willing to work with me.
And I love that he never hesitates to say, ' we don't know." His ego is not his main interest.
Hopefully, you will feel better soon and can move forward.
Good luck,
OH
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Remember that one of the reasons drs began routinely prescribing the ADs was because some people were depressed to the point of harming themselves. Can the drugs alone or in combination cause other emotional or behavioral issues? It doesn't seem like much of a stretch. The doctors should continue to prescribe the ADs but maybe they will find out that some are better than others and will be able to get this treatment process fine tuned. Sorry to go on so long but this is an important topic. Thank you for bringing it up. Even though I am repeating myself I must say again that it was still worth taking the meds to get rid of the hep c and I am so happy that the tx is working for you, Dee. I hope everything else gets better for you!