Blue Fluoxetine Causes Heartburn (Page 3) (Top voted first)

Recently my pharmacy began giving me a new version of fluoxetine, which I have taken for MANY years with no problems.... however the blue fluoxetine gives me horrible heart burn. I use to take them at night before bed, but couldn't sleep, so decided to start taking them in the morning and still get the heartburn. I don't take them with any other meds. I tried an empty stomach, and after eating, but the results are still the same. I also get a bad headache (I think from the heartburn.) Has anyone figured out how to avoid this problem?

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I also take the green/yellow Fluoxetine (20mg) daily, and more than often get moderate to severe heartburn as well after taking. I have been on it for years, and heartburn seems to be getting worse and more often... I also take a number of other daily meds, and never get heartburn after taking any of them. It must be something with the Fluoxetine.

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No, it's not the Fluoxetine, it's the gelatin in the capsule. Ask your doctor to switch you to a regular pill form. In fact, sometimes you can even ask the pharmacist if he has a different form of the medication. Gelatin is a substance that comes from the dehydrated skin of animals such as cows and pigs. It is very sticky when it gets wet and it does not digest very easily. For many people the gelatin sits on top of the stomach acid and then refluxes up. When it does that then the stomach acid has a path to reflux as well. Ask your pharmacist or doctor to switch you to the regular pill form and you'll never have Fluoxetine related heartburn anymore.

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Re: Lulu (# 197)

This is exactly how I feel right now. Massive anxiety attack because of the heartburn. Can’t sleep. Sheesh

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My doctor prescribed Fluoxetine for me 2 weeks ago for the first time. I took my very first pill (green & white capsule) in the morning while at work. A few minutes later my head was aching and my throat started burning and tightening up. I became disorientated, lethargic, and could not focus at work. This lasted for 90 minutes except for the lethargy. I was sluggish the whole day. I emailed my doctor and was ordered to cease with the medication. A friend of mine told me that I was experiencing heartburn. I have never experienced heartburn in my 52 years until now. Even though I have refrained from the medication, I have been experiencing this heartburn thing everyday for two weeks now and don't like it at all.

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I wouldn't be willing to go as far as saying it should be banned, Tim. The emotional relief this medicine gives me is worth having to take precautions to prevent the heartburn.

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Hi I posted a comment here awhile back.. I'm still taking the medicine as it works best for me. I've been avoiding heart burn by taking my medicine with a meal..jus thought id share!

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I have been taking 20mg fluoxetine for at least 8 years for pms so I usually take it for two weeks out of every month. I have been on a couple different generic versions and went on the blue pills 2 or 3 years ago. I NEVER had heartburn until I began taking the blue fluoxetine pills. Since I only take the pills half the month I realized I only had heartburn when I was on them and it is the only medication I take. Each month the heartburn symptoms became worse and reached a point where severe heartburn would wake me up at night. I just had my prescription refilled and my pharmacy switched to a new distributor and the pills are now green and cream colored with an E91 on them. Finally the heart burn is gone!! I would suggest calling around to various pharmacies and see what generic brand they carry. I know I will always ask before refilling my prescription-no more blue fluoxetine for me.

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I have taken Generic Prozac for 15 years. Lately a Walmart pharmacy took over my old pharmacy. So I take the blue pills now, not the white/green like before, and I have the most horrid heartburn after I take them. It feels like they are stuck in my chest. I'm glad I googled this on a whim. I'm calling the pharmacy tomorrow.

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In lieu of any other discourse, I've been emptying the contents of the capsule into an empty glass and diluting it in about a cup or so of water, then using that to swallow my other pills. Where I'd once get heartburn with absolute certainty, I am now completely heartburn free AND my dosage isn't really affected much due to it being a capsule and not a slow-release pill.

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I am having the same problem with the blue capsules. I get them at Sams club and they give me the worst heartburn I have ever had. I thought I was going crazy. I will look into getting a different manufacturer. I am sitting up right now with heartburn so bad it is causing my ears to hurt.

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Get the liquid. YES, there is a liquid. I had to switch to liquid because of the heartburn.

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I'm glad I found this discussion board and want to thank you all for sharing your experiences. I want to add my voice to this discussion. A very strange thing happened a few days ago when I took my blue fluoxetine pill and another maintenance med. I have been taking fluoxetine since the 1990's and it has changed colors over the years. Anyway, somehow one or both pills must have lodged in my throat right around my voice box without my being aware because several minutes after swallowing, I suddenly coughed up this awful tasting stuff. Not only that it was CAUSTIC! It burned my vocal cords and my throat all the way up to where my nose passages and ear tubes began and I believe I might have aspirated some of it as well. It was the most bizarre feeling. I felt this lump in my throat that was my swollen voice box and had the feeling that I could not clear my throat. Swallowing was okay though. I drank water and also ate a piece of toast to try to clear my esophagus. My system started to exude phlegm (sorry) I assume as a response to coat the irritation. And for a while I was so hoarse I could not speak! My throat remained extremely sore til almost the next day. Actually 3 days later I am still hoarse and my throat clearing mechanism is just now almost back to normal (I think). Of course I called the doctor's office to let them know what happened, and no medical person seemed surprised to hear that the acid content of the pills could do that. I am still coughing up phlegm (sorry) I assume from the upper bronchial irritation. It feels like a cold without the upper respiratory congestion. Anyway, sorry if I've grossed anyone out, but I remain so shocked that the content of these very common medicines is so caustic. I can hardly believe I've been swallowing them all these years without knowing that and that the medical industry is actually putting this stuff down our throats. And I wonder if it did that to my throat, what has it been doing to my stomach all these years? I was taking it partly for irritable bowel, for pete's sake. Make no mistake, something like this can be quite a shock to your system and slow you down for a couple of days (and nights).

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Brand name Prozac does not cause the severe heartburn that the generic brand fluoxetine does. I have requested brand name instead of generic and all my heartburn is gone.. If you are having trouble with the generic prozac which is fluoxetine you should talk to your doctor now because its the cause of all the heartburn I had..

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Ugh...it's horrible! I'm glad i'm not the only one.

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I got blue pills. I was fine until last night and tonight. It's amazing what you find on the internet.

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I spoke to my doctor today and she has prescribed me tablets instead of the caps. She says do not break open the caps when taking Fluroxatine as you may get a spike in the active ingredients. Today I try the tablets. Hopefully no throat pain all day night long.

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Regarding the tablets rather than the caps.
Tablets worked a treat.
BTW sO grateful for this discussion.

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Yes, I've been telling everyone on this thread, and several others dealing with the same issue of Fluoxetine related heartburn, that the gelatin caps are what is causing the heartburn. Unfortunately most of the threads are very long so people don't see them. Everyone needs to get together and get the word out that the gelatin caps used on the generic versions of Fluoxetine are harmful

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I am so glad to have found this article. I have been taking the blue prozac for years and I don't always get the burning but have at times experienced the burn which I have actually had to stay home from work because it was so painful, especially if I swallow it horizontally instead of vertically. I really thought it was just my imagination. Thank you all for sharing your stories I will be calling my doctor for the tablets from here on out.

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I understand. Price is often a problem when it comes to medication. One simple solution that I can relate to you which is not expensive is to go online and buy "vegetarian grade capsules" in what is called size 0. They do not contain any gelatin and are only made from plant material. Then all you have to do is empty your Fluoxetine from the gelatin capsule over to the vegetarian capsule. They are very low cost and it's easy to do.

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