Blue Fluoxetine Causes Heartburn (Page 6)

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 switched back to the brand name Prozac and I have not had any heartburn what so ever. The generic brand fluoxetine would burn my throat and chest it was awful. I pray you can get your doctor to write the brand name instead of generic. Trust me you will never burn again..

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I started taking my blue fluoxetine with food. I eat some, take the pill and eat some more. No more heartburn. I think the capsule really does stick to the esophagus on the way down, and the food helps push it down. I do worry about what the chemical make up of the capsule is, and what it might be doing to my stomach. On the other hand the stomach makes hydrochloric acid to digest our food, so perhaps it can handle it.

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This is such a relief!! My pharmacy gave me my last Rx in two different bottles because they filled it partially with my usual brand and partially with the Teva (blue and orange pill). The last three nights I've taken the Teva brand and have experienced the severe burning, with each night getting worse and worse. It felt like it was going to burn through from my chest to my back. My husband almost took me to the ER, but after sipping on some ginger ale, it subsided. Today, however, I feel like crapola. My chest and back still ache a little bit. I just got off the phone with my pharmacist (who is awesome) and she said that she had never heard of this happening, and that the reason they had the Teva in stock is because one of their other customer's prefers it. She is allowing me to bring back the remaining Teva capsules to exchange for the generic brand I usually get. Tonight I'm going to take the normal one and see how it does. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and allowing me to share also.

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I spoke with my doctor since I first replied on this thread. He said I am allergic to the blue dye, so that is why I had such problems with taking it.

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I have always had the blue until recently. I found that washing it down with a carbonated beverage such as coke, mt dew or whatever, solved the problem of heartburn/feeling like its stuck halfway down. I found this out just by trial and error noticing that sometimes I had the problems and other times not. The variable turned out to be water or carbonated beverage. Hope this helps.

On a side note the pills I was issued this time are teal and orange and say E92.. Depression has worsened severely. Anyone have similar problems?

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I was on Prozac for 18 years until three years ago. About to restart but like wise long time ago realised the blue capsules are awful. I worked for a Drs did a course in meds. Whilst the meds are always the same any meds it is what the rest of the pill is made up of that causes people problems often too much gelatine. I will always check I am not going to get the cheaper blue ones.

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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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I'm taking the generic (Prozac) as well and I'm getting this unbearable heartburn from my esophagus all the way down to my stomach it's the worst thing ever.. I drank so much water I felt like throwing up and it still won't budge I can feel a lump in my throat. And my arms and back feel numb I also got a headache which is frightening because I never get heartburn only after I take my 40mg pill. It's just horrible it's been 3 hours and it still won't move, I ate an apple and some bread but I still feel it stuck.. any advice?

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Try swallowing the pill next time with a carbonated beverage. Drinking some coke or something now may help, idk. No promises but thats been my experience.

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The heartburn will not stop with whatever you try... You need to talk with your doctor, they will change your prescription to name brand prozac.. That will stop all your problems... It's been several months for me back on name brand prozac and I have NOT had any heartburn problems.... Thank the LORD!!!
If more people would report these issues to there doctors maybe they will look into what's causing it and maybe change a few things... My doctor said he would make a report about the problems I was having with generic fluoxetine.. Please ask your doctor about your problems with fluoxetine.. There is power in numbers...
HAPPY NEW YEAR!! AND GOD BLESS!!

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I am dealing with severe ...heartburn? It feels like acid going all the way down my throat to my tummy- and I puked the other day from it when I tried to increase my dosage. It's miserable . My head is pounding and I get feeling very weak. Also possibly more anxious?! Blue and orange pills

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You need to call your doctor and see if they can rewrite your prescription to brand name Prozac and not the generic fluoxetine.. If you have your doctor do a prior authorization your insurance company will cover it.. My heartburn didn't stop for me until I got back to brand name Prozac.. I have been on Prozac for about 20 years, about 3 to 4 years ago my pharmacy started giving me the generic forms of Prozac which is Fluoxetine.. Immediately I started having severe heartburn with headaches.. It took me 3 years of suffering and just 3 to 4 months ago my doctor changed me back to original brand name Prozac and I have NOT had any heartburn or headaches... I hope you talk with your doctor soon because I know what your going through and its pure misery... Also some people say liquid prozac is easy to take with low side effects.. I don't know about it.. I have better results from brand name Prozac (green & white capsules).. Good Luck and GOD BLESS You... My prayers go out to you

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When I have taken the actual Brand name Prozac I have no obvious side effects. With the generics I sometimes run into problems. The two problems are 1. the pill feels like it is stuck in my throat and wont go down. 2. frequent urination! Like someone mentioned earlier, it has to be the "inactive ingredients" being added that vary between the many different generic fluoxetine manufacturers. Does anyone know of a way to find out all (active and inactive) ingredients in a generic pill (particularly from overseas manufacturers)? The following place lists some but not all manufacturers: dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed

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That happens to me some times. I drink a hot coffee or hot tea to help disolve it.

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

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OMG. I have been suffering with this for YEARS. My Dr. was going down the path of GERD. But then it mysteriously stopped for months. Now, it's back. I've had it twice this week. It's miserable. Absolutely miserable. Nothing I do helps, EXCEPT drink a little sip of water every 20 seconds or so. To literally wash down the acid.

And now you all are saying it's my fluoxetine? I never thought it would be the pill I take each morning. Don't pills just slide down? Guess not.

Thank you all for sharing and helping me solve this miserable mystery!

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ive taken fluoxetine for years, I don't always get a burning sensation in my throat after taking them but I swear sometimes if feels so difficult to breathe and eat. my doctor wont transfer me to something easier to cope with but honestly its effecting my everyday life.

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My doc told me it was the dye they use in the gelatin or whatever it is that surrounds the medicine. There is something in that blue dye (I think it was the blue ones and green was ok but pharmacy couldn't get green anymore; I take the pills now, and they are much flatter and easier to swallow IMHO) I can't tolerate. I was miserable. I even resorted to dumping the medicine in pudding which wasn't a good idea either.lol

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I have the same problem but several years ago was told about a natural way to deal with heartburn and it really does work, even with the heartburn caused by the Prozac (it gets REEEEEEALLY bad for me). What you do is take two or three large gulps of Apple Cider Vinegar. It burns as it goes down but it neutralizes the acid. Then swallow a few sips of water to wash the rest of it down. It takes about 15 minutes to work. I usually have to repeat it once after 20 minutes and then the heartburn is gone all day.

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I thank you all for sharing your experiences because I didn't know what was happening. It didn't happen every time I took my dose so I didn't know what it was. I told my doctor it caused severe chest pain. He said that he never heard of such side effects while taking Prozac, from his other patients. Today after taking my meds (80mg fluoxetine and 200mg wellbutrin) the pain started, nothing I did helped. Hot coffee...horrible, food...not a chance, it would make the burning sensation worse. Rolaids was no help. My husband finally talked me into sipping some ginger ale. That relieved some of the pain. However, I still could feel exactly where the burning occurred and was very weak and shaky all day. I was scared, it was never that bad. This sent me on an internet search and greatfully, I found this site, that I was not alone and its severe heartburn. 100% relief is when I empty the medicine out of the capsules and take it in a spoon with a lil water. It tastes horrible but no more pain. Tried it mixed in my mashed potatoes. I couldn't eat it. I was rushing yesterday and that's is why I swallowed the capsules whole. So, back to emptying the capsules and taking it in a spoon filled with water. Dr. didn't seem concerned when I told him that how I take it now, but please always speak with your doctor before changing the way your medicine is administered. Now this is the next morning and I still feel a bit weak and can still feel where there was burning. I can now drink coffee and food with little discomfort. Thanks again!

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