Dealing with the side effects of Prozac.

May 9, 2005 12:05 AM

I'm currently on 10mg of Prozac a day. I find that it works really well, except for the fact that I want to throw up whenever I'm in a moving vehicle that's stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, due to the stop and go motion. Sometimes, even driving around on service streets can make me sick. I've already tried other meds, including Celexa (did absolutely nothing for me) and Serzone (made me want to sleep 15 hours a day.) Has anyone else had this problem? How did you manage it? If you have any remedies or tips for preventing nausea as a whole, I would also be interested in hearing them. Thanks to everyone in advance.
posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (8 answers total)

To prevent motion sickness, I try to fix my eyes on non-moving things. On a boat, that means the horizon; in a car, on buildings as they pass. Sounds like you might want to talk to your doctor about this, though. Brain chemesty is nothing to play with, and you may be taking too much or too little of your medication.
posted by squirrel at 12:22 AM on May 9, 2005

Sea-bands, although I'd make it a point to put them on before you get queasy. (Drugstore)
posted by unrepentanthippie at 5:39 AM on May 9, 2005

Take them on a full stomach, if you're not doing so already. Prozac treats me well, but Celexa made me nauseous if I didn't eat something with it.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:02 AM on May 9, 2005

Though I am not on anything but the occasional claritin and ibuprofin, I too get nauseated by stop and go traffic. My main solution is to remind myself I won't actually puke and just suffer through it. Traffic will move eventually. Also, thinking of the smell of lemons helps some. And rocking out.
posted by dame at 6:47 AM on May 9, 2005

Try eating some candied ginger. Or real ginger if you can handle it. It works pretty well for mild nausea.
posted by kamikazegopher at 6:54 AM on May 9, 2005

i had some nausea when first on an antidepressant, but it slowly subsided week by week. now i dont even have to take it with food.
posted by yeahyeahyeahwhoo at 8:10 AM on May 9, 2005

Pinching your earlobe sometimes helps with nausia, no... really.

here is a brief page with different medications listed.

Some general info.
posted by edgeways at 8:30 AM on May 9, 2005

Been there. Strangely, Prozac and Zoloft took 8-10 weeks for some unpleasant side effects to subside. A lot of people jettison the med before then...I was just grimly determined and pleasantly surprised when it began to work out.

Dame has a great tip...and if you want the real smell of lemons, try picking up some lemon-scented hand towelettes to keep in the car. (It really does combat nausea! Side note for others: It works for morning sickness as well.)
posted by jeanmari at 8:54 AM on May 9, 2005