Low-certainty evidence suggests that off-label fluoxetine may decrease weight compared with placebo .
However , low-certainty evidence suggests an increase in the risk for dizziness , drowsiness , fatigue , insomnia and nausea following fluoxetine treatment
BACKGROUND Fluoxetine is a serotonin reuptake inhibitor indicated for major depression .
It is also thought to affect weight control : this seems to happen through appetite changes result ing in decreased food intake and normalisation of unusual eating behaviours .
However , the benefit-risk ratio of this off-label medication is unclear .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of fluoxetine for overweight or obese adults .
Optimal length of continuation therapy in depression: a prospective assessment during long-term fluoxetine treatment.
OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine prospect ively the optimal length of therapy in a long-term , placebo-controlled continuation study of patients who responded to acute fluoxetine treatment for major depression ( defined by DSM-III-R ) . METHOD The study was conducted at five outpatient psychiatric clinics in the United States . Patients who met criteria for remission after 12 or 14 weeks of open-label acute fluoxetine therapy , 20 mg/day ( N=395 of 839 patients ) , were r and omly assigned to one of four arms of a double-blind treatment study ( 50 weeks of placebo , 14 weeks of fluoxetine and then 36 weeks of placebo , 38 weeks of fluoxetine and then 12 weeks of placebo , or 50 weeks of fluoxetine ) . Relapse rate was the primary outcome measure . Both Kaplan-Meier estimates and observed relapse rates were assessed in three fixed 12-week intervals after double-blind transfers from fluoxetine to placebo at the start of the double-blind period and after 14 and 38 weeks of continued fluoxetine treatment . RESULTS Relapse rates ( Kaplan-Meier estimates ) were lower among the patients who continued to take fluoxetine compared with those transferred to placebo in both the first interval , after 24 total weeks of treatment ( fluoxetine , 26.4 % ; placebo , 48.6 % ) , and the second interval , after 38 total weeks of treatment ( fluoxetine , 9.0 % ; placebo , 23.2 % ) . In the third interval , after 62 total weeks of treatment , rates were not significantly different between the groups ( fluoxetine , 10.7 % ; placebo , 16.2 % ) . CONCLUSIONS Patients treated with fluoxetine for 12 weeks whose depressive symptoms remit should continue treatment with fluoxetine for at least an additional 26 weeks to minimize the risk of relapse
Low-certainty evidence suggests that off-label fluoxetine may decrease weight compared with placebo .
However , low-certainty evidence suggests an increase in the risk for dizziness , drowsiness , fatigue , insomnia and nausea following fluoxetine treatment
BACKGROUND Fluoxetine is a serotonin reuptake inhibitor indicated for major depression .
It is also thought to affect weight control : this seems to happen through appetite changes result ing in decreased food intake and normalisation of unusual eating behaviours .
However , the benefit-risk ratio of this off-label medication is unclear .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of fluoxetine for overweight or obese adults .