Posted by Cam W. on March 20, 2000, at 18:50:16
In reply to celexa vs. prozac, posted by mike hatcher on March 20, 2000, at 17:08:55
Mike - The one to take is the one that works for you. There are differences between the 2 SSRIs, though. Prozac and it's active metabolites half-life (the time it takes for half of the drug to be excreted from the body) is about 100 hours. To clear your body so you can try, say, an MAOI is 5 weeks (wash out period). Celexa's half life is about a day, which makes it easier to switch to a different class of antidepressants (about a 2 week wash out). Celexa selectively binds to the serotonin reuptake site, while Prozac binds to many other receptors as well (mucarinic, alpha-adrenergic, etc. - but less so than TCAs). In theory, Celexa is supposed to have fewer side effects (and probably does in most people). I have found Celexa to be a less effective antidepressant than Prozac overall, but this is a generalization. As has been said on this site many times YMMV (your mileage may vary) as everyone's physiology is slightly different. So, the answer to your question is..."I dunno" (you have to try them to find out). - Cam W.
poster:Cam W.
thread:27674
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000312/msgs/27685.html