Cautions with other medicines
Some medicines can affect the way that fluoxetine works, and increase the chances of you having side effects.
Tell your doctor if you're taking any of these medicines before you start fluoxetine:
- any medicines that affect your heartbeat – as fluoxetine can make your heart beat faster, or make your heartbeat irregular
- any other medicines for depression – some rarely used antidepressants can affect the way fluoxetine works and cause very high blood pressure. This can happen even if you have not taken them for a few weeks
Mixing fluoxetine with herbal remedies and supplements
St John's wort is a herbal remedy for depression. Do not take this while you are taking fluoxetine as it increases your risk of side effects.
There's not enough information to say that other complementary medicines and herbal remedies are safe to take with fluoxetine. They're not tested in the same way as pharmacy and prescription medicines. They're generally not tested for the effect they have on other medicines.
Important: Medicine safety
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you're taking any other medicines, including herbal remedies, vitamins or supplements.