My 14yo daughter was diagnosed with depression and OCD and has been having fluoxetine for 1.5 years with dosage from 10mg to 40mg then down to 20mg now. However, she started to have acne like 6 mths ago and it's getting very worse these days. Is it the side effect of fluoxetine ? I'd like to try Chinese medicine for the acne but not sure if it's ok to go with the fluoxetine. Or would it be possible to try another anti-depressant ? The thing is she's on the track to reduce the dosage but not sure when she can live completely without it.
Thank you in advance Nicole
方若君
醫生回覆
Acne is not a common side effect of Fluoxetine. For this age, there are numerous and complicated factors which can cause acne. You can take Chinese medicine but take it at least 4 hours before or after Fluoxetine. I would prefer trying out other ways to treat the acne before touching on Fluoxetine. Especially because Fluoxetine has been proven effective for her depression/OCD, and there was not strong evidence that Fluoxetine is the cause of her acne. At worst case, switching to other antidepressant might lead to deterioration of her depression/OCD, without improvement of her acne as well. Discuss with her psychiatrist on pros and cons first.
方若君醫生(女)
方若君醫生(女)