Prozac vs Zoloft : Comparison between Antidepressants

Ever wonder about what antidepressant you should take? There are many, but let’s talk about Prozac vs Zoloft. Prozac and Zoloft both are the antidepressants that are used to treat the depression as well as other conditions like the obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, panic attacks etc. In all such conditions, these antidepressants are prescribed by the doctors. Prozac and Zoloft are the brand names and even though are the antidepressants have different generic drugs.

The generic drug fluoxetine goes by the brand name Prozac and the sertraline hydrochloride is another generic drug that goes by the brand name Zoloft. The end results of both of these drugs are the same but the mechanism of action of Prozac vs. Zoloft is a little different, Prozac’s generic drug is a serotonin reuptake inhibitor it inhibits the serotonin reuptake in such a way that it inhibits the serotonin transporter protein and it’s also a 5HT2C antagonist while the sertraline inhibits the serotonin reuptake by inhibiting the 5HT1A receptor.

Serotonin is basically a chemical in our body that produces the feeling of well-being and happiness so when the serotonin is depleted in our body due to more reuptake it could result in depression, anxiety etc. So when these antidepressants are used they will increase the amount of serotonin in the body by blocking its reuptake and this is how they will help with your mood, good appetite and also balance your sleep.

Depression is a very dangerous disorder and it can have a very negative impact on a person’s life and this is why this disorder must be addressed and medications should be taken as prescribed to reduce and completely eliminate the depression and anxiety from your life.

Features of Prozac and Zoloft

Features of Prozac vs Zoloft will help us understand better which drug is better than the other one and whether your medications need switching or not b the prescriber. Prozac and Zoloft bot is used for the treatment of the obsessive-compulsive disorder OCD and the panic disorder while Prozac only is used for the Bulimia nervosa which is the eating disorder in which the frequent episodes of the binge eating followed by the episodes of trying to lose weight by inducing vomiting.

obsessive compulsive disorder OCD

On the other hand, Zoloft is only used for the post-traumatic stress disorder, premenstrual dysphoric disorder (sudden changes in the mood before menstruation), social anxiety disorder or social phobia. These medications are also used for some other sleeping and eating disorders but these are just some of the off-label uses and these off-label uses are those uses for which the drug can be prescribed by the doctor but it’s not the use of the drug was approved by the FDA.

Dosing differences between these two

Prozac was prescribed in the children below 7 years for Obsessive-compulsive disorder and for the rest of the purposes it is prescribed in the adults only and Zoloft is prescribed in the children below 6 years for the OCD and for the other reasons in adults only. Prozac comes in the form of oral capsules of 10mg, 20mg, 40mg and 90mg only Zoloft comes in the form of oral capsules of 25mg, 50mg & 100mg and the oral liquid concentrate solution of 20mg/ml. the good thing that is common about both of these drugs is that patients don’t have to go through the withdrawal upon discontinuing of these medications and also they don’t have the addictive potential for the medication users and this is why people font go through the withdrawal symptoms upon discontinuation. And they both also don’t fall on the list of the controlled substances so there is no potential harm upon the use of these medications.

Side effects

All the medications that we use have some side effects too and there is no medication in the entire world that doesn’t come with a side effect. The side effects caused by both of these drugs are same but there are few side effects that vary in Prozac vs Zoloft. The common side effects that can possibly arise from the usage of these medications are

  • Nausea and vomiting,
  • Diarrhea,
  • Weight gain,
  • Weight loss,
  • Insomnia,
  • A headache,
  • Dry mouth and
  • Sexual dysfunctions like the erectile dysfunction.

Side effects of Antidepressant

So these were some of the common side effects while the side effects that we observe in the Prozac vs Zoloft are that Zoloft is most likely to be the reason of diarrhoea than the Prozac so when the patient is undergoing many problems the medical practitioner upon other factors consideration can think about switching to Prozac. Similarly, Prozac versus Zoloft is most likely to be the reason for the dry mouth and the sleep disturbance so in such situations consider switching to the Zoloft to provide the patients maximum comfort. Suicidal thoughts can also initiate in the head of both these substance users between treatments so care should be given to them.

Drug interactions

Drug-drug interactions are a really worse thing so the medical practitioners should check the current medication history of the patient and void prescribing medicines that have a possible interaction with any of the previous medications. The drug-drug interaction of these drugs are with

  • Monoamine oxidase inhibitor,
  • Methylene blue injection,
  • Pimozide,
  • Linezolid

So make sure to inform the practitioner about your current medications in use. Both of these drugs are also contraindicated in the pregnancy and the breastfeeding stage.

Price variable

The price of both Prozac vs Zoloft varies even though they are used for the same purpose and the price difference is in such a way that the monthly supply of the Prozac is almost $100 more expensive as compared to the Zoloft so when it comes to the pricing Zoloft is better than the Prozac because it is in within the reach of all the classes of society.

Prozac vs Zoloft

Now coming to the final review the Prozac vs Zoloft are better than each other when we are considering only in certain aspects and to check the efficacy of both of them what you need to do is that you can read the reviews of the patients that are already using these medications which will help you to make a better judgment in Prozac vs Zoloft.

1 thought on “Prozac vs Zoloft : Comparison between Antidepressants”

  1. Pingback: Atorvastatin vs Simvastatin - which one is best? - Health Linear

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