Dad's 82, has copd & Alzheimer's. Has been prescribed Prozac for mood but, after 6 weeks, his breathing is very shallow and rapid. Almost like a panic breathlessness...any ideas please?
GP sending him for chest x ray but, after examining him, no crackles or signs of infection.
It's very worrying
Sending good wishes for your dad 🌈
Maybe Prozac just doesn’t agree with your dad and is affecting his COPD. I’m sure the doctor could prescribe something else.
Sending good wishes to your dad and to you too. Take care xxxxxx
I agree with sassy59. There are other antidepressants he could try so I do hope the gp is sensible and allows him to try another. Poor chap, perhaps he can have a little break from prozac just to see if its that that's given him breathing difficulties. Hope it works out well. P x
It could potentially be the Prozac (fluoxetine) from a couple of angles. The first is that SSRIs are known to have increased anxiety and worsened mental well-being as a possible side effect, particularly over the first few weeks of treatment. The second is that although it’s extremely uncommon, fluoxetine is also known to cause shortness of breath in some people, and SOB is documented in the literature as a side effect. It can also rarely trigger panic attacks.
I don’t want to assume, but am I correct in thinking that your dad’s alzheimers means it’s difficult for him to accurately communicate what he’s experiencing? This is purely my opinion based on my own experiences, but in patients with communication difficulties and altered perception/thinking caused by other conditions, I would fully expect to see someone’s general behaviour deteriorate to become more challenging or otherwise overtly altered if they were experiencing increased anxiety as a result of taking fluoxetine, not just changes in their breathing. Bearing that in mind, this may just be a case of fluoxetine not suiting your Dad and they need to consider a different SSRI: fluoxetine is usually the first choice for the young, very old, and those with conditions effecting cognition because it’s generally very well tolerated with very few side effects, and because we know quite a bit about it after 30+ years of use, but it won’t suit everyone.
Hi
You're correct in assuming Dad hasn't got the words anymore to explain fully how he's feeling.
His breathing is more like a shallow, fast panic breathing...he doesn't recover quickly and, the more someone tries to intervene with trying to calm him, the worse his breathing gets.
He's on 5 days of prednisolone at the moment and that isn't helping, where it used to before Prozac.
I've read online about how Prozac can affect breathing and anxiety and, he's definitely worse than before. It has, however, lifted his mood which is very positive as, he was very depressed.
I'll get him back to hopefully see regular GP this week.
Hello Maturefromage , 👋
I'm sorry to hear about your dad. Prior to taking Prozac did he ever have any issue with his lungs at all? This may seem rather silly but in the heat and humidity I have had trouble with my breathing lately. High humidity = less oxygen. I would definitely talk to his doctor about the possibility of the Prozac being a trigger. Has it helped his mood and general well being?
Take good care,
Cas xx 🍀
Hi,
He has episodes where his breathing is really challenged. He experienced these prior to Prozac but, they settled quite quickly with prednisolone. He's currently on a 5 day course of pred and, there's been no improvement at all. His breathing is shallow and fast, similar to a panic attack but, it happens when he stands, walks, sits..basically anytime and generally, without exertion. I am wondering if it is anxiety and he doesn't have the words anymore to explain that.
We saw the GP last week but, not his regular one as there's a lot of locum due to COVID. I'm going to try to get to see his regular GP this week.
It could very well be anxiety Maturefromage , since it's hard for him to express himself I am guessing he's feeling upset 😞. I hope you can speak to his regular GP. I hope they have a solution to make him comfortable. Take care. xx 👋😄
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