Cranzac

[pretoria]

Hey guys

I am about to start Fluoxetine for anxiety, trying this drug as Sertraline made me gain a little weight and I know Fluoxetine is weight neutral. Anyway I've had really bad SE's on all other SSRI's I have been on, similar set like feel like I'm losing control, tripping out, major increase in anxiety, unusual feelings and thoughts etc etc

I read on the internet of this "Cranzac" method where you dissolve your Prozac in some cranberry juice or orange juice to lessen the SE's.

I have liquid prozac (2.5ml = 20mg) so I mixed 12.5ml (100mg) in 100ml of Orange juice to give me a 1mg/1ml ratio. Going to try it this weekend drawing out with a medical syringe 5ml then the following week increase it by 5ml again and so on until I reach 20mg.

Any of you heard/tried this and if so what were the results?

Dreading the 3-4 weeks of hell that is SSRI SE's :weep:

Sources:
http://depression.about.com/cs/sideeffects/ht/cranzac.htm
http://www.dr-bob.org/tips/split/How-to-dissolve-fluoxetine.html

Nathan x

[Supersal1984]

Yes I know a guy called empyrio on here that does that. I have helped him with his obsessional thoughts and kept the side effects at bay.

Good luck and let us know how you get on x

[pretoria]

Do you know if it helped lessen the side effects? Thanks I will continue to update this thread :)

[Emphyrio]

Yep, I'm using 'cranzac' - but this wasn't the case right from the start.

I had been on fluoxetine twice in the past with little to no side effects. Then after a year away from it (I was largely med free but tried citalopram twice and clomipramine which I reacted really badly to) I went back onto 20mg/day of prozac. I felt terrible for around 8-10 weeks - shaking, lost a stone, felt agitated, complete loss of libido etc. So I decided to play around with my dose, especially after reading online that some people responded well to low doses.

Since then I have tried 6.6666mg a day, now down to 5mg/day, and am largely feeling better - not quite as agitated, and my libido has improved (though not completely how it was) - and importantly, I feel more positive, and my intrusive thoughts have decreased by 85-90%. I'm also taking omega 3 oil, zinc, iron, B vitamins and magnesium, so I don't know whether my improvement is because of this.

Its a good move to gradually increase your intake using the cranzac method - side effects aren't pleasant, and it seems that many people give up medications prematurely because of it. If you become too agitated you can also taper back the dose until you find a happy medium - sometimes 5 or 10mg/day can be enough. Its not a process that should be rushed!

Good luck!

[TweetyBird2]

Hi, I'm "bumping" this thread because after researching for literally hours on Pre-med pharmacist forums, and fluoxetine studies online, I have come to the conclusion that it is possible, for some people, that the extreme agitation and heart pounding jittery side effect can be caused by the simple fact that the dosage of 20mg is too high to start with.

I'm going to try this Cranzac method of opening the capsule, putting in a small juice or water bottle, shaking hard and only drinking half the liquid per day.

I'm on week 9 of Fluoxetine, and it's either try this or quitting because the agitation/anxiety-like physical side effects from this Fluoxetine are just getting ridiculous to have to deal with.
Yes, some days are okay, but the days that it's there, are unbearable at times.

What bothers me is why some people take Prozac and have hardly any side effects, yet others, are getting them very strongly.

I'm going to go from 20mg to 10mg a day, and see how that goes. I am a short petite person, so maybe the dose is too strong for me. My GP doctor obviously thinks one size fits all. :(

I'm sure the side effects will take a while to mellow out since this stuff has such a long half life, even at a reduced dosage.

I'll let you know how it goes. xx

[TweetyBird2]

Here's another source where two different doctors are saying Fluoxetine/Prozac could cause increased anxiety/panic in some people, when starting at the regular 20mg dose.
I have been halving it two nights now in juice. I know it's probably too early to really feel anything, but yesterday and today, I feel energized, but in a good happy way, and not shaking, with a feeling of impending doom and having my heart pounding out of my chest.
No wonder I was wondering if I was poisioning myself some days...I probably was...that capsule was just too high a dose for me.

Here's the link where they talk about it:
http://www.dr-bob.org/tips/split/How-to-dissolve-fluoxetine.html

I'll let you know how it goes.

[TweetyBird2]

So it's been four days now since I've been putting the 20mg Fluoxetine capsule in juice and only drinking half the liquid. (I've been using mango peach juice :))
By the second day, I felt the heart palipatations and jittery feeling lessen.
For the last two days, I have NOT had any heart pounding, or feelings of doom and anxiety (which were my side effects from the fluoxetine) and I attribute it to this reduced dosage.
I can feel a slight "buzz" of energy, like after a nice cup of cofffee or tea, but not crazy unbearable like it had been.
And I don't feel sad, so I know the medication is working.
Today marks my 10th week on the Fluoxetine. You could imagine how good it feels to not have that super-charged anxiety and heart pounding side effect, finally.
I really think, in my case, 20mgs was too high for my body to handle. Just wanted to share my experience. xx

[TweetyBird2]

Just a quick update...still only taking 10mg a day in juice...wow, I feel SO much better!
The agitation and heart pounding side effects are totally gone. I finally feel good!

Happy dance!
:yesyes:

[TweetyBird2]

Just another update, because I think it's an important one.

What a difference 3 weeks has made at a reduced dosage! The jitters and heart racing are totally gone.
I did have to increase the 10 mgs in juice to twice a day, because I was starting to feel "low" after about a week or so at once a day.
By the third week of "cranzac-ing it", I can now say that I am able to tolerate the entire 20mgs in one pill at one time, without any jitters or heart pounding. This weekend will be week 14 for me on Fluoxetine.
It was great to be able to control the anxiety side effect by reducing the dose for a few weeks by diluting it in juice.
Perhaps it would have went away on it's own after 14 weeks even at 20mgs a day. I don't know. But I do know I spared myself some awful side effects by taking the pill in small doses through-out the day, instead of all at once.
Thank you to the OP and Emphyrio for this thread. It's been a Godsend! xx