Posted by Ritch on January 18, 2003, at 23:02:46
In reply to SSRIs/caffeine/acid reflux, posted by viridis on January 18, 2003, at 19:48:18
> This really doesn't address the serious digestive system troubles that people have described here, but it's related, so I thought I'd mention it.
>
> I don't have stomach problems etc. in general, but when I first started taking Prozac (years ago -- long since discontinued), I suddenly had terrible problems with heartburn and acid reflux. It was very frustrating, and I figured that I must be having a reaction to the Prozac since this wasn't normal for me. After a while, I figured out that it invariably occurred when I took Prozac around the same time as drinking coffee. I'm not a big coffee drinker (1-2 cups/day), and as soon as I adjusted the dosing schedule so that there was at least an hour between coffee intake and Prozac, the problem disappeared. Any time I took Prozac soon before or after having coffee, the problem returned.
>
> I stopped Prozac a long time ago for many other reasons, but the coffee (caffeine?) interaction was very real. I have no idea whether this applies to other SSRIs, and I realize it's probably not the answer to the problems people have described here, but this seemed an appropriate place to bring it up (no pun intended).
Thanks for bringing that up. The worst GI disturbances (generally, in the daytime) I have from SSRI's are the 2-6hr post-dosing period. I do like coffee. I generally take an SSRI in the morning first thing and I also drink 2-3 cups of strong coffee every morning. Celexa was the only one that prompted me to take H2 antagonists during the day. However, the *really* major GI upsets (the bile thing) don't occur until food is involved. That is when the reflux is a major problem. The worst situations ever are the nocturnal ones where you wake in the middle of the night and your lungs are involved with aspirating the reflux, etc. I had the worst experiences with Prozac and Celexa. It also ocurred with Zoloft and Luvox and Paxil but wasn't as severe. Effexor much less so than the others. I experienced none of this with TCA's.
poster:Ritch
thread:136168
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030113/msgs/136492.html