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Can Prozac be used for chronic fatigue syndrome? Chronic fatigue syndrome is an elusive disease, difficult to diagnose (in part because some doctors don’t believe it exists) and difficult to treat or certainly to cure. Its primary symptom, overwhelming tiredness, often accompanied by disturbed sleep, can also be an indication of depression. Antidepressants, which boost energy, counteract depression, and may help to straighten out the sleep cycle, are frequently useful, and several studies have found Prozac to be successful in treating CFS.

Is Prozac helpful in premenstrual syndrome? Reports indicate that Prozac has dramatically alleviated some premenstrual symptoms in a small group of patients. Some of the symptoms of PMS include irritability, weeping, a depressed or changeable mood swinging from high to low within hours or days, and the feeling of wanting to isolate oneself from others and not participate in outside activities. Given Prozac’s highly successful results with dysthymia and depression, it does not seem surprising that premenstrual depression has been reported to be helped considerably by Prozac. However, further studies are needed.

Is Prozac helpful in the commonly manifested depressed mood seen in Parkinson’s disease?

To date, the evidence is not encouraging. There have been reports of increased motor disability in four patients with Parkinson’s disease who have been exposed to Prozac.

Is Prozac helpful in the commonly seen depressed mood associated with Alzheimer’s disease?

Although in a limited number of cases Prozac does not seem to affect the depressed mood of Alzheimer’s patients, the older antidepressants have been used extensively with some positive results.

What is the effect of Prozac on feelings of depersonalization? Depersonalization is characterized by loss of identity and feelings of unreality and strangeness about one’s own body and behavior. A single study showed that of eight patients treated with Prozac for feelings of depersonalization and obsessive compulsive disorder, six responded positively. A second study found that an elderly seventy-three-year-old man had a marked improvement in his depersonalization symptoms and the associated anxiety after he received Prozac. Only one case reported a thirty-two-year-old bipolar female with an acute depression who actually developed feelings of depersonalization after three days of Prozac (20 mg) treatment These symptoms disappeared after discontinuation of the drug. Clearly further research is needed to give more definite answers to the use of Prozac in treating feelings of depersonalization.

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