Fluvoxamine Dosing: An Introduction
The dose of
fluvoxamine maleate (
Luvox®) your healthcare provider prescribes will vary depending on a number of factors, including:
- Your age
- Other medical conditions you may have
- Other medications you may be currently taking.
As always, do not adjust your
fluvoxamine dose unless your healthcare provider specifically instructs you to do so.
Fluvoxamine Dosing for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
The recommended starting fluvoxamine dose for people with
OCD is fluvoxamine 50 mg once daily. Your healthcare provider may choose to increase the fluvoxamine dosage if symptoms continue, or decrease the dose if side effects occur. The maximum recommended dose of fluvoxamine is 300 mg once daily. Doses above fluvoxamine 100 mg should be split up and given twice a day.
Elderly people and those with liver problems may start with fluvoxamine 20 mg once daily, and the fluvoxamine dose should be increased only if necessary.
General Fluvoxamine Dosing Information
Some considerations for people taking fluvoxamine include:
- It usually takes several weeks (perhaps even longer than a month) to feel the beneficial effects of fluvoxamine. Try not to be discouraged if fluvoxamine does not work right away for you.
- If you take fluvoxamine just once daily, it is usually best to take it at bedtime.
- You can take fluvoxamine with or without food. If fluvoxamine bothers your stomach, try taking it with food.
- Fluvoxamine should be taken at the same time each day to maintain an even level of the drug in your blood.
- Abruptly stopping medications such as fluvoxamine can result in withdrawal symptoms (see Luvox Withdrawal for more information).
- For fluvoxamine to work properly, you have to take it as prescribed. Fluvoxamine will not work if you take it in a way other than how your healthcare provider prescribed it.
- If you are unsure about anything related to your dosage or fluvoxamine dosing in general, please talk with your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist. Do not stop taking fluvoxamine without first discussing it with your healthcare provider.
