Preventing permanent damage from SSRIs

Published by: admin 2009-01-07

I have been taking Luvox (fluvoxamine - a cousin of prozac) for about 9 years. I haven't had anyone monitoring me. I would renew my prescriptions at my regular internal medicine doctor's office. I have heard some reallly negative things about SSRis and it is scaring me very much. I have read online that it may cause permanent brain damage and possibly cause irreversable spasms or ticks after already being off the medicine. I have never experienced negative symptoms related to luvox.. But this idea is causing me much stress because I have been on the medicine for so long. Do we know the long-term effects of this drug? Is there any hope that I can prevent permanent brain damage? I am going to taper off this drug with a doctor starting this month. I appreciate any solid advice and/or info. Thank you kindly! best, Rob

Preventing permanent damage from SSRIs::
Q: Preventing permanent damage from SSRIs ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars , 3 Comments ) Subject: Re: Preventing permanent damage from SSRIs
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rob... I noticed your other question while researching this one, so perhaps I can answer them both here. I worked in the field of mental health for 20+ years, so this is familiar territory for me. First, set me say that your the dosage you've been taking for 9 years is a minimal dosage, and is in fact the starting dosage for Luvox. From the American Academy of Family Physicians' page on Antidepressants: "Fluvoxamine (Luvox) is FDA-approved only for the treatment of OCD in patients who are at least eight years of age and older, although its spectrum of activity is likely to be similar to that of other SSRIs. The initial dosage in adults is 50 mg daily, titrating up to 150 to 250 mg per day divided into two doses...The most common side effects are nausea, vomiting, and headache." http://www.aafp.org/afp/20030201/547.html Your assertion that you have never experienced negative symptoms related to Luvox is also a very positive thing, since this particular SSRI has what is known as a shorter 'half-life', and is therefore more likely to result in the experience of side effects between doses than are SSRIs with a longer half-life. This is asserted in a paper entitled 'Fluvoxamine as a cause of stimulation, mania and aggression with a critical analysis of the FDA-approved label' by Peter R. Breggin, M.D., available in PDF format: "According to the manufacturer, Luvox has a half-life of 15.6 hours. When a half-life is less than 24 hours, inter-dose withdrawal is a distinct possibility as the blood levels of the drug fall below half their peak before the passage of 24 hours. Particularly when the individual awakens in the morning, perhaps as much as 24 hours after the last dose, the blood level can be considerably reduced, leading to morning withdrawal symptoms." *Much* more in the document: http://www.breggin.com/luvox.pdf So, if you're not experiencing any negative symptoms after 9 years, you are not likely to have any great difficulty in lowering the dosage (titrating down) until you are safely off the drug. As it turns out, Dr. Breggin is not only the most authoritative and prolific author on the topic of side effects from psychiatric medications, he also lives and practices in New York (sorry, he's in Ithaca, not Manhattan): Peter R. Breggin, M.D. 101 East State Street, PMB 112 Ithaca, New York 14850-5543 Phone: 607 272 5328 Fax: 607 272 5329 His contact page would seem to indicate that he is open to taking on new clients: http://www.breggin.com/contact.html His homepage is here: http://www.breggin.com An article detailing the FDA's "Public Health Advisory" about the risks associated with the use of SSRIs, and confirming what Dr Breggin has been asserting for over 10 years is available on his site, and is entitled: 'The Proven Dangers of Antidepressants' http://www.breggin.com/Newspaper%20column--shortened.pdf A search of his site for the terms "permanent brain damage" did not turn up anything with regard to Luvox specifically, but only in reference to SSRIs in general. It is mentioned in a book he authored, titled: 'The Anti-Depressant Fact Book', and subtitled, 'What Your Doctor Won't Tell You About Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa, and Luvox', Perseus Publishing - Cambridge, Massachusetts 2001, paperback by Peter R. Breggin, M.D. It's available on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/073820451X/102-2399094-2377753?v=glance It is reviewed by Douglas A. Smith on the AntiPsychiatry site: http://www.antipsychiatry.org/br-afb.htm If you sign up for a free account with Amazon.com, Dr Breggin's books offer the feature of 'Search Inside', and a search for the terms "permanent brain damage" returns 8 references which you can read about by way of this feature. Dr. Breggin himself recommends that you consult that specific book in regard to the topic of SSRI side effects, since the topic is thoroughly documented there, and this may preclude the need for personal contact with him (although downward titration of a psychiatric medication should ALWAYS be done under careful supervision). "Prozac, Paxil, Luvox and other SSRIs: For information regarding side effects of Prozac and other SSRI's including Zoloft, Paxil, Luvox, Celexa, Effexor, etc., as well as better approaches for depression see Dr. Breggin's book: The Antidepressant Fact Book (2001)". From his contact page: http://www.breggin.com/contact.html Another of his newest books specifically addresses the topic of supervised withdrawal, providing guidelines to psychiatric practitioners who may not be adequately informed enough to do this safely: 'Your Drug May Be Your Problem: How and Why to Stop Taking Psychiatric Medications' by Peter R. Breggin M.D. and David Cohen Ph.D. Hardback, 1999, Perseus Books, Reading, MA. "The first book to expose the shortcomings of psychiatric drugs and to guide patients and doctors through the process of withdrawing from them." From a page devoted to the book and reviews by the psychiatric community: http://www.breggin.com/yourdrug.html It's available on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0738203483/102-2399094-2377753?v=glance For an understanding of how psychiatric professionals can be misled and misinformed with regard to the side-effects of Luvox, read the full article to which I referred earlier, titled: 'Fluvoxamine as a cause of stimulation, mania and aggression with a critical analysis of the FDA-approved label' http://www.breggin.com/luvox.pdf A bibliography of Dr Breggins writings is here: http://www.breggin.com/biblio.html As for long-term effects, McMan's Depression and Bipolar Web site summarizes what I know, in this page on antidepressants: "...we simply do not know the long-term effects of many of these drugs. Trials are typically conducted amongst rather small population groups for periods that tend to range from six to eight weeks. Year-long trials are an extreme rarity, and 10-year data of the newer antidepressants is simply not available." http://www.mcmanweb.com/depression_meds.htm Please do not rate this answer until you are satisfied that the answer cannot be improved upon by way of a dialog established through the "Request for Clarification" process. A user's guide on this topic is on skermit-ga's site, here: http://www.christopherwu.net/google_answers/answer_guide.html#how_clarify sublime1-ga Additional information may be found from further exploration of the links provided above, as well as those resulting from the Google searches outlined below: Searches done, via Google: Preventing permanent damage SSRIs Luvox ://www.google.com/search?q=Preventing+permanent+damage+from+SSRIs+Luvox Luvox withdrawal site:www.breggin.com ://www.google.com/search?q=Luvox+withdrawal+site%3Awww.breggin.com "permanent brain damage" site:www.breggin.com ://www.google.com/search?q=%22permanent+brain+damage%22+site%3Awww.breggin.com titrating luvox ://www.google.com/search?q=titrating+luvox luvox "permanent brain damage" ://www.google.com/search?q=luvox+%22permanent+brain+damage%22 "SSRIs cause permanent brain damage" ://www.google.com/search?q=%22SSRIs+cause+permanent+brain+damage%22 "long term effects" luvox ://www.google.com/search?q=%22long+term+effects%22+luvox

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