Here from Joseph Glenmullen, M.D., author of the landmark study Prozac Backlash, is the essential guide to helping millions of patients overcome antidepressant "addiction," dependence, and withdrawal by using a five-step program to safely and effectively taper off the drugs.
More than twenty million Americans -- including over one million teens and children -- take one of today's popular antidepressants, such as Paxil, Zoloft, or Effexor. Dr. Glenmullen, a graduate of Harvard Medical School, recognizes the many benefits of antidepressants and prescribes them to his patients, but he has also led the way in warning the public of the dangers associated with overprescribing these drugs. Now, in the wake of overwhelming evidence, the FDA has finally stepped forward and urged pharmaceutical companies to include warning labels on antidepressants to caution doctors and patients that the drugs -- and more important, withdrawal from them -- may cause agitation, anxiety, hostility, impulsivity, and even suicidal tendencies.
Dr. Glenmullen's last book, Prozac Backlash, sounded the alarm about possible dangers. Now, this new book provides the solution. The Antidepressant Solution is the first book to call attention to the drugs' catch-22: Although many people are ready to go off these drugs, they continue to take them because either the patient or the doctor mistakes antidepressant withdrawal for depressive relapse. Unfortunately, approximately 70 percent of prescriptions for these drugs are written by family doctors who may not be familiar with the safest procedures to wean patients off them. Now, however, The Antidepressant Solution offers a step-by-step guide for patients and doctors alike, including:
1. Evaluating whether the patient is ready to taper off the drug
2. Making the initial dosage reduction
3. Monitoring withdrawal symptoms
4. Making additional dosage reductions
5. Completing the taper safely
Written by the premier authority in the field, The Antidepressant Solution is an invaluable book for all those concerned with going through the process -- from friends and family members to doctors and patients themselves.
The author of Prozac Backlash returns with important and sound advice for patients who are taking antidepressant medications, particularly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like Prozac and Paxil. "Stopping antidepressants abruptly can cause severe withdrawal reactions," Glenmullen writes, among them aggression, dizziness, vomiting, headaches and suicidal tendencies. The withdrawal symptoms can even, ironically, mimic the symptoms of depression, and this can confuse both the doctor and the patient, leading the patient to stay on the medication (and suffer its side effects) longer than necessary. So how can people safely decide when and how to stop taking the meds? Glenmullen, a clinical instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, offers a complete five-step program. He explains and describes possible withdrawal symptoms, identifies the signs that a patient is ready to go off his or her meds and gives guidelines for tapering off to avoid unpleasant and dangerous aftereffects. Offering cases from his own practice and drawing from the medical literature, Glenmulllen clarifies how to manage this necessary and often poorly understood process in an important book for anyone taking, or prescribing, antidepressants today.
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