The Antidepressant Solution

December 1, 2004
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.