someone who knows a lot help me out here

[tallahassee]

I just got prescribed Sarafem to take the week before and during my period if i need it because i get really bad pms. i didnt know this was the same as prozac? but i guess it is.. i came across this randomly searching for stuff about the medicine and came across this website which freaked me out, listing all this bad stuff about it.. if you have time take a look.. should i be worried about taking this?
http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/prozac-ADF.htm

 

[BilZ0r]

Yup, it's the exact same stuff as prozac, just a different name.

Strangely enough, there is really good evidence that SSRIs (like Sarafem AKA prozac) treat PMS [1].

When it comes to information on drugs, you need to make sure you're getting your information from a trusted website. Antidepressantsfacts obviously has some bias. I personally suspect it's supported by religous fanatics that believe all psychotropic drugs are eveil. It might just be written by some nut job with a chip.

Of course, all drugs have side effects, and SSRIs can have some nasty ones (especially during withdrawal). But try looking at a more trusted website, like the National Library of Medicine, drug information service. here.

 

[tallahassee]

thanks for the reply, ill check all that out.

 

[JeW BaLLs]

im suprised they want you to only take it a week before and the week of, my understanding has been that SSRIs take weeks to even begin to work (Im not an expert so correct me if im wrong someone)

 

[BilZ0r]

Yeah, it's not the case with PMS. (that's why I said strangely when I references the chochrane database metaanalysis)

 

[nanobrain]

the list of off-label scripts w/SSRI's is long and mostly unwarranted indeed.

SSRI's are certainly active biologically w/one time administration. these drugs are very strong and not overly selective, inspite of the claims. i believe they impact other transmitter systems as well. if you have other options, you may choose to explore them in the interest of overall longterm psychological / physical health.

 

[luke_dm5]

SSRIs vary a lot in their selectivity. Fluoxetine is one of the less selective drugs. How much Sarafem do you take ?

Sites like http://www.antidepressantsfacts.com/ are very biased. I think you will find that the writers are not medical professionals.