Prozac Backlash: Overcoming the Dangers of Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, and Other Antidepressants with Safe, Effective Alternatives [Paperback]

Joseph Glenmullen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 17, 2001

Roughly 28 million Americans -- one in every ten -- have taken Prozac, Zoloft, or Paxil or a similar antidepressant, yet very few patients are aware of the dangers of these drugs, nor are they aware that better, safer alternatives exist. Now Harvard Medical School's Dr. Joseph Glenmullen documents the ominous long-term side effects associated with these and other serotonin-boosting medications. These side effects include neurological disorders, such as disfiguring facial and whole-body tics that can indicate brain damage; sexual dysfunction in up to 60 percent of users; debilitating withdrawal symptoms, including visual hallucinations, electric shock-like sensations in the brain, dizziness, nausea, and anxiety; and a decrease of antidepressant effectiveness in about 35 percent of long-term users. In addition, Dr. Glenmullen's research and riveting case studies shed shocking new light on the direct link between these drugs and suicide and violence.

Written by a doctor with impeccable credentials, Prozac Backlash is filled with compelling, sometimes heartrending stories and is thoroughly documented with extensive scientific sources. It is both provocative and hopeful, a sound, reliable guide to the safe treatment of depression and other psychiatric problems.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It seems like it was just yesterday that Prozac was a miracle pill, a medication that could not only make sick people well, but "better than well."

By the end of the 1990s, Prozac and similar drugs--Paxil, Zoloft, and others--were being prescribed for everything from depression to anxiety to drug addiction to ADD. About 70 percent of prescriptions for these antidepressants were being written by family physicians, rather than psychiatrists.

Dr. Joseph Glenmullen, a psychiatrist who has a private practice and also works for Harvard University Health Services, sees this antidepressant mania as dangerous, even reckless. He notes that these drugs can have severe side effects, including uncontrollable facial and body tics, which could be signs of severe and permanent brain damage. About 50 percent of patients suffer often-debilitating withdrawal symptoms from them, and about 60 percent end up with sexual dysfunction. And Prozac may make a small number of people homicidal or suicidal, or both.

But there are alternatives: in Germany, for example, St. John's wort outsells Prozac 25 to 1, showing that doctors and patients there understand that the herbal remedy works as well as the synthetic ones for mild to moderate depression. [Editor's note: St. John's wort has been shown to interfere with the actions of the transplant rejection drug cyclosporin and the AIDS drug indinivir.] And diet, exercise, 12-step programs, and good old-fashioned psychotherapy can work well, too. Even for severe depression requiring medication, Dr. Glenmullen shows how the drugs can be used with other treatments and then discontinued after a year or less.

Moreover, Prozac Backlash discusses exactly what depression is and isn't; Dr. Glenmullen reviews hundreds of scientific studies, and discusses numerous case studies from his practice and others. Because of that detail, medical professionals may be this book's most likely readers, but anyone who has been on an antidepressant, or is close to someone who is, will also want to give Prozac Backlash a careful read. The brain you save could be your own. --Lou Schuler --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

In recent years, a growing number of books, such as Peter Breggin's Your Drug May Be Your Problem, have sounded an alarm about the long-term dangers of popular new psychiatric medications. Glenmullen (The Pornographer's Grief), a clinical instructor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, joins their ranks with a lucid, wide-ranging survey of recent studies on the negative effects of antidepressants and their less-publicized alternatives. His title refers not to the growing skepticism toward psychiatric medications but to the brain's compensatory reactions to the artificial elevation of serotonin, including potentially permanent tics, dependence, sexual dysfunction, memory problems, sudden suicidal feelings and violence. In the first half of the book, Glenmullen focuses on four serotonin boosters known as the Prozac group, while in the second half, he explores the efficacy of individual, couples and family psychotherapy, herbal remedies, diet and exercise and 12-step programs. According to Glenmullen, clinical trials of drugs last as little as six to eight weeks, while side effects can take decades to emerge. In addition, he charges that a profit-minded pharmaceutical industry has under-reported side effects, misrepresented theories of "chemical imbalance" as fact and expanded diagnostic definitions to increase a drug's potential customer base. While his accounts of his own experience with patients is helpful, Glenmullen's most valuable contribution is his reporting on what little monitoring has been done. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (April 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743200624
• ISBN-13: 978-0743200622
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #674,429 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

93 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Important Information - Don't be afraid., April 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Prozac Backlash: Overcoming the Dangers of Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, and Other Antidepressants With Safe, Effective Alternatives (Hardcover)

After reading the customer reviews of this book, I am left to wonder if some of the customers actually read the book (or truly read it from cover to cover). Dr. Glenmullen is not anti-medication-- he recognizes the benefits of medication in the treatment of moderately and severely depressed people. Dr. Glenmullen's concerns relate to the overprescription of medication, for example, to people undergoing situational stress such as a break-up with a boyfriend, etc, or the long term use of medication (the type of studies used by the FDA to evaluate a drug typically last only several weeks-- what is safe for several weeks may not be safe for several years).

The book advocates patients talking to their doctors about the best available treatment for depression and other illnesses. This means talking to a medical professional who will listen to the patient and evaluate all of the options (medicine, therapy, herbal remedies, exercise, etc) and the risks associated with each option, to determine the best treatment plan for each individual patient.

Nothing in this book encourages people to suddenly stop their medication-- to the contrary. I am shocked at the customers who describe the book this way. It is understandable that patients are reluctant to look at the flaws (ie. potential negative side effects) of medications that have helped them feel better, but it must be done. This book provides good information considering what is available, citing to hundreds of scientific research studies published in reputable medical journals (anyone who states the book relies on anecdotes must have missed the 35 pages of footnotes).

Some of the information is admittedly scary, but patients shouldn't be frightened by the the information in the book-- they should be frightened about what they DON'T know. As someone who has been treated for depression with both medicine and therapy, I recognize the benefits of both. I appreciate what my medication did for me at a difficult time, but this doesn't stop me from recognizing that good medications may have some bad side effects. This, unfortunately, is a fact, and wishing the book away won't change it.

In terms of readibility, the anecdotes about Dr. Glenmullen's patients do make the book very interesting. I was also suprised to learn of the heavy involvement pharmecutical companies have in supposedly "objective" research about their drugs, and the lengths to which the drug companies will go to suppress information about negative side effects of the drugs. The latter is most obvious in Chapter 4, which discusses suicidailty and SSRI's (the class of drugs that includes Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, etc.).

Even if you don't agree with its conclusions, Prozac Backlash is an enlightening read. It is obvious why the pharmecutical companies are so negative about the book, or why doctors who make their living researching for the pharmecutical companies feel threatened. It is sad, however, to think that patients would feel threatened by the valuable information provided in this book. The only real threat is ignorance. As the book encourages, people with depression need to seek professional help. But patients need to be educated partners in their treatment-- this book is a good place to start that education.

51 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scientifically Sound Look at Dangers of Prozac, April 14, 2000

By 

Doubting Thomas (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prozac Backlash: Overcoming the Dangers of Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, and Other Antidepressants With Safe, Effective Alternatives (Hardcover)

As a specialist in drug safety I reviewed this book prior to publication and found it immensely readable and scientifically sound. But because it embarrasses the drug companies and the many doctors who have used these drugs indiscriminately, I have already seen erroneous charges that this book is "irresponsible" or lacking in scientific merit. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yanking Away the Bandaid: Backlash to Prozac Backlash, July 29, 2004

By 

SamuraiMom - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prozac Backlash: Overcoming the Dangers of Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, and Other Antidepressants with Safe, Effective Alternatives (Paperback)

I was taken aback by the viciousness of many of the reviews here, but not really surprised. This book says what many people do not want to hear--and backs it up with research from people *not* in the drug industry's pocket.

Glenmullen knows the real value--and equally real pitfalls--of these drugs--and shares his knowledge in this valuable and disturbing book. He explains the issues in laymen's terms, and includes scientific citations for those who wish more detail.

Not anti-drug per se, Glenmullen sees SSRIs as a temporary bandaid for acute crisis. He refers to research showing therapy to be equally effective for long term solutions. I've personally observed that no matter what the problem, the majority of mental health providers use drugs as a primary and often permanent answer. Glenmullen's is a valuable second opinion, and especially useful for those who have already discovered some of these drugs' many problems.