Prozac Backlash : Overcoming the Dangers of Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, and Other Antidepressants with Safe, Effective Alternatives [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

by Joseph Glenmullen (Author) "Late in her therapy, Maura took to lying back in the chair in my office, so relaxed she looked as if she drifted into a..." (more)
Key Phrases: involuntary motor system, serotonin boosters, related neurological side effects, Eli Lilly, New York, American Journal of Psychiatry (more...)

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

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.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 383 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1 edition (2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684860015
• ISBN-13: 978-0684860015
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #716,296 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

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

By A Customer

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.

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Thomas J. Moore (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

119 of 141 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beware the attempts to discredit this book: it's OK, May 25, 2000

By A Customer

Unlike some of the critics of this book, I have actually read it. Moreover, I have Ph.D. in environmental science, and teach at an international public policy school.

I am disturbed by some of the comments made by other 'reviewers' that this book is not 'scientific' or that it is only 'anecdotal'. I believe these comments are attempts to discredit the book. After all, if you read the book you will see that there is much at stake here: the drug manufacturers are making a fortune from prescriptions of anti-depressant medication, yet the evidence is mounting almost daily as to their mis-use and side effects. Indeed, the book even describes a payment by one drug company in 1994 to a potential witness in a trial in order to avoid bad publicity. This book presents the evidence for questioning the value of the current belief in certain anti-depressants like Prozac and Zoloft. The book is loaded with references to internationally-regarded medical journals and researchers, and to available surveys on the potential side effects. If there is anything 'anecdotal' about the book, it is that it is written in a easy-to-read styles that actually reports on real-life stories (anonymized).

Furthermore, it is false to say the author advises that anti-depressants should not be used at all. He makes it very clear that they should be reserved for severe cases of depression. In my opinion, the interesting points he makes are that prescribing anti-depressants for cases of less-than severe depression (or similar conditions such as anxiety, etc) may actually create more problems than they solve. Such problems may include 'numbing' people to the feelings and processes that actually cause the depression; a variety of physical side-effects such as loss of sexual function; and even (in the worst cases) feelings that can even encourage suicide. It is not surprising that the medicine companies do not want people to respect this book. But it is clear that the book is not an outright rejection of any form of medication, but instead a more balanced approach that actually goes to the roots of problems, rather than just dealing with (apparent) symptoms.

If there is one aspect of the book I do have reservations about, it is that the descriptions of 'alternatives' to medication is merely an introduction to these subjects rather than a complete guide. There are a variety of alternatives mentioned, such as herbal remedies; psychotherapy; physical exercise etc etc. All of these are interesting and relevant. But I would think that anyone in the throes of a major depression or similar distress would want to read much more than what is available here (albeit, at well over 100 pages there is quite a lot of information). Of course, the book does not intend to be a 'self-help' guide to overcoming depression, and so perhaps it is unreasonable to suggest that it is short in this respect. It is best to be clear that the book's main intention is to review the evidence against the currently popular anti-depressants, and highlight where we should be looking instead. The book is highly successful in achieving this objective.

If you are taking prozac, zoloft, paxil or ritlin, you would be well advised to read this book. If you are interested in understanding how medical practices are manipulated by large drug-company interests, this book is a must. If you want to learn more about where to turn instead of simply taking medication, this book is an excellent introduction. But please, do not be put off by the negative comments of some 'reviewers', because their statements are inaccurate, and -- given the high stakes of the book -- their origin is suspect.