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An estimated 5 million Americans are afflicted with obsessive-compulsive disorder, a biologically based syndrome whose symptoms are recurrent and intrusive obsessive thoughts and compulsive, time-consuming behaviors that shape and even dominate, the person’s life—even though the patient knows these thoughts and behaviors are irrational. The standard drug for treatment of OCD has long been the tricyclic antidepressant Anafranil (clomipramine), but in July 1993, the Food and Drug Administration unanimously approved Prozac as a treatment for OCD.

Once more, Prozac’s superiority as a treatment for some patients has much to do with its minor side effects. Anafranil, when taken in the high doses required for OCD (200 to 300 mg a day), often produces severe constipation, dry mouth, thirst, urinary problems, and gastrointestinal complaints. These symptoms do not occur with Prozac except an extremely mild form on occasion.

Luvox (fluvoxamine), a recently released SSRI approved for treatment of OCD, appears to be as efffective as Prozac or Anafranil for this condition. Although not FDA approved for depression in the United States, Luvox has been used for depression in Canada and Europe for several years.

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Tags: Anti Depressants

This entry was posted on Monday, March 23rd, 2009 at 12:55 am and is filed under Anti Depressants-Sleeping Aid. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.