I took a neuroscience course once at Stanford Continuing Studies and the young teacher told me that she had done just this with Zoloft at some point during her grad school years -- two weeks on and two weeks off. I couldn't believe my ears nor could I believe it could possibly have been a good idea. She seemed to have survived the experience by all outward appearances but to me it just displays the incredible ignorance of the prescribing professionals. There simply is no way given the withdrawal issues that this could be a good idea. If it does "work" for some (gullible?) souls I'm at a complete loss to explain what the mechanism would be.

paxil is in good company, prescribing medication for women's issues has a long history. check out the vintage medication ads: http://www.bonkersinstitute.org/medshow/fem.html

We have menstruated since the world was created but now It became a disease.
Shareholders are happy!
I started having cramps and feeling the "symptoms" worsen after being on SSRIs.
Yes!
We are trying to raise knowledge about the risks of SSRIs and Paxil/Seroxat/Aropax, paroxetine, is the one the has more data thanks to Rob Robinson, Fiddy, Truthman30 and others.
Whenever I see something like this I loose the last drop of faith I have on seeing changes on this absurdities.
How much money is enough?
How much lives... blah, blah,blah....
I also heard, and even is written on the directions, that it takes 3 to 4 weeks to the drug get the therapeutic effect.
I have already seen Paxil prescribed for headaches!
SocialAudit.uk discussion board is full of data.
Please Charles Medawar, put this discussion back.

I cannot speak for any other women in the world, but the best thing I have found for PMS is chocolate and a long soak in the tub.

And more chocolate.

Thanks for posting this Philip.

this use of SSRI's is not new...Prozac actually came out with Sarafem...the same exact active ingredient as Prozac, which had new patentability quite a while back. My gyno offered it to me. I didn't know what it was at the time...found out real quick.

Pretty damn sneaky giving it a different name...sorta like the Welbutrin/Zyban crap...makes people think they're not taking an anti-depressant.

My doc also once wanted to prescribe zoloft for PMS...

Conflict of Interests? ...

http://www.ossdweb.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=57563

Dr. Meir Steiner
_______________

2004) Medical Consultant/Advisory Board Member/Speakers Bureau Eli Lilly, Inc., Pfizer International, Novartis Canada, GlaxoSmithKline, Lundbeck, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Azevan Pharmaceuticals, Ferring.

http://seroxatsecrets.wordpress.com/2008/08/04/just-take-paxil-for-6-or-7-days-a-month-every-month/

Isn't the classic time span for the placebo effect two weeks? That's what I've been told (repeatedly) by the pooh-poohing medicos whenever something they *didn't* prescribe actually seemed to help.

Were you being ironic, yes? Paxil IS prescribed to prevent migraines. Further, the reaction to unnecessary SSRIs includes tachycardia, anxiety, and some rather odd sensations.

Rossweisse -- are you saying people only get these reactions when the SSRIs are "unnecessary"? I'm sorry to snap, but is there some little goblin up in the brain deciding whether the drug is necessary or not? Give me a break. Any and all can get these reactions and it has nothing to do with whether the drug was "necessary" or not -- hint: it's never necessary because it's toxic and that's why these reactions happen.

I thought up some other uses for the SSRIs and other psychotropics - bee stings, dishpan hands, aching back, suicidal tendencies during that time of the month caused by Lamictal, bunions, itchy scalp, pimples. Just wait....I'd better not make too much of this or Pharma will jump on it.

My psych doc explained to me that when using SSRIs for PMDD it is actually the serotonergic effect that is causing the drug to work and that is why it (supposedly) works immediately. He openly admitted that serotonin has very little to do with how these SSRIs actually work in the end when they start taking effect after 2,4,6+ weeks. "down the line effects on other neurotransmitter systems".... I think is along the lines of what he said in regards to antidepressants working for depression.

SO maybe PMS, or at least PMDD does have a lot more to do with serotonin than actual depression. It sorta makes sense in my case since a nice massive dose of 5-HTP (precursor essential to serotonin production) once I start getting "menstral" actually works within about two hours to two days of taking it. I thank god this is the case because my PMDD problems were bordering on psychosis some months and I can not take antidepressants due to them ALWAYS triggering hypomania, mixed episodes and causing long term destabaliztion/rapid cycling.

For anyone who has PMDD I very highly recomend trying some 5-HTP or Tryptophan for your symptoms, especialy if your only other option is to take an antidepressant and you have had bad reactions to antidepressants in the past. For me taking Solaray brand (I only mention it because it is a reliable brand) L-5-Hydroxy-Tryptophan or L-5-HTP, is as important to my staying stable as taking my Seroquel, and xanax when I need it. If I forget to go out and buy some 5-HTP befor my period and I get lazy and don't start taking it at the first sign my mood is slipping, well I have to suffer the consequences for however long I do that. But the great thing, at least for me, about 5-htp is that it NEVER takes more than two days of taking it to lift my mood... without lifting it too much like antidepressants always have.

Just thought I'd mention it since I really think more people should try *certain* natural food based supplements first befor turning to drugs (as long as they can stand to try them and aren't an immediate risk to themselves). And what I mean when I say *ceratin* supplements is: Tryptophan or 5-htp for depression and PMDD along with citamin c and a big dose of all the b vitamins (all have clinical studies showing they are effective for depression, some have been shown to be MORE effective than multiple antidepressants. Do a PubMed search with the supplement name and "depression" and you will find the studies). And DLPA (DL-Phenylalanine) has been shown to be helpful for depression as well as beat out a couple of antidepressants it was studied side to side with. There are a few others but I wont go into it here. I just will suggest the book "the mood cure" for anyone looking for alternatives to drugs to treat thier depression or anxiety. (Unfortunately there don't seem to be any "natural" treatments for psychosis or mania, cept Lithium, but the rx version of lithium is safer and mre effective than the stuff you get at the health food store)

The thing about the Amino acids, which with the exceptiong of the vitamins I mentioned, which are always a good idea to take every now and then... well with the amino acids I mentioned above (tryptophan, 5-htp, DLPA) they are all simply food based supplements, basicaly specific protiens, so are very very safe for the body when compared to actual drugs... and there are a lot of people who swear by them for mood and energy issues.

I like to let people know whenever I can that there are other options than drugs when it comes to treating depression, anxiety and PMDD... and it's not that I am antimed or anything, just that I think people should know ALL the options they have, and I know 99% of doctors simply are too big of wimps to go outside the norm and suggest a patient try these things even with all the studies that exist showing that they can be just as effective as some of the most widely used depression meds.

Even with my doctor I had to tell him I was going to take 5-HTP no matter what he said because it works for me and that there's no way in hell he'd get me to try another antidepressant, Before he would even talk to me openly about what he did know about the effectiveness of Amino Acid therapy.
Once he finished telling me all he knew about it I was amazed that he knew so much, had seen other patients of his have such great results from using amino acids yet had never suggested to me to try amino acids even when he knew I could not take antidepressants without risking becoming very ill... I was amazed that he had still been pushing me to try another antidepressant for my PMDD until I flat out told him I would never do that and I had already made up my mind to continue using the 5-htp....well after I found all this out I asked him why, if he knew so much about how effective these supplements could be, why he had never suggested I try them or shared any of his quite vast knowledge about them until I had already made up my mind to use them and to not try any more drugs. His answer was that it was a matter of liability. That since it is not standard practice for psych docs to suggest amino acids and vitamins and such, that if he had suggested I try 5-htp and it hadn't worked and I had ended up hurting myself, that he would be 100x's more liable for that reaction than if he suggested I try another antidepressant, even knowing I ALWAYS get way more ill when I have taken ANY antidepressants, and I had gone insane and tried to hurt myself from having yet another very predictable bad reaction to the antidepressant he suggested.

That's pretty messed up but that is the way the psych field, and really the way all medical specialties work. If it's not standard practice then you have to have a very special doctor if you're ever going to hope to have them suggest the things that may actally be the best option for you at the cost of not suggesting things that are "standard practice" treatments... even if they know that the standard practice treatments are actually dangerous to your wellbeing and even if they know from experience that suggesting something that is not standard practice, such as a vitamin supplement or an amino acid, would be more likely than anything else to benefit you.
It's too bad that doctors are too buisy trying to protect their own asses to be willing to suggest the right treatment to their patients and even to go so far as to be willing to suggest a treatment that poses a great risk to their patient simply because it's standard practice to get people with depressionon antidepressants.... never mind that the pateint has tried to kill themselves four times while being on antidepressants (when they NEVER tried anything like that sans antidepressants in thier system) and has had thier illness made many times worse by antidepressants... no never mind that and never mind that they have tried something like 5-htp and are telling you what great results they are having from it... nope, you've got to suggest they quit the 5-htp and get on an antidepressant for thier PMDD just to cover your ass.
All I can think is THANK GOD I didn't "give in" to the doctors advice and that I kept doing what was helping me, the 5-htp, and held a hard line until the doc felt it was safe for him to admit that I really had made the best choice for myself. Of course I stopped seeing this doctor after he had admitted that he knew all along that the 5-htp was the safest option for me yet that he had been willing to try and push me into getting on another antidepressant, which he KNEW was dangerous for me, just so his ass would be covered in the event that I offed myself and someone wanted to blame him and try and sue him for it. Its pretty messed up that he'd be willing to put me on an antidepressant which probably raises the likelyhood I'd try to kill myself from 10% to 90%, just to cover his own ass.
These are the types of expereinces that make me dislike the psych profession.

If you think about it, the fact that these things/amino acids and vitamins, can't be patented and used to make such HUGE profits the way meds can, then it is even more convincing when you see a study that shows them to be as effective or even more effective than therapuetic doses of the "best" antidepressants. I mean when a drug is shown to be oh so effective you can almost always assume that the drug comps have fluffed up the data to make the effect of their drugs look better than it is... cause, well, there are billions of dollars at stake. But then when you see research being done on amino acids and vitamins, which if anything there is more money put out there to try and disprove thier effectiveness than to prove it, and these supplement STILL beat out the drugs, it's hard to even think that there is some sort of spin being put on the data in order to make these things look more effective than they actually are.

In anycase, sorry for the uber long comment but I really think people should know about amino acids and how effective they can be for some people. I should also say, like I do anytime I post about using 5-htp or tryptophan, that you should NEVER mix either of these with an SSRI antidepressant because it can cause you to get serotonin syndrome... basicaly causes you to have too much serotonin, and that can kill you. SO if you want to try 5-htp or tryptophan you need to try them without being on any SSRI type drugs. I'm not suggesting anyone should quit a med that is working for them to try any of these amino acids, but if you aren't on any SSRI type drugs and you're dealing with PMDD, or depression, and you're doing okay enough that you can take the time to try these things and aren't an immediate risk to yourself... well these are things that are worth trying because if they are going to work for you they will start working within a matter of hours and always within two weeks. If you try one of these things and you take it daily for two weeks and it still isn't showing any benefit, then it probably isn't going to work for you so it might be time to move on to trying the actual drugs.

For me and for treating my PMDD, the dose of 5-htp that works is 200mg. It's different from person to person. SOme people get beter from just 50mg a day, others it takes 200mg. Just start low and raise your dose every tow or three days until you've hit 200mg, and if it still isn't working after taking 200mg for a couple of weeks then it may be that you need to take vitamin C and B vitamins with your dose, or switch to tryptophan or switch brands.

Well, okay, enough from me. If you are interested in how amino acids work for mood issues and what ones may work best for your mood issues I highly recomend the book "the mood cure".

Since SSRIs can't beat a placebo, I doubt very much they're effective against PMS. I have troubles of this nature myself and it's easy enough to somewhat cut back on my usual busy schedule, get lots of sleep and stay away from people who irritate me for a few days a month.

My name is Michael Smith and i would like to show you my personal experience with Paxil.

I am 40 years old. Have been on Paxil for 5 years now. Please be careful if coming off, i started to wean myself with out doctors help couldnt afford it. I went from 20 mgs to 10 mgs for a month, then 10 mgs to 5 mgs for a month. Because the 20 mgs were way to strong took 20 for 5 years and was always on edge. After about 1 month on 10 felt a little better. I stopped for 7 days completly and man did I feel like shit man I didn’t want to leave the house , shop! I just started back on 5 mgs to get it back in my system. Who know what is the right amount you have to be the test subject on yourself!

I have experienced some of these side effects-
Headaches, tremors, emotional wreck, just the blah's when I 1st started takin wasnt bad, cause I also way taken klonopin.

I hope this information will be useful to others,
Michael Smith

BipolarBunny thank you, you have confirmed my findings. My specialist recommended me to go on anti-depressants. But i'm not depressed, I have extreme rage bouts, then tears of guilt about being so cranky. I have sudden mood swings and sudden bouts of feeling really really tired and have to give in and lie down.

I have been eating right for my blood type A+ , not meat, dairy or sugar mainly (which includes wheat) taking a high dose multi B "Tressos B" , Magenesium at night and from mid cycle i've been trying out Zen's Harmony, chinese herbs which after an hour and a half I feel alot less Anxious.

I will be going out tomorrow and trying the SOLARAY NATURAL 5-HTP L-5-HYDROXYTRYPTOPHAN wish me luck.