Posted by Elayne on March 22, 2002, at 12:08:10
In reply to Re: sadness v emptiness and post-med brain changes » Elayne, posted by fachad on March 22, 2002, at 11:41:43
thanks for the link. Interesting stuff.
I have seen a number of references to SSRI-induced apathy, but haven't seen anything that acknowledges the persistence of this apathy even after the meds are stopped.
(In fact, not too long ago -- sorry I don't have the exact citation -- there was an anecdote about a psychiatrist who had started himself on Prozac when he went on vacation. He was doing well but decided it would be better to discontinue the drug when he caught himself thinking, as he listened to his patients, "Who cares?")
So I think that privately the psychiatric community has recognized the phenomenon of SSRI-induced apathy for many years. I believe you're right, that as more people have been treated for longer periods of time, the issue's going to be more obvious.
But what I haven't seen is discussion of permanent (or at least long-term) neurological changes that are manifested behaviorally as apathy and persist even in the absence of the drug -- the so-called "frontal lobe syndrome."
I find all this very troubling.
Elayne
poster:Elayne
thread:99188
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020322/msgs/99476.html