Anxiety Medication

Pharmaceuticals

Anxiety medication is one of the most popular drugs by intake volume, as well as one of the biggest sources of revenue for modern pharmaceutical giants. Looking at the top 25 best selling drugs of recent years, one can identify a big handful of psychiatric medications. The majority of these are the so-called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or the selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. Because so many people take them, it is useful to have some understanding of what these drugs do, what sort of unintended and harmful side effects they may have.

Cymbalta

By far the leader of all SSRIs on the American market today is the drug Cymbalta, produced by Eli Lilly Co. Not only is it used to treat anxiety disorders, but also conditions as diverse as muscle pains (fibromyalgia), diabetic neuropathy (nerve pain with diabetes) and major depression. It is also known by the generic and chemical name duloxetine. Cymbalta has suffered recently in its image due to reportedly high rate of severe side effects as discussed in two journals about pharmaceuticals.

Side-effects

The most common side effects are nausea, sleep-walking, and dizziness, but less common ones such as fatigue, depersonalization, blurry vision are also found in patients. But the side effect which gets the most press is the increased risk of suicide. Using retrospective combination of studies, the FDA raised the proposal that in people under 25, Cymbalta like other SSRI-based anxiety medication increase the risk of suicide. Subsequent to this, all studies of the association between suicide and SSRIs have been much more spotty. Testing of Cymbalta against other anxiety-relieving drugs shows that Cymbalta is actually not significantly more effective despite occupying the top spot in sales.

Interactions with other substances

Like all SSRIs, Cymbalta has a reaction with a natural herbal supplement St Johns Wort. This finding is important as St. Johns wort is often used as a natural treatment for anxiety and depression. Intake of St. Johns Wort suppresses activity of liver cytochrome P450 enzymes, which are also responsible for processing and breakdown of Cymbalta and other SSRIs. Simiarly, the drug Prilosec inhibits P450 which has been shown to interfere with clearance of the SSRI Citalopram. The net effect of these interactions is that the drug remains in blood stream for longer than dosage indicates. These can worse the noted side effects of Cymbalta.

Gradually Terminate Therapy

Discontinuation of anxiety medications like Cymbalta must also be done so in a gradual manner. Patients have reported that abrupt cessation of drug can result in symptoms such as confusion, anxiety, seizures. These symptoms can be reduced again by resuming prior doses of drug, with the acknowledgement that implementation of a gradual cessation schedule is necessary. Unfortunately, depending on the patient, even gradual reduction can generate withdrawal effects.

An Invaluable Aid

Cymbalta and other anxiety medications have helped millions. The informed user should understand the possibility of side effects and take precautions to minimize them with his or her physician.