Premenstrual Disorders

Facts about Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors

only prove that PMS existed but that there were ways it could be treated to normalize women’s lives. Although there has been widespread belief that most cases of PMS can be treated with diet, exercise, and even diuretics, there are those like Emily who are unable to function each month with all of these changes. Even though she is careful about what she eats (except when she can’t control her cravings) and exercises regu- larly, Emily still suffers. Women like her need more help, and for them antidepressants have often been able to change their lives. Christiane Northrup, M.D., in her book Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom , says she always advises women to make lifestyle changes • Since their introduction in 1988, the SSRI antidepres- sants have become the most widely used antidepressants. • SSRIs were specifically designed for help with treating de- pression. Unlike many medications, they were not found accidentally while trying to find something else. • Unlike some other antidepressants, SSRIs are not addic- tive. • Because they change the way the brain works, which can be different for each person, individual SSRIs do not change one person’s symptoms the same way they do an- other’s. Sometimes those who take antidepressants must try more than one before they find the medication that works best for them. • At least fourteen subtypes of serotonin exist, which could lead to the development of even more specific drugs that will act on these serotonin subtypes.

34

Premenstrual Disorders •