WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF PROZAC ON PATIENTS WHO MUTILIATE THEMSELVES?

It is disturbing that about 4% of patients in mental hospitals have used razor blades, knives, or broken glass to slash themselves on the arms or legs or body. (That number is approximately fifty times larger than in the population as a whole.) Of these people, most are in their twenties, three out of four are women, and over half have tried to commit suicide. They generally cut themselves repeatedly, over a period of years. This is another area where Prozac and other SSRI antidepressants offer promise to real help. A number of cases have been reported where patients suffering from compulsive self-mutilation and obsessive-compulsive disorder responded well to Prozac and other new antidepressant medications.

Will Prozac bring out my “true self”? If by your “true self” you mean your normal non-depressed, nonanxious, functioning self, which you feel is your baseline, the answer is yes, if you are currently depressed, since Prozac relieves the symptoms of depression and returns the person to baseline. Both scientific studies and anecdotal reports support the view that Prozac can in this sense return you to your former self.

Can Prozac make me more anxious or high-strung? Some patients complain mat they feel “revved up,” anxious, agitated, or “jittery” on Prozac, in which case the dose should be lowered.