Posted by andrew on April 20, 1999, at 15:14:59
In reply to Antidepressants and Lactating, posted by anonymous on April 20, 1999, at 13:09:25
> This is one for the ladies, sorry guys!
>
> I have been lactating for the past two years now and only today when Patty mentioned lactating did it occur to me that it could be the Effexor.
>
> It has been so bad that I started getting abscesses on my breasts caused by the milk clogging the pores of the tissue. The doctors, especially male seem to just snicker and give me antibacterial topical creams. The women medical professions scold me for expressing the milk and say that this will just make it continue, but I would rather squeeze it out than get more scars on my breasts from the infections. My self esteem and body image is bad enough with the depression. I can even "feel" when it is too full and time to squeeze.
>
> Does anyone else have this bizarre lifestyle and is there any help?Read below, it is an abstract of of the Medline database. The abstract seems to be saying that raised prolactin levels (prolactin is a hormone responsible for lactation) are a not so uncommon side effect of effexor and SSRIs.
Title
Breast enlargement during chronic antidepressant therapy.
Author
Amsterdam JD; Garcia-Espa~na F; Goodman D; Hooper M; Hornig-Rohan M
Address
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia 19104, USA.
Source
J Affect Disord, 46(2):151-6 1997 Nov
Abstract
Recent reports of mammoplasia during selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (SSRI) therapy suggested that this side effect may be
more common than previously reported. We examined 59 women receiving > or = 2 months treatment with an SSRI or venlafaxine
for changes in breast size in relation to menopausal status, weight gain and duration of drug therapy. Serum prolactin, estradiol and
beta-hCG were also measured before and during treatment in a subgroup of patients. Twenty-three out of 59 patients (39%) reported
some degree of mammoplasia. Significantly more SSRI vs. venlafaxine patients reported mammoplasia (p < 0.01). Eighty-four
percent with mammoplasia had weight gain vs. 30% without mammoplasia (p < 0.001). The rate of mammoplasia was unrelated to
age, menopausal status or duration of treatment. Serum prolactin increased during treatment in the paroxetine subgroup (p < 0.03). In
conclusion, antidepressant-induced mammoplasia may be more common than previously expected.
poster:andrew
thread:5093
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990401/msgs/5095.html