Posted by Parents on May 23, 1999, at 22:10:45
In reply to Re: Zoloft & Marijuana Interactions?, posted by JD on May 23, 1999, at 10:59:49
"From my point of view, the best solution may
be to address the marijuana essentially
as it's own issue, insofar as it relates to
your son's physical and emotional well-being
over the last few months."Thanks for the abstracts--we are trying to
deal with this with him in a "logical"
rather than "scare" tactic process. How do
you suggest we do the above though--do we
need to get a substance abuse therapists
in addition to cognitive behavioral therapist
who has helped him with his depression? Do
we need to consider changing medications? Zoloft
seems to have quelled the anxiety but maybe
too much so that he's now more apathetic. How do we
help him find a balance?
He's gone from extreme perfectionism and
depression to more risky behavior and
no depression but marijuana use. Says its
just experimentation...but?????> Dear "parents",
>
> While you have every right to be concerned
> about your son's marijuana use, I wouldn't
> get overly worried about the drug interaction
> aspect: except for a few anecdotal reports
> of problems with simultaneous use of SSRIs
> like Zoloft, the medical literature hasn't
> sounded too many alarms over what I'm sure is
> a fairly popular combination among young
> people. (I do, however, see one report of
> Prozac and marijuana causing a manic response
> in a patient, if you feel like going the fear
> route in a tete-a-tete! It's never wise to
> mix such medications in any event, even if
> many people have no big problems.)
>
> The deeper issue may be whether people who
> are depressed tend to "self-medicate" with
> marijuana: one recent study showed that Prozac actually
> helped to decrease its use, which alas
> doesn't seem to be the case with your son on
> Zoloft, which is a largely similar medicine.
> From my point of view, the best solution may
> be to address the marijuana essentially
> as it's own issue, insofar as it relates to
> your son's physical and emotional well-being
> over the last few months. See some of the
> abstracts I've included below...
>
> Good luck to you all,
> JD
>
>
>
> Depression 1996;4(2):77-80
>
> Do patients use marijuana as an antidepressant?
>
> Gruber AJ, Pope HG Jr, Brown ME
>
> Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts 02178, USA.
>
> Several lines of evidence suggest that cannabis may have antidepressant effects. However, methodologic limitations in available
> studies make the results difficult to interpret. We review this literature and present five cases in which the evidence seems
> particularly clear that marijuana produced a direct antidepressant effect. If true, these observations argue that many patients
> may use marijuana to "self-treat" depressive symptoms.
>
> ---------------
>
> J Clin Psychiatry 1991 Jun;52(6):280-1
>
> A case of mania as a result of fluoxetine-marijuana interaction.
>
> Stoll AL, Cole JO, Lukas SE
>
> Publication Types:
>
> Letter (no abstract)
>
> ----------------------
>
> Fluoxetine versus placebo for the marijuana use of depressed alcoholics.
>
> Cornelius JR, Salloum IM, Haskett RF, Ehler JG, Jarrett PJ, Thase ME, Perel JM
>
> Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, PA 15213, USA.
>
> [Medline record in process]
>
> The aim of this analysis was to evaluate the efficacy of the SSRI antidepressant fluoxetine versus placebo for the marijuana use
> of depressed alcoholics. There are no previous reports involving and SSRI antidepressant for marijuana abuse. This analysis
> involved a subsample of 22 depressed alcoholic marijuana users out of a total of 51 depressed alcoholics. The entire sample
> was involved in a 12-week double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating the efficacy of fluoxetine versus placebo in
> depressed alcoholics. During the course of the trial, the cumulative number of marijuana cigarettes used was almost 20 times as
> high in the placebo group as in the fluoxetine group. Also, the number of days of marijuana use during the study was five times
> higher in the placebo group than in the fluoxetine group. These data suggest efficacy for fluoxetine in decreasing marijuana use
> of depressed alcoholics.
>
>
>
> > From a concerned parent: Just found out
> >
> >
> > From concerned parents: Just found out that
> > 16-yr-old who has been successfully treated
> > for depression (diagnosed 6 months ago) has
> > been smoking marijuana for past two months.
> >
> > Concerned about possible co-morbid
> > addiction condition, interaction of
> > marijuana with zoloft (100 mg), exacerbation
> > of depression and anxiety, etc. Gifted and
> > talented kid who needs real info. not
> > propaganda to convince him of dangers.
> > HELP!
poster:Parents
thread:6408
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990501/msgs/6426.html