From MedPage Today: “Discontinuation or dosage change of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may be more common than one would think, according to a qualitative study of online drug reviews.
Out of 667 SSRI reviews posted to an online health forum by patients or caregivers, 335 posts were about discontinuing their medication — the most common type of medication change, reported Su Golder, PhD, of the University of York in England, and colleagues.
The most common reason for discontinuing SSRIs was adverse events, which was cited 231 times. Among the seven SSRIs included — escitalopram (Lexapro), sertraline (Zoloft), citalopram (Celexa), paroxetine (Paxil), fluvoxamine (Luvox), vortioxetine (Trintellix), and fluoxetine (Prozac) — discontinuation rates ranged from 41% to 54% among the WebMD health forum reviews.
Of the adverse events mentioned in the reviews, the most common were psychiatric-related, the researchers noted in JAMA Network Open.”