Premenstrual Disorders

facturer of Prozac, decided to repackage and rename Prozac for the women’s market. The new name, Sarafem, with its pink and purple pills, was ready to help women who feel out of control for one to two weeks a month bring normalcy back to their lives. In July 2000, the FDA finally acted on the recommendation and approved Sara- fem to treat PMDD. Sarafem is usually taken once a day, in the morning, and should be taken close to the same time every day. A missed pill must be taken within a few hours or that dose should be skipped. Doses should never be doubled to make up for a missed dose. The pre- scription should be stored at room temperature. The patient’s doc- tor should be kept informed of any changes—good or bad—that the patient experiences while taking Sarafem. Pychiatric drugs cannot be taken lightly or casually. It is impor- tant to follow the prescribing practitioner’s instructions exactly, in order to avoid potentially dangerous side effects.

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Treatment Using SSRIs