Prozac for Dogs?

Pharmaceutical drugs are big business in America, it seems they have a drug for everything. With all these drugs being handed out like candy, are we healthier now than in the past? According to statistics, we are not. Now the pharmaceutical companies would like to convince you that your dog needs Prozac, which will be sold under the trade name Reconcile.

The result of all this is that our dogs and cats are sicker than ever. Ask any vet who's been practicing for more than ten years: They've never seen such an increase in the rate of liver disease, nervous system disorders, cancers and diabetes. Ever wonder why? It's because pets are being routinely poisoned with pet food and pet medicine. Popular anti-flea and anti-tick medications, all by themselves, are so toxic to the liver of any animal that if they were prescribed to humans, their side effects would make the Vioxx fiasco look like a harmless prank.
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In it's generic version, Prozac is known as fluoxetine. It has been formulated into a chewable tablet for dogs, and will be marketed under the name of Reconcile by drugmaker Eli Lilly. You know the profit hungry drug companies have probably already arranged a meeting with your veterinarian to convince him to start pushing it to all their clients. It is used for dog seperation anxiety, and anyone that has a job and leaves their dog at home is a potential target. Reconcile (Prozac) is a once daily chewable tablet. On the Reconcile website they are recommending it for dogs that Chew destructively, Bark or whine, Inappropriate urination and/or defecation, dogs that drool, dogs that pace, dogs that tremble, and dogs that vomit. That way, pretty much every dog in this world, will at some time in his life, qualify to take Reconcile (Prozac) chewable tablets.

I tried to get product label/warning information for the drug on the reconcile website, but they do not want the public to have that. They wanted to know exactly where I am from, and certification I am a licensed veterinarian before releasing even product label information. Luckily for me, I was able to obtain it from a different source.

Adverse Reactions
In two North American multi-site field studies, which included a total of 427 dogs, the following adverse reactions were observed:

Seizures: In one study, one of 112 dogs in the control group and three of 117 dogs that received RECONCILE chewable tablets experienced the serious adverse reaction of seizures. One of the three dogs treated with RECONCILE chewable tablets experienced two seizures 10 days after the end of therapy.

Despite escalating phenobarbital doses, the seizures continued and this dog died in status epilepticus approximately six months after the first seizure. Another of the three dogs treated with RECONCILE chewable tablets had experienced one seizure approximately 1 1/2 years prior to study enrollment immediately after receiving head trauma.

No additional seizures were reported to have occurred until 45 days after concluding treatment with RECONCILE chewable tablets. During the 1 1/2-year period since the second seizure, this dog's seizure activity increased from single seizures to cluster seizures despite increasing doses of phenobarbital and the addition of oral potassium bromide and rectal diazepam. The third dog treated with RECONCILE chewable tablets and the control dog experienced one seizure 24 days and 35 days, respectively, after the start of therapy; no anticonvulsant therapy was initiated and no further seizures were reported in either dog.

In the second study, one of 99 dogs treated with RECONCILE chewable tablets and one of 99 dogs treated with the control tablet experienced the serious adverse reaction of seizures 9 and 27 days, respectively, after initiation of therapy. The dog treated with RECONCILE chewable tablets was subsequently diagnosed with vestibular disease and the control dog had a history of recurrent hind leg weakness.

1 Plumb DC. Amitriptyline. Veterinary Drug Handbook 5th Edition (Pocket Edition). Iowa State Press. Ames, IA. Page 39, 2002.

2 Hewson CJ, et.al. The pharmacokinetics of clomipramine and desmethylclomipramine in dogs: parameter estimates following a single oral dose and 28 consecutive daily doses of clomipramine. J Vet Pharmacol Therap 21:214-222, 1998.

In a European multi-site study, 234 dogs were treated with daily doses of fluoxetine chewable tablets ranging from 0.25 mg/kg to 4 mg/kg.

One dog treated with a daily dose of 0.4 mg/kg for one month experienced one seizure one week after discontinuing therapy. No anticonvulsant therapy was initiated and no further seizures were reported.

Weight loss: Of the dogs in the two North American field studies with body weight measurements throughout the study (n=196 and n=185 in the RECONCILE chewable tablets and control group, respectively), a 5% or greater weight loss (when compared to initial, pre-study body weight) was observed in 58 (29.6%) of dogs treated with RECONCILE chewable tablets and 24 (13.0%) of dogs in the control group. No dogs were withdrawn from clinical studies due to weight loss alone. The following table shows the number of dogs with weight loss, stratified by percent weight loss relative to initial body weight.

Dose Reduction: Twenty dogs in the RECONCILE chewable tablet group and five dogs in the control group required a reduction in dose due to unacceptable adverse reactions, generally anorexia, vomiting, shaking and depression. Lowering the dose eliminated or reduced the severity of these adverse reactions in the RECONCILE chewable tablet group only. Resumption of the full dose of RECONCILE chewable tablets resulted in a return of the initial adverse reactions in approximately half of the affected dogs. The majority of these adverse reactions were intermittent and mild. However, one dog experienced recurrence of severe adverse reactions, which necessitated withdrawal from the study for that dog.

Additionally, two dogs required a second dose reduction of RECONCILE chewable tablets. Effectiveness was maintained in a majority of those dogs in which a dose reduction was necessary.

In addition, 32% of dogs on Reconcile suffered from depression, which they did not exhibit symptoms of prior. Some other symptoms caused by Reconcile were 26% of dogs became anorexic, 17% of study dogs had issues with vomiting, 11% had uncontrollable shaking, 9% had diarhea, 7% restlessness, 6% excessive barking, and in 4% it caused aggression. Source

Drugmaker Eli Lilly, you really expect me to give Prozac to a dog? Really??