Posted by Cam W. on August 24, 2001, at 17:15:14
In reply to Re: BENZOS and OCD/Zoloft - For CAM W. and anyone else, posted by Bob on August 24, 2001, at 14:49:05
> What kind of interactions are there between benzos and Luvox???
Bob - Certain benzodiazepines, like Xanax™ (alprazolam), Lectopam™ (bromazepam), Klonopin™/Rivotril™, and Restoril™ (temazepam), Soma™ (midazolam), and Halcion™ (triazolam) are metabolized in the liver by the cytochrome-P450 enzyme system (CYP-3A4, to be exact; also, this list is off the top of my head, and may not be complete). Luvox™ (fluvoxamine) inhibits this enzyme system.What this means is that Luvox decreases the amount of enzyme that is normally available to metabolize the above benzodiazepines; as well as metabolizing the Luvox itself. The benzos aren't metabolized as readily; thus they "may" build up in the body more than they normally would.
Clinically, this means that someone taking Luvox (or Prozac™ - fluoxetine) and one of the above benzos will possibly require a smaller dosage of the benzo, for the same effect without the inibitor.
This is not usually a problem when adding the above benzos to Luvox, but may result in increased sedation, etc., when Luvox is added to the above benzos.
Therefore, some people can reduce their Klonopin dose (for example) when starting on Luvox or Prozac.
I hope that this is clear. - Cam
poster:Cam W.
thread:76157
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010822/msgs/76272.html