Originally published October 12 2011
FDA approves dangerous new antidepressant drug for dogs
by Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
(NaturalNews) The pet products industry is burgeoning, as 2011 figures released by the American Pet Products Association (APPA) show that Americans now spend more than $50 billion a year on food, supplies, and veterinarian care for their pets -- up nearly 300 percent since 1994. And now Big Pharma wants a piece of the pie, with drug giants Elanco and Eli Lilly and Company having recently gained approval for their dangerous new antidepressant drug Reconcile, the equivalent to Prozac designed specifically for dogs.
According to the Alliance for Natural Health - USA (ANH-USA), Reconcile is a once-daily, chewable drug for dogs that is intended to treat canine separation anxiety (CSA), which is just a fancy way of describing the behavioral changes that occur when a dog is separated from his owner and is left alone. But Reconcile is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), meaning it comes from a class of drugs known to cause mental problems, aggression, suicidal thoughts, and even violence against others.
With this in mind, it is suspect that Reconcile, which was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), does not contain a black box warning notifying pet owners of these potential side effects. Reconcile's label also makes no mention of the highly addictive nature of SSRIs, and of how coming off of them can be extremely difficult and highly dangerous to both users and to others with which they come in contact.
As far as dogs are concerned, taking Reconcile may cause them to undergo severe mental changes, which could result in them lashing out against children, their owners, and even others in public. Based on previous research involving Prozac, Reconcile may also permanently damage the health of dogs who take it.
The FDA, in fact, actually has no idea how dogs will react to Reconcile, particularly in the long term -- but the agency has granted its approval anyway, signaling to millions of pet owners that Reconcile is safe and effective, even though it is likely not. And as a result, you can expect to see many more dangerous pet drugs like Reconcile showing up on the market in the future, as drug companies are sure to take advantage of this vast new drug market.
Like Prozac, the key ingredients in Reconcile are fluoride molecules
According to Reconcile's product information sheet, Reconcile is made of fluoxetine hydrochloride (Prozac), which is converted into norfluoxetine by the liver. Both of these are fluorophenyl compounds, which means that they are a form of mind-altering fluoride, which many readers know is a serious toxin (http://www.naturalnews.com/fluoride.html).
So in addition to the long list of Reconcile's dangerous side effects, which include seizures, weight loss, tremors, aggression, constipation, vomiting, diarrhea, just to name a few, Reconcile will also pollute dogs' bodies with thyroid disrupting fluoride compounds as well.
Even beyond these stated side effects are the numerous reports that indict SSRIs like Prozac and Reconcile for increasing users' risk of having strokes, getting thick arteries, developing cataracts, having miscarriages, developing suicidal or homicidal tendencies, and lashing out against others in fits of rage (http://www.naturalnews.com/SSRIs.html).
And on top of all this, antidepressants have not even been proven, without a doubt, to provide any health benefits at all. A 2010 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, for instance, found that for the vast majority of patients, SSRIs provide virtually no benefits -- but they do, of course, leave them addicted and perpetually ill (http://www.naturalnews.com/028498_antidepres...).
Thus, it is foolish to assume that Reconcile, the canine form of these same SSRIs, will provide any real benefit for dogs. If anything, millions of dog owners will be hoodwinked into buying Reconcile thinking that it is safe, only to later realize the damage it will cause to their furry friends.
It is also important to note that Reconcile was approved based on a single, eight-week study in which dogs treated with Reconcile experienced only slightly better improvement with their CSA symptoms compared to dogs who received simple behavior modification therapy. The study was funded by Reconcile's manufacturer, of course, and did not examine the long-term effects of using Reconcile.
Join ANH-USA in demanding that black box warnings be added to both human SSRIs and Reconcile
ANH-USA has put together a Citizen Petition by which the public can urge the FDA to add black box warnings not only to animal SSRIs like Reconcile, but also to human SSRIs, warning consumers that use of such medication increases risk of violence towards others.
In the case of dogs, using Reconcile to try to temper anxiety, only to have those same dogs experience potential health problems and even worse behavioral problems than they had prior, makes no logical sense. And the public needs to know the truth about Reconcile and all other SSRIs before agreeing to use them either on their pets or on themselves.
To access the ANH-USA petition, please visit:
http://www.anh-usa.org/prozac-for-pets/
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