Trichotillomania: A Guide

(Excerpt 2)

What drugs are used to treat trichotillomania? Although no medication has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating trichotillomania, there are a number of drugs that show promise for treating this condition. As long as these drugs are on the market for other conditions, physicians can prescribe them for non-FDA approved indications if they are likely to be helpful. Among the more promising of these are antidepressants that enhance the effects of a chemical neurotransmitter in the brain called serotonin. They include clomipramine (Anafranil), fluoxetine (Prozac), fluvoxamine (Luvox), paroxetine (Paxil), and sertraline (Zoloft). These are the same medications that are most beneficial for obsessive compulsive disorder. Depression need not be present for them to work. It is important to realize that even the best studied anti-trichotillomania medications are not yet well studied-especially with regard to long-term treatment.