Fluvoxamine-induced galactorrhea: A case series

Abstract

Galactorrhea is a very distressing symptom, especially for unmarried females, and medication-induced galactorrhea is a common etiological factor. Among psychotropics, antipsychotic-induced galactorrhea is commonly reported. However, there is dearth of literature regarding antidepressant-induced galactorrhea. There have been few case reports of galactorrhea induced by the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as escitalopram and sertraline. Fluvoxamine is one of the routine first-line medications prescribed for obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). However, reports about fluvoxamine-induced galactorrhea have been scant. We report two cases of OCD who developed galactorrhea on treatment with fluvoxamine. One patient had hyperprolactinemia while other had euprolactinemic galactorrhea. In both cases, galactorrhea reversed on stopping of fluvoxamine. The complex interaction of serotonin and dopamine in the pathophysiology of hyperprolactinemia is discussed.

Keywords

• fluvoxamine
• galactorrhea
• hyperprolactinemia