Every prescription drug developed has been designed to treat a single disease and millions of dollars have been spent to ensure safety and efficacy. Once the prescription drug has been approved and is used by the entire population, new treatments for the drug are discovered. To some doctors, they might be considered positive side effects but these new treatment options are called off label uses. Off label uses are not approved by the FDA. In order for these treatment options to become approved, additional testing has to be performed. The reason for off label uses are up to the doctor’s discretion. Based on their observations from drug treatment, they might find additional uses for a certain prescription drug, report back to the pharmaceutical companies and then new testing is performed. I will be discussing some of the off label uses for some prescription drugs.
Wellbutrin
Bupropion, when sold under the brand name Wellbutrin is used to treat symptoms of depression. The off label use is as a smoking cessation drug, under the name Zyban. In Canada, smoking cessation drugs are not covered by provincial drug plans. So what do you think a doctor will do? Instead of writing a prescription for Zyban, he will write one for Wellbutrin to assist with giving up the habit of smoking.
Zoloft
The off label use prescribed is directed at the men. The SSRI medication sertraline (Zoloft) is approved as an anti-depressant for the treatment of depression,obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder. However, there is an additional commonly prescribed off-label use which is to help men suffering from premature ejaculation. You can reread the previous sentence now.
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