# Is fluoride in SSRI unhealthy?



## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

From what I heard fluoride is toxic and fluoridated tap water is said to cause cancer and other diseases. 
I also read stuff that fluoride turns people into zombies by calcifying certain areas in the brain. I don't know what to think about this. But if fluoride is really toxic then does this mean that ssri which contain fluoride, like prozac for example, are also toxic?
Some say yes, others say no. It's the same as with the artificial sweeteners. Some say they are dangerous others say they are not. 
I read a few reviews about prozac saying that prozac is better than other ssri and I thought about trying it but at the same time I worry about the fluoride. I read somewhere that prozac consists largely of fluoride.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

fluoride is an atom that makes up part of the molecule that is prozac. But your body never breaks down (metabolizes) that molecule enough to free up that fluoride ion for your body to digest. My brother is extremely fluoride-phobic and warned me about this back when I was on SSRI's. Fortunately I've studied enough organic chemistry to understand what happens when this drug enters your body. Basically the bond holding the fluoride atoms to the rest of the molecule is so strong that your body will not break it free from the rest of the molecule. The fluoride in prozac will never be free'd up from the rest of the molecule the entire molecule and it's metabolite are excreted by your body. Fluoxetine is never broken down enough to detach fluoride ion from the rest of the molecule.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

That's good to hear. Can you also tell why fluoride is in there in the first place?

And is prozac really better than other ssri?
I read an old article about prozac a while ago saying that prozac can change your personality which sounds a bit scary. Is prozac different than newer ssri? My p-doc told me that celexa doesn't change your personality. Now if prozac changes it then this would mean that there are differences between ssri.


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## robotaffliction (Jul 24, 2009)

thundercats said:


> That's good to hear. Can you also tell why fluoride is in there in the first place?
> 
> And is prozac really better than other ssri?
> I read an old article about prozac a while ago saying that prozac can change your personality which sounds a bit scary. Is prozac different than newer ssri? My p-doc told me that celexa doesn't change your personality. Now if prozac changes it then this would mean that there are differences between ssri.


the fluorine is there because that specific part of the molecule is better at inhibiting the serotonin transporter with the fluorine there vs. something else like a hydrogen. so it's something that the chemists just happened to find to help make it a strong SSRI. it might have to do with some of the biochemical properties of the serotonin transporter that makes the fluorine a good fit.

you could say all of the SSRIs can change personality in some sense. your doctor sounds like he's talking down to you if he's telling you that prozac changes personality but celexa does not.. either that or he's an idiot. all of the SSRIs are about the same other than things like half life and you just have to find the one that works best for you, everybody is different and will find a different SSRI to be the "best" one for them with different effects on personality. a couple examples of changes of personality noted by people on any of the SSRIs are perhaps becoming more outgoing, and for some unfortunate people becoming more apathetic


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

fluoride is in there because that is how pharmacologists designed the molecule. SSRI's are built to inhibit the reuptake of serotonin. So they were designed to have a specific shape that neatly fits into selective serotonin receptors. Fluoride is in some SSRI's because the chemical properties of how it bonds with other atoms was needed in order to create the desired molecule. When it comes to chemistry, specific reactions must occur between specific elements in order to produce the desired molecule. In this case the properties of the fluorine ion were needed to produce the desired chemical. Even though other elements such as chlorine will have similar bonding properties, they will not be the same and will not produce the same molecule. So the fluoride is there because it is, because that molecule was developed by pharmacologists to produce a specific reaction in your brain. It is a unique molecule that does something unique.

There are many SSRI's to choose from. I've been on about six different ones. They either did nothing for me, or made my condition worse. Every SSRI is different an will have different effects. It's probably impossible to say which one will help you or any of them will. It really depends on your condition, symptoms, brain chemistry, etc. 

Plenty of people on here have been helped by SSRI's, plenty of people have found them useless and plenty of people have found them to be awful. They might change your personality, this would not be good and if it happened you would want to quit the SSRI and try a different one. Or give up on SSRI's altogether. 

Newer SSRI's aren't any "better" than old ones because pharmaceutical companies keep creating new ones simply to have a patent on a new drug they can sell to make more $$$. They're all extremely similar with just minor tweaks in the molecular structure. These changes in the molecular structure make them different drugs. They will all effect you differently but they all essentially do the same job which is to inhibit the reuptake of serotonin in selective receptors. The idea is that then you have more serotonin bouncing around in your synapses, making you happier. It works for some people. good luck.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

I don't know what to think. Even MDs say fluoride and prozac are dangerous. I don't want to take something which makes me dumb or causes alzheimer. 

http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller17.html

http://www.greenandhealthy.info/fluoride.html

Fluoride is one of the basic ingredients in both PROZAC (FLUoxetene Hydrochloride) and *Sarin nerve gas *(Isopropyl-Methyl-Phosphoryl Fluoride).

Lower IQ & Alzheimer's Disease: The report also notes that "a series of epidemiological studies in China have associated high fluoride exposures with lower IQ." Fluoride makes your body absorb extra aluminum and aluminum is the metal that shows up alarmingly in the brains of Alzheimer's victims.


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## iamwhoiam (May 14, 2012)

Try something else then. If prozac (or anything else for that matter) worries you for heath or other reasons, then pass on it and research something else that might help. Best to feel confident about anything you are taking.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

Well the prob is that there aren't that many SSRI without fluoride and I have already had celexa. This means only zoloft and paxil are left and I don't know if they are good either. Celexa was useless. I read that prozac is the best SSRI which is why I thought about trying it.


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## robotaffliction (Jul 24, 2009)

thundercats said:


> I don't know what to think. Even MDs say fluoride and prozac are dangerous. I don't want to take something which makes me dumb or causes alzheimer.
> 
> http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller17.html
> 
> ...


you are confusing fluorine and fluoride. prozac contains fluorine. fluoride is an highly reactive ionic form of fluorine... there's no fluoride in fluoxetine

here, I'll even quote the text in your link http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller17.html where it says this:

"Antifluoridationists weaken their case by mistakenly putting florine-carbon organofluorines in the same category as fluoride anions, as Joel Kauffman, a chemist, points out. The fluorine in these compounds is not dangerous (Teflon heated continuously at 500° F does not release any fluoride.) Policy makers will be better able to deal with fluoridation of water alone and ban it when organic (carbon-based) fluorine compounds are removed from consideration."


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

robotaffliction said:


> you are confusing fluorine and fluoride. prozac contains fluorine. fluoride is an highly reactive ionic form of fluorine... there's no fluoride in fluoxetine


Exactly, the fluorine is a strongly bonded ligand to the rest of the molecule, it will not separate, will never exist independently as an ion in your body to do any harm. There is a lot of fluoride phobia going around, and I suspect with good reason based on some of the studies I've seen. But Fluorine occurs naturally and is quite common in a lot of things we ingest. The fact remains that it is bonded so strongly to the rest of the molecule that your body cannot and will not break it free into it's ionic form in your body. Fluorine likes to bond very strongly to whatever it is reacted with and it is difficult to break it free from that bond.

Like Magnesium oxide. People will take magnesium oxide as a source of magnesium. But your gut cannot break the bond between the Magnesium and Oxygen atoms. So the molecule just acts as a laxative and you absorb almost none of the magnesium. So to actually absorb magnesium you need to take a form of it which is bonded to a much weaker ligand. Like magnesium citrate or magnesium taurate.


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## ricca91 (Mar 11, 2012)

The fluoride radical in the molecule of fluoxetine and several other molecules is impossible for the body to separate. It doesn't metabolize it to fluorine and "oxetine" (the rest of the molecule). 

Several other meds have radicals in their molecules which would be toxic by themselves but absolutely safe when attached to a molecule. An example is selegiline (an MAOI). It has a CYANIDE radical, that by itself would kill you in seconds, but selegiline (remember, the complete molecule has a cyanide radical) is neuroprotective.

Many meds contain sulphur, chlorine in their molecules and so on, and are absolutely safe. Don't worry about it!


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## Sumguy7 (May 15, 2012)

Its like sodium chloride. A block of sodium is toxic, and chlorine gas is toxic, but when joined together, sodium chloride is a fairly safe food seasoning.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

Sumguy7 said:


> Its like sodium chloride. A block of sodium is toxic, and chlorine gas is toxic, but when joined together, sodium chloride is a fairly safe food seasoning.


Yes indeed, Ingesting a chunk of sodium would cause you to explode and chloride would certainly kill you. But when bonded together they enhance the flavor of just about anything and are an important electrolyte. I remember when I used to cycle competitively and I'd sweat so much I had to down teaspoons of pure salt because my brain was becoming so edemic I was about to pass out.

The NaCl comparison isn't exactly accurate though. Because the sodium ions are free'd up in the body to perform necessary functions elsewhere.


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## Cletis (Oct 10, 2011)

I doubt there's enough in it to hurt you. It's good for your teeth. :um


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

That's good to hear. So this means prozac would actually be an option for me to try. All the time I was afraid of it because of fluoride.


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## softshock11 (Jan 9, 2011)

i read fluride causes cancer so its probably bad for u in the long run


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

softshock11 said:


> i read fluride causes cancer so its probably bad for u in the long run


read some of the above posts and try to understand the biopharmacology of SSRI's. I hate SSRI's because they have been miserable to me. But the fluoride in the molecule is inert. If an SSRI helps someone out of severe anxiety and depression then that benefit far outweighs the risk of a person's lack of understanding about it's molecular structure and unfounded fears about the nature of fluoride in the molecule.


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## HerbAll (Jul 29, 2013)

Let me get this straight... The ingredients in a Prozac Pill are: Flouride, Nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon.

Oxygen, OK... Nitrogen/ carbon, eh... Flourine, the only foreign ingredient, WTF!!!...

Serotonin receptors consider a shape. Serotonin is Serotonin. 
The people who wrote your book saying that Flouride is not the same as flourine are the same people prescribing the pills... don't drink the cool aid! 

Your body is a Battery which converts metals and vitamins to promote different energies. Just because you crap out the Flourine does not mean your brain didn't try to do something with it! The receptors in your brain are affected. Every single person ever prescribed Prozac after one year must increase dosage because a part of their brain dies. They can never go back to their original dosage ever again, nor are they ever the same person. Several studies have noted this. It is not like the tolerance built with alcohol or other drugs. 

No one is going around saying 'oh I don't have to take pills anymore,' they made me better. The truth is a pill cannot save the way you think. Especially a happy pill. Being happy must be earned or it will only cause more problems and expectations.


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## Dylan2 (Jun 3, 2012)

HerbAll said:


> Every single person ever prescribed Prozac after one year must increase dosage because a part of their brain dies.


Pretty much the most fascinating sentence I've ever read.


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## CD700 (Apr 22, 2010)

Part of my brain died reading that post


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## swim (Apr 4, 2011)

zoloft has no fluoride in it.


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## T800 (Jun 13, 2013)

Why do they put the fluoride in it if it doesnt get absorbed? I'm not buying this. Something's really foul here.


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## A Sense of Purpose (May 8, 2011)

T800 said:


> Why do they put the fluoride in it if it doesnt get absorbed? I'm not buying this. Something's really foul here.


Welcome back thundercats


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## TicklemeRingo (Jan 11, 2013)




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