Side Effects of Antidepressant Medicines

Antidepressant medication is an important part of treatment procedures for anxiety disorder or depressive disorder. By taking the antidepressant medicines the patient could be recovered successfully. There are varieties of antidepressant drugs which are prescribed by the General Practitioner or mental health professionals during the treatment process of anxiety disorder, such as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs), atypical antidepressants, tricycle antidepressants (TCAs), and Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs), More or less every antidepressant has side effect. 

Some antidepressants have serious side effects which can severely affect the patients. Among all antidepressants medicines, (SSRIs) are the most famous and effective drugs which can successfully treat anxiety disorder. Some of the (SSRIs) are Fluoxetine (Prozac), Fluvoxamine (Luvox), Sertraline (zoloft), Paroxetine (paxil), Escitalopram (Lexapro), Citalopram (clelexa). SSRIs consist of fewer side effects but the side effects can affect the patients. All people with anxiety disorder should be well informed about the side effects so that whenever they will observe or experience any side effect they can immediately consult with their doctor.

The most common side effects of (SSRIs) are:

• Sleeping disturbance
• Sense of restlessness
• Feeling of drowsiness
• Lack of sex drive.
• Nausea problem.
• Change of appetite.
• Sweating problem.
• Tremors.
• Fatigue.
• Dry mouth.
• Lack of sex drive.
• Diarrhea.
• Headache.
• Feeling Anxious.
• Constipation.

In recent times, atypical antidepressant has been prescribed widely for anxiety disorder. The atypical antidepressants medicines include Bupropion (Well butrin), Venla faxine (Effexor), Dulo xetine (Cymlsalta), Mirtazapine (Remeron), Trazdone (Desyrel), Nefazodane (Slrzone). The side effects of atypical antidepressant are similar to the side effects of (SSRIs). Such as, nausea, fatigue, drowsiness, dry mouth, nervousness etc.

Serotonin-Noradrenaline Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs) are also widely prescribed by the doctors due to lower side effects. The side effects are also similar to the side effects of (SSRIs).

The other older antidepressants medicines such as (TCAs) and (MAOIs) have severe side effects comparing to the (SSRIs) and atypical antidepressants medicines. The side effects could be similar but these drugs can affect severely the patient. So these drugs should be prescribed if (SSRIs) and atypical antidepressants have failed to recover the anxiety disorder.

Some commonly visible side effects of Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs) are:

• Continuous feeling of dizziness
• Dry mouth
• Feeling of sickness
• Constipation
• Problems passing urine
• Dizziness
• Loss of sex drive
• Weight gain
• Night sweating
• Feeling of tiredness
• Sleeping disturbance
• Slight blur of vision

Coping with side effects

If you are experiencing side effects after taking antidepressant then check for the following recommendations which might help you to cope up with the side effects.

• Remember, most side effects will lessen after a couple of weeks since your body will be get used to this antidepressant medicines.
• Even if some side effects may not go away easily but through following the managing techniques you will be able to cope up with the side effects. 
• After experiencing any side effect immediately consult with doctor who will either lower your dose or change your medicine.
• Never stop taking medicines without consulting the doctors.
• Always take your medicines as directed and with food.
• During taking medicines, practice small intervention of eating habit.
• Maintain a healthy and nutritional diet plan. Regularly exercise or engage in other physical activities.
• Be knowledgeable about the potential serious side effects of antidepressant medicines so that you can take any action before it goes worst.