What are the side effects of antidepressants?

What are the side effects of antidepressants?

Charles Triay (General Practicioner) gives expert video advice on: What are the side effects of antidepressants?; Is there a cure for depression? and more...

Side effects of antidepressants are extremely varied because we have quite a large number of types of antidepressants, and hence the individual types of antidepressants will carry specific side effects to that type of medication. There are a number of side effects they might have in common. Antidepressants often cause constipation. They can cause a dry mouth, dry eyes or maybe a little bit of blurring of your vision. They can cause increased sweating. A lot of antidepressants will cause reduced libido, so that means that a patient might have a reduced sexual desire. There are other side effects, which could be a little more specific to the types of antidepressants. For example, one large group of antidepressants are SSRIs, which are specific serotonin reuptake inhibitors. This is the family of medication that Prozac belongs to. A lot of people do tend to talk about Prozac side effects: headaches, rashes, a sensation particularly at the beginning of treatment that you're not quite with it, that you're not yourself, that you're a little bit distant. I often hear patients describing that type of symptom, but they do tend to wear off. A number of these antidepressants can cause sudden changes in certain blood levels, and it is important with certain types of antidepressants that you have a regular blood test, in particular to check sodium levels and liver function tests. Other types of antidepressants can cause heart irregularities. Patients may need an electrocardiogram, or they may simply need an explanation to be aware of that type of a problem.