Antidepressant medications are often prescribed to treat anxiety attacks, or agoraphobia with panic attacks. There are four various kinds of antidepressants:
Cyclic antidepressants for example Elavil (amitriptyline), Tofranil (imipramine), Pamelor (nortriptyline), Surmontil (trimipramine), Desyrel (trazodone), Sinequan (doxepin), Norpramin (desipramine), Vivactil (protriptyline), and Anafranil (clomipramine).
According to Mindell and Hopkins, potential side effects or adverse reactions include dry mouth, blurred vision, problems focusing, increased eye pressure that can result in glaucoma, dilation of the pupils, constipation, dysfunction of parts of the small intestine, urinary problems, drastic dips in blood pressure level when going from lying to sitting or from sitting to standing, high blood pressure and many others.
MAO-inhibitors include Nardil (phenelzine), Parnate (tranylcypromine), and Marplan (isocarboxazid).These drugs may cause serious or even fatal rises in blood pressure when combined with: (1) foods that contain the amino acid tyramine, such as wine and certain meat; (2) stimulants and antidepressants; (3) over-the-counter medications, for example decongestants. If you are taking an MAO-inhibitor, you should be under close supervision by your physician. Be sure to watch for low blood pressure level, extreme fevers, daytime sleepiness, nighttime insomnia, muscle pain, and muscle spasms.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) include Prozac (fluoxetine), Zoloft (sertraline), and Paxil (paroxetine). These medicine is used primarily to deal with panic disorder, agoraphobia (six to twelve months), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (long-term maintenance). The SSRIs could also be used for generalized anxiety, especially when combined with depression.
According to Mindell and Hopkins, potential unwanted effects include nervousness, insomnia, drowsiness, fatigue, weakness, tremor, increased sweating, dizziness, anxiety (especially with Prozac), headache (especially with Paxil), dry mouth (with Zoloft and Paxil), male erectile dysfunction (Zoloft), altered appetite and weight, and constipation (Paxil), and lack of appetite, nausea, diarrhea, and stomach discomfort (Prozac and Zoloft). Although weight loss may occur at first, many people experience weight gain after a period of months, which may lead to obesity.
Over 40,000 reports of negative effects from Prozac have been submitted to the Food and Drug Administration because it was first marketed. No other drug comes close, based on Breggin and Cohen. They also state that these drugs can produce effects much like amphetamine or methamphetamine, including an artificial feeling of well-being or energy, anxiety, agitation, and insomnia. Effexor (see below) and Prozac are stimulating, while others cause drowsiness or insomnia. Such as the amphetamines, these drugs can cause manic psychoses, and can also result in less caring and loving focus on family members.
Withdrawal in the drug can lead to "crashing" into depression and suicidal thoughts and actions. Breggin and Cohen report seeing patients who became very disturbed and violent when dosage was reduced, yet others who reported feeling tortured from inside, which may be related to the drugs ability to cause self-destructive or violent behavior.
Numerous suicide and homicide cases have involved individuals who took SSRIs for as low as a few days. Because the drugs can cause agitation and anxiety, they might lead to increased use of alcohol and other calming drugs. SSRIs may cause drowsiness or dizziness. Be careful when driving, performing tasks requiring alertness, or operating machinery.
In research studies, between 15 and 21 percent of those on SSRIs stopped taking them due to unpleasant side effects. Rash, fever, joint pain, abnormal changes in blood-cell counts, swelling, excessive excretion of protein in the urine (indicating liver or kidney damage), and elevated enzymes in the bloodstream (also indicating injury) have occurred in some people taking Prozac.
If you are prescribed this drug and experience these symptoms, you are probably responsive to it and should contact your health-care practitioner immediately to prevent taking it. If you dont, you may end up having a life-threatening anaphylactic shock reaction. In these cases the life-threatening nature from the reaction trumps the potential "crashing" reaction.
Serotonin syndrome is caused by taking an overdose of SSRIs or by an interaction of SSRIs with other drugs. It can be fatal. Symptoms include hallucinations, confusion, agitation, fever, fluctuating blood pressure, stiffness, irregular heartbeats, and seizures.
The results of withdrawal from these drugs can include dizziness, headaches, nausea, poor concentration, fatigue, moodiness, and mental fogginess. Allow at least two weeks to slowly withdraw from all of these drugs and do it under the supervision of the health-care professional familiar with their use.
Clinical trials of those drugs have only lasted for five to sixteen weeks, except in the case of Prozac, that is tested for up to annually. In other words, the long-term results of these drugs have not been studied in any systematic fashion. Avoid these drugs if you have impaired liver function, tend to be manic, have a history of seizures, or are using diuretics. If you are diabetic, Prozac can affect insulin levels, and your drug dose may need to be readjusted.
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