We found this very comprehensive list of antidepressants and their most common side effects. This is just to show an overview of what is out there and how it is damaging us!
For each antidepressant, we've listed the most common side effects people have. Whether or not you will have these or any other side effects cannot be known ahead of time. We each have a different response
to medicine.
AMITRIPTYLINE-ELAVIL
Sleepiness, dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, a delay in urinating, weight gain, sweating, worsening of heart disease, dizziness when you first stand up
AMOXAPINE-ASENDIN
Worsening of heart disease, sleepiness, agitation, trouble sleeping, anxiety
BUPROPION-WELLBUTRIN
Agitation, dry mouth, trouble sleeping, headache, nausea, vomiting, constipation, tremor
CITALOPRAM-CELEXA
Anxiety, sleepiness, nausea, headache, trouble sleeping
CLOMIPRAMINE-ANAFRANIL
Dry mouth, sleepiness, tremor, weight gain, sweating, dizziness when you first stand up, blurred vision, constipation, delayed orgasm, delay in urinating, nausea
DESIPRAMINE~NORPRAMIN
Dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, a delay in urinating, weight gain, sweating, dizziness when you first stand up
DOXEPIN~SINEQUAN
Sleepiness, sweating, dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, a delay in urinating, worsening of heart disease, weight gain, dizziness when you first stand up.
FLUOXETIN~PROZAC
Agitation, anxiety, trouble sleeping, sleepiness, tremor, loss of appetite, nausea, diarrhea, headache, dizziness, delayed orgasm
FLUVOXAMINE~LUVOX
Sleepiness, trouble sleeping, anxiety, tremor, nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, sweating, delayed orgasm, diarrhea
IMIPRAMINE~TOFRANIL
Sleepiness, dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, a delay in urinating, dizziness when you first stand up, worsening of heart disease, weight gain, sweating
MAPROTILINE~LUDIOMIL
Sleepiness, dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, a delay in urinating, worsening of heart disease, dizziness when you first stand up, weight gain
MIRTAZAPINE~REMERON
Sleepiness, increased appetite, weight gain, dizziness
NEFAZODONE~SERZONE
Sleepiness, dizziness when you first stand up, nausea, headache
NORTRIPTYLINE~PAMELOR
Sleepiness, dry mouth, a delay in urinating, constipation, blurred vision, weight gain
PAROXETINE~PAXIL
Nausea, sleepiness, fatigue, dizziness, trouble sleeping, sweating, tremor, loss of appetite, anxiety, delayed orgasm
PROTRIPTYLINE~VIVACTIL
Dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, a delay in urinating, worsening of heart disease, dizziness when you first stand up, trouble sleeping, anxiety
SERTRALIZE~ZOLOFT
Nausea, diarrhea, tremor, dizziness, trouble sleeping, sleepiness, sweating, dry mouth, delayed orgasm
TRAZODONE~DESYREL
Sleepiness, worsening of heart disease, dizziness when you first stand up, nausea, vomiting
TRIMIPRAMINE~SURMONTIL
Sleepiness, dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, a delay in urinating, dizziness when you first stand up, worsening of heart disease, weight gain, sweating
VENLAFAXINE~EFFEXOR
Sedation, nausea, sweating, dry mouth, dizziness, weakness, constipation, decreased appetite, vomiting, anxiety, tremor, blurred vision, delayed orgasm, headache
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What are Some of the Basic Facts About MAOI Antidepressants?
They may begin to work almost immediately, or they may take as long as eight weeks to start working.
You need to take them exactly as prescribed whether you feel very good, very bad or in between.
The dose prescribed is very different from person to person.
Antidepressants are usually only a part of treatment. Therapy, skills training and lifestyle are important too.
You must carefully avoid certain foods and medicines while you are taking an MAOI antidepressant and for two weeks after stopping it.
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What are the Most Common Side Effects?
The most common side effects of the MAOI antidepressants are low blood pressure, feeling light-headed, trouble sleeping, sleepiness, dry mouth, weight gain and reduced tolerance for alcohol.
A less common side effect is high blood pressure if you eat prohibited foods or medications. Symptoms of rising blood pressure may include stiff neck, headache, palpitations, chest pain, nausea or vomiting, flushing or chills, fear, pallor or sweating. The blood pressure may rise so high that it is life threatening. This is called a hypertensive crisis.
SCARY NOTE: We recently learned that:
Drug companies are doing some interesting things to the names of their products. The FDA recently approved the chemical fluoxetine for the treatment of symptoms related to PMS – Premenstrual Syndrome (officially known as PMDD – pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder). Fluoxetine is sold by Eli Lilly and Company under the name Prozac. Will women with PMS be taking prescriptions for Prozac to their pharmacist? Not likely. Lilly has decided to rename the drug Sarafem when it is prescribed for this problem. Why the new name? Lilly's official position follows:
The additional trademark will help with educational efforts for this largely underrecognized disorder while reducing confusion about the differences between depression and PMDD. (Lilly Newsroom 7/00)
What about the confusion that is added by two different names for the same chemical? What happens when a patient gets Prozac from one doctor and Sarafem from another?
Prozac has a mixed reputation. While some have hailed it as the first in a class of wonder drugs others have implicated it it in some cases of suicidal behavior. There have never been any substantiated cases of suicidal behavior traced to Prozac or any other antidepressant. Lilly has a response to these rumors too:
Concerning media allegations of Prozac and suicide there is no credible evidence that establishes a causal link between Prozac and violent or suicidal behavior. In fact, in September 1991, a panel of experts appointed by the FDA found no credible evidence of a causal link between the use of antidepressant drugs, including Prozac, and suicidal or violent behavior. (Lilly Newsroom quoted 7/00)
This is not the first time that a drug company has given a new name to the same medication. In 1997 bupropion was approved for smoking cessation. This medication, better known by the trade name Wellbutrin was re-christened Zyban when used for smoking cessation. That's why the Zyban ads warn you not to take it if you are taking Wellbutrin. Not much fuss was made about this at the time, but it seems to have started a trend.
Steve Cartun, M.D. did write to protest the renaming back in 1997. His logic still rings true, and there is a great deal of irony in the example that he used at the time. An excerpt:
New indications for old medications have become a staple of psychopharmocology. Prozac, for example, originally introduced as an antidepressant, has since garnered FDA approval for the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Eli-Lilly, the company that manufactures and holds the patent for Prozac, did not rename it’s product simply because it had earned a new indication. Even though Prozac had been subjected to false and damaging statements, Eli-Lilly chose not to fashion it in newer clothes. The renaming of Wellbutrin by the same company that manufactures it, simply because research studies show that it has a new and valuable use, gravely concerns me....
The renaming of medications is a dangerous semantic. While a pharmaceutical company can argue that a new name that gains wider use will ultimately help the patient, I believe that such a measure treats physicians like naive consumers who care more about a logo than the gritty science that logo represents. Perhaps this is an alarming symptom of how trivialized the importance of reality, at the expense of marketing, is becoming. Physicians have already been renamed health care providers. Wellbutrin is now being named Zyban for a new use. An industry insider once told me that the letter "Z" is particularly useful for gaining audience attention. I hope that Zyban gains all the attention it can to prevent this naming process from becoming a trend. Enough misrepresentation. Convolution must be resisted. If it continues, the meaning of health care will become even more lost than it is now. (Cartun, 1997)
I'm afraid that Dr. Cartun's hopes have not been realized. Lilly has renamed Prozac to appeal to women with PMS who might otherwise shy away from the medication. It's hard enough to keep track of all of the different medications out there. We shouldn't have to keep track of multiple trade names for the same medication from the same company.
Now you know! :)
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