What are the disadvantages of antidepressants?

SSRIs and SNRIs
  • feeling agitated, shaky or anxious.
  • feeling and being sick.
  • indigestion and stomach aches.
  • diarrhoea or constipation.
  • loss of appetite.
  • dizziness.
  • not sleeping well (insomnia), or feeling very sleepy.
  • headaches.
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What is the disadvantages of antidepressants?

They can affect your sleep and/or your weight

If you have a sleep disorder, this can further affect sleep. If your antidepressant is interfering with sleep, talk with your doctor. The drug or dosage may need to be reviewed. Some antidepressants list weight gain as a side effect.
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Why you should not take antidepressants?

SSRIs may not be suitable if you have any of the following conditions: bipolar disorder and you're in a manic phase (a period of extremely excitable mood), although they can be useful for depressive phases. a bleeding disorder, such as haemophilia. type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes.
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What are the advantages of antidepressants?

Antidepressants are prescribed to relieve symptoms and reduce the chance that they'll come back. They help with emotional balance and reduce symptoms like restlessness, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. As antidepressants work to help treat your depression, they, in turn, can help you sleep better.
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Do antidepressants do more harm than good?

Our review supports the conclusion that antidepressants generally do more harm than good by disrupting a number of adaptive processes regulated by serotonin. However, there may be specific conditions for which their use is warranted (e.g., cancer, recovery from stroke).
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How do antidepressants work? - Neil R. Jeyasingam



Is it better to take antidepressants or not?

Taking medicine for your depression can help you get your life back to normal, especially if you also get counselling. But if your symptoms are mild, lifestyle changes and counselling may be all you need. You don't need to be ashamed about taking antidepressants.
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Do antidepressants shorten your life?

The analysis found that in the general population, those taking antidepressants had a 33 percent higher risk of dying prematurely than people who were not taking the drugs. Additionally, antidepressant users were 14 percent more likely to have an adverse cardiovascular event, such as a stroke or a heart attack.
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Can antidepressants damage your brain?

We know that antipsychotics shrink the brain in a dose-dependent manner (4) and benzodiazepines, antidepressants and ADHD drugs also seem to cause permanent brain damage (5).
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Does your brain go back to normal after antidepressants?

"The fact that antidepressant withdrawal can be so prolonged suggests that the drug has changed the brain and that those changes are taking a very long time to return to normal and it may be the case that sometimes they don't go back to normal."
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Can antidepressants make you worse?

There's a paradoxical period when a person first starts an antidepressant: they may actually begin to feel worse before feeling better. The underlying cause of this phenomenon is a bit of a mystery, but a new study from researchers at Otto-von-Guericke University in Germany explains why this might occur.
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Can antidepressants make you lazy?

But even the newer classes of antidepressants—including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Prozac (fluoxetine) and serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) such as Cymbalta (duloxetine)—can lay you low.
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Can you live a normal life on antidepressants?

MYTH: Once on antidepressants, I'll be on them for life. FACT: Not true. A general rule clinicians often use is that a person should be treated with antidepressants at least one-and-a-half times as long as the duration of the depressive episode before they can begin to be weaned off.
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Do antidepressants change you permanently?

Some believe it is unlikely that antidepressants cause any permanent changes to brain chemistry in the long-term. Evidence seems to indicate that these medications cause brain changes which only persist whilst the medication is being taken, or in the weeks following withdrawal.
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Do antidepressants affect intelligence?

Serretti et al. showed that using SSRIs even in healthy individuals leads to cognitive impairment [25]. The memory loss caused by SSRIs has not yet been convincingly explained; however, serotonin appears to play an important role in learning and memory [26].
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What are the long-term effects of antidepressants?

Long-Term Effects of Antidepressants
  • Sexual problems (72%), including the inability to reach orgasm (65%)
  • Weight gain (65%)
  • Feeling emotionally numb (65%)
  • Not feeling like themselves (54%)
  • Reduced positive feelings (46%)
  • Feeling as if they're addicted (43%)
  • Caring less about other people (36%)
  • Feeling suicidal (36%)
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How long should you stay on antidepressants?

Under American Psychiatric Association guidelines, if you are taking an antidepressant for your first depressive episode, you should stay on it for at least 4 or 5 months after your symptoms of depression stop.
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Can antidepressants make you mean or angry?

SSRIs are the first line of therapy for anxiety and depressive disorders and for many other clinical diagnoses. One of the most disturbing side effects that is observed is a tendency towards aggressiveness among patients receiving medications from this group, mainly during the first month of therapy.
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Do antidepressants damage the body?

Some recent studies have suggested serious potential risks. People who used antidepressants had a 14% higher risk of heart attacks and strokes and a 33% greater risk of death, according to findings in a meta-analysis of 17 studies that was published in 2017 in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.
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Do antidepressants Make You Age Faster?

Surprising results among those taking antidepressants

Researchers believe this may be due to the tendency for antidepressants to relax the facial muscles, leading to more drooping than would otherwise be the case for a particular patient's chronological age.
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Do antidepressants Make You heartless?

SSRI antidepressants are sometimes associated with something called emotional blunting. This can also include such symptoms as feeling indifferent or apathetic, being less able to cry and less able to experience the same degree of positive emotion as one normally would.
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What are the top 3 antidepressants?

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most prescribed type of antidepressant and include: Fluoxetine. Citalopram. Sertraline.
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What are the 3 types of antidepressants?

Each type (class) of antidepressant affects these neurotransmitters in slightly different ways.
...
Types of antidepressants
  • Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). ...
  • Serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). ...
  • Atypical antidepressants.
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What is the best and safest antidepressant?

For most patients, sertraline and escitalopram are more effective and better tolerated than other antidepressants.
...
Six medications accounted for 90% of the prescriptions, in the following order:
  • fluoxetine (Prozac)
  • duloxetine (Cymbalta)
  • escitalopram (Lexapro)
  • paroxetine (Paxil)
  • venlafaxine (Effexor)
  • sertraline (Zoloft).
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What is the truth about antidepressants?

In general, antidepressants work really well, especially when used along with psychotherapy. This combination may give you better results than using either treatment alone. Most people on antidepressants say they have eventual improvements in symptoms such as sadness, loss of interest, and hopelessness.
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Is it hard to get off antidepressants?

It can be hard to stop taking antidepressants after taking them for a long time. People should seek a doctor's advice and support when planning to stop using these medications. The doctor will help make a plan that may involve reducing the dosage gradually or switching to another drug.
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