Depression - Getting Help Now
with anticholinergic side effects like dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, urinary difficulties, impotence and tremor. In addition, they tend to lower blood pressure which means that if someone stands up suddenly, they can produce a feeling of faintness.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) (Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil) SSRI antidepressants were introduced in the late Eighties. These drugs are undoubtedly better tolerated and more acceptable to patients than the older TCAs. Most reports have determined they have few of the anticholinergic side effects, they lack cardiotoxic side effects and may even be safe in overdose. However, SSRIs can cause gastrointestinal side effects which vary from mild discomfort, nausea, weight loss and in extreme cases vomiting and diarrhea.
Additionally they are characterized by a group of side effects which have become known as the serotonergic side effects, one of which is an interference with sexual functioning, causing delayed ejaculation or orgasm. This is particularly problematic when SSRIs are used long term.
Antithetically, SSRIs can also cause sleep disturbances, nervousness, anxiety and agitation although they often subside relatively quickly.
Noradrenergic and Specific Serotonergic Antidepressants (NaSSA) (Remeron, Effexor) The newest type of antidepressant enhances the release of the neurotransmitter noradrenaline in certain areas in the brain and, most significantly, also increases the release serotonin. This dual action is increasingly being recognized for its high level of effectiveness in treating depression.
Whichever medication you take, DO NOT take more than your prescribed dose. The minimal danger is an increased number and severity of side effects. Tachycardia ( an increase in heart rate), arrhythmia (abnormal rhythms of heart beat) and cardiotoxicity (heart poisoning) can follow an overdose.
HOPE I know all too well that trying to talk about hope to someone who is truly depressed is like trying to talk about the next diet to someone who is overweight, or the newest pain relieving medication to someone diagnosed with migraine headaches. Besides, who the hell am I to tell you there is hope?
Well, I've been there and back again more times than I'd like to admit. Mild. Moderate. Severe. And what I've learned is that no one will fight this fight for you. No one will ever completely understand if they haven't felt themselves drowning in a glacier-covered, icy cold, black river with no fishing hole from which to emerge.
The bottom line is, at a time when you may feel in total despair, when you most want to give up - don't. There IS a lifeline.
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