If you’ve been battling depression for a while or are having difficulties coping with the challenges and problems in life, antidepressants are usually prescribed to help. Such medications seem to work by rebalancing the chemicals in your brain that affect your emotions and demeanors. They’ve been prescribed for individuals suffering from depression, sleeplessness, hopelessness, anxiety, and for those with suicidal thoughts. However, they’re not a quick cure.
Antidepressants, like any other medications, have a varying effect on every person. Hence, it’s crucial to know what to expect when you’re prescribed to take them. Find out below.
Table of Contents
1. Energy Bursts
Antidepressants can make you feel more energized or cheerful. The reason for this is that such medications are believed to boost your alertness or mindfulness, increasing your productivity in the workplace or everyday life. A few weeks after taking the medications, you may notice an improvement in your attention span or an increase in your productive output. However, if you find this inconvenient, try avoiding caffeine or alcohol for a little while until you get used to the energy surges.
2. Difficulty In Sleeping
Since antidepressants give you spurts of energy, they can also make it hard for you to fall asleep. That’s because you’re not as exhausted or sleepy as you usually are before bedtime. Antidepressants are believed to be capable of balancing serotonin levels. This allows your brain cells to communicate with each other more easily. Though this is healthy, it might interfere with your ability to sleep.
Even if you stop taking your medications, your sleep difficulties may persist. You’re still at risk of suffering the symptoms of antidepressant withdrawal. Nausea, sensory abnormalities, antidepressant withdrawal insomnia, and flu-like indicators are just some signs that might occur.
3. Fatigue
If you find it hard to sleep or stay asleep at night, you may feel tired throughout the day. This could be because your body is adapting to a new chemical equilibrium, which can cause fatigue as you adjust.
Taking a nap, exercising, and establishing a consistent sleep routine can all help prevent daytime tiredness. The weariness can last a few weeks, depending on how long it takes for your body to adjust to the medicine and the changes it causes. However, if you’re still experiencing exhaustion even after a month, it might be best to consult your psychiatrist.
4. Tremors
Tremors or shakiness appear to be a side effect of some antidepressants, such as SSRIs and tricyclic antidepressants. Tremors are uncontrolled, rhythmic movements of a portion of your body. As a result, you may be advised not to drive or operate heavy machinery since the shaking or tremors might cause an accident.
5. Dry Mouth
Dry mouth is one of the most prevalent adverse effects of taking antidepressants. When you start taking such medications, you may feel as if all of the moistness in your mouth has been emptied. If switching your medications isn’t an option, you must accept the uncomfortable situation and find solutions instead.
Among the most recommended step to combat dry mouth is by carrying water with you throughout the day. This will be critical if your medications are causing your tongue to dry out. Other coping ways include sucking ice cubes, using high-fluoride toothpaste, quitting smoking, and limiting your caffeine intake.
6. Improvement In Appetite
Depression, as you may be aware, can cause a person to lose their appetite. But upon taking the prescribed medications, this could change. Antidepressants may make you feel hungrier than normal or cause you to gain weight. When you do, it’s an indication that you’re becoming better.
7. Changes In Sex Drive
Antidepressants can also affect your libido. It’s natural for your sex drive to grow or decrease as your body’s chemical balance changes. However, a reduced sex drive is a typical long-term consequence of taking antidepressants. Thus, if you find this change hard to cope with, try consulting your psychiatrist to learn about an alternative dosage for your medication.
8. Excessive Perspiration
While your mouth may be dry, your skin may react the other way around—sweating. Sweating is a typical yet aggravating side effect of antidepressant medications. On the bright side, this is likely to subside within a week or two. Hence, for the time being, have some antiperspirant on hand.
9. Anxiety
Though it may seem counterintuitive, anxiousness is a common side effect you may encounter in the first few weeks or months of your treatment. This is because as antidepressants help in restoring the balance of chemicals in your brain, your mood, and energy levels could be increased. The increase of energy could make you feel more nervous or anxious as your brain doesn’t know how to handle it at the moment.
It could be a good idea to exercise and get enough sleep to help you acclimate to the energy surge. And, as you acclimatize, increased energy levels might help you get through your day while also feeling better.
10. Feeling Social
Depression is frequently associated with difficulty in socializing or aloneness. Those issues, though, could be addressed if you begin taking antidepressants. Higher energy levels and a more optimistic attitude can lead to greater social engagement. If your body responds fast, you may see these changes within a few weeks or months of taking medications.
11. Headaches
When you take antidepressants, you may experience more headaches than usual, which is quite normal. It’s a result of your body responding to the drug. Furthermore, it’s expected to clear up on its own in around three weeks.
Since you have to take the medications to treat your depressive symptoms and improve mental wellbeing, discontinuing your prescription due to headaches may not be an option. Fortunately, people who experience headaches as a side effect of antidepressants have a few options:
- Reduce your dosage in order to prevent or lessen headache discomfort and recurrence of headaches.
- If allowed by your psychiatrist, switch drugs to non-headache-causing antidepressants.
- Take nutritional supplements to help with brain function and prevent headaches.
Endnote
Taking antidepressant medication is a significant step. It’s natural to be concerned about what this implies for you and your psychological and physical health. As a result, if you’ve been diagnosed with depression and prescribed antidepressants, take your time learning about the potential side effects of such medications. The list above can give you a heads-up on what’s coming your way.
