If your doctor has prescribed antidepressants for you, you should remember some important points. If you follow the tips below, you can avoid unwanted complications and get the most benefit from medications.
Key points
- Antidepressants give a greater effect if they are taken by following the schedule prescribed by your doctor. It will also help reduce the incidence of side effects.
- After you start taking antidepressants in the first or third week, you may feel better. If after three weeks there has been no change, you may need to change the drug.
- Antidepressants can have side effects, but most of them are minor and disappear after the first weeks of taking the medicine.
- If you continue to take antidepressants for another six months after recovery, it will save you from having another bout of depression.
- Make sure you tell the doctor about all other diseases and medications you are taking. This information may affect your choice of antidepressant.
- Sudden discontinuation of antidepressants can cause worsening of the symptoms of depression or its recurrence. If your medicine does not suit you or you can already stop taking antidepressants, you should do it under the guidance of a doctor, gradually reducing the dose to complete failure.
What you need to know about antidepressants?
Antidepressants help balance the level of chemical elements in the brain. Once these elements are balanced, the symptoms of depression disappear.
Make sure you tell the doctor about all the diseases and medications that you take regularly. This information may affect the choice of antidepressant for you.
There are many different antidepressants, and they all have different effects on the chemical elements of the brain. In most cases, the first antidepressant with which you will begin treatment will give a positive result. Although there are cases when the patient has to try several types of antidepressants until he finds a suitable one.
Already in the first three weeks after the start of medication, there is an improvement. However, the result can be seen after 6-8 weeks. If after three weeks of taking no changes, notify your doctor. You may need to change the drug.
If you take antidepressants for six months after recovery, it will help protect you from repeated bouts of depression. If the episode of depression is not the first in your life, the doctor may advise you to take anti-depressants for a longer time.
Side effects
Different antidepressants cause different side effects. However, the most common effects include stomach upset, loss of appetite, diarrhea, feelings of excessive anxiety or agitation, sleep disturbance, trembling in the body, loss of sexual desire and headaches.
Most of them appear mild and disappear after a few weeks of taking the drug.
Risk group
If your child is taking antidepressants, be sure to tell the child’s doctor about all the familial cases of bipolar disorder, if any, and watch the child’s behavior accordingly, especially for signs of manic behavior. In some cases, when a person is diagnosed with depression for the first time in his life, it turns out that he is already suffering from bipolar disorder, which explains his mood swings from depressed to manic. The first attack of mania can occur on its own, although it can also be caused by certain medications, including antidepressants.
If you are pregnant or intend to become pregnant, be sure to tell your doctor before prescribing an antidepressant. Some drugs can harm your baby.
Conclusion Management
Advisory opinion on antidepressants and their effect on the occurrence of suicidal behavior. The management does not claim that patients should stop taking these drugs. Just during their reception, it is necessary to monitor the manifestation of these side effects. Especially at the beginning of the course of treatment or when changing the dose.
Despite this, the result that antidepressants give is much more important than the risk they carry. By treating the symptoms of depression, antidepressants reduce the risk of suicide in the future.
Why antidepressants need to be taken strictly by prescription?
Antidepressants are the most effective treatment for depression. If you are taking antidepressants, do not forget the following:
- If you take prescription drugs and wait for the necessary time to see the result, you will achieve success in treatment.
- If you miss the medication hours or take it irregularly, then most likely it will not help you.
- If you do not continue taking antidepressants for six months after recovery, then your chances of recurring disease increase. At least half of the patients experience a relapse of the disease.
How to take antidepressants?
Learn all about your drug
To achieve the most effective result, antidepressants must be taken strictly by prescription. Make sure you know:
- The name and dosage of your drug.
- How often should you take it.
- How to take it. For example, take medicine with food, or simply drink a glass of water.
- What to do if you miss the medication time. Should I take it when they remembered it, or wait for the next reception.
If you bought the medicine at a pharmacy, read the package leaflet attached to it. This way you will learn about the side effects of this drug and other important points. If, after reading the sheet, you do not understand something, ask the pharmacist to help you.
Take your prescription medication
- Always try to take the medicine at the same time so that it becomes a habit.
- If possible, purchase a medicine container with a separator for each day of the week. This will help you avoid overdosing.
- If you feel no relief after three weeks of admission, tell your doctor about it. You may need to change the drug.
- Take as much medicine as prescribed by your doctor. Do not stop taking it just because you feel better.
- When it is time to give up antidepressants, also follow the instructions of the doctor. Over the course of several weeks, you will gradually reduce the dose of the drug. Sudden refusal of the drug will cause a new surge in symptoms of depression or its return.
Learn what to avoid
- Do not take any other medicines without first consulting with your doctor. Even drugs such as aspirin, vitamins or herbal infusions can cause complications if taken simultaneously with antidepressants.
- Do not drink alcohol. This will increase the manifestation of side effects.
Learn the side effects
Do not stop taking the medicine if you have any side effects. They will pass as soon as your body adapts to the antidepressant.
If the side effects bother you, talk to your doctor. He will either prescribe another drug, or tell you how to deal with them.
Contact your doctor immediately if you or your friends have noticed:
- Chest pain.
- An allergic rash, difficulty breathing, difficulty in swallowing, swelling of the lips or other symptoms of an allergic reaction.
- Signs of suicidal behavior, such as talking or letters about death, distribution of own things, isolation from friends and relatives.
- Manic behavior, for example, excessive activity, inadequate sleep, impulsiveness, grumbling and restlessness.
Findings
After reading this article, you can properly take antidepressants.
If you have questions regarding this information, print this article and take it to the next visit to the doctor. Perhaps you are interested in certain information, you can select it with a marker.