Side Effects Of Antidepressants

Memory Issues

Tricyclic antidepressants such as amitriptyline and imipramine are known to cause memory issues. Episodes of memory loss and memory impairment have been reported by over one-third of patients who take these medicines, and concentration difficulties occur in more than fifty percent of users. Doctors believe the memory issues associated with tricyclic antidepressants stem from the fact the drugs work by blocking certain neurotransmitters. The memory loss that takes place with antidepressants typically involves a loss of short-term memory, and this may be accompanied by difficulties with information processing and focusing. Short-term memory includes memories of events of the previous few days. Patients experiencing issues with this type of memory might forget what they did the day before yesterday, and they could also forget what they ate for breakfast or where they placed their keys when they came home from work that day. Reducing the dose of a tricyclic antidepressant may sometimes reduce the severity of the patient's memory issues, and switching to a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor or serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor could reduce the chance of this side effect as well. A serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor called venlafaxine is believed to be one of the antidepressants that is least likely to cause memory issues, and it is among those with the lowest chance of contributing to memory loss in the elderly.

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Sweating

Excessive sweating may occur with any type of antidepressant, and doctors estimate that this symptom is experienced by four to twenty-two percent of patients who use these medicines. Excessive sweating is particularly likely to develop in patients taking tricyclic antidepressants or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. In fact, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor called bupropion causes sweating in twenty percent of users, and other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors like paroxetine and sertraline are associated with this side effect too. These medications increase serotonin in the brain. Serotonin affects the hypothalamus, a region of the brain that controls the body's core temperature, and the serotonin increase caused by selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors is believed to be the trigger for excessive sweating. Patients with this side effect may find the soles of their feet or the palms of their hands are sweaty regularly, and body odor could become an issue. If sweating is disruptive or affects their quality of life, patients might want to ask their physician about reducing their dose or switching to a different antidepressant. If the patient wishes to remain on their current antidepressant at the same dose, taking a medication called benztropine with the antidepressant may help reduce or eliminate excessive sweating.