Antidepressant medications

The pace of life is getting faster and faster. No matter whether you are working people or students in your children's school, they will have their own pressures coming from all aspects. If psychological pressure is not released, it can easily lead to depression, and depression can cause endocrine problems in the body. If the situation is more serious, antidepressant medication may be needed to help treat it.

Generally speaking, depression is treated mainly through psychological counseling. Generally speaking, in the early stages of depression, patients can provide themselves with psychological counseling. If depression is severe and the patient cannot control his or her emotions, he or she may need to take antidepressant drugs.

Common drugs

Overview

Antidepressants are a large class of psychotropic drugs, mainly used to treat depression and various depressive states. There are two common first-generation antidepressants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) and tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs).

Due to the rapid development of new drugs, new drugs emerge in an endless stream, such as venlafaxine and nefazodone, but currently selective serotonin (5-HT) reuptake inhibitors are still the main ones, and this type of drug is the most widely used in clinical practice. However, the antidepressant effects of some antipsychotic drugs such as sulpiride, antianxiety drugs alprazolam, rosuvastatin, buspirone and central nervous system stimulant methylphenidate are still controversial and are therefore omitted here.

Medication Instructions

Antidepressants are drugs that eliminate pathological depression and improve mood. Psychotropic drugs used to treat depressive illnesses. Unlike stimulants, it can only eliminate pathological depression and does not improve the mood of normal people. There are three types that have been used clinically.

Tricyclic antidepressants (TCA): Commonly used drugs include imipramine, amitriptyline, doxepine, clomipramine, etc. The therapeutic dose is 50-200 mg/d. It is mainly suitable for endogenous depression and depressive symptoms occurring in other diseases. It can also be used to treat depression and panic attacks. It is contraindicated for patients with severe heart, liver, kidney diseases and glaucoma. It should be used with caution in the elderly, pregnant women, patients with prostatic hypertrophy and epilepsy.

The antidepressant mechanism of TCA is that TCA blocks amine pumps and reduces the recovery of biogenic amines by the presynaptic membrane, especially reducing the recovery of norepinephrine (NE) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), thereby increasing the concentration of effective neurotransmitters at the postsynaptic receptor site and exerting an antidepressant effect.

The sedative effects of TCAs appear first, followed by improvements in diet and behavior, and mood improvements usually occur after 2 to 4 weeks. When used, the dose-escalation method is adopted. After achieving the therapeutic effect, the therapeutic dose is continued for 4 to 6 weeks, and then reduced to half the dose for maintenance treatment for 6 months.

The side effects of TCA are most common peripheral anticholine side effects, such as dry mouth, constipation, blurred vision, dysuria and orthostatic hypotension, which can lead to urinary retention and intestinal paralysis in elderly patients. It has a significant impact on blood pressure and is toxic to the heart, which can cause myocardial damage. Heart rhythm and electrocardiogram changes should be closely monitored. There are also side effects such as inducing mania, fine tremors in both hands and anticholeretic delirium.

side effect

It can cause drowsiness, dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, rapid heartbeat, difficulty urinating and orthostatic hypotension. These side effects generally do not affect treatment and people can gradually adapt to them during the treatment. Severe cardiovascular side effects, urinary retention and intestinal paralysis are rare. Overdose can cause acute poisoning or even death.

The above is an introduction to information about antidepressant drugs. I hope it can help more people in need. You should consult your doctor before taking antidepressants, as they can have a certain effect on the body's hormone secretion. In addition, psychological counseling is essential.