Indications
Medications used for depression should only be taken if depression has been diagnosed by a doctor and a specific medication has been recommended and prescribed. In addition to the treatment of depression, some antidepressants are used to treat pain or anxiety disorders and to treat stress-related incontinence. In order to be able to control the effect of the medication and to be able to switch to another one if necessary, as well as to observe potential side effects, the use of antidepressants should be under regular medical supervision.
Contraindications
Antidepressant drugs should not be taken if not recommended or prescribed by your doctor.A change to another medication or discontinuation of medication should always be made in consultation with the treating physician.
Prescription requirement and prescription-free
All drugs that are available in stores as so-called antidepressants are prescription drugs and must be prescribed by a doctor. By prescribing the medication, the doctor can ensure that the recommended medication is the right one for the person concerned and can correctly assess any side effects and interactions that may occur. Preparations that can be obtained without a prescription are usually based on ingredients of the St. John’s wort plant. However, the effect of these preparations is very controversial, as long-term studies have shown that there is no significant effect compared to placebo. It is also important when taking St. John’s wort and its components that this should not be done without consulting a physician, as side effects and interactions with other medications exist.
Side effects
Like most drugs, antidepressants have side effects. These can vary in severity depending on the medication taken and from patient to patient. Depending on how the drug interferes with the metabolism of the signal substances, different undesirable effects are produced.
Some of these effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, dry mouth, fatigue, headaches, weight gain, reduction of the sex drive (“libido loss”), anxiety and an increased tendency to bleed. Which of the side effects frequently occur with the respective medication can be found in the package insert or can be reported by the treating doctor or pharmacist. It must be noted that the side effects of the medication always occur before the antidepressant effect.
Thus, it can sometimes take up to 4 weeks before the desired effect occurs, while the side effects occur after a few hours or days. It is also true that most side effects occur at the beginning of the treatment, but decrease significantly during the course of the treatment. If you are taking several medications, you should always check whether they can interact with each other.
For example, some medications may accelerate or reduce the breakdown of other medications and thus endanger the success of the treatment. Depending on the group of active ingredients, medicines for depression have different interactions with other medicines. In order to ensure that there is no risk of interactions with the drugs taken, the treating physician should be informed about any drugs that are taken regularly.
In particular, taking several antidepressants at the same time can lead to interactions that have an undesirable effect. Likewise, when taking drugs belonging to the substance group of the so-called neuroleptics or used against seizures, the interaction should be carefully checked. The same applies to drugs that increase the tendency to bleed (“blood thinners”).
A rather unusual, but far-reaching side effect is the intake of an antidepressant, which belongs to the active substance group of the monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAO inhibitors), in connection with the consumption of red wine or cheese. The substance tyramine, which occurs in relatively high quantities in these foods, can no longer be adequately broken down. There is then the threat of a rapid rise in blood pressure with potentially life-threatening consequences. When taking MAO inhibitors, foods with a high tyramine content should therefore be avoided.
