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ohheymickey · 4 years ago

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writing depressed characters from a depressed person: all about antidepressants

(basically just me infodumping about antidepressants)

types of antidepressants (a non exhaustive list):

SSRIs

- selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor

- used to treat depression as well as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, severe phobias, bulimia and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

- increases serotonin levels in the brain (the long-term happy chemical, short-term happy chemical is dopamine)

- usually works its wonders after 2 to 4 weeks

- not recommended for people under 18, pregnant people, people who are breastfeeding, though sometimes the pros outweigh the cons and SSRIs can be administered anyways

- includes citalopram (Cipramil or Celexa), dapoxetine (Priligy), escitalopram (Cipralex or Lexapro), fluoxetine (Prozac or Oxactin), fluvoxamine (Faverin), paroxetine (Seroxat), sertraline (Lustral) and vortioxetine (Brintellix)

- side effects include feeling agitated, shaky or anxious, feeling or being sick, dizziness, blurred vision, low sex drive, difficulty achieving orgasm, erectile dysfunction, nausea, weight gain, dry mouth, headaches, anxiety and sedation.

SNRIs

- serotonin and norepinephrine (neurotransmitter and hormone related to alertness and energy) reuptake inhibitors

- used to treat depression as well as anxiety disorders and chronic pain, especially nerve pain, for hard-to-treat depression

- usually works its wonders after 4 to 6 weeks

- not recommended for pregnant people, people who are breastfeeding, people with liver damage and people with high blood pressure

- includes desvenlafaxine (Pristiq or Khedezla), duloxetine (Cymbalta), milnacipran (Savella), levomilnacipran (Fetzima) and venlafaxine (Effexor XR)

- side effects include nausea, changes in appetite, muscle weakness, tremor, agitation, heart palpitations, increased blood pressure (in higher dosage) or heart rate, headache, difficulty urinating, dizziness, insomnia, sleepiness, dry mouth, excessive sweating, constipation, fluid retention especially in older adults, erectile dysfunction and inability to reach orgasm

NDRIs

- norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitors

- used to treat depression as well as smoking cessation, seasonal affective disorder (SAD, another type of depression), major depressive disorder (especially with people who do not tolerate or don’t benefit from SSRIs), bipolar depression, narcolepsy, Parkinson’s disease and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

- usually works its wonders in 2 to 4 weeks

- not recommended for people using MAOIs and people using antipsychotics (could trigger seizures)

- includes bupropion (Wellbutrin or Zyban or Aplenzin) dexmethylphenidate (Focalin), amineptine (Survector), difemetorex (Cleofil), fencamfamine (Glucoenergan), phenylpiracetam (Phenotropil), prolintane (Catovit) and methylphenidate (Ritalin), though Ritalin is not used to treat depression

- side effects include insomnia, agitation, anxiety, headache, dizziness, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), sweating, dry mouth, nausea, abdominal pain, weight loss, constipation, high blood pressure (rarely), tremors, rash and higher than normal energy levels and mood (hypomania, which is a rare side effect)

NaSSAs (not much info on these)

- noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressants

- used to treat depression

- usually works its wonders after 4 to 6 weeks (i used mirtazapine for this info, not NaSSAs in general)

- not recommended for pregnant people, people who are breastfeeding, or people with kidney or liver problems

- includes aptazapine, esmirtazapine, mianserin (Bolvidon, Norval, Tolvon), mirtazapine (Norset, Remeron, Avanza, Zispin) and setiptiline/teciptiline (Tecipul)

- side effects include drowsiness, dry mouth, dizziness, increased appetite, headache, constipation and weight gain, serotonin syndrome (rare cases where lots of serotonin builds up in your body)

Older antidepressants:

Nonselective cyclics/TCAs

- tricyclic antidepressants

- used to treat severe depression when other antidepressants don’t work, dysthymia (persistent depressive disorder), anxiety disorders such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social phobia (SP), social anxiety disorder (SAD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD),

- usually works its wonders after 2 to 4 weeks

- not recommended usually since they are older and have more side effects, but can be used when other antidepressants don’t work for severe depression

- includes amitriptyline (Elavil), imipramine (Tofranil), desipramine (Norpramin), nortriptyline (Aventyl), trimipramine (Surmontil) and clomipramine (Anafranil)

- side effects include dry mouth, tremors, constipation, sedation, blurred vision, difficulty urinating, weight gain and dizziness

MAOIs

- monoamine oxidase inhibitors

- used to treat depression

- usually works its wonders after 4 weeks +

- not recommended since all MAOIs have to be used in combination with a dietary restriction except for Manerix, can cause dangerously high blood pressure

- includes phenelzine (Nardil), tranylcypromine (Parnate), selegiline (Emsam), isocarboxazid (Marplan) and moclobemide (Manerix, a newer MAOI)

- side effects include insomnia, swelling, weight gain, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, skin reaction at patch site (selegiline can be used in patch form) and change in blood pressure when moving from a sitting to a standing position (orthostatic hypotension)

- can’t consume tyramine while on most MAOIs, which is in soy sauce and other fermented soy products, sauerkraut, salami and other aged or cured meats, aged cheeses such as brie, cheddar, gouda, parmesan, swiss, blue cheese, alcohol, especially chianti, vermouth, and beer, fava beans, raisins, dates and other dried fruits, tofy, and all nuts

#depression #writing tips #antidepressants #antidepressant

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