There are several options for treatment of panic disorder with antidepressant medications. Antidepressant medications are used in the treatment of panic disorder, as those antidepressants with effects on the serotonin neurotransmitter are effective. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter in your brain that is dysregulated when someone has panic disorder. The antidepressants with effects on serotonin include […]
Why Are My Antidepressants Not Working Anymore?
You may be experiencing antidepressant “poop-out,” also known as antidepressant tachyphylaxis. What may be occurring with antidepressant “poop-out” is that prolonged use of the antidepressant causes tolerance to its clinical effect, so that increasing doses are needed for the same effect. This tolerance effect in antidepressants is similar to the tolerance seen in addictive drugs, such […]
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Why SSRIs and SNRIs May Cause More Anxiety
SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) and SNRIs (Serotonin Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors) are prescribed for depression and anxiety, but they commonly cause more fear and anxiety when first taking the medication for the first few weeks of treatment. After this period of increased anxiety symptoms on the SSRI or SNRI, then the anxiety subsides and eventually […]
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How Exactly Do SSRI’s Work?
Today, I will talk about how SSRIs work. SSRIs, otherwise known as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, are antidepressant medication which work by increasing the serotonin levels in the synapses between neurons in the central nervous system (CNS). So here, we have a picture of neurons: The neuron before the synapse (the space between the neurons) […]
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How Do Antidepressants Cause Seizures?
Seizures can be a serious adverse effect of antidepressant medications. Antidepressant medications induce seizures by lowering the seizure threshold. Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and bupropion (Wellbutrin) are the antidepressants most associated with seizures. TCAs, which includes imipramine (Tofranil), induce seizures at a rate of 0.3% to 0.6% at effective doses (Rosenstein et al., 1993). Bupropion induces […]
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The Controversy Over The FDA Approval Of Lexapro
There has been much controversy over the U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval of Lexapro in the last decade. Lexapro (escitalopram) is currently available as a generic, as its patent expired in 2012. When it was released for sale in the early 2000s, Lexapro was marketed as an improvement over the other antidepressants, especially […]
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Can Lexapro Treat Panic Disorder?
Yes, Lexapro (escitalopram), can treat panic disorder. Although Lexapro is only FDA-approved for the treatment of major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, Lexapro can also treat panic disorder. All of the major anxiety disorder except for specific phobia can be treated with Lexapro. Lexapro is a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI), which blocks the […]
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What is the association between antidepressants and suicide?
The increased risk of suicide in children and adolescents taking antidepressant medications when compared to placebo is well established (Hamad, 2004). This led to the FDA Black Box warnings in the mid-2000s, serving as a warning that suicide is increased when antidepressants are prescribed to youths. So what is the association of antidepressants and suicide […]
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Study shows two different types of depression may be addressed with different antidepressants
A big problem with treatment of depression with antidepressants is that it is literally a guessing game, as there are dozens of antidepressants to choose from. There is no scientific process in choosing which antidepressant to start…basically, psychiatrists choose the antidepressant they are most comfortable prescribing. However, this guessing game has bad outcomes, as most […]
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What is the association between antidepressants and violent behavior?
The recent news of a Germanwings pilot with depression who appeared to commit murder-suicide has people wondering about what could cause this. All we know from news reports is that he was treated for “suicidal tendencies,” and received psychotherapy, or counseling. But nothing has been reported about whether he took antidepressant medication. It’s a valid […]
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