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I've been wondering what the long-term effects of this medication are, besides weight gain. I can only find general side effects lists and those all say "give it six weeks, they'll go away." I've been on this stuff for years and want to know what of my current health symptoms might be caused by it. Is this information readily available somewhere I'm just not finding?
It depends on the AD, but generally they don't produce serious ongoing side-effects. The one that gets mentioned most often apart from weight gain is sexual dysfunction. From time to time a side-effect may hit the headlines, but often anxiety disorders or depression are also risk factors so it can be debatable whether the disorder, or med are the cause. Osteoporosis is an example. OTOH, some ADs may have benefits with long-term use. SSRIs, SNRIs and some TCAs may reduce heart attack and ischaemic stroke risk (though they slightly increase that of haemorrhagic stroke), and SSRIs seem to slow the rate of plaque build-up in Alzheimer's disease (the TCAs seem to be better at minimising other dementias).Quote:
Originally Posted by mollyfin
Which AD are you taking and what side-effects are you concerned about?
I was on Zoloft for 3 yrs and gained 16KG.Quote:
Originally Posted by mollyfin
Changed to Lexapro and dropped 10 kg.
The last 6KG just refuse to go away.
All of this without changing my diet.
I think weight gain can also depend on the dose of antidepressant you take and your body's own metabolism. I've been on a low dose 10 mgs of a TCA (not for depression though) for many years with no weight gain. Some act to stimulate the appetite more than others.
The whole point WM is that I didn't eat any more or less on either one?Quote:
Originally Posted by WiseMonkey
They obviously affect peoples metabolism in different ways, also many peoples metabolism slows down as they age, so depending how long someone is on Ad's, could overlap with age :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Phill2
There are several hypotheses to why ADs cause weight gain with few definitive answers, but affecting the metabolism is certainly one of them, possibly added to by, among other factors, how ADs affect the enteric nervous system (ENS), the mini brain which controls the gut and the influence they could have on the gut biome. The ENS is by far the most serotonergic organ of the body, making about 95% of the serotonin produced compared to less than 2% for the brain, so it can be more affected by serotonergic ADs than the brain is. It is known that the gut bacteria can affect weight and that ADs may alter the microbial mix.