Side Effects of Psychiatric Medications

Psychiatric drugs help many people each day, but some of the side effects can be severe and life threatening. There are many issues that entail psychiatric drug use.

Antidepressants

• Antidepressants treat clinical depression, eating disorders and borderline personality disorder. Types of antidepressants types are SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), TCAs (tricyclic antidepressants), also called tricyclics, and MAOIs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors.) General side effects include diminished sexual interest, impaired desire and performance, inability to orgasm, headache, rashes, muscle and joint pain, nausea and diarrhea, weight loss or gain, drowsiness and loss of coordiantion.

Stimulants

• Stimulants treat disorders such as ADD and narcolepsy. They are also used for appetite suppression. The side effects are reduced appetite, rebound occurrence of ADD or ADHD between doses, headache, jittery feeling, gastrointestinal upset followed by eater smaller meals, sleep difficulty, blood glucose changes, irritability, increased blood pressure, tics, depression, anxiety, psychosis or paranoia, seizures or sudden death.

Antipsychotics

• Antipsychotics are used to treat psychosis, schizophrenia and bipolar manias. Their effects are weight gain, drowsiness, loss of coordination, lactation in both sexes along with breast growth, dry mouth, tardive dyskenisia, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, heightened risk of diabetes and sexual dysfunction.

Mood Stabilizers

• Mood stabilizers are used with bipolar and schizoaffective disorder. Their side effects are tremor headache, weight gain, dizziness, nausea, sedation, indigestion, bruising, hair loss, thyroid impairment, kidney damage and renal failure, heart arrhythmias, acne, including muscle weakness, tremor, lethargy, cognitive blunting and headaches.

Anxiolytics or Depressants

• Anxiolytics and Depressants treat anxiety disorders. Depressants are used as hypnotics, sedatives and anesthetics. Their side effects are drowsiness, memory problems, dilated pupils, loss of balanced and coordination and slowed reaction time.