Online Date with Fish2Fish: Want to save your love life? Restrict intake of anti-depressants

Want to save your love life? Restrict intake of anti-depressants

According to a new study, anti-depressants may affect your love life. ‘Drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which work mainly through the serotonin system, were found to be affecting men’s feelings while drugs called tricyclic antidepressants seem to affect women’s feelings,’ said Hagop S. Akiskal from the University of California, San Diego.

During the study, they compared the effects of SSRIs and tricyclic antidepressants on the love lives of 192 people with depression – 123 women and 69 men – and whose mean age was 41. Researchers found that those taking SSRIs were more likely to say they felt less at ease with sharing their partners’ thoughts and feelings.

Men taking SSRIs reported being less likely to ask their partners for help or advice. Women on tricyclics were more likely to complain about disturbances in their sex life than men who had been taking tricyclics, the study noted. Doctors should inquire whether there is any impairment in the love life during depressive illness. ‘The loss of sexual desire and sexual feelings are common manifestations of depressive illness itself,’ Akiskal said in the study which appeared in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

What are the side-effects of antidepressants?

Side effects are common with all drugs, especially with antidepressants. Sometimes the side-effects are really bad and further intake has to be discontinued immediately. To avoid this, you should keep a track of whatever you feel physically and emotionally after taking antidepressants and discuss it with your doctor.

Side effects of SSRIs:

Sweating, anxiety
Nausea and dizziness
Sleeplessness or sleepiness and restlessness
Headache
Diarrhoea or constipation
Loss of appetite
Sexual dysfunction

Side effects of tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs):

Dryness of mouth
Drowsy feeling
Excessive sweating
Increased pulse rate
Blurring of vision
Constipation
Weight gain
Sexual dysfunction

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors also show similar side-effects. But, other reported effects of MAOIs include sudden rise in blood pressure resulting in stiff neck, severe headache and chest pain. Read more about Antidepressant drugs – all your queries answered

With inputs from IANS

Photo source: Getty images

View the original article here