The nightmare when taking the first dose of depression

Difficulty breathing, heartbeat as if to break, the man in Hoang Mai district, not understanding what was happening to the body. “Is I’m going to die? He remembered that he did not hear the doctor instructing the side effects, just said “drink all the application and re -examine”.

He decided to stop taking the medicine, two months after the disease was more serious. He returned to the hospital in a state of exhaustion both physically and mentally.

Nam’s story is not particularly. Hoai, 29 years old, in Vinh Phuc, also experienced the feeling of “the most horrific life” just because of an antidepressant tablet. “One hour after drinking, my whole body trembled, stuffy to unable to breathe, sweating like rain but cold,” Hoai said.

The throat seemed to be strangled, she wanted to call relatives but her hands had no strength to dial the number. Luckily, Hoai’s mother promptly discovered and took her to the hospital.

Dr. Tran Thi Hong Thu, Deputy Director of Mai Huong Mental Hospital, said many patients had Serotonin syndrome in the first week of taking the drug. This is a sudden increase in serotonin – an important neurotransmitter in the brain, leading to symptoms such as tremor, shortness of breath, hallucinations, convulsions, even coma. Psychological panic makes many people arbitrarily stopped the drug, leading to more serious consequences and then treatment becomes complicated and costly many times.

Theo NCBI (US National Biotechnology Information Center), Antidepressants work by balancing serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain, helping patients reduce symptoms such as fatigue, restlessness, sleep disorders and prevent suicide intent. However, most of the drugs take time to promote the effect, requires patience and compliance with patients.

The use of antidepressants with sensitive and anxious people is a serious challenge. Many patients are not psychologically prepared to receive initial symptoms, leading to stopping the drug when a side effect arises. A study in magazine Journal of Clinical Psychiatry It shows that 30-35% of the patient stopped the drug in the first two weeks just because of side effects. This makes the disease easier to recur and is more difficult to control.

Statistics from Archives of General Psychiatry Indicates that 60-70% of depression patients have a marked improvement after 6-8 weeks of combining drugs and psychological therapies. However, antidepressants are ineffective immediately; Users need at least two weeks to feel the true effect. In particular, starting from low doses and closely monitoring in the early days is the key to reducing side effects.

Serotonin helps regulate mood, sleep and pain, but when excess, it causes counterproductive symptoms such as stiffness, fever, convulsions, shortness of breath. Arbitrarily stopping the drug not only worsen serotonin syndrome but also leads to symptoms of cessation such as extreme anxiety, headache, insomnia, nausea, or nightmares.

Faced with depression requires a comprehensive treatment plan with a combination of drugs, psychotherapy and lifestyle change. Therapies such as cognitive behavior (CBT), meditation, relaxation and support group have been proven to be effective in reducing anxiety, helping patients better adapt to drugs and minimize side effects.

In addition to drugs, a healthy diet, regular exercise and stress reduction are “non -prescribing remedies” that play an important role.

According to Dr. Thu, patients need to work with experienced experts to determine the appropriate drug and dosage, as well as understand the advantages and disadvantages to avoid the situation of “giving up halfway”. When abnormal symptoms appear, immediately notify the doctor for support to change the treatment plan.

However, Dr. Thu also said that when treating and prescribing patients, doctors also need to advise and clearly guide the side effects when taking the drug as well as the treatment in each typical situation.

Depression is a common mental illness, characterized by the feeling of sadness, intense despair and repetition; loss of interest in their favorite activities; Isolated from relationships; constantly criticize yourself; Disappointed, uncomfortable with small failures; Lack of energy; Always feel empty even though still working normally.

Theo Medical Dailydepression is the main cause of suicide. Each year, about 850,000 people die from this disease, according to the statistics of the World Health Organization (WHO). Depression, anxiety disorders weaving in Vietnamese society with an estimated 6 million people are infected, according to 2022 statistics.