Sedatives and antidepressants are often taken without the approval and supervision of a doctor, and in the desire to calm down, many forget that drugs from this group, if used uncontrollably, can have unwanted effects on any of the organs. Doctor of general practice Zorica Merdović talks about the misuse of antidepressants and sedatives.
"Sedatives and antidepressants can act on organs and tissues that are distant from the central nervous system. Thus, for example, liver damage can be a direct consequence of the effect of these drugs that occurs after long-term uncontrolled use. An increased risk of bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract, which occurs due to the effect on the mucous membrane, is also a possible consequence of the use of drugs from this group. When we talk about antidepressants, their long-term uncontrolled use leads to sexual dysfunction, weight gain, sleep disorders, sweating, increased risk of bleeding from the digestive tract, increased risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures, and increased risk of diabetes and the rise or fall of ions of sodium in the blood. When a patient comes to the doctor's office with a problem for which we cannot find a cause, the prolonged use of antidepressants usually catches the eye. On the other hand, we have sedatives, which, in addition to addiction, bring many other dangers. One of the studies showed that the risk of dementia in elderly people who use sedatives for a long time is about 60 percent higher than in those who do not use them. There is also an increased risk of serious damage to liver function. These drugs weaken movement control and prolong reaction time, which means that there is a greater risk of falls, fractures, and even traffic accidents," explains Dr. Merdović.
A long list of adverse reactions
"Some antidepressants can cause symptoms similar to sneezing, ringing in the ears, or a migraine-type headache, joint pain, so very diverse phenomena in one out of 10 percent of patients. Any symptom or sign of a disorder in the body that occurs while taking these drugs should be a signal to the patient to immediately go to his doctor and check whether it might be an unwanted effect of the drug. Special attention should be paid to the first days of taking the medicine, when the symptoms are stronger and can be more easily associated with the use of the medicine", says our interlocutor.
How long can these medicines be used continuously?
"There is no correct answer, but certainly that the application is relatively safe as far as clinical studies have accompanied it. Both types of drugs, both sedatives and antidepressants, have been tested in controlled clinical studies that generally last up to two years. Experts understand that the risks of adverse consequences increase as the time of uncontrolled use increases, which means, for example, that the risk after 10 years of use is certainly higher than after five years of use. Over the years, sedatives increase the effect of natural substances in the brain, which reduce the activity of nerve cells. Therefore, people under their influence react more slowly to stimuli from the external environment, often become sleepy, and their ability to think and remember decreases. Antidepressants, on the other hand, increase the release of substances in the brain that have the function of increasing the activity of nerve cells, and are therefore useful in states of depression, when the effect of these substances is weakened. Too long and uncontrolled use of both types of drugs leads to changes in receptors on nerve cells. They adapt to the presence of a synthetic substance and become less sensitive to natural substances," says the doctor.
Antidepressants and chronic diseases - yes or no?
Certainly, other diseases increase the risk of unwanted effects of these two groups of drugs. Antidepressants and sedatives can interact with medications that patients are taking for other conditions. In addition, the diseases themselves make certain tissues more sensitive to the effects of sedatives and antidepressants. For example, many antidepressants affect the heart and can sometimes cause arrhythmias, especially if the patient already has them, or if the heart muscle is weakened or diseased.
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