Do antidepressants cause drowsiness and dizziness?

Question

Hi doctor,

My 22-year-old cousin has been feeling depressed, easily irritable, and anxious for the past few months. He also smokes five to six cigarettes per day. We consulted a psychiatrist last week, and he prescribed some medicines. After taking these medications, he is feeling drowsy, and he says that his head spins. He is in general discomfort.

I have enclosed the doctor's prescription. The doctor says these side effects are normal. Please answer the following questions.

What is the purpose of these three medicines?
Should he continue taking them?
Are there any other substitutes that you can suggest for these three medicines having the same salt but are manufactured by different manufacturers?

Please help.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I have seen the attached prescription (attachment removed to protect patient identity). The medicines that are prescribed for your cousin are antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and multivitamins. As you have told me that your cousin is feeling depressed, irritable, and anxious, to make a proper diagnosis, I need more details about his symptoms.

However, he may be having either plain depression, where getting irritable is a rare presentation, or the second diagnosis is bipolar disorder. Coming to the questions that you have asked: The first medicine is prescribed for depression and anxiety disorders. The second one is usually prescribed for mood disorder, also known as bipolar disorder, and the third is a multivitamin.

If your cousin is having depression with anxiety, and if this is the first episode, then these medicines should be continued at least for a year. If it is recurrent, then they should be continued for life. Yes, there are better substitutes available; his discomforts can be due to the first medicine. You have asked for the same salt but from a different manufacturer. However, I would recommend changing it to tablet Nexito 10 mg (Escitalopram).

You can stop other medicines, but only after consulting your treating psychiatrist. His discomfort seems due to the salt itself, and not because of the manufacturer.

I hope this helps.

Please revert in case of further queries.

Thank you.