MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS SERIES

Four Classes of Anxiety Medications— Henry’s Meds and Side Effects

25th day of May — some of the medications Henry takes for multiple anxiety disorders

This is my third story about Henry H. Hobblestone. He’s quite an interesting character if you can get to know him. But he hardly lets anyone into his life because of his multiple mental issues and his imagined physical ailments.

Henry is a hypochondriac, did I happen to mention that before?

I really think that Henry is in excellent physical shape, after all, he walks several miles per day, lives alone in his tiny house in the middle of a field, toting water from the creek, hunting, and fishing. Active life, strong body, imagined physical illnesses.

On the other hand, Henry’s mental ailments are neither imagined nor to be taken lightly. And because of that, Henry is on a TON of medications, some of which I want to tell you about today.

When I introduced Henry a few days ago, I told you about his anxiety disorders and how he’s consumed with worry, fear, and panic. If you don’t remember or want to review, you can click on this intro to Henry that I wrote the other day.

Henry has been diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, AND Panic Disorder. He possibly has even more anxiety disorders but he hasn’t told me about any other ones yet. But one thing that he has told me is what medications he takes for his revealed anxiety disorders. I’ll tell you what he told me because the other day, he gave me permission to share.

COMMON ANXIETY MEDICATIONS

I thought it was interesting to read that four basic types of meds are commonly prescribed for anxiety. Each category is used for a different purpose and may have different side effects. Since I’m nowhere near qualified to talk about these medications except in the briefest outline, here is the article that you can refer to for some extended information and resources.

FOUR TYPES OF MEDICATIONS PRESCRIBED FOR ANXIETY

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) ➡️ Celexa (citalopram) Henry takes this medication once a day ➡️ Luvox (fluvoxamine) ➡️ Paxil (paroxetine) ➡️ Prozac (fluoxetine) ➡️ Zoloft (sertraline) Although SSRIs tend to have fewer side effects than some other antidepressants, they may still cause gastrointestinal distress, sleep difficulties, and sexual dysfunction. Many of these effects go away within a couple of weeks of beginning the medication, however. So, give your body time to adjust.

2. Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs) ➡️ Cymbalta (duloxetine) ➡️ Effexor (venlafaxine) ➡️ Pristiq (desvenlafaxine) SNRIs are considered just as effective as SSRIs, but they do tend to have more side effects. Side effects of SNRIs can include headaches, sexual dysfunction, insomnia, upset stomach, and increased blood pressure.

3. Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCAs) ➡️ Elavil (amitriptyline) ➡️ Pamelor (nortriptyline) ➡️ Tofranil (imipramine) Although they are just as effective as SSRIs in treating anxiety disorders, TCAs tend to cause significant side effects, including dry mouth, constipation, blurry vision, trouble urinating, and hypotension (low blood pressure on standing). For these reasons, TCAs are usually only prescribed when other drugs don’t provide relief.

4. Benzodiazepines ➡️ Ativan (lorazepam) ➡️ Klonopin (clonazepam) Henry takes this med during a panic attack ➡️ Valium (diazepam) ➡️ Xanax (alprazolam) Possible side effects include drowsiness, dizziness, impaired coordination, and vision issues.When used on occasion or short term, benzos have a low risk of addiction. However, they are not considered safe for long-term use as this can increase the risk of dependence and tolerance.

Along with a plethora of other medications, Henry takes both Celexa and Klonopin from this list. If you noticed the side effects from just these two types of meds, it is quite daunting.

He suspects that because he takes Celexa regularly, he suffers from digestion troubles, has trouble sleeping, and is sexually dysfunctional, the latter of which he’s agreed to let me talk about in tomorrow’s article.

There’s so much more to medications than can be explored in one short article. I hope that if you take prescription meds you’ll read and understand the side effects and also long-term effects. I know that Henry is very particular about the meds that he takes and studies diligently before agreeing to any prescription. I wish that I was more like Henry!

Thanks for reading today’s Mental Health Awareness article. Stay tuned for another one tomorrow. In the meantime, happy reading, and writing, and please strive to be all-around healthy!

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