By Have you been prescribed antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs to treat depression? Do you want to know if there are any risks in taking these two drugs together? Find out more in the following text.
Many patients wonder if it is safe to combine antidepressants and anxiolytics . The answer is “yes”, under certain conditions. In fact, this is a common strategy for treating depression. This psychopharmacological approach is frequent when the person also shows comorbidity associated with anxiety.
Patients with a lack of energy, appetite disturbances, hopelessness and anxious thoughts benefit significantly from this combination . However, it is important to note that the best results always appear when psychological therapy is combined with the use of such medications. Learn more about this topic.
Depression is often accompanied by anxiety, irritability and insomnia.
How can antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs help you?
The use of antidepressants and anxiolytics is a common approach to treating depression . Research such as that carried out at the psychiatry department of the Hôpital St-Antoine in Paris highlights this approach. Anxiety often coexists with the depressive disorder itself, and for this reason, doctors include the prescription of an anxiolytic.
What is the reason for this technique? It is pertinent to begin with a brief analysis of these two drugs , which are currently the most prescribed in the world. They are safe formulas, endorsed by medical organizations and, with correct administration, do not cause addiction; in addition, their side effects are increasingly manageable.
Antidepressants
Antidepressants are prescribed to treat mood disorders (anxiety and depression) and to address chronic pain. Currently, the most commonly prescribed are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), such as fluoxetine and sertraline.
It should be noted that they take several weeks to take effect and that it is advisable to take them for a limited time. Likewise, they cannot be stopped from one day to the next; the withdrawal of this drug must be gradual. On the other hand, not everyone benefits from them and there is always a small percentage of the population that needs other resources.
Anxiolytics
Anxiolytics treat anxiety disorders and sleep problems . They influence the central nervous system, specifically gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), generating an inhibitory action: they reduce the activity of the central nervous system and produce a feeling of calm and relaxation.
This results in a sedative and anticonvulsant effect. The most commonly used are benzodiazepines, such as diazepam , lorazepam or alprazolam.
These drugs are effective at reducing anxiety symptoms and helping you sleep, but they can have side effects, such as drowsiness, dizziness, confusion, and short-term memory problems. Because they are potentially habit-forming medications, they should be used with caution and under supervision.
Combining antidepressants and anxiolytics: purpose, effectiveness and associated effects
The coexistence of depression with anxiety disorders is common and, therefore, it is possible to combine antidepressants and anxiolytics. It is a safe experience and recommended by the medical community. In recent years, cases of patients who show major depression with anxiety symptoms have increased considerably.
Researchers at Emory University in the United States point out that these two conditions often appear as subsyndromal symptoms. In other words, a patient may not meet 100% of the criteria for a clear diagnosis of depression and/or anxiety. What appears, therefore, is a combination of both clinical symptoms.
Is that treatment effective?
In 2004, the Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience published a study on the concomitant use of both drugs. To begin with, combining antidepressants and anxiolytics is safe and useful in the first weeks of treatment, as they achieve rapid improvement. If the patient also undergoes appropriate psychological therapy, the effects will be more positive and relapses will be avoided.
It is known that anxiolytics or benzodiazepines increase the effect of antidepressants, but after a few weeks it is advisable to gradually withdraw the former. Long-term or permanent treatment with these two pharmacological options is something that is best avoided as far as possible.
The combination of antidepressants and benzodiazepines is more effective than using antidepressants alone, especially for treating major depression.
What are the associated side effects?
Combining antidepressants and anxiolytics on an ad hoc basis for one, four or six months has mild and generally tolerable side effects . These are as follows:
- Dizziness.
- Fatigue.
- Sleepiness.
- Constipation.
- Possible nausea.
- Changes in appetite.
- Dry mouth sensation.
- They slow down their reaction times.
- Possible decreased sexual desire.
However, if the consumption of these psychotropic drugs is prolonged, other, slightly more severe symptoms may appear . On average, they manifest themselves in the following manner:
- Chronic fatigue.
- Weight gain.
- Sexual problems.
- Sleep disorders .
- Digestive problems.
- Changes in menstruation.
- Feeling of dependence on these drugs.
- Possible cardiac disturbances, such as tachycardia.
- Mood swings and increased tendency toward depression.
- Cognitive difficulties such as having trouble focusing, minor memory lapses , etc.
Warnings when taking antidepressants and anxiolytics together
Combining antidepressants and anxiolytics is beneficial because benzodiazepines enhance the effect of drugs such as fluoxetine or sertraline. This clinical strategy is safe and useful. However, psychotropic drugs, although helpful, do not, on their own, end the origin of the clinical picture ; that is, they do not permanently restore the patient’s autonomy.
Psychological therapy is the best way to address a depressive disorder with comorbid anxiety . The cognitive-behavioral approach or acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) are useful. In these cases, combining it with drugs – if the doctor deems it necessary – would be very effective.
Finally, it is worth noting the need to always follow the advice of specialists while taking anxiolytics and antidepressants. Never stop taking them overnight and, if any unexpected side effects occur, do not hesitate to consult your doctor. They can always prescribe other alternatives.