Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome

Resources for Patients and Caregivers

Typical symptoms of antidepressant discontinuation syndrome include flu-like symptoms, insomnia, nausea, imbalance, sensory disturbances, and hyperarousal. These symptoms usually are mild, last one to two weeks, and are rapidly extinguished with reinstitution of antidepressant medication.

 

Cluster Number:
Wiki Number: 06-Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome
Diagnosis: After a month of antidepressants sudden stops or even tapering off take a week to a year.
US Patients:
World Patients:
Sex Ratio:
Age Onset: 
Brain Area: Antidepressants apparently reorganize the neurotransmitters, serotonin, dopamine, etc.
Symptoms: Flu-like, disturbed sleep and/or balance, nausea or sensory changes.
Progression: Occurs in 20-50% of stopping use of antidepressants, especially when stopped immediately.
Causes:
Medications:
Therapies: 

Youtube Video: Antidepressant Withdrawal

Amazon or Library Book: The People’s Safety Guide to Antidepressants

Click the book to link or order from Amazon.

Resources for Physicians, Counselors and Researchers

4 CURRENT ARTICLES
FROM PUBMED

The world-wide medical research
reports chosen for each diagnosis 

Clicking each title opens the
PubMed article’s summary-abstract.

  • Serotonin syndrome treated with cyproheptadine using NPi from a digital pupillometer as a therapeutic indicator: A case report
    by Kazuki Sugaya on April 12, 2024

    RATIONALE: Serotonin syndrome is a potentially life-threatening condition resulting from the use of antidepressants, their interactions with other serotonergic medications, or poisoning. It presents with a triad of psychiatric, dysautonomic, and neurological symptoms and is sometimes fatal. While cyproheptadine is a specific treatment option, the optimal duration of its administration remains unclear. The purpose of this report is to quantitatively assess the endpoints of serotonin syndrome...

  • CENTRAL NEUROMODULATORS IN IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME. WHY, HOW AND WHEN
    by Ignacio Hanna-Jairala on April 10, 2024

    Irritable bowel syndrome are responsive to treatments using central neuromodulators. Central neuromodulators work by enhancing the synaptic transmission of 5-hydroxytryptamine, noradrenalin and dopamine, achieving a slower regulation or desensitization of their postsynaptic receptors. Central neuromodulators act on receptors along the brain-gut axis, so they are useful in treating psychiatric comorbidities, modifying gut motility, improving central downregulation of visceral signals and...

  • Pharmacotherapies for insomnia
    by Marie-Françoise Vecchierini on March 29, 2024

    PHARMACOTHERAPIES FOR INSOMNIA. The first line of treatment in adult chronic insomnia is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). However, its difficult accessibility limited its use and medications are still often prescribed. Considering the drugs with marketing authorization, Z-drugs (zolpidem and zopiclone) if taken at the right hour and dosage promote sleep initiation and have less deleterious effects than benzodiazepines, especially the long-acting ones which should be avoided. This class of...

  • Serotonin syndrome: An often-neglected medical emergency
    by Ahmed Badar on February 26, 2024

    Optimum serotonin level in the serotonergic synapses of the central nervous system (CNS) is related to mood, behavior, and sleep. Serotonin syndrome (SS) is a rare yet very dangerous adverse effect resulting from increased serotonin in CNS. The diagnosis of SS is based on the presence of clinical symptoms, which can include agitation, confusion, rapid heart rate, high blood pressure, dilated pupils, muscle rigidity, tremors, sweating, and diarrhea. SS is invariably caused by inadvertent use of...