Side Effects of Antidepressants: What You Need to Know Before Starting

When you start taking an antidepressant, a medication prescribed to treat depression, anxiety, and some chronic pain conditions. Also known as antidepressive agents, these drugs work by adjusting brain chemicals like serotonin and norepinephrine—but that adjustment doesn’t always go smoothly. Many people expect relief, but not everyone prepares for the side effects. Some are mild and fade after a few weeks. Others can be serious, even life-threatening if ignored.

One of the most common issues is SSRI side effects, a group of antidepressants that increase serotonin levels, including fluoxetine, sertraline, and escitalopram. These often cause nausea, dry mouth, drowsiness, or trouble sleeping. But there’s more. In older adults, SSRIs can trigger hyponatremia, dangerously low sodium levels in the blood that lead to confusion, dizziness, and falls. That’s not rare—it happens often enough that doctors now check sodium levels after starting these meds. Then there’s serotonin syndrome, a rare but severe reaction caused by too much serotonin, often from mixing antidepressants with other drugs like painkillers or herbal supplements. Symptoms include high fever, rapid heartbeat, shaking, and confusion. It’s an emergency.

Some side effects sneak up over time. Weight gain, sexual dysfunction, and emotional numbness are common complaints that don’t always show up in brochures. And stopping abruptly? That’s a recipe for antidepressant withdrawal, a set of symptoms like dizziness, electric-shock feelings, and rebound anxiety that can last weeks if you quit too fast. You don’t need to suffer in silence. Many people find relief by switching medications, adjusting doses, or adding non-drug support like therapy or exercise.

The posts below aren’t just warnings—they’re real-life guides. You’ll find clear breakdowns of which antidepressants cause the most trouble, how to tell if it’s a side effect or an allergy, what happens when these drugs mix with other meds like warfarin or metformin, and how to talk to your doctor without sounding alarmist. Whether you’re just starting out, struggling with side effects, or thinking about stopping, you’ll find answers that actually help.