Sertraline
😳 Since one of sertraline’s common side effect is diarrhea 💩, I called this piece ‘Squirtraline’. 💦 🤣
💊 Sertraline belongs to the class selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. SSRIs are like the traffic controllers of your brain’s serotonin levels. They help ensure that serotonin sticks around longer, improving symptoms of depression and anxiety.
🧠TIP: Serotonin is your ‘feel-good’ neurotransmitter. It is responsible for regulating mood, emotions, and even appetite. Sertraline’s role is to increase the amount of serotonin available in the brain by inhibiting its reuptake. Notice how SERtraline looks similar to SERotonin.
🌟Common side effects to know:
-Nausea/diarrhea
-Headache
-Changes in sleep pattern
-Decreased libido and erectile dysfunction
👉🏻Other than sexual side effects, symptoms often improve or resolve with time.
🗒️ Note: Sertraline is the most likely of the SSRIs to cause diarrhea. Research shows it may occur in up to 20% of people. Don’t fret – educate your patients that it will usually get better within a few weeks and to use antidiarrheal medications (ex: loperamide) in the short term.
💊 Starting doses: 12.5-25 mg daily and may increase to 25-50 mg increments
Lithium is a common ‘mood stabilizer’ used to treat the manic episodes of bipolar disorder, a mood disorder that is characterized by episodes of mania, hypomania, and depression. ⠀
The exact cause of bipolar disorder is unknown but is highly linked to family history, genetics, and abnormalities in neurotransmitters. This makes it tricky to pinpoint exactly how lithium works to treat bipolar but there are many proposed mechanisms of action. ⠀
Whenever you see the medication lithium, always think SALT as lithium (Li+) is located close to sodium (Na+) on the periodic table and they share similar structures. Because of this, lithium levels are often affected by salt and water balance as well as renal function (excreted mainly through kidneys). ⠀
Dehydration can cause lithium levels to increase while increasing sodium intake can cause lithium levels to decrease. Medications that affect water and salt balance (ex: diuretics, NSAIDs, ACEI) can also alter lithium concentrations. ⠀
The starting dose of lithium is 300 mg two or three times a day (The brand name is Lithobid to help you remember that it can be given BID or twice daily)⠀
Lithium is considered teratogenic due to the potential for fetal cardiac defects. The risks and benefits should be discussed with a healthcare provider before starting it in women of childbearing age.⠀
Lithium is a popular drug that often shows up on tests due to its narrow therapeutic index and many side effects. ⠀
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a mood disorder characterized by persistent feelings of sadness and loss of interest that interferes with normal daily functioning.
Because of this, the drugs developed to treat MDD selectively target the reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine, increasing levels of these neurotransmitters in the synapse and enhancing NT signaling.
