After the panic attack episode, possibly induced by increasing my dosage of antidepressants too quickly, my doctor recommended a waiting period of two weeks before increasing the dose to full strength.
The two week waiting period ended and we increased the dose. To be honest, I was anxious at first, but the increase went off without a hitch. Finally, things were starting to look up.
To fully understand how my particular strain antidepressants worked, it’s important to note that I was on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, also known as SSRIs. The Mayo Clinic states that these medicines work by “increasing levels of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is one of the chemical messengers (neurotransmitters) that carry signals between brain cells.
SSRIs block the reabsorption (reuptake) of serotonin in the brain, making more serotonin available. SSRIs are called selective because they seem to primarily affect serotonin, not other neurotransmitters.” In layman’s terms, they help balance the chemicals in your brain that responsible for your moods and emotions.
I felt the need to clarify what exactly the medicine does because there is a lot of misinformation out there on what exactly antidepressants do. They are not magical pills that just create happiness; they just allow your brain’s chemistry to work more effectively.
In my case, it took a bit to get the right dosage, but by being patient and understanding what they were aiming to do, I was able to eventually get the full benefits from them.
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image credit – pixabay
