Question: What are the side effects of medicines used to treat depression?
Both Cipramil and Efexor are excellent medications for the treatment of depression, but they come from different classes of drugs, and so have different side effects. If you find that the medication you are taking is helping and has minimal side effects, then follow the old saying of ‘When you are on a good thing, stick to it’. If you are having problems with your medication then discuss the matter with your GP, who may decide to change the dose or try a different medication.
Cipramil is in a class of antidepressants known as SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). The dosage can vary from 10 mg to 60 mg once a day. It should be used with caution in pregnancy, breast feeding and children, heart disease, mania and liver disease. Otherwise it is a very safe drug, but when you decide to stop the drug, you should reduce the dose slowly—do not stop suddenly.
Common side effects include nausea, diarrhea, tiredness, dry mouth, and impotence, but these usually wear off as the medication is continued, so a trial lasting at least two weeks is the minimum. Unusual side effects include sweating, loss of appetite, tremor, agitation, watery nose, and a low libido.
Introduced in 1998 as a further advance within an excellent class of drugs that are very effective in treating depression. It is claimed to have a faster effect and fewer side effects than other SSRI antidepressants. Efexor was introduced in 1997 for the management of more difficult cases of depression. Dosage varies from 37.5 mg to 75 mg twice a day, but the dose must be increased slowly. It must be used with caution in pregnancy, breast feeding and children, epilepsy, other psychiatric conditions, liver, high blood pressure, and kidney diseases. Once again, you should not stop the medication suddenly, but reduce the dose slowly.
Common side effects include dizziness, sleeplessness, nervousness, nausea, diarrhea, and a dry mouth. Unusual side effects are tiredness, vomiting, excess sweating, impotence, and high blood pressure.
Please remember that all antidepressants are slow to work, and it may be two or three weeks before any improvement in mood is felt.

Question: Can depression be caused by an incorrect balance of the hormones ?
Depression is a common problem in women who are passing through the menopause, and can become extremely distressing to both the woman and her family. Hormone replacement therapy is designed to do what its name implies— replace the hormones that are lost during the menopause, and therefore prevent the complications of the menopause.
During menopause women suffer from hot flushes, irregular menstruation, breast tenderness and loss of libido as well as depression. The lack of female hormones after the menopause leads to an increase in the incidence of osteoporosis, heart attacks and strokes.
Every woman’s hormonal balance is different, and sometimes it takes a considerable time, and numerous changes in both the hormone form and dosage to get just the right balance for a particular woman.
If depression is a continuing problem, it may be that the hormone replacement therapy you are taking is not quite the right balance for you, or you may require some specific anti-depressant medication. Write down exactly how you feel regarding your depression, and how the menopause is affecting you, and take the list to your general practitioner to discuss it further. Almost certainly, you will be able to receive furthet assistance with your problems.