Premenstrual Disorders

If a dry mouth is one of the side effects experienced while taking an SSRI, sucking on hard candy, chewing gum, or ice cubes may help.

hope I get it. I’m tired of baby-sitting and I want to get to see some kids after school (kids my age, not just little kids). Not everyone taking the SSRI antidepressants experiences side ef- fects but for some women, mild side effects such as difficulty sleep- ing, anxiety, weakness, tremors, sweating, nausea, drowsiness, ner- vousness, or yawning, may be a problem when they first take Prozac or Zoloft. In many cases, these annoyances will go away within a few weeks and may not be serious enough to stop taking the medica- tion. For others, however, the side effects can be severe enough that the discomfort outweighs the effectiveness of the drug. Mattie is such a person. She began taking one of the SSRI antide- pressants in a very low dosage because of her sensitivity to medica- tions of any sort. Her doctor had her start by dividing the pills in half. Each week she increased by a half a tablet until she was taking the 25 milligrams her doctor thought she needed. Once that seemed to be effective but not harmful, Mattie moved in these same low increases until she was at 50 milligrams per day. Her doctor decided she should stay at this level for one month, and they would decide if she needed to change her dose at her next visit. Both Mattie and her doctor were pleased with the results and neither expected what happened next. About two weeks into that month, Mattie began to develop gas pains each evening. She didn’t think much of it until her stools became looser and looser. By the time of her one-month visit, her stools were totally liquid, and she was still experiencing gas pain regularly. Mattie had begun a very bland diet that included foods such as chicken, turkey, rice, bread, applesauce, and bananas, but this wasn’t enough to ease her stom- ach pains. Her physician felt she needed to stop taking the antide-

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Premenstrual Disorders •