Psychopharmacology Study Guide
ANTIDEPRESSANTS
Antidepressants Atypical (Selective (serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine) Reuptake Inhibitors)
• SSRIs
• Prozac, Celexa, Paxil, Zoloft, Luvox, Lexepro.
• Mnemonic: Professors Can Produce Zillions of Little Lessons
• S(N/D)RIs:
• Wellbutrin, Effexor, Remeron, Duloxetine.
• Mnemonic: WE(i)RD!
• Side Affects for atypical antidepressants
• Potential for change in libido, appetite and weight (up or down), sleep patterns, heart
rhythms.
• Potential for diarrhea, N/V, anxiety, dry mouth, confusion, headache (especially during
dose changes for about 3 weeks)
• Goofy Side Effects Story for Atypical Antidepressants (SSRIs, SNRIs, SDRIs)
• The atypical girl was heartbroken and depressed after her boyfriend left her. She couldn’t
eat, she couldn’t sleep. She was so upset that she felt sick to her stomach all the time,
causing horrible diarrhea. She was very confused about why her boyfriend would leave
her, but he truth was, her boyfriend left because of her low libido...it seems she always
“had a headache.” She wanted to please her boyfriend, but every time she thought about
sex she got nervous, felt dizzy and broke out into a sweat. Her hands would shake so bad
that she couldn’t even hold a glass of water and take a drink...talk about having a dry
mouth!
Antidepressants Traditional (TCAs/QCAs - Tricyclic and Quatracyclic antidepressants)
• These end in tyline or amine except Amoxapine, Doxepine and Maprotiline. You just have to
remember those 3. There are no other drugs in other groups that end with‘tyline’ or ‘amine’
(EXCEPT diphenhydramine/Benadryl).
• Side Affects
• Narrow therapeutic window and an overdose can kill you!!!
• If someone is suicidal, the doc will only prescribe a few days or a weeks worth of these at
a time to prevent an overdose!
• Grand mal seizure and hyperthermia (cooks the brain).
• Potential for: decrease in libido, decrease in all blood cell production, changes in HR and
rhythm, constipation, difficulty in urinating, orthostatic dizziness, weight gain, muscle
twitches
• Goofy Side Effects Story for Typical Antidepressants
• A very traditional man became depressed when his dog B.C. ran away. He ran through the
neighborhood, and worked up quite a sweat. His heart raced, and as he searched for his
dog, he realized that for the first time in years he wasn’t thinking about sex. This
realization stopped him dead in his tracks, and his heart slowed. As he stood there, mouth
dry and muscles twitching from the exertion, he saw B.C. trying to urinate on a fat lady’s
lawn. He ran to his dog and scooped him up, dizzy with happiness. He danced around the
yard with graceful rhythm, until he stepped in a pile of dog poo. “BC”, he exclaimed. “I
thought you were constipated!” He flailed around the yard trying to get the poo off his
shoe as the fat lady watched from her window. She was convinced the traditional man
who was flailing about on the lawn was having a seizure or a stroke.
*B.C. = blood cells (decrease in white and red blood cell production)
1
ANTIDEPRESSANTS
Antidepressants Atypical (Selective (serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine) Reuptake Inhibitors)
• SSRIs
• Prozac, Celexa, Paxil, Zoloft, Luvox, Lexepro.
• Mnemonic: Professors Can Produce Zillions of Little Lessons
• S(N/D)RIs:
• Wellbutrin, Effexor, Remeron, Duloxetine.
• Mnemonic: WE(i)RD!
• Side Affects for atypical antidepressants
• Potential for change in libido, appetite and weight (up or down), sleep patterns, heart
rhythms.
• Potential for diarrhea, N/V, anxiety, dry mouth, confusion, headache (especially during
dose changes for about 3 weeks)
• Goofy Side Effects Story for Atypical Antidepressants (SSRIs, SNRIs, SDRIs)
• The atypical girl was heartbroken and depressed after her boyfriend left her. She couldn’t
eat, she couldn’t sleep. She was so upset that she felt sick to her stomach all the time,
causing horrible diarrhea. She was very confused about why her boyfriend would leave
her, but he truth was, her boyfriend left because of her low libido...it seems she always
“had a headache.” She wanted to please her boyfriend, but every time she thought about
sex she got nervous, felt dizzy and broke out into a sweat. Her hands would shake so bad
that she couldn’t even hold a glass of water and take a drink...talk about having a dry
mouth!
Antidepressants Traditional (TCAs/QCAs - Tricyclic and Quatracyclic antidepressants)
• These end in tyline or amine except Amoxapine, Doxepine and Maprotiline. You just have to
remember those 3. There are no other drugs in other groups that end with‘tyline’ or ‘amine’
(EXCEPT diphenhydramine/Benadryl).
• Side Affects
• Narrow therapeutic window and an overdose can kill you!!!
• If someone is suicidal, the doc will only prescribe a few days or a weeks worth of these at
a time to prevent an overdose!
• Grand mal seizure and hyperthermia (cooks the brain).
• Potential for: decrease in libido, decrease in all blood cell production, changes in HR and
rhythm, constipation, difficulty in urinating, orthostatic dizziness, weight gain, muscle
twitches
• Goofy Side Effects Story for Typical Antidepressants
• A very traditional man became depressed when his dog B.C. ran away. He ran through the
neighborhood, and worked up quite a sweat. His heart raced, and as he searched for his
dog, he realized that for the first time in years he wasn’t thinking about sex. This
realization stopped him dead in his tracks, and his heart slowed. As he stood there, mouth
dry and muscles twitching from the exertion, he saw B.C. trying to urinate on a fat lady’s
lawn. He ran to his dog and scooped him up, dizzy with happiness. He danced around the
yard with graceful rhythm, until he stepped in a pile of dog poo. “BC”, he exclaimed. “I
thought you were constipated!” He flailed around the yard trying to get the poo off his
shoe as the fat lady watched from her window. She was convinced the traditional man
who was flailing about on the lawn was having a seizure or a stroke.
*B.C. = blood cells (decrease in white and red blood cell production)
1
