An article in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry in May 2023 noted that about 2/3 of people with #treatment-resistant depression are on a non-psychiatric medication that can cause depressive symptoms.
Treatment-resistant depression means that the depressed person has received at least two different trials of at least two different antidepressants at adequate doses for an adequate length of time.
If you have depression that is not responding to usual treatment, you may want to review all of the medications you take to find out if any of them can cause depressive symptoms.
Thirty percent (30%) of the people with resistant depression in the study were on 2 or more medications and 20% were on 3 or more medications that have depression as a side-effect.
Here is a list of 9 common medications that have depression as a known side-effect:
1. Estrogen hormones (e.g., many birth control pills) 2. Opiates 3. Some antacids (e.g., omeprazole) 4. Anti-seizure medications 5. Medication for Parkinson’s Disease (e.g., Sinemet) 6. Stimulants (eg. Adderall) 7. Beta-blockers for high blood pressure and other diseases (eg., Inderol) 8. Benzodiazepines (e.g., Xanax) 9. Some allergy medication (e.g., cetirizine).
You can review the list of your medications with your doctor or a pharmacist. If you are on one or more that can cause depressive symptoms, your physician may be able to change you to different medications.
Peter M. Hartmann, MD
Family Medicine & Psychiatry
