Depressive disorders constitute a group of complex syndromes that present diverse symptoms. For its treatment, interventions have been proposed, such as psychological and / or psychiatric. Among the latter, therapy based on the administration of psychotropic drugs has undoubtedly been the most widely used and best known.
At this time there are a large number of antidepressant psychotropic drugs on the market that, according to characteristics of the patient, are selected by the health professional to treat depression of the more effective way. One of these types are tricyclic antidepressants, a category to which the leading drug in the following Psychology-Online article belongs. Do you want to know what imipramine is and what it is for? Next, we expose what is Imipramine, its function, dosage and side effects.
Index
- What is Imipramine
- Imipramine function
- Recommended doses of Imipramine
- Contraindications of Imipramine
- Side effects of Imipramine
What is Imipramine.
As we have already advanced, the Imipramine it is a psychotropic drug from the group of tricyclic antidepressants whose mechanism of action is based on inhibition of norepinephrine and serotonin reuptake.
Taking into account the monoaminergic hypothesis of depression that establishes that in depressed patients there is a deficit of biogenic monoamines (norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin), these drugs can achieve improvement in these patients, since the inhibition of its reuptake causes, not only that its activity is prolonged, but that its action is empowered.
Beyond the effect they have on depressive symptoms, a characteristic to take into account regarding the tricyclic antidepressants is that they are associated with numerous side effects such as drowsiness, dry mouth, tachycardia, etc. However, this fact will always be taken into account by the doctor or health professional who supervises the treatment.
Imipramine function.
What are the effects of Imipramine? As a tricyclic antidepressant, Imipramine is a drug used in the treatment of depressive disorders. These disorders are listed and specified in the DSM-5 diagnostic classifications. (American Psychiatric Association) and ICD-11 (World Health Organization) and among which are find the major depressive disorder wave dysthymia.
Imipramine treatment would also be indicated for other disorders and health problems. Following Vademecum (2016), it can be used to:
- Cases of anguish crisis.
- Chronic pain syndrome.
- Nocturnal enuresis
Recommended doses of Imipramine.
Next, the doses that Vademecum (2016) recommends for the treatment of the different problems for which the use of Imipramine is recommended are exposed. This discussion is not intended to be a guide to self-administration of the drug, but rather a brief explanation of its use.
First, the Vademecum (2016) recommendations for the treatment of depressive disorders with Imipramine indicate starting with small initial doses and gradually increasing until the desired improvement is achieved. After this improvement, the doses will be reduced until an optimal maintenance dose is reached.
The health professional should take into account the age of the patient when prescribing Imipramine. It should be taken into account that the prescription of the drug to the elderly, children and adolescents must follow specific guidelines. This fact is important if we consider that Imipramine can be used in cases of pain chronic disease (which older people can get) and enuresis (a disorder related to childhood).
Contraindications of Imipramine.
In addition to side effects, treatment with Imipramine also has certain contraindications, making it necessary to avoid taking the drug if:
- The patient is hypersensitive to this drug.
- The patient has hypersensitivity to tricyclic antidepressants from the group of dibenzoazepines (group to which Imipramine belongs).
- The patient is in an acute stage of myocardial infarction.
- The patient is being treated with selective reversible monoamine oxidase inhibitors, MAOIs.
In addition, it is not recommended to drive or operate heavy machinery after ingestion, its use during lactation periods and the situation of pregnancy should be taken into consideration.
Given what is stated here regarding side effects and contraindications, it is important to bear in mind that we should never self-medicate. Imipramine is a drug whose administration should always be under the supervision of a professional qualified for it.
Side effects of Imipramine.
Like all drugs, Imipramine also has a list of associated adverse reactions and / or side effects. Not all adverse effects will appear in all patients And, if they appear, they may not appear with the same intensity.
However, it is normal that doubts may arise regarding the treatment of imipramine when reading the package leaflet. If this happens, our recommendation is to consult these doubts with the doctor and / or pharmacist.
With all this, among the impramine side effects that Vademecum (2016) proposes and that could be present would be:
- Weight gain.
- Anorexy.
- Restlessness.
- Confusion.
- Delirium.
- Hallucinations
- Anxiety.
- Agitation.
- Mania.
- Hypomania
- Libido alterations.
- Sleep disorders.
- Disorientation.
- Shaking.
- Vertigo.
- Headaches
- Drowsiness.
- Paresthesia.
- Blurry vision.
- Visual accommodation disorders.
- Decreased lacrimation.
- Sinus tachycardia.
- Changes in the ECG.
- Arrhythmias
- Palpitations
- Conduction disorders
- Hot flushes.
- Orthostatic hypotension.
- Dry mouth
- Constipation.
- Sickness.
- Vomiting
- Changes in liver function
- Hyperhidrosis
- Allergic dermatitis.
- Eruption.
- Urticaria.
- Urination problems
- Fatigue.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Imipramine: what it is, function, dosage and side effects, we recommend that you enter our category of Psychopharmaceuticals.
Bibliography
- American Psychiatric Association (2014). DSM-5. Reference guide to the diagnostic criteria of the DSM-5-Breviary. Madrid: Editorial Médica Panamericana.
- Bravo Ortiz, M.F. (2002) Psychopharmacology for Psychologists. Madrid: Synthesis
- World Health Organization (WHO) (2018) International Classification of Diseases, 11th revision. Recovered from https://icd.who.int/es
- Vademecum (2016) Imipramine. Recovered from https://www.vademecum.es/principios-activos-imipramina-N06AA02-es
Imipramine: what it is, function, dosage and side effects
