Posted by Martinchen978 on December 10, 2018, at 19:35:19
A fellow from one of my support groups once told me that both Zoloft and, later on, Lexapro were intolerable because they made him feel like a zombie.
It sounds like he described apathy or indifference. Can SSRI medications cause an apathy / indifference syndrome? Most prescribers seem not to be aware of this side effect of these drugs. This probably because apathy / indifference sounds a lot like lack of interest in formerly pleasurable activities or lack of energy or lack of motivation. All of these quoted symptoms are also part of major depression. So, it can be hard to know the difference between medication-induced apathy versus inadequately-treated depression. Also, the prescribing information for SSRI medications (which includes the official, FDA-reviewed statement of side effects) does not list apathy or indifference. On the other hand, the prescribing information does include fatigue and decreased libido. These could possibly be manifestations of apathy...
Despite the general lack of awareness of this side effect, the medical literature nonetheless contains several case reports and reviews of SSRI-induced apathy. Notably, these reports often mention that the apathy worsens with increased dose of the drug. The presence of such a dose-response relationship supports the notion that the drug actually causes the apathy.
poster:Martinchen978
thread:1102370
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20181024/msgs/1102370.html