Lustral is one of the medications which is widely used in the treatment of people who suffer from depression. Under the name of Lustral, this medicine is sold all over the United Kingdom, while in other countries it is known as Zoloft. Depression is a very serious disorder and if untreated, it can lead to a number of serious and potentially life-threatening consequences, some of which might even include alcoholism, substance abuse, anxiety and heart disease. But regardless of how successful and effective this medicine is, it should be clear that not every case of depression can be treated with it because there are some situations in which this medicine is not recommended.
Just like with the greatest number of other medications, the most common side effects are nausea and headache. As for the frequency of these side effects, according to the statistics, they appear in about 25 % of the cases. Diarrhea is also one of the common side effects, as well as dizziness, sleepiness and dry mouth. One of the reported side effects with males is also delayed ejaculation. But none of these symptoms are serious and none of them require medical attention. They usually go away by themselves after a while and no medical treatment is necessary.
A bit more serious are gastrointestinal side effects such as indigestion, vomiting and the loss of appetite. As for neurological and psychological symptoms which may appear are annoyance, tremors, agitation, nervousness, tingling in the extremities, and sometimes even decreased interest in sex. However, in the greatest number of cases when these side effects appear, they should also disappear without any special treatment and after some time.
It is important to mention that this is one of the medications which should not be used without a medical prescription and which may cause serious consequences if used in combination with certain other drugs, which is a nother reason to be extra careful about its use. For example, in combination with lithium and diazepam, the use of Lustral might damage your kidneys.
However, the most severe consequences that Lustral might cause are related to heart conditions and problems with the cardiovascular system (such as irregular heartbeat, heart attack and the increased blood pressure) and neurological problems like involuntary eye movements, ticks, problems with speaking, lack of coordination and suicidal thoughts followed by suicidal attempts. The situations in which these side effects appear are very rare and regular check-ups in the first months of the treatment are necessary in order to reduce the risks to a minimum.
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