SSRI Side effect

[sue3708]

I have been on 2 SSRI's in the past, both for a week or so.   Prozac and Celexa.   I developed hot flashes while on these medications.   My understanding is that they can treat hot flashes.....why would they be causing them in me?   40 year old female.    

Thank you,

[Paxiled]

ssris can cause flushing and the sweats, not the same as hormonally induced hot flashes.  You're a bit young for hot flashes, and anti-depressants don't treat hot flashes.  Some docs prescribe them for some of the mental stuff that accompanies hormonal imbalances, though personally I think that's a bad way to go about it -- better to attack the problem than cover it up with a med that alters the brain, but that's me.

[Jaquta]

I heard that they can create a number of paradoxical effects.  Can cause one to be anxious and depressed, etc when that is what they have been prescribed for.

That's a layperson's response anyway.  The expert will be better able to answer your question.