Remember kids, always check drug interactions before taking anything! Guess who has two thumbs and is in the hospital for taking NyQuil with Zoloft?
Holy shit that’s one interaction I would have never thought of
I wanted to reblog again with more information because even as a medical professional I had no idea about cold medicine doing this. Dextromethorphan, a common cough suppressant in many cold medicines, when combined with SSRIs, MAOIs, or any medication or drug that raises serotonin levels, can raise serotonin levels too high and cause what’s called Serotonin Syndrome. I’m on mobile so I don’t think I can hyperlink, but it’s a serious medical emergency and if you take these medicines you should know the symptoms.
From Wikipedia: Symptoms include high body temperature, agitation, increased reflexes, tremor, sweating, dilated pupils, and diarrhea. Body temperature can increase to greater than 41.1 °C (106.0 °F). Complications may include seizures and extensive muscle breakdown.
Yep. I remembered reading about it like 30 minutes after taking NyQuil and then shrugged and went to bed.
Woke up an hour later with my heart racing, whole body shaking, muscles incredibly tense, dizziness, coughing, and panic.
It got worse on the way to the ER and while there I could barely walk and I was crying all over everything and my blood pressure was dangerously high.
Even with all this, they said I wasn’t having a full SS reaction and they gave me some meds that helped and sent me on my way. If this shit happens to you, go to the emergency room.
Keppra and decongestants like sudafed = BAD TIME, BAD, BAD TIME
Um WHAT. I took NyQuil with Zoloft once holy shit
More on seratonin syndrome from the U.S. National Library of Medicine here.
…….OH
THAT EXPLAINS SO MANY THINGS
Probably a good thing that the first time this happened I went “welp never taking NyQuil again” and moved on with my life, holy SHIT
Omg this is super important for literally everything. Also! A lot of 24 hour pharmacies will tell you if you can take them together. There have been many a times I’ve called at 2am crying asking if I can take this-and-this together and if I can’t what do i do. If one pharmacy isn’t helpful, try another. You don’t even have to be a customer at their pharmacy to have them help you. Hell I don’t even think you need to be in the same state as the pharmacy.
SSRIs aren’t just antidepressants, either. My seizure pills, lamotrigine/lamictal, are an SSRI.
My brother went to the hospital recently for taking NyQuil with one of his meds (I think he’s prescribed tramadol and an antidepressant, but I honestly don’t recall).
BE VERY AWARE OF MED INTERACTIONS!
This… Is very good to have come across my dash… I’ve been on antidepressants for over a year and despite reading the info sheets multiple times I did not consider drug reactions with things like cold medicine.
Oh shit. Thankfully I don’t take cold medicine often but now that I’m on an SSRI I’ll have to really reconsider
ADDERALL AND MONSTER GAVE ME A PANIC THE NEXT DAY.
Always, always check on drug interaction - this includes interactions with supplements and OTC drugs. Make sure ALL of your doctors are aware of all meds you take, but ALWAYS double check for yourself.
