Welp, I certainly learned from the last mistake I made in 2018. I won’t do this again.
Before I continue, I want to make clear that I am not a certified physician or therapist by any means. Do not consider this blog medical “bible”. Please reach out to your doctor with questions regarding your personal care. Do let them know when you’re experiencing changes like I did.
Though I’m not a doctor or therapist, I am someone who takes antidepressants. I have since April of 2017. They are prescribed for me by my doctor, and I still take them today. I take them to cope with anxiety and depression.
I don’t recall being sick between then and now – at least, not with a cold. However, I ended up with a head cold this past December. Naturally, I took over the counter medication to get rid of it. I didn’t think anything of this until about a day and a half into the cold. My mood changed drastically after the cold medicine was in my system for a day. The next day I was seriously depressed for what seemed like no reason.
I asked myself, “what in the hell am I upset about now?” assuming something triggered me. It didn’t. Nothing specifically triggered me. While I rode out that mood, I thought about it later and mentioned to my father that I had that weird experience. He (another person who copes with anxiety and depression) told me that this wasn’t unheard of. I assumed maybe it happened to him too, but I don’t know for sure.
It hit me: mixing cold medicine and my antidepressant was a concoction that my body wasn’t prepared for. My mood was affected by combining those two. How could I have missed that!?
Dr. Kevin Pharm posted about the medicine I take on Pharmacist Answers and said, “It is always a good idea to check for drug interactions prior to adding any prescription or over the counter medications. In this case, Celexa can interact with over the counter cough and cold medications.”
The “reaction” he’s talking about is not the same for everyone, but that did confirm for me that I wasn’t crazy.
Got any questions? Check with your doctor before taking over the counter medicine.