Sometimes to solve a problem you create a new one that can even be worse. Something similar occurs with serotonin syndrome, which appears when the body produces an excess of the so-called “happiness hormone”.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter closely related to mood and emotions. “For this reason, many drugs such as antidepressants seek to interact with this neurotransmitter to increase its levels,” explains Ester Moral, head of the neurology service at the Moisès Broggi University Hospital Complex, in RAC1.cat.
“If you have a serotonin deficit, you will have symptoms of sadness, discouragement or depression,” says Moral. When you want to counteract this with drugs, the opposite effect can occur: an unnecessary accumulation of serotonin. “Normally, the cause is an overdose of some drug or an interaction between drugs that can influence the mechanism that degrades serotonin.” Moral indicates that when it comes to mixing drugs “we have to be very careful with the combinations.”
Another cause is also dietary supplements, which many people “take without conscience”. “They can also have an action on serotonin and, if you are also taking an antidepressant, it can cause you to generate that unnecessary accumulation.” For example, remedies for insomnia or menopausal problems such as St. John’s wort, “which at first glance seem innocuous, but an excess or a mixture with other drugs can cause serotonin syndrome.”
These are the three causes, since the syndrome should never occur naturally in our body.
The most frequent syndromes are anxiety, nervousness, insomnia, diarrhea, nausea or tremors. “Most are mild cases, although there are serious cases in which the patient can become delirious and need hospital help,” says Moral. “Luckily, it’s not a common syndrome.”
The most effective way to treat it is to stop the drugs that can cause this syndrome. “The important thing is to get to suspect it and see if it adds up.” There is no clear profile of patients, but those with depressive problems “are more exposed.”
