Here\u2019s what a doc wants you to know about why your SSRI is making you so sweaty and what you can do about it.<\/p>\n
Meet the expert:<\/strong> Ludmila De Faria<\/a>, MD, is the chair of the American Psychiatric Association<\/a>\u2019s Council on Women’s Mental Health<\/a>. <\/p>\n Why SSRIs Make You Sweat More<\/strong><\/p>\n So, no, it\u2019s not just you. Your SSRI might be making you sweat more. In fact, that could be the case for anywhere from five to 14 percent of people taking one, according to a study in Depression and Anxiety<\/a>. It\u2019s not even a big surprise. \u201cIt\u2019s part of the biology of the medication,\u201d says Ludmila De Faria, MD, the chair of the American Psychiatric Association\u2019s Council on Women\u2019s Mental Health. <\/p>\n Basically, SSRIs impact how much serotonin is kicking around in your noggin\u2014including in your hypothalamus, which is the part of the brain responsible for temperature and sweating. \u201cThe hypothalamus is the thermostat,\u201d Dr. De Faria says. <\/p>\n Related Stories<\/p>\n When you have too much serotonin in the hypothalamus, it impacts how your body perceives heat, making it think you\u2019re hotter than you are and sending it into overdrive to cool down. In other words: “It changes your thermostat,\u201d Dr. De Faria says. It\u2019s kind of like every yoga session<\/a> is a heated one now. Plus, the balance of neurotransmitters dopamine<\/a> and norepinephrine is affected, which can also have an impact on sweating.<\/p>\n If you were hoping that the sweat would subside as you take the medication, like it does for other side effects, there\u2019s bad news: that doesn\u2019t typically happen with this one. Another common side effect that people might experience when starting an SSRI is nausea or other GI problems and that\u2019s because serotonin can also be found in the gut. <\/p>\n Unlike the hypothalamus, the gut learns how to down-regulate that extra neurotransmitter, meaning that your gut should start feeling better after a few weeks. Unfortunately, \u201cthe hypothalamus does not necessarily down-regulate the same as the gut, so that is one of the side effects, that if it shows up, it tends to persist,\u201d Dr. De Faria says. <\/p>\n What You Can Do About It<\/strong><\/p>\n The first thing you can try is (with the approval and guidance of your doctor) lowering your dose. That\u2019s because sweating typically comes at an individual\u2019s high end tolerance of the SSRI, Dr. De Faria says. Of course, there\u2019s a balancing act with that; you don\u2019t want to lower your dose such that it\u2019s no longer effective for what you\u2019re treating. <\/p>\n Another option you have is to switch your med. While all SSRIs have the potential to cause excess sweat since they affect serotonin levels, they\u2019re all metabolized differently, so you might have better luck with another one. \u201cIt\u2019s always worth trying a different SSRI,\u201d Dr. De Faria says. \u201cThere are so many options nowadays.\u201d<\/p>\n What about meds that help you stop sweating?<\/strong> There are medications (known as anticholinergic meds) that can make you less sweaty, but they\u2019re probably not worth it, says Dr. De Faria. The biggest reason: they tend to make your brain foggy. And, chances are, if you\u2019re taking an SSRI, it\u2019s because you want to get your brain back to working in tip-top shape, she says. <\/p>\n And, finally, if you are gonna stick it out on your current med, consider this your reminder to take good care of yourself, especially in the heat. Drink lots of water<\/a> and avoid intense exposure to the heat to avoid serious conditions like heat stroke and rhabdomyolysis<\/a>, Dr. De Faria says. Whatever you do, know that trial and error can be a normal (and well worth-it) journey toward finding a mental health med that works for you.<\/p>\n Olivia Luppino is an editorial assistant at Women\u2019s Health. She spends most of her time interviewing expert sources about the latest fitness trends, nutrition tips, and practical advice for living a healthier life. Olivia previously wrote for New York Magazine\u2019s The Cut, PS (formerly POPSUGAR), and Salon, where she also did on-camera interviews with celebrity guests. She\u2019s currently training for the New York City marathon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I\u2019ve always been a sweaty person, but lately, I\u2019ve been a lot sweatier. I\u2019m talking coming back from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":326638,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4315],"tags":[17687,117672,1331,105,1381,4326,47068,16,15,117671],"class_list":{"0":"post-326637","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-content-type-how-to-service","9":"tag-contentid-fb90359a-8d8e-4782-86ed-7b549ca2b7cb","10":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-locale-us","13":"tag-medication","14":"tag-shorttitle-yes","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-your-ssris-can-totally-make-you-sweat-more"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114990553921467919","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326637\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/326638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n