The medical and/or psychiatric treatment of mental disorders requires, among other intervention strategies, the administration of drugs. At this time there is a wide variety of psychotropic drugs on the market and although each laboratory markets its medications under its own commercial name, the truth is that behind them there is an active ingredient that acts on the symptoms.
Beyond the effect that psychotropic drugs have on mental health, they can be used for other purposes to treat disorders of a diverse nature. In the following Psychology-Online article we focus on one of these drugs, specifically What is anapsique, what it is for and side effects.
What is Anapsique
Anapsique is a antidepressant drug from the Psicofarma, SA laboratory marketed in Mexico. Its administration is carried out by taking the tablets orally. The two versions that appear in Vademecum (2019b) differ in the dosage of said tablets, with 25mg tablets and 50mg tablets.
Anapsique active ingredient
The active ingredient in Anapsique is amitriptylinea tricyclic antidepressant, such as imipramine and nortriptyline, and pain reliever.
Amitriptyline prevents the reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine, which prolongs its activity and enhances its action. All of this is associated with a decrease in depressive symptomsso tricyclic antidepressants have a great effect on the depressed population and have no effect on the population that does not present this type of symptoms.
In addition, they act on muscarinic histamine and acetylcholine receptors and have blocking effects on sodium, potassium and NMDA ion channels, at both central and spinal levels.
Contraindications of Anapsique
All pharmacological treatment must be subject to the supervision of a doctor, since medications have restrictions for certain populations. In the case at hand, treatment with Anapsique is contraindicated in cases of:
- Hypersensitivity to amitriptyline.
- Recent myocardial infarction, heart block, heart rhythm disorders, and coronary artery insufficiency.
- Severe liver disease.
- Children under six years old.
- In cases where the patient is being treated with monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), since there is an interaction between both drugs.
On the other hand, Anapsique It is not recommended for intake during pregnancyHowever, it will be the doctor who assesses whether its intake during pregnancy is extremely necessary. In the same way, since amitriptyline is present in breast milk, the doctor must evaluate the intake of the drug during the period of .
Finally, since amitriptyline can cause sedation and dizziness, we must consider carrying out certain activities that require a good level of alertness and/or that may be dangerous, such as driving.
What is Anapsique for?
As we have already mentioned, the active ingredient in Anapsique is amitriptyline, an antidepressant and analgesic drug. Therefore, the main function of this medication will be aimed at treatment of depressive episodes and reduction of pain sensations.
Next, we will show you the indications that Vademecum (2019a) proposes for what anapsique or amitriptyline is used for. It must be taken into account that these are general indications and that, far from practicing self-administration of drugs, the treatment must always be indicated, prescribed and supervised by a health professional.
Antidepressant
The treatment of depressive disorders often includes and combines medication and pharmacological therapy. Within the latter, the drugs of choice are antidepressants.
Depressive disorders constitute well-studied and established diagnostic categories in the scientific literature. As such, they have explanatory models about their origin. Although it is true that there are models proposed by different disciplines such as psychology, in the case at hand we will pay special attention to the biological theories.
Within biological theories, the monoaminergic hypothesis of depression establishes that there are deficiencies in biogenic monoamines (norepinephrine, and ) among the depressed population. Therefore, drugs such as amitriptyline will be indicated for the pharmacological treatment of depression.
Among the disorders for which the administration of Anapsique is indicated may be major depressive disorder and depressive episodes.
Treatment of depressive disorders with amitriptyline
The therapeutic recommendations offered by Vademecum (2019a) regarding amitriptyline would be:
- An initial dose of 25mg every 12 hours, which can be increased by 25mg every other day but always up to a maximum of 150mg each day in two doses.
- The maintenance dose will be the same as the lowest effective dose.
- The effect will be established after two to four weeks.
- Treatment is usually continued for up to six months after recovery.
Analgesic
Regarding the treatment of pain, its administration will be recommended for neuropathic pain, for the prophylactic treatment of chronic tension-type headache and the prophylactic treatment of migraine. The Vademecum (2019) indications for the use of anapsique as an analgesic are:
- The initial dose will be about 10-25mg every night, and can be increased by 10mg or 25mg every 3-7 days.
- The analgesic effect is observed after 2-4 weeks.
Treatment for enuresis
Amitriptyline is also recommended for the treatment of:
- A dose of 10-20mg each day is indicated for children aged 6 to 10 years and 25-50mg each day for children aged 11 years or older.
- The maximum duration of treatment should not be more than 3 months.
- Withdrawal of the drug should be gradual.
Anapsique Side Effects
Amitriptyline, and specifically Anapsique, has beneficial effects within the framework of the treatment for which it is indicated. However, like all drugs, it has side effects.
As adverse reactions, Vademecum (2019b) proposes a list of symptoms that may be present to a greater or lesser extent. It is important to keep in mind that not all of these symptoms will appear in all patients and, if they do, it will not be the same in each of them. Next, we will look at the side effects of Anapsique:
- Aggressiveness.
- State of confusion.
- Decreased libido.
- Agitation.
- Drowsiness.
- Shaking.
- Dizziness.
- Headache.
- Lethargy.
- Speech disorder (dysarthria).
- Alterations in attention.
- Dysgeusia.
- Paresthesia.
- Ataxia.
- Accommodation alterations.
- Mydriasis.
- Palpitations.
- .
- Autrioventricular block.
- Branch block.
- .
- Nasal congestion.
- Dry mouth.
- Constipation.
- Nausea.
- .
- Urinary disorders.
- Urinary retention.
- Erectile dysfunction.
- Fatigue.
- Feeling of thirst.
- Weight gain.
- Abnormalities in the electrocardiogram.
- Dry eyes.
- They can rarely occur.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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References
- Vademecum (2019b) Anapsique. Recovered from https://www.vademecum.es/equivalencia-lista-anapsique+tabletas+25+mg-mexico-n06aa09-1093098-mx_1
- Vademecum (2019a) Amitriptyline. Recovered from https://www.vademecum.es/principios-trabajos-amitriptylina-N06AA09-es
Bibliography
- Bravo Ortiz, MF (2002) Psychopharmacology for psychologists. Madrid: Synthesis