Health & WellbeingGeneralMedication Tantrums
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Medication Tantrums

By Melina - Assistant Editor May 5, 2019

Can some common types of medication affect our mood?

AXA PPP healthcare look at the reason why we could be having mood swings.

“My husband has temper tantrums out of the blue and then denies he has them afterwards – could this be a side effect of the drugs he is on? He takes blood pressure tablets, a diuretic, a blood thinner and Metformin for type 2 diabetes.”

It must be awful watching and dealing with someone close to you going through excessive mood swings and the answer to his symptoms may not be so simple to determine say our Health at Hand nurses.

However, on reviewing the medication your husband takes the one that may cause the side-effects you describe is the anti-hypertensive medicine, commonly used to treat high blood pressure. If this is the case then your GP can prescribe an alternative anti-hypertensive that may suit your husband better.

Other Causes

The mood swings you describe may also be due to other causes such as:

  • Depression
  • Stress
  • Hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar)

Certain medication to treat diabetes can increase the chance of hypoglycaemia. If you have low blood sugar then you are likely to become irritable and your mood will not improve until you have consumed some carbohydrate or a sugary drink.

However, you say your husband is taking Metformin which is less likely to cause low blood sugar than other medication.

We recommend that you make an appointment for your husband to visit the GP as he will need to undertake a thorough examination to get to the bottom of this. It may also be a good idea for you to accompany your husband if he agrees, as your perspective will provide the GP with a better understanding of the fuller picture.

Find out more on depression and how to live with it by reading Tanya’s Story and learn more about diabetes here

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Melina - Assistant Editor

Hi I'm Melina, a mother of 3 teenage children and with a particular interest in all things health related. I run a busy household and smallholding alongside my work with Silversurfers, which currently includes dogs, fish, hens, ducks and pigs!

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