More Drugs That Affect Women Differently

Antidepressants

Men and women react differently to different antidepressant medications. Men seem to react better to tricyclic antidepressants, such as Amitriptyline (Elavil). However, regardless of the symptoms, women seem to respond better to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), with sertraline (Zoloft) appearing to be the most successful. This difference may be partly because women respond better of the serotonin-precursor tryptophan when given SSRIs.

No matter what antidepressants are prescribed, the lowest effective dose should be used, as a woman's higher proportion of body fat can lead to drugs staying in the body for longer, making side effects more likely.

Antipsychotics

Men generally exhibit more severe symptoms of psychoses (delusions, hallucinations, paranoia, and so on), and may require more prolonged hospitalisation. Women also respond better to treatment with "typical" antipsychotics (such as haloperidol) than men. Men may need up to twice the dosage to control their symptoms.

Anti-anxiety medication

Some anti-anxiety medications could be dangerous to women at normal doses. That's because women metabolise them quicker, causing them to feel the effects sooner. Women also take a longer time to process certain drugs. 

Benzodiazepines are especially dangerous because they dissolve into fat cells. Women have more fat, meaning that Benzodiazepines (like Xanax or Diazepam) can build to toxic levels in the body.

If you take anti-anxiety medication, and especially benzodiazepines, talk to your doctor about waiting longer to take a second dose.

READ Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Best non-med treatment for anxiety and stress problems

Torsade de Pointes

In addition to the reactions above, women are also more prone to a very serious reaction called Torsade de Pointes. Torsade de Pointes is a type of ventricular tachycardia (where your heart beats more than 100 beats per minute; however, in Torsade de Pointes, the heartbeat is over 200 beats per minute). Patients with Torsade de Pointes usually have cold sweats, palpitations, and dizziness. It can cause sudden death.

Torsade de Pointes have been known to occur with: antidepressants, antipsychotics, antibiotics, and antiarrhythmics.

What Next?

We are becoming increasingly aware of gender-differences in reactions to medicines. Between 1997 and 2001, eight of the ten medications were removed from use by the FDA because they posed unacceptable risks to women. However, there's still a long way to go.

Women have up to an eightfold increase of drug-induced rash as a result of taking the antiretroviral drugs (to treat HIV), such as Nevirapine and Efavirenz). Women are also more likely to experience liver-disease as a result of taking antiepileptic drugs like Phenytoin.

Recently, the FDA has been conducting more research into drugs and sex-differences, but there's still some way to go before we fully understand the impact of gender.