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Medication
In addition, you may wish to ask about counselling or psychotherapy ('Talking Treatments') or some other form of psychological treatment. This may help alongside the drug treatment or be a possible alternative to the drugs. It may be that psychological treatment could help you recover sooner. The following list of questions may be useful when meeting your Doctor and help you get the most out of your drug treatment. What and How? · What kind of medicine
is it? How important is it? · How important is
it that I take it? What about side effects? · What are the side
effects? How long? · How long should
I continue taking it? Drug Types The following is a list of some of the drugs that can be prescribed. For each drug there is a pharmacy name and a brand name (in brackets). Each Consultant tends to have their own prescribing preferences. Generic names do not have capital letters, trade names do. 1) Anti-psychotic drugs (also referred to as 'Major Tranquilisers) Olanzapine (Zyprexa), quetiapine (Seroquel), risperidone (Risperdol), amisulpride (Solian) and clozapine (Clozaril) are more commonly prescribed anti-psychotics. These are newer drugs, which can have fewer side-effects for some people, although clozapine can have an effect on the blood. For this reason, people taking clozapine need to have regular blood tests. Alternatively, you may be
prescribed: Thioridazine (Melleril) may only be prescribed to people with schizophrenia under specialist supervision (consultant psychiatrist). 2) Anti-depressant drugs There are four main types of anti-depressants: Tri-cyclics (and related), MAOI's, SSRI's and Other (types which don't fit into any category). Tri-cyclics: Amitryptilline (Tryptizol), clomipramine (Anafranil), dothiepin (Prothiedin), lofepramine (Gamanil), trazodone (Molipaxin), imipramine (Tofranil) MAOI's: Moclobemide (Manerix),
phenelzine (Nardil) SSRI's: fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Seroxat), , fluvoxamine (Faverin), citalopram (Cipramil), sertraline (Lustral) Other: Venlafaxine (Efexor),
mirtazapine (Zispin), nefazodone (Dutonin), Lithium carbonate (Camcolit
or Priadel), carbemazepine (Tegretol), valproic acid (Depakote)
Buspirone hydrochloride (Buspar), chlordiazepoxide (Librium), diazepam (Valium), lorazepam (Ativan), Oxazepam 5) Drugs for sleep problems You may be given tablets to help you sleep. This treatment has only short-term effects. If taken long-term it could have the opposite effect of causing anxiety and further sleep difficulties, and it can be difficult to come off the tablets. If you are concerned about taking medication for sleep problems, or coming off the tablets, speak with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist. The following are all 'sleeping
tablets': The following are benzodiazepines,
another type of sleeping tablet: Stopping medication All psychiatric drugs should be withdrawn (stopped) slowly. Withdrawal effects can occur particularly with tricyclic anti-depressants, SSRIs (especially paroxetine) and many anti-psychotics. If you want to come off of medication, you need to cut down the dose gradually over a period of time, as your body will need time to adjust to the change. If you are concerned about taking or coming off of any medication for sleep problems, speak with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist. Effects of medication Listed below are the most common side-effects that can be experienced whilst on medication. Not everyone experiences side-effects, and those that do experience them to varying degrees. Some side-effects are dependent on the level of the dose you are taking, so the smaller the dose, the less likely you are to experience any side-effects. Also listed are some suggestions as to how to alleviate these side-effects, but please note that, with some symptoms, you must seek medical advice immediately. With other symptoms, there may be ways of alleviating them, but if they persist you should contact your doctor. Please note that some symptoms (particularly blurred vision, dizziness and drowsiness) are made worse if you drink alcohol. The list of drugs is not complete. Your particular drugs may not be included here. Please consult your doctor if you are experiencing any side-effects which are worrying you. Outside of hospital, there is a legal obligation for you to be given information on your drugs, such as an information leaflet. As an in-patient, there is no obligation to give you information unless you ask for it, although the Mental Health Units do produce a range of information leaflets. If you are concerned about any aspect or effects of your medication, speak with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist, who may also be able to offer information leaflets. Possible side-effects Symptom Blurred vision: Confusion: Constipation: Dizziness: Drowsiness: Dry mouth: Headaches: Light-headedness: Nausea and / or vomiting:
Rashes: Sexual problems: Sensitivity to sunlight:
Stiffness in limbs or face:
Sweating: Tremors (shakes): Weight gain: NB - older anti-psychotic medication can have significantly higher incidence of side-effects. If you have concerns about side-effects or any other aspect of medication, speak with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.
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since 21st June 2002. © Copyright phobics awareness 2003-2009.
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