Marina Eskandrous Senior Project: Assignment 1: Article: “Side effects of antidepressants: An Overview” According to the DSM5 major depressive describes a person who is in a depressed mood for most of the day, nearly everyday. The person also has a diminished interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities most of the time. There may be significant weight loss or gain as a result of decrease or increase of appetite, respectively. The person may also experience insomnia or hyper insomnia nearly everyday. There may also be a consistent feeling of fatigue or loss of energy. Usually in major depression, there are feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt. It is also common to have a diminished ability to think, concentrate, or experience indecisiveness. All of these symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. (DSM 5, 160-161) Antidepressant are a form of pharmacotherapy treatment developed to treat the symptoms of major depression. Antidepressants are used for many other types of conditions including anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, dysthymia, eating disorders, sleeping disorders, and substance abuse, pain syndromes, gastrointestional disorders. Antidepressants usually require several weeks to notice significant effects. There are no antidepressants or any medication that is completely free of adverse effects. This article explains that the adverse effects of antidepressant can decrease compliance and slow down the rate of recovery. It is important for one to take note of potential side-effects before choosing the best antidepressant to suit their personalized needs. Statistics show that about 28 percent of patients sto... ... middle of paper ... ...n also occur. This can occur due to increased serotonin at the synaptic levels which causes inhibition of the release of dopamine through specific presynaptic serotonin receptor subtypes. Another typical side-effect includes bleeding such as brusing, epistaxis, and gastrointestinal bleeding. SSRIs inhibit platelet functions and this could lengthen the time and risk of bleeding. When serotonin receptors are hyperstimulated, a condition called serotonin syndrome can occur. This syndrome brings about nausea, diarrhea, restlessness, delirium, extreme agitation, seizure, hyperreflexia, and many other symptoms. This syndrome can occur if SSRIs are taken together with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (a member of a different class of antidepressants). Abruptly discontinuing SSRIs with a short half-life can cause discontinuation syndrome after the drug is no longer in the body.
Introduction: For my research project I would like to explore the effectiveness of antidepressant drugs. Antidepressant drugs are used are used to treat major depression and other conditions, some of which include anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, chronic pain and other disorders. Around the world antidepressants are used to cure these types of mental illnesses. It is argued by both medical professionals and other people whether or not they believe that antidepressants work. According to Mayo Clinic one in ten Americans take an antidepressant. Today, antidepressants have became the most common way around the world to treat major depression
Jeremy Laurance’s article “Ketamine: a cure for depression?” published in The Independent in October 2012, sanctions the use of a drug of abuse called ketamine for the treatment of depression. The author supports this theory by stating a study completed by Robert Dunman, a professor of Psychiatry and Neurobiology at Yale University School of Medicine in Boston. The following paragraph will summarise the main points of the article and discuss the evidence used by the author.
What determines a good' article from a bad' one? In the Des Moines Register on February 3, there was an article titled, More parents, doctors refuse to put kids on antidepressants," was written by Marilyn Elias. Elias is a well-known writer from USA Today, and has written on topics such as stress, marriage, and health. The article was about the effects on children, ages 18 and younger, taking depression pills. There are many elements that establish a good' article from a bad' one. Some of these elements would be the content, reader, and credibility.
“Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15- to 19-year-olds. In any given year, about 20% of all high school students think of committing suicide; almost 10% try” (Cropper 112). This shocking statistic shows the high risk of suicide among teens, but what some might not know is that the most common form of treatment used to help teens suffering with depression is one that might also increase the risk of suicide and/or harmful actions to oneself. Tricyclic antidepressants such as Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa, and Lexapro are commonly prescribed to adolescents and young adults to relieve symptoms of depression, and they work by either releasing more of the brain’s “happy chemical,” serotonin, in those with clinical depression, or by stopping the release of the brain’s emotional chemicals in those with manic depression (or other diseases such as bipolar disorder) (Silverstein 61). Although antidepressants can have a positive effect on the symptoms of depression, the risk of suicide among those who take it is too high to use as a first option. Suicidal behavior is a serious side effect in teens that are prescribed tricyclic antidepressants; depression should be treated with safer alternatives, such as behavioral treatment or other forms of therapy as opposed to such a “trial and error” approach.
According to the FDA, about 2.5% of children and around 8% of adolescents are affected by depression (Temple). A common way to treat depression is by taking antidepressants. Children and teens have also been prescribed antidepressants for various reasons other than depression such as OCD and anxiety disorders. While it is legal for teenagers and children to take antidepressants, many people are concerned with the issues that taking antidepressants have. Children and teens should be allowed to take antidepressants only when other forms of therapy don’t work. Antidepressants are serious drugs that have severe warnings when children and teens use them. There is also an increased risk of worsening depression and suicide in children and teens, especially in the when they begin to take it. Even the less severe side effects can make quite a negative impact on life.
The DSM-5 establishes that Major Depressive Disorder is characterized by an extremely depressed mood and or loss of pressure, lasting more of the day, nearly every day for at least two weeks. In order to meet the criteria for Major Depressive Disorder, one must have at least four additional symptoms of physical or cognitive origin, ranging from significant weight loss when not dieting, weight gain, or a change in appetite; insomnia or hypersomnia, sleep disturbances, restlessness, fatigue, noticeable psychomotor agitation or retardation, loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness, irritability, and recurrent thoughts of death, suicide ideation, or a suicide attempt. Moreover, clients may experience diminished ability to think or concentrate, and can be the result of clinically significant distress or
“As of 2013, there are 2,165,279 kids on antidepressants” (CCHR International). Depression is a medical illness that more than 19 million kids in the United States have. This has been happening over the past several years and it can be caused by the genetic, biological, environmental, or psychological factors. Depression can affect anyone’s well-being and it can happen at any age. This is because there are medical imbalances in the brain that can influence anyone’s mood and behavior. Many people believe that antidepressants help kids throughout their day and without them, it could jeopardize their health. On the other hand, there are others that believe that antidepressants are ineffective to one's life in many different ways because
Those diagnosed with depression are often prescribed a form of antidepressant medication, but this form of treatment has its disadvantages. Fifty percent of the millions of Americans who have experienced a bout or continuing bout of major depression have been taking antidepressant medication as part of their treatment program (Major depression, 2017). Therefore, the issue of high rates of depression is accompanied with problematic side-effects associated with the traditional treatment for the disorder. In fact, some studies suggest that antidepressant medication users are at an increased risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality (Hansen, 2016). Similarly, a cohort study by Silva and colleagues
Depression is a mental illness, which affects millions of Americans each year. Currently there are many prescription drugs, called anti-depressants that have been proven to successfully treat it. The causes of depression are somewhat of a medical enigma, however, it is known that depression is associated with a change in the brains chemistry involving the function of neurotransmitters (Reichert). This chemical change occurs in healthy brain’s, which experience sadness, but ends after the unpleasant stimulus is removed. In people suffering from depression this chemical change does not correspond to any particular stimulus. Symptoms of depression are often incapacitating and include severe and extended sadness, feelings of worthlessness, feelings of emptiness, irritability and anxiety (Reichert, Spake).
Side effects is a large reason people stop taking their medications. Side effects of antipsychotics, such as weight gain, blured vision, dry mouth, and even tremors can occure. I could imagin how scary it could be to have some of those side effects come while taking a medication to treat a completly different condition.
There are many different kinds of medications but as Dr. Krishna Patel wrote in “Modern Treatments”, the most common are Risperdal, Seroquel, and Zyprexa. After the failure of two antipsychotic medications doctors typically give patients Clozaril. Clozaril has one major side effect that is the most defective which is the “deficiency of white blood cells” (Piotrowski 3). White blood cells help fight bacteria and other illnesses and when those are destroyed the patient becomes more prone to development of other diseases. Each of these medications has different side effects that can damage the patient who is taking them. Based off of the overproduction of serotonin and dopamine the medication is used to block all production of each of these chemicals. Yvette Brazier writes in “Medical News Today” that serotonin acts as a neurotransmitter which helps send signals from one side of the brain to the other, and it can also be found in the digestive tract. Another chemical that is overproduced is dopamine. Lex Wunderink, a psychiatrist at University Medical Center, stated dopamine is a necessary for all people because it is a chemical that primarily deals with motivated behavior and has a direct relationship with memory, motor movement, sleep, libido, and addiction. Blocking off each of these chemicals may help the side effects of schizophrenia, but they create new problems for patients to cope
The patient still suffers from anxiety and has been taking the Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor - Fluoxetine 20mg (BNF 2014: 251-254) once daily since his last visit and the patient reports very low motivation due to a recent separation a...
This site was resourceful and very helpful and I agree with your comment the two disorders does play off one another in a negative way. In addition I believe the mental disorder feeds off the medication if treated as well as the preferred substance. By integrating the two together it may cause the individual to become co-dependent or dependent on the drug just to get through their day, to be in a relax state, or permit sociable interactions with others and without it may cause them to experience withdrawal symptoms, isolations, or paranoia. I learned how the substance works in the body. Normally the mind send signals for natural things like it’s time to eat or go to sleep for an example, in these cases the mind becomes alter and send signal
Aspirin has many affects on the body when taken in excess amounts. One common affect is hyperventilation, which causes the patients PCO2 to drop from normal limits. The body will attempt to compensate for this by excreting bicarbonate, which results in an increase in pH blood levels. If this is not corrected, it will lead to metabolic alkalosis. Excess amounts of Aspirin will have many affects varying in severity such as severe illness, seizures, shock, and sometimes coma. Some of the more common symptoms include hypotension, tachycardia, tachypnea, nausea and vomiting, decreased level of consciousness, hypoglycemia, and tinnitus.
Depression is one of the most common psychological problems. Each year over 17 million Americans experience a period of clinical depression. Thus, depression affects nearly everyone through personal experiences or through depression in a family member or friend.