Literature Review On Psychotropic Drugs

“One in eight persons needs treatment for depression during his or her lifetime” (Prozac.com). Prozac is claimed as the wonder drug cure for obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, bulimia, and panic disorder by fixing the imbalance of chemicals in the brain. Many documented cases have been made about side effects of Prozac and how it has negatively affected many of its users. Doctors need to have more responsibility and stricter guidelines for diagnosis of adolescent depression and should consider medication a last resort while pharmaceutical companies should develop a new youth-friendly antidepressant with fewer side effects.

At first it was the cure all people were looking for. Then it became the drug they were afraid to take. Somewhere between these two extremes lies the truth about the drug Flouxetine, better known as Prozac, the most widely prescribed drug on the globe. It is mainly prescribed to patients suffering from clinical depression. It was first brought to the market in 1988 by the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly co. Even though it was originally prescribed for depression, it has been prescribed for everything from eating disorders to insomnia. It was first considered the wonder drug of the new decade because of the way it helped depression patients when no other anti-depressant could

Antidepressants have a history of causing violent side effects, including suicide and homicide in those consuming the prescribed drugs. Many antidepressants that are prescribed to those with a mental illness come packaged with a warning label that reads: “New or worsening depression; thinking about harming or killing yourself, or planning or trying to do so; extreme worry; agitation; panic attacks; difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep; aggressive behavior; irritability; acting without thinking; severe restlessness; and frenzied abnormal excitement." This warning label is a most know for school officials who are aware of students dealing with a mental illness. Statistics show that five of the top 10 most violence-inducing drugs were found

With any medication prescribed it is the duty of the prescriber an any mental health professional working directly with that client to provide them with as much psychoeducation as possible. It is vital that the client understands the benefits and risks of the medication. FUrthermore, it is vital for the client to understand that the client must be willing to commit to the process of finding the correct cocktail if you will.

If prescription drugs were safe to be taken by most of the general public then they would be on local drug store shelves right now, but they aren’t. Furthermore, prescription drugs are often new, have not been tested long term, have serious side effects, a high likelihood of abuse by the average consumer, and require an evaluation of the patient by a physician. What the public sees is a cartoon sad face that’s suddenly smiling after taking this drug, with some side effects that happen to a few people, it is not an accurate representation of the drugs pros and cons. Additionally, the average consumer of prescription drugs does not possess the medical knowledge to decide what it is that they need, exactly why a provider's recommendation/prescription

“I no longer recommend psychiatric medications to anyone. I believe the science behind this is seriously flawed. It is based on false assumptions that lead to self-perpetuating mythology (and huge profits for drug companies).” (Smith). While it may sound appealing to simply take a pill for each of your problems, it has almost become common knowledge that medications which directly affect the brain, especially in the long term, can have many direct and indirect consequences. Nearly ¼ of all Americans are diagnosed with either a personality disorder or as, and are prescribed some type of psychiatric medication. The three most popular antipsychotics alone are a $15 billion industry, with stimulants and antidepressants nearly being just as

The use of psychotropic drugs by adult Americans increased 22 percent from 2001 to 2010. Today, patients often receive psychotropic medications without being evaluated by a mental health professional, according to a study last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Many Americans visit their primary-care physicians and may walk away with a prescription for an antidepressant or other drugs without being aware of other evidence-based treatments — such as cognitive behavioral therapy — that might work better for them without the risk of side effects. Psychotropic drugs are valuable tools in treating many mental health disorders, but

There are many direct to consumer advertising for prescription drugs. On television, magazines, radio etc, you see the most recent advertisements for prescription drugs. After some people see the advertisements they soon rush over to their doctor and their illness and life would be perfectly pain and stress free. Making the public conscious of options for treatment is not a bad thing. But these false advertisements are misleading consumers onto unnecessary treatment.

Having grasped the idea that Americans are overmedicated; understanding why the industry moved to a pill first treatment and why people continue on this path will make the deception feel worse. Determining why prescription drugs are so popular can be explained in one word, advertising. Drug companies understand the power of advertising to get the correct messages out to a predetermined audience. The marketing of these drugs is very well planned, not to mention abundant. In 1997, after pressure on the FDA by the drug companies, the rules for advertising were altered; this change allowing the required information in an advertisement to be brief (Cardon and Showalter 5432). With the inclusion of where to get detailed information about a specific drug, the capabilities about what could be

Prozac (fluoxetine) is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) antidepressant .Prozac is used to treat major depressive disorder. In 1970 the company Eli Lilly came up with the compound for Prozac. It was first tested as a treatment for high blood pressure, which worked in some animals but not human’s .It was also tested on psychotic patients and people in hospitals with depression by now given the generic name fluoxetine had no obvious benefit, with a number of patients getting worse. Finally it was tested on people with mild depressives. It was tested on five recruits all five started to show signs of cheering up by 1999. Depression was rarely discussed and antidepressants largely restricted people went to their GPs with anxiety

Antidepressant is one of medication that a patient should not skip their doses due to possible severe rebound reactions. Because of these consideration,

Pharmaceutical companies do everything they can to make the studies turn out right" (7). Some people may think that the federal government actually supervises the safety of all the drugs that are screened, but this is not the case. The drug manufacturers themselves do the testing and can therefore pick the doctors who would endorse the drug. These are often people with longstanding relationships with the company. In the Manufacturer's Report of June 1998, Eli Lilly claims: "the efficacy of Prozac for the treatment of patients with depression (>18 years of age) has been studied in 5 and 6 week placebo-controlled studies"(6). There are several major points that are essentially left unsaid by this statement. One might ask is this drug safe for adolescence or the elderly; what are the effects of long-term dosages on the nervous system; was this drug able to prevent suicide in at risk patients? The answer to these questions is that they don't know. The community at large is basically one big guinea pig at the moment with thousands of people on antidepressants. "86 percent of all the patients in all the studies were treated for 'three months or less'"(7). This is inadequate time to monitor the effects on one's body. It will not be surprising if, twenty years from now, someone discovers major damage is done to the liver or the brain. There has already been evidence that Prozac is addictive. In addition to the lack of long-term observations, the trials did not

Psychotropic polypharmacy is a silent issue that affects many people taking a medicine to change their psychological state. To combat this problem, the use of recreational therapy should be employed to prevent consequential outcomes. Disorders like autism, PTSD, and depression related to aging have evidence that the power of playing does work. The medical community has an obligation to their patients to seek healing outside of the pharmaceutical realm. Awareness is the key to revealing the advantages of recreational therapy to doctors. Education is the key to changing the way doctors and consumers think. Recreational therapists should share the benefits in a meeting with doctors, attend health fairs to make the profession known and providing

The first step to treating many of these new cases of depression is the prescription and use of antidepressant medication, however this has cause a mass flooding of our society with unnecessary prescription drugs. Due to the ease of treatment, primarily with prescription drugs, and the large range of severity in depression is often over diagnosed, adding to the problem.

Billy was supervised by the staff this afternoon while he was refilling his medication boxes. The staff taught him how to refill his boxes. After Billy refilled his boxes, the staff trained him to go over the reaming medications to make sure he has enough for the following weeks. After Billy completed, the staff took his medications and place them inside the cabinet. The plan is to train Billy how to manage his psychiatric