Psychotropic Medication Paper

There are so many different kinds of medications used to treat patients, but the most common ones that psychiatric assistants prescribe exist as antipsychotic and antidepressants. Antidepressants usually relate to a substance that treats mood disorders. Antipsychotic medications usually are taken daily in pills or liquid form. However, some may get injected, which means their only given once or twice a month. The biggest mental disorder that antipsychotic are prescribed for has occurred in patients with schizophrenia. “Schizophrenia is a psychosis characterized by delusions, hallucinations, apathy, and a “split” between thought and emotion.” (Coon & Mitterer 487) “Patients with this disorder tend to have withdrawal from contact with other, a loss of interest in external activities, a breakdown of personal habits, and an inability to deal with daily events.” (486) “Also, it is hard for patients with schizophrenia to focus on one item of information at a time.” (486) Four major types of schizophrenia consist of catatonic, disorganized, paranoid, and undifferentiated. The first type, catatonic, involves disturbances in a person’s movement. Patients with this disorder type tend to just sit there and they do not talk or move. They show no emotion. “The second type, disorganized, or known as “hebephrenic schizophrenia”, patients experience bizarre thinking and flat or grossly inappropriate emotions.” (487) “Typically, this type of schizophrenia develops in adolescence or young adulthood.” (487) “The third type, paranoid, is marked by a preoccupation with delusions or by frequent auditory hallucinations related to a single theme, especially grandeur or persecution.” (488) “Patients think that God, the government, or “cosmic rays from space” are controlling their minds or trying to poison them.” (488) “According to the largest study ever

In 1955, antipsychotic medications were introduced to help mental disorders. These medications are usually taken orally in which help relieve symptoms for periods of days. The misuse or abuse of the medications are low. There are three generations of antipsychotic medications. The first generation is known for reducing hallucinations and delusions, but not affecting problems like disorientation or depression. An example would be chlorpromazine, brand name being Thorazine. Some negative side effects of taking the first generation drugs are Parkinson’s-like symptoms, tardive dyskinesia, and weight gain. Next, the second generation drugs minimized the outcome of the individual getting Parkinson’s-like symptoms. An example of this generation would be Clozaril. “A unique feature of Clozaril is the 1 to 2 percent chance of developing a potentially lethal blood disease called agranulocytosis” (Levinthal 282). This disease decreases white blood cells and affects the immune system. If early signs of this disease start to appear the patient will stop taking Clozaril and recover. Lastly, the third generation has shown to be the most effective on schizophrenia. Abilify is an example of this generation drug. It does not have a risk of Parkinson’s, tardive dyskinesia, or diabetes. Abilify blocks specific serotonin receptors in which prevents negative side effects from happening. These different

Attached to your discharge papers you will find a list of the medications that the doctor wants you to take at home. The prescriptions have already been sent to your pharmacy and the pharmacy will deliver them all to your home this afternoon after 4:00 PM. I will go over each of your medications with you.

Within mental health and illness there is a vast amount of treatment options, medications and interventions to treat numerous psychotic disorders. A somewhat controversial treatment within the mental health field, known as long acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIAs), will be discussed in this argumentative paper. Evidence will be presented on how effective LAIA medication is, when compared to oral forms of antipsychotic medication, and the strengths and limitations of administering them. Perceptions of LAIAs from the view of nurses, health professionals and consumers, as well as the nurse’s role in administering and promoting recovery orientated care for people with a mental illness will also be covered. This essay will not provide a clear view, for or against LAIAs, but rather support both positives and negatives of the use of this medication within the mental health field.

Blinded by hope and a gross overestimation of the capabilities of the newly introduced chlorpromazine, or Thorazine, the first effective antipsychotic medication, the medical profession and public policy makers went all-in on a magic elixir, and settled on what would later be dubbed deinstitutionalization. While the drug is certainly effective, even today, the unrealistic claims and expectations, in combination with the lack of today’s medical and psychiatric technologies and a befuddling misunderstanding of mental illness, formulated a conception that this medication was an effective treatment for any severe mental illness. Based on these misconceptions, the

Diamond in chapters 4, 7 and 9, looks at antipsychotic medications, medications useful for anxiety disorders and sleep problems and medication for people with borderline personality disorder respectively. Antipsychotic medications are profiled as second generation or first generation. Among the identified second generation antipsychotic medications are clozapine, risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine, ziprasidone, aripiprazole and paliperidone. Clozapine is considered tpo be the most effective antipsychotic drug and has been proven effective as a mood stabilizer in treating “bipolar disorders that have not responded to mood stabilizers” (p. 72). Clozapine has side effects including those of weight gain, metabolic syndrome and increased risk

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized with severe, chronic, and potentially disabling thought disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Antipsychotic drugs are the primary use of treatment for schizophrenic disorders (Kane, 1987). Some of the common used psychotropic medications used to treat schizophrenia are: haloperidol, risperidone, aripiprazole, olanzapine, trifluoperazine, perphenazine, quetiapine, thioridazine, chlorpromazine, and clozapine. Antipsychotics like FGAs and SGAs are can be administered orally, in the form of a pill or liquid, or intravenously, by injections. Like with oral forms of antipsychotics, injections offer side effects too. These side effects vary but are very much alike to those of the matching drugs in oral form, though added mild or infrequent injection-related side effects can occur such as: pain, skin thickening, and nodules (Haddad & Fleischhacker, 2011). Antipsychotics administered by injection is one approach to managing nonadherence, although this approach does not work for all patients. Additionally, a proportion of patients who start on injections, later, do not continue with treatment. One study found more than half of patients who began risperidone (Risperdal) injections, stopped after 6 months of treatment (Taylor et al., 2004). With injections, patient nonadherence can be due to the personal characteristics, dosage range, initial startup, administration of the drug, and monitoring. The dosage range for each

Medication such as antipsychotics are effective for most patients. They can help manage many troubling symptoms. Although antipsychotics cause many side effects, such as dizziness fatigue, anxiety, weight gain, nausea, constipation and vomiting. because of all these side effects scientist have come up with second generation antipsychotics. These antipsychotics are Abilify, risperdal, zyprexa and quetiapine. These antipsychotics ease symptoms like delusions and hallucinations. These drugs help balance the levels of dopamine and serotonin in brains.

Antipsychotics are the most common form of medication that is used to help with the symptoms of schizophrenia. There are two main types of antipsychotic, traditional and new (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/mental-health-medications/index.shtml#pub9). Traditional antipsychotics are used mainly to control hallucinations, delusions, and confusion of schizophrenia. These medications, for example chlorpromazine and haloperidol, primarily block the dopamine receptors and are very effective in treating the “positive” symptoms of schizophrenia. The newer antipsychotic medications, for example Risperdal and Zyprexa, work on both serotonin and dopamine, meaning that it can treat the “positive” and the “negative” symptoms of schizophrenia. There are many side effects that can come with taking antipsychotic medications. Mild side effects include a dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, drowsiness and dizziness. These side effects will usually disappear after a period of time (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/schizophrenia/index.shtml). More serious side effects of antipsychotics include trouble with muscle control, muscle spasms or cramps, fidgeting or pacing, tremors and shuffling of the feet. These symptoms mimic

They accomplish this by prescribing one or more antipsychotic drugs. For the drugs to work effectively, the patient must comply with the physician orders by closely adhering to dosing instructions and schedule. Even when patients start feeling better, they should still continue to take their medicine. If they stop, their delusions will probably come back. The choice and dosage of medication can be made only by a qualified physician. Antipsychotic medications reduces the psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia, such as hallucinations and delusions and usually allows the patient to function more effectively and appropriately. These medications have the ability to diminish the hallucinations, agitation, confusion, and delusions of a psychotic episode. Even when patients with schizophrenia are free of psychotic symptoms, many still have difficulty with communication and establishing and maintaining relationships with

For the treatment of bipolar disorder, antipsychotic medicines are sometimes prescribed to treat episodes of mania or hypomania. Examples of antipsychotic medicines include: aripiprazole, olanzapine, quetiapine and risperidone. These drugs may also be used as a long-term mood stabiliser and quetiapine can be used for the treatment of bipolar depression in the long-term. Antipsychotic medicines can be particularly useful if symptoms are severe or behaviour is disturbed. As there is a chance that the antipsychotics could cause side effects, the initial dose will usually be low. These side effects could include weight gain, blurred vision, constipation and dry mouth. If prescribed an antipsychotic medicine, regular health checks will be required at least every three months. If the symptoms don 't improve, the patient may be offered lithium and valproate as well.

With growing initiatives and sign of the success of psychosocial involvements for schizophrenia, the highly organized and a few integrated programs used as an aide to antipsychotics, have specified positive patient outcomes. On the basis of numerous extensive randomized controlled trials, single and multiple types of antipsychotics, or polypharmacy in combination with other psychotropic drugs, are considered useful in schizophrenia treatment. The introduction of second-generation antipsychotics has further enhanced the desired effects of these medications for schizophrenia care and reduced their unwelcome effects such as extrapyramidal adverse effects, mortality, and metabolic disorder. It is important to evaluate and comprehend the current knowledge about pharmacological and other medical treatments for schizophrenia sufferers, before exploring the new changes or enhancements needed in schizophrenia treatment and

antipsychotics is their comparable lacking overall efficacy. It has been reported that, “a third of

Antipsychotic drugs are the class of medications used to treat psychosis among emotional and mental disorders. Psychosis also known as schizophrenia is defined as losing contact with reality includes hallucinations, paranoia, disordered thoughts, and delusions. Antipsychotic drugs regulate these symptoms from psychosis or any disease that can lead to psychosis. Antipsychotic drugs are mainly made up of major tranquilizers or neuroleptics also include lithium carbonate. Lithium carbonate is a drug used to treat bipolar mood disorder. This drug class is divided into five chemical classes phenothiazine, chlorpromazine, mesoridazine, prochlorperazine, and thioridazine. These five classes are all similar to one another and used to treat any psychosis behavior. Antipsychotic drugs fall into two categories first

Schizophrenia is a severe form of mental illness classified in the DSM IV-TR as a Psychotic disorder. It is characterize by broad impairments in cognition that place limitations on recovery (Eack, 2012, p. 235). Antipsychotic drugs are the first line of treatment for Schizophrenic patients, but come with adverse side-effects and many patients are treatment-resistant (Tandon, Nasrallahb, & Keshavanc, 2010). Adjunct treatments that focus on cognition and coping with stress, along with the antipsychotics have shown to be more effective (Sungur, Soyguur, Guuner, Uustuun, Cetin, &