Archives for Disorders
Sleep Disorders: Insomnia. Part 4
Posted By Kelly On Monday, November 9th 2009 under: Disorders Tags: Drugs, Insomnia, Mental Disorder, Mental health, Treatment
Nonprescription Hypnotic Agents
Antihistamines: Most over-the-counter drug treatments for insomnia contain the antihistamines diphenhydramine, doxylamine or hydroxyzine. Individuals with insomnia report that these agents cause drowsiness and help them fall asleep. The most prominent disadvantage is the next-day “hang-over” effects of psychomotor impairment and anticholinergic side effects that can be intolerable. These agents are less effective for treating insomnia than are the benzodiazepines. Also, they typically are not effective for chronic ... Read More
Sleep Disorders: Insomnia. Part 3
Posted By Kelly On Monday, November 9th 2009 under: Disorders Tags: Insomnia, Mental Disorder, Mental health, Treatment
Nonpharmacologic Treatment
Sleep experts universally recommend behavioral interventions, either alone or with adjunct medication, for the treatment of insomnia. When interventions such as keeping a regular sleep schedule; creating a dark, comfortable bedroom environment; and establishing a pre-bedtime ritual are effective, insomnia can be resolved without the expense of drugs or drug side effects. Specific interventions should be tailored to the type of sleep complaint. For example, eliminating alcohol for at ... Read More
Sleep Disorders: Insomnia. Part 2
Posted By Kelly On Monday, November 9th 2009 under: Disorders Tags: Insomnia, Mental Disorder, Mental health
Physiology of Sleep
An understanding of normal sleep is essential in recognizing and effectively treating insomnia. Although individual sleep needs vary, between six and nine hours of total sleep are necessary to feel rested and refreshed and to have optimal daytime functioning. Polysomnography is not needed to evaluate typical insomnia in the clinical setting but provides valuable information on normal physiologic sleep.
Sleep is divided into five stages. REM (rapid eye movement) ... Read More
Sleep Disorders: Insomnia. Part 1
Posted By Kelly On Monday, November 9th 2009 under: Disorders Tags: Insomnia, Mental Disorder, Mental health
Newer agents with short duration of effect are changing the pharmacologic treatment of insomnia.
Insomnia negatively affects as many as 10% of the U.S. population, and its impact on medical illnesses, work productivity, and quality of life is only recently being fully appreciated. The need to effectively treat insomnia means pharmacists must understand the relative role of nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic treatment options. Drug treatment options continue to evolve, with benzodiazepine ... Read More
Acute Agitation and Aggression in Psychiatric Illnesses. Part 11
Posted By Kelly On Monday, November 9th 2009 under: Disorders Tags: Medications, Mental health, Psychiatric Illnesses, Treatment
Legal Considerations
By today's standards restraint and seclusion are to be used as safety measures, not as part of the treatment plan. According to the United States Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), "A drug used as a restraint is a medication used to control behavior or to restrict the patient's freedom of movement and is not a standard treatment for the patient's medical or psychiatric condition."Documentation to demonstrate a clear ... Read More
Acute Agitation and Aggression in Psychiatric Illnesses. Part 10. Treatment
Posted By Kelly On Monday, November 9th 2009 under: Disorders Tags: Medications, Mental health, Pharmacotherapy, Psychiatric Illnesses, Treatment
Dosing and Choice of Dosage Form
Table 4 describes dosing schedules for benzodiazepine and antipsychotics used to treat agitation and aggression. Oral administration of any of the medications is preferred when the patient is cooperative, except in cases of acute risk of self-harm or danger to others. The agitated individual should first be given the opportunity to take their medication by mouth. Giving the patient a choice also offers a ... Read More
Acute Agitation and Aggression in Psychiatric Illnesses. Part 9. Treatment
Posted By Kelly On Monday, November 9th 2009 under: Disorders Tags: Medications, Mental health, Pharmacotherapy, Psychiatric Illnesses, Treatment
Atypical Antipsychotics vs. Typical Antipsychotics: Typical antipsychotics, particularly haloperidol, are still the most commonly used agents for treating agitation and aggression because of clinician comfort and experience with their use. Haloperidol is efficacious and can be given orally as a solution or tablet, IM or IV. Cardiovascular concerns are limited except in the critically ill population and with the IV route. However, the risk of dystonia makes haloperidol a ... Read More
Acute Agitation and Aggression in Psychiatric Illnesses. Part 8. Treatment
Posted By Kelly On Monday, November 9th 2009 under: Disorders Tags: Medications, Mental health, Pharmacotherapy, Psychiatric Illnesses, Treatment
Atypical Antipsychotics: Atypical antipsychotics have become a standard of care in schizophrenia and they are increasingly being used as mood stabilizers. Additionally, new dosage forms are making them more useful in acute agitation. The IM formulation of olanzapine is pending approval by the FDA and offers a rapid onset of action within 15 to 30 minutes; meanwhile the IM formulation of ziprasidone continues to be evaluated and may be marketed ... Read More
Acute Agitation and Aggression in Psychiatric Illnesses. Part 7. Treatment
Posted By Kelly On Monday, November 9th 2009 under: Disorders Tags: Medications, Mental health, Pharmacotherapy, Psychiatric Illnesses, Treatment
Typical Antipsychotics: Strategies to treat agitation, aggression and psychosis have evolved since the introduction of chlorpromazine in 1952. During the 1970s and early 1980s the approach of "more is better" led to high acute doses given to produce a rapid remission of psychotic symptoms (e.g., haloperidol 100 mg as a starting dose or giving an antipsychotic dose every 15 to 30 minutes until asleep). This approach was known as ... Read More
Acute Agitation and Aggression in Psychiatric Illnesses. Part 6. Treatment
Posted By Kelly On Monday, November 9th 2009 under: Disorders Tags: Medications, Mental health, Pharmacotherapy, Psychiatric Illnesses, Treatment
Selection of Appropriate Pharmacotherapy
As previously stated, an important factor in selecting pharmacotherapy is knowing the underlying cause. For example, a patient with stimulant-induced psychosis may need to use antipsychotics only for a few days, while a patient with schizophrenia requires chronic antipsychotic treatment. Agitated dementia patients are often managed with nondrug means. If medication is warranted, they can be managed with high-potency typical anti-psychotic agents such as haloperidol rather than ... Read More
Hello, everybody, who is interested to be healthy. My name is Kelly. I learnt about depression by my own experience. Now I am ok. Here I want to share my thoughts and ideas how to treat depression symptoms.