Medication

This booklet is designed to help mental health patients and their families understand how and why medications can be used as part of the treatment of mental health problems.

It is important for you to be well informed about medications you may need. You should know what medications you take and the dosage, and learn everything you can about them. Many medications now come with patient package inserts, describing the medication, how it should be taken, and side effects to look for. When you go to a new doctor, always take with you a list of all of the prescribed medications (including dosage), over-the-counter medications, and vitamin, mineral, and herbal supplements you take. The list should include herbal teas and supplements such as St. John’s wort, echinacea, ginkgo, ephedra, and ginseng. Almost any substance that can change behavior can cause harm if used in the wrong amount or frequency of dosing, or in a bad combination. Drugs differ in the speed, duration of action, and in their margin for error.

If you are taking more than one medication, and at different times of the day, it is essential that you take the correct dosage of each medication. An easy way to make sure you do this is to use a 7-day pillbox, available in any pharmacy, and to fill the box with the proper medication at the beginning of each week. Many pharmacies also have pillboxes with sections for medications that must be taken more than once a day.

This booklet is intended to inform you, but it is not a “do-it-yourself” manual. Leave it to the doctor, working closely with you, to diagnose mental illness, interpret signs and symptoms of the illness, prescribe and manage medication, and explain any side effects. This will help you ensure that you use medication most effectively and with minimum risk of side effects or complications.

Medications for Mental Illness
This booklet describes medications by their generic (chemical) names and in italics by their trade names (brand names used by pharmaceutical companies). They are divided into four large categories—antipsychotic, antimanic, antidepressant, and antianxiety medications. Medications that specifically affect children, the elderly, and women during the reproductive years are discussed in a separate section of the booklet.

Lists at the end of the booklet give the generic name and the trade name of the most commonly prescribed medications and note the section of the booklet that contains information about each type. A separate chart shows the trade and generic names of medications commonly prescribed for children and adolescents.

Treatment evaluation studies have established the effectiveness of the medications described here, but much remains to be learned about them. The National Institute of Mental Health, other Federal agencies, and private research groups are sponsoring studies of these medications. Scientists are hoping to improve their understanding of how and why these medications work, how to control or eliminate unwanted side effects, and how to make the medications more effective.

Cases of life-threatening hepatic failure have been reported in patients treated with nefazodone (Serzone). Patients should call the doctor if the following symptoms of liver dysfunction occur—yellowing of the skin or white of eyes, unusually dark urine, loss of appetite that lasts for several days, nausea, or abdominal pain.