Pharmacotherapy

Pharmacotherapy

One debate in pharmacotherapy is whether to choose brand name or generic products. Most doctors and pharmacists agree that the two have similar or same ingredients, and the difference in price reflects paying for the brand name, which is an added value marketing concept.

Types of pharmacotherapies

There exists several types of pharmacotherapies, evidently. For example, mood stabilizers, such as Lithium are used for bipolar disorder.

Alternatively, Loxapine Succinate, Risperidone and Latuda (Lurasidone) may be recommended to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Psychosis may also be treated with these medications, although psychosis is usually a symptom of one of these illnesses and does not present by itself. However, there are almost always exceptions in everything and psychiatry is no different. For example, patients can present with substance-induced psychosis.

Antypsychotics can be typical and atypical, as well as multifunctional. For instance, Seroquel is indicated for schizophrenia, but also may counter depressive symptoms by itself or in conjunction with defined antidepressants.

Antidepressants: Some of the most often used antidepressants are SSRIs (Selective Seretonin Reuptake Inhibitors). Prozac (fluoxetine) and Paxil (paroxetine) are antidepressants prescribed to treat Majar Depressive Disoder (MDD) or depression and other mood disorders. Effexor is yet another antidepressant.

Ancient science is the base of today's achievements. Photo by Elena

Barbiturates represent another category of psychiatric and psychotropic medication.

A frustrating scenarion for many patients, is that psychiatrists may work in teams, and debate the diagnosis. Certain disorders, such as the schizo-affective disorder may present particular complexities for doctors and pharmacists. Pharmacology has its limitations.

Side Effects and Withdrawal Effects

Overtime the body develops tolerance and habitual response to certain medications, because even legal drugs are addictive, which is why many of them may appear addictive, such as Ativan or Clonazepam, anxiolytic medications that represent controlled substances.

Withdrawal symptoms can be physical and psychological.

Other therapies

Therapies may be pharmaceutical seen by those most highlighted by science, other therapies such as CBT and ACT correspond more closely to ‘talk therapies’. CBT stands for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, while ACT corresponds to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.