The Complete Guide to Psychiatric Drugs

Edward H. Drummond

Description

TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN YOUR MENTAL HEALTH


Both easy to use and highly informative, The Complete Guide to Psychiatric Drugs is an indispensable reference for both patients and professionals. Now in a revised and expanded edition, this up-to-date handbook supplies current information on the newest and most commonly used psychiatric drugs as well as the latest details regarding side effects, dosages, and precautions.

Drawing upon his years of experience helping patients understand their illnesses and take charge of their treatments, top expert Dr. Edward Drummond covers vital topics that include:
* Is medication for you?
* What to discuss with your doctor before starting medication
* Do psychiatric drugs pose extra risks for you?
* How to start, monitor, and stop your medication
* Psychiatric syndromes and their treatment

The book also explores non-drug therapies such as dietary treatments, exercise, relaxation techniques, meditation, and self-hypnosis as well as information on how to combine drug, non-drug, and alternative therapies for maximum benefit.

The Complete Guide to Psychiatric Drugs: Straight Talk for Best Results, Revised and Expanded Edition gives you the facts so you can get better, with straight talk on the best new treatments for:
* Anxiety
* Panic Attacks
* Agoraphobia and Phobias
* Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
* Generalized Anxiety Disorder
* Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
* Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
* Bipolar Disorder and Mood Swings
* Depression
* Asperger's Syndrome
* Autism
* Pervasive Developmental Disorder
* Drug Dependence
* Anorexia
* Bulimia
* Binge-Eating Disorder
* Insomnia
* Acute Psychosis
* Schizophrenia
* Schizoaffective Disorder
* Delusional Disorder
* Alzheimer's Disease
Acknowledgments.

Who Should Read This Book?

PART I: The Myths about Medication.

1. Psychiatric Drugs—Poison or Panacea?

2. The Truth about the "Accurate Diagnosis".

PART II: Is Medication for You?

3. What to Discuss with Your Doctor before You Start Medication.

4. People for Whom Psychiatric Drugs Pose Extra Risk.

5. Alternative Treatments for Psychiatric Problems.

PART III: Psychiatric Syndromes and Their Treatment.

6. Anxiety: Panic Attacks, Agoraphobia, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Phobias, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

7. Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

8. Bipolar Disorder and Mood Swings.

9. Depression.

10. Developmental Disorders: Asperger’s, Autism, Rett’s, Pervasive Developmental Disorder.

11. Drug Dependence.

12. Eating Disorders: Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge-Eating Disorder.

13. Insomnia.

14. Psychosis: Acute Psychosis, Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, Delusional Disorder.

15. Alzheimer’s Disease.

PART IV: How to Use Medications.

16. How to Start, Monitor, and Stop Your Medication.

17. The Medications.

18. Alternative Remedies.

19. Managing Side Effects.

Appendix A: The Biology of the Brain and How Medications Work.

Appendix B: Sources of Information about Psychiatric Disorders and Treatments.

Notes.

Index.

Sujets

• Medical
• Médecine
• Barbanegra
• Bulimia
• Obsessive?compulsive disorder
• Psychiatry
• Edward Drummond
• Anorexia
• Bulimia nervosa
• Depression
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
• Panic attack
• Psychopharmacology
• Asperger syndrome
• Schizophrenia
• Anxiety
• Autism
• Wale
• Angst
• Insomnia
• Trouble envahissant du développement

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 21 avril 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780470326022
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Complete Guide to Psychiatric Drugs, Revised and Expanded Edition
Straight Talk for Best Results
Edward H. Drummond, M.D.

John Wiley Sons, Inc.
Copyright 2000, 2006 by Edward H. Drummond. All rights reserved
Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the web at www.copyright.com . Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions .
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The information contained in this book is not intended to serve as a replacement for professional medical advice. Any use of the information in this book is at the reader s discretion. The author and the publisher specifically disclaim any and all liability arising directly or indirectly from the use or application of any information contained in this book. A health care professional should be consulted regarding your specific situation.
For general information about our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at [phone], outside the United States at [phone] or fax [phone].
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com .
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Drummond, Edward H., date.
The complete guide to psychiatric drugs : straight talk for best results / Edward Drummond.-Rev. and expanded ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN-13 978-0-470-32602-2(pbk.)
ISBN-10 0-471-75062-X (pbk.)
1. Psychotropic drugs-Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Psychopharmacology-Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title.
RM315.D87 2006
615 .788-dc22
2006040951
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Amy, Rosa, and Mikey
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Who Should Read This Book?
PART I The Myths about Medication
1 Psychiatric Drugs-Poison or Panacea?
2 The Truth about the Accurate Diagnosis
PART II Is Medication for You?
3 What to Discuss with Your Doctor before You Start Medication
4 People for Whom Psychiatric Drugs Pose Extra Risk
5 Alternative Treatments for Psychiatric Problems
PART III Psychiatric Syndromes and Their Treatment
6 Anxiety: Panic Attacks, Agoraphobia, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Phobias, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
7 Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
8 Bipolar Disorder and Mood Swings
9 Depression
10 Developmental Disorders: Asperger s, Autism, Rett s, Pervasive Developmental Disorder
11 Drug Dependence
12 Eating Disorders: Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge-Eating Disorder
13 Insomnia
14 Psychosis: Acute Psychosis, Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, Delusional Disorder
15 Alzheimer s Disease
PART IV How to Use Medications
16 How to Start, Monitor, and Stop Your Medication
17 The Medications
18 Alternative Remedies
19 Managing Side Effects
Appendix A The Biology of the Brain and How Medications Work
Appendix B Sources of Information about Psychiatric Disorders and Treatments
Notes
Index
Acknowledgments
I again thank most of all my wife and two children for their love and support through the process of writing. I also want to express my appreciation to Jay Couture and Wassfy Hanna, M.D., who have supported me for many years at the clinic where I put what I say in this book into practice; Shannon Miser-Maven, my agent; and Tom Miller, my editor at John Wiley.
Who Should Read This Book?
This book is intended to help patients and their families use psychiatric medication knowledgeably, safely, and to best advantage. Psychotherapists and other health professionals who work with people with psychiatric problems will find a practical reference for all aspects of the use of psychiatric medication.
Part I describes what is known and unknown about psychiatric problems and medications. It will give you the information you need to distill the facts from the misconceptions popularized in the media. This will give you a solid foundation on which to base decisions you make about medication. Part II guides you through the process of determining whether or not you should try medication. Part III describes different psychiatric disorders and their treatment. The full range of treatments beneficial for each disorder is described, with the focus on how to get the most out of medications. Part IV describes how to best use medication if you decide it may help you. It then describes each medication in detail. Strategies for managing side effects are described.
This book is not a replacement for a physician. Never start or stop a drug without consulting your doctor.
PART I
The Myths about Medication
CHAPTER 1
Psychiatric Drugs-Poison or Panacea?
Unhappy all her life, a thirty-one-year-old woman has felt good, alive, normal, only in the last few months since she s been taking Prozac. A middle-aged man feels trapped in a cycle of anxiety and addiction to Xanax. The parents of a teenage boy with hallucinations think their son is calmer on clozapine, but he feels like a zombie. Teachers are thrilled with the effects of Ritalin on a fourth-grader, but his mother worries about how it affects his personality. The daughter of an elderly woman with Alzheimer s disease hopes Cognex will help her mother s failing memory but worries about the doctor s warning that it can cause liver problems.
One in four people in the United States will suffer from depression at some point in their lives, one in five from anxiety. Millions more experience debilitating symptoms from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, attention deficit disorder, and other psychiatric problems. More than thirty million people in the United States consume billions of dollars worth of psychiatric medications such as Prozac, Ritalin, Xanax, clozapine, and lithium. However, most people suffering from psychiatric problems receive no treatment. 1
There is a great deal of information about psychiatric problems and drugs in the media. Pharmaceutical companies have developed many new psychiatric drugs in the last decade, which they promote at public events and in popular magazines. Celebrities like Mike Wallace, Patty Duke, William Styron, and Lawton Chiles have gone public with their problems and their experiences with medication. Many people not in the public eye have told their stories on television, in print, and on radio talk shows. Television shows like Frontline and Sixty Minutes have focused on psychiatric problems such as attention deficit disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and the debate over the reality of sexual abuse.
Some media stories on television and in print have praised the use of medications. Many doctors have welcomed the drugs with open arms, ignored the problems with drug treatment, and dropped other effective forms of treatment. Third-party payers such as HMOs and managed-care organizations promote the use of drugs over other forms of treatment. Some people take medication in the hope that it will be a panacea that will solve every aspect of their distress.
Other people have heard things that make them worry that psychiatric medication could poison them. They recall the mind-numbing tranquilizers used in mental hospitals in the 1950s. They remember Miltown and Equanil, used to treat depression and anxiety in the 1950s and 60s, drugs that are now seen as having damaged the lives of people who used them. They don t want to get addicted to medication, as they may know has happened to millions of people who take benzodiazepines like Valium and Librium (and their newer cousins Klonopin, Xanax, and Ativan). They ve heard the reports that Prozac might have made some people commit suicide. They ve heard that too many children are prescribed Ritalin.
Does Prozac transform people and make them happy? Does it make some people commit suicide? Is Ritalin appropriate for people with attention deficit disorder or is it used by schools as a cheap way to contain rambunctious children? Are Klonopin and Xanax good treatment for people with panic disorder and anxiety, or are they addictive drugs that need to be avoided at all costs? Is Clozaril a miracle for schizophrenia or does it just turn a person into a compliant zombie? Are medications a poison we should avoid or a panacea that can cure every ill?
Much of the information presented in the media is one-sided, distorted, or outright wrong. The media need to sell stories and the truth gets lost in the rush to tell you something exciting, especially if the truth involves complex details. Most people are skeptical of what they hear or read, but have no place to turn for accurate information about psychiatric disorders and proper treatment. Although some people are knowledgeable about psychiatric problems and medications used in their treatment, many possess only fragmentary information that is often inaccurate. These people often receive poor care and continue to be quite distressed. Many patients in psychological pain turn to their family physician for help, unaware that the vast majority of physicians do not have the training, time, or inclination to perform a comprehensive psychiatri