Medication Prescribed for the Patient
Medication Prescribed for the Patient
The patient would be prescribed serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to manage her depression. SSRIs are effective antidepressants that work by improving the mood of the patient appetite (Godlewska et al., 2016). Their mechanism of action involves prevention or serotonin reuptake, thus increasing its levels in the brain. Serotonin also called a feel good hormone, which helps improve the mood of the patient. Fluoxetine would be the prescribed SSRI. The patient would be started on a low dose of 20mg, taken orally once daily (Micheli et al., 2018). The helps improve mood, increase appetite, and improve her sleep cycle. The dose can be increased after a few weeks if the patient does not show any improvement of her depression symptoms.
Response to Delayed Medication Effects
It would be important to inform the patient that the medication can take between 4-6 weeks before its therapeutic effects are achieved. The patient would be advised to continue taking the medication for a few more weeks. A follow up would be scheduled in 2-4 weeks to assess the response and effectiveness of the medication Micheli et al., 2018). Absence of improvements at that point would necessitate dose increment or change of medication.
Possible Problems with The Medication Prescribed
One possible thing that could be the problem of the medication is its side effects. Possible side effects of Fluoxetine include insomnia, headache, dizziness, anxiety, feeling tired, nausea, loss of appetite, and hot flashes. These effects may worsen her depression symptoms including sleeping disorders, fatigue, and loss of appetite (Godlewska et al., 2016). Additionally, Fluoxetine may interact with the current NSAIDs being taken by the patient, which can increase the risk of gut bleeding. Caution should be taken especially when taking the drugs. There should be a reasonable time interval to avoid drug interactions (Woo & Robinson, 2016).
Duration of Treatment Regimen
The patient would take the current Fluoxetine dose of 20mg for 4-6 weeks. A maintenance dose of 20-60mg would be prescribed depending on the patient’s response Micheli et al., 2018). The maintenance would last 6 months to one year for effective depression management, and to ensure the patient would not go back to depression.
References
Godlewska, B. R., Browning, M., Norbury, R., Cowen, P. J., & Harmer, C. J. (2016). Early changes in emotional processing as a marker of clinical response to SSRI treatment in depression. Translational psychiatry, 6(11), e957-e957.
Micheli, L., Ceccarelli, M., D’Andrea, G., & Tirone, F. (2018). Depression and adult neurogenesis: positive effects of the antidepressant fluoxetine and of physical exercise. Brain research bulletin, 143, 181-193.
Woo, T. M., & Robinson, M. V. (2016). Pharmacotherapeutics for advanced practice nurse prescribers with davisplus resources (4th ed.).
