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Medications/Treatments:
General Guidelines
A Guide For Families, Friends, Board And Care Homes, Caregivers And Patients

Prescription medications are helpful in reducing symptoms in people suffering with a mental illness. As with any medication, there are precautions to be taken, and careful monitoring is needed to reduce any risk and maximize the benefits of medications. It is important for you and others to be familiar with how these medications are used.

How Do Medications For Mental Health Work?
Some mental illnesses are due to chemical imbalances in the brain. These chemicals are neurotransmitters. They are the messengers within the brain which enable communication between different areas of the brain and the body. When there are disturbances in the functioning of these neurotransmitters, the communication system in the brain can be disrupted. Medications can correct the imbalance of these chemicals in the brain and restore healthy neurotransmitter communication. Medications can reduce the symptoms of an acute attack and prevent recurring illness.

Tell Your Doctor If You:

• Have had allergic reactions to drugs or food
  
• Are taking any other medications
  
• Are pregnant or breast-feeding
  
• Have diabetes, kidney, liver or heart disease
  
• Are on a special diet or taking any supplements
  
• Smoke or drink alcohol
  
• Stop taking the prescribed medications
  
• Feel side effects

There are 5 major categories of mental health medications: Lithium, anti-anxiety, anti-psychotic, anti-depressant, and stimulant medications. Ask your doctor what category of medications you are taking.

Remember:

• Take all medications only as prescribed by your doctor.
  
• Check your prescription with your pharmacist.
  
• Know your medication.
  
• Follow directions and read the label carefully.
  
• Store medications properly.
  
• Never stop medications on your own.
  
• Ask about special precautions.
  
• Find out about possible side effects.
  
• Keep your doctor informed about any side effects you may have.

If you have any questions or problems call your doctor, therapist and/or pharmacist.

Please Note: These medications should only be prescribed by your doctor.

The 5 Major Categories Of Mental Health Medications

What Are They Used For?
Anti-psychotic medications are used to treat Schizophrenia. This disease causes distorted thinking, confusion of reality and fantasy, and hallucinations. Anti-psychotics can reduce or stop these experiences.

What Do They Do?
Anti-psychotics treat schizophrenia by supplying some of the chemicals that make you feel organized and concentrated. Anti-psychotic meds help reduce excitability, confusion, and withdrawal. They improve your ability to communicate, to separate reality from fantasy and control hallucinations.

Side Effects: Sleepiness, dry mouth, dizziness, blurred vision, rapid heart beat, stuffy nose and constipation may occur. Also, muscle spasms, restlessness, muscle stiffness, trembling, and shaking hands may occur.

These effects often disappear in 1 to 2 weeks. Tardive dyskinesia, which is an involuntary movement of the face or mouth may occur while taking anti-psychotics. It is sometimes irreversible.

Precautions: The same precautions apply as with anti-anxiety medications, however, anti-psychotics are not addictive.

What Are They Used For?
These medications may be used to treat anxiety (an unreasonable state of tension and uneasiness, not ordinary tension), insomnia (difficulty sleeping), tension, and sometimes muscle spasms.

What Do They Do?
Anti-anxiety medications treat anxiety by supplying some of the missing chemicals that make you feel relaxed and calm. They can provide mild sedation and relief from tension and anxiety.

Side Effects: Sleepiness, slurred speech, confusion, headaches, nausea, breathing difficulties (rarely), nervousness, or excitement may occur.

Precautions:

• Avoid barbiturates and alcohol if taking these meds. The combination can be DEADLY.
• Do not operate a car or machinery until you are sure that the medication does not adversely affect you.
• If you are pregnant or breast feeding consult your doctor about possible risks.
• If taken for a long period of time, these medications can be addictive.

What Is It Used For?
Lithium may be used to treat mania (overly self-confident, reckless, uncontrollable, sleepless, and excited), or manic depression (alternating between mania and depression).

What Does It Do?
Lithium adjusts some of the chemicals that make you feel happy and confident, stabilizes your mood, and controls highs and lows. It helps prevent mania and manic-depression from recurring. Lithium may take 4-14 days to take effect.

Side Effects: During the first 5 days of treatment it may cause nausea, cramps, thirst, and muscle weakness. 5 to 6 weeks after treatment has begun muscle weakness, fatigue, weight gain and slightly impaired memory may occur. Other more serious effects include diarrhea, vomiting, severe shakiness, and lack of coordination.

Precautions:

• Be aware of your salt intake. A low salt concentration in your body can cause fatigue, slurred speech and trembling. In severe cases, coma or death may result.
  
• Blood tests are necessary to make sure Lithium levels are safe and effective.
  
• If you are pregnant or breast feeding, consult your doctor about possible risks.
  
• Stopping this medication may result in relapse.

STIMULANT MEDICATION

What Are They Used For?
This medication is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

What Do They Do?
Stimulant medications can improve attention span, decrease distractibility, increase ability to finish tasks, improve ability to follow directions, decrease hyperactivity and improve ability to think before acting.

Side Effects: These often stop after two weeks or if dose is lowered by the doctor; trouble falling asleep, headaches, stomach aches, crankiness, rapid pulse, or increased blood pressure. Serious side effects include muscle twitches or tics, sadness which lasts more than a few days and unusual behavior. These should be reported to your doctor immediately.

Precautions: Addiction is not seen in young children using this medication as recommended for hyperactivity, but may occur in adolescents or adults using it without proper supervision. For this reason, keep this medication where it will not be abused by others.

Note: A child may not grow as fast as usual while taking this medication. Growth usually catches up once medication is stopped. Height and weight should be monitored regularly.

MHAFC needs your financial support to continue to improve awareness and understanding of mental illnesses. Please click here to make a contribution.

This publication is generously supported by a grant from the William H. Donner Foundation and Eli Lilly and Company.
Copyright 1996

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