Currently SSRI’s (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) are commonly prescribed during pregnancy for those who have been previously responsive to SSRI’s and those who have severe depression or anxiety. A March 2009 study in the American Journal of Psychiatry reported increased incidence of gestational hypertension and preeclampsia in women who took SSRI’s during the last trimester […]
Depression Medications Don’t Make You Bulletproof
Taking antidepressant medication does not mean you will not feel bad. It’s important to have reasonable expectations of how you should feel on an antidepressant medication. Depression medication corrects a chemical imbalance responsible for the typical depressed symptoms. Some of these symptoms include a depressed mood, appetite changes, poor sleep (too much or too little), […]
Generic Drug Side Effects May be Different
In a previous post Are Generic Medicines Just as Good?, I made the point that I thought in general, generic drugs are just a good as the brand name drug. I still believe this, however, the key phrase here is “in general.” I have seen a few medications that result in different side effects when […]
Driving Deemed Safe with Ambien
A recent literature review showed that people who take Ambien at night for sleep are able to drive 5-6 hours later. J. Jason Buckland, D.O. and associates reviewed 10 studies that involved driving tests after the administration of Ambien. These studies showed that there is no residual impairments in the morning, approxminately 5-6 hours later. […]
Provigil May Help Chemo-Brain
Researchers at Rochester Medical Center have seen good results in Provigil (brand name for modafinil) improving the negative side effects of chemotherapy that impact cognitive function. Chemo-brain is a term used to describe the foggy, fuzzy thinking and poor memory experienced by some patients after they have undergone chemotherapy. The research group based their findings […]
Multiple Medications Common in Bipolar Disorder
At the International Conference on Bipolar Disorder, Dr. Rasmus Licht of Denmark reported on a study of 155 adult patients with bipolar disorder. The patients were treated with lithium and lamotragine (lamictal). They found lamictal tended to be more effective in patients whose index episode was depression and lithium was better for patients whose index […]