医疗新知

The types and actions of the medications

The must knows about taking the medication

Precautions about taking the medication and the ways to take them

How long antipsychotics should be taken?

Exactly how long should psychiatric  patients receive antipsychotic treatments?  It’s controversial up to this point, but generally the antipsychotics shall be taken for a period of time, or relapse is a common consequence.  Long term medication is especially indicated for those with multiple relapses and repeated hospitalizations .

 

How important regular drug compliance is in prevention of relapses of the disease?

According to recent studies, there’s a 30% relapse rate (every 3 out of 10 people) in a year among those who are regularly medicated. As for those with irregular drug compliance, the relapse rate is 70%. One’s social function will decline with each relapses, occupational and academic functions are also affected. Long term interpersonal relationship will be hard to maintain between family, friends and relatives.

Therefore, when you have questions with your medication, it is not wise to adjust the medication dosage by yourself, mean while meeting with your doctor is encouraged to discuss about how long the how much medication should be taken.

When female patients are planning for a pregnancy or find herself pregnant, discussion with doctor about medication is needed.

 

Medication side effects and management

Both Chinese and western medication have side effects of their own.  Appropriate and adequate use of the medication can reduce the chances of side effects occurring to the minimum.  The occurrence of side effects may vary from individual to individual.  

If you suspect that some of the discomforts you are feeling are due to medication side effects, you should discuss with your physician.  However, we should not be over concerned with side effects and miss the chance for treatment.  The followings are the 

possible side effects that might occur and their managements.

Side effects	Management
Sedation	Transient, short term sleepiness, it could be tolerated for a period of the time.  But if the sedative effects are intolerable, discussion with the doctor about changing the time the medication is taken may be needed.
Parkinsonism, hypersalivation, muscle rigidity, shuffling gait, involuntary movements, tremor, masked face, bradykinesia, psychomotor retardation	Mild symptoms: discomfort maybe reduced by rest and slow exercises (walking). Tremor could be minimized by putting hands in your pockets, crossing your arms and crossing your legs.When your discomfort persisted or aggravated, it’s time to discuss with your doctor about medicationadjustment.
Orthostatic hypotension	Rest for a moment when you change your positions (sitting up or standing up for example), started  walking or moving when the dizziness subsided.
Dry mouth	Use few amounts of water to cleanse your mouth, or hold water in your mouth, or chewing non-sweetened gums.
Constipation	Encourage intake in fluids and fibers (vegetable, fruits) and adequate exercises
Blurred vision	Transient, reversible
Restlessness, akathisia	Allow one to walk around, and give appropriate rests.
Amenorrhea or irregular menses for the women	Transient and not affecting the fertility issue or health.  If still concerned or planning for a pregnancy, please  discuss with your physician.
Impotence,ejaculatory problems and difficult urination for the men	Transient, reversible