on psychiatry and psychology
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Independent medical expert answers on psychiatry and psychology |
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Abstract:
Switching from one psychothropic drug to another can cause many problems and should be done under the supervision of a psychiatrist.
Question:
For more than 4 years I have suffered from anxiety attacks and sometimes depression. I have been taking Tropium for the last two years and this seems to work most of the time. However I am feeling increasingly depressed and am not happy that Tropium is the only solution being offered by my GP ( he did ask me 3 weeks ago to switch prescription drugs and try Lustral instead - I stopped taking Tropium and started Lustral - within 24 hours I was suffering severe anxiety and hallucinations so I immediately reverted to Tropium. I take up to 40/50mg per day and do not feel that this is sustainable. I want to find a long term solution to these problems and am increasingly dis-satisfied with my GP's advice. Should I switch to new medicines? Can you help?
Answer:
Sometimes one can experience symptoms of abstinence from the old drug, sometimes one can experience the side effects from the new drug. Sometimes, one can also experience a rebound effect of the symptoms of the earlier disease.
For these reasons, this kind of interventions would better be supervised by an expert psychiatrist rather than a G.P.
As a matter of fact only a psychiatrist has enough experience about psychotropic drugs to know what is he best thing to do in any given case.
Thus I would suggest you ask your G.P. to refer you to a good psychiatrist to revise your drug therapy.
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