When starting a new regimen of medication, it can be difficult to tell the extent of the side effects that you will experience. When starting out on a new psychiatric drug, the side effects will start out as severe and decrease with time. Keep in mind that medications can take days or weeks to start working, so it is best to not stop taking your medications outright.
If you have been using a medication for a long time and it is causing you new side effects, stopping treatment with the newer generation of psychotropic drugs can be dangerous.
Here are four steps that you can take in order to manage side effects. If your side effects do not subside or are quite severe, seek the help of a medical professional or call your psychiatrist.
Change of Routine
Some medications are meant to be taken before you sleep or after you wake up in the morning. For example, if you are taking Seroquel, it is usually recommended that you take it during the afternoon and evening hours, as it makes most people drowsy. Medications usually contain this information on the pill bottle, but their effects differ, depending on the person taking them.
Dosage
Before adjusting your dosage, it is advisable to talk to your doctor. They are not always experts at determining the proper amount of a medication that you should be taking, as there are many factors which they can not see, such as your metabolism. Increasing or decreasing the dosage of the medication can make a huge difference in treatment and management of side effects.
Extra Medications
Some psychotropic drugs have severe side effects. An additional medication can be prescribed to control the effects of the primary drug. For example, weight gain caused by a psychotropic drug which slows your metabolism might be counteracted by a drug that will compensate by speeding up your metabolism.
Change of Medication
Some medications will clearly not work. A bipolar individual should never be taking an anti depressant, unless they are taking a secondary drug to control the mania that will result. Other than this tip, medications have different side effects depending on the individual person. If a medication is not working for you talk to your psychiatrist and ask about switching to a medication with fewer side effects.
It is not advisable to play armchair psychiatrist with your own health. Since bipolar disorder is an illness of the mind, symptoms can creep up on you if you decide to decrease your dosage or quit altogether. Again, stopping a medication cold turkey can damage your physical and mental health, and these medications are usually eliminated by stepping down gradually. If you disregard this advice the side effects can be quite severe such as seizures, full blown panic attacks, hallucinations, and psychosis.
This does not mean that you should not be an active partner in your treatment. Study medications and try to come up with what are the best options for you, and then discuss this list with your psychiatrist.
Keep in mind that most psychiatrists receive samples from the drug companies. If you are trying out a new medication, it usually does not make sense to get a prescription right away. Ask for samples first, which can last from 30 to 90 days, saving you money and a trip to the drugstore. If you are having difficulties paying for some of the newer generation drugs, some psychiatrists are willing to help by providing samples for a longer period of time.