Anxiety & Depression Treatment

Ativan is a medicine used to treat anxiety. It is available in the form of tablets, syrups, and injections. Ativan as an injection is also used to treat serious seizures, to cause muscle relaxation, for inducing sleep, and to impair short-term memory. This medicine falls into a group of medications called benzodiazepines.

How Ativan Effects

The benzodiazepines are commonly known as sedatives or mild tranquilizers. They act directly on your brain by improving the effect of gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), a chemical present in the brain. This causes the brain to calm by lowering the pace or stopping some nerve signals that it sends out.

Ativan Dosage

There are some general guidelines to be followed in administering Ativan. In tablet form, Ativan is to be administered twice or thrice in a day, or just before bedtime. Unlike most medications, there are no limitations on whether the medicine is administered before or after food. When prescribing Ativan, the dosage is decided based on some factors like your age, other medications that you might take regularly, and any other ailment that you suffer from. You ought to follow the dosage as directed by your physician. Since it affects the brain directly, Ativan could cause grave problems if you take an overdose, or if taken for a longer period than prescribed. So you should not adjust the dosage unless recommended by your doctor.

Side Effects

Though some may develop side effects, most patients tolerate Ativan well. The side effects normally caused are very minor and may not require treatment. Ativan does not cause fatal or serious side effects. Ativan normally causes side effects such as sedation or sleepiness, dizziness, weakness and instability. Apart from these, Ativan is known to cause minor sexual side effects such as variations in sex drive (mostly reduced sex drive), impotence, and orgasm problems. You ought to discuss any symptoms you experience with your doctor, and they should suggest dosage adjustments to treat them.

There have been rumors that Ativan causes hair loss and weight gain, but these have not been proven clinically as yet. If you get any serious side effect, you ought to seek medical help at the earliest convenience. Another possibility is that Ativan tends to act against other medications that you may be taking. It has been observed that Ativan interacts with medications like anesthetics, antidepressants, antipsychotics, barbiturates, narcotics, and other benzodiazepines, so you need to discuss any medication that you may be taking with the medical practitioner who has prescribed Ativan.

Like most other benzodiazepines, it is not safe to take Ativan during pregnancy. Ativan is often associated with fetal damage. If taken by pregnant woman, it might cause serious problems like congenital malformations in the fetus. The majority of these problems occur when a pregnant woman takes Ativan during the first trimester. There is no evidence of Ativan being secreted in breast milk.

Stopping Ativan all of a sudden after using it regularly could cause problems like loss of self-worth, irritability, and sleeplessness. Stoppage after prolonged use may cause sweating, seizures, cramps, or vomiting.

Zoloft, with generic name Sertraline is a popular anti depressant and anxiety reliever. It can be used to cure social phobia, depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress, pre-menstrual syndrome, and more. Antidepressant medicines like Zoloft could be used in treating even severe conditions of depression, anxiety and other mental disorders. An important advantage of these medicines is that they help to avoid suicidal thoughts and attempts. Alongside these advantages they provide other benefits also.

Anti-depressants may Aggravate Depression

Many studies in this area have shown that a small group of people who are mostly younger than 25 take antidepressants regularly for minor disorders experience aggravated depression, mood swings, or suicidal attempts. This makes it important to talk about the risks and benefits of antidepressant medication with your doctor. And this discussion should happen even if the treatment is not for a mental problem. If you start with anti depressants and experience a worsening condition, you should let your doctor know of it. The symptoms you would face in this situation are sleeplessness, tiredness, nausea, irritability, anger and mood swings. The panic attacks for which you started on medication in the first place may also worsen. You need to be watchful if you notice any of these aggravated symptoms soon after you start taking an antidepressant, or if the dosage of a certain medication is changed. Bring this fact to your doctor’s notice.

How it Works

Zoloft is another medication in the group named as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor or SSRI. Zoloft helps improvement of your mood, sleep, hunger, as well as energy level and helps in the restoration of the interest you lost in life. You would also feel reduced fear, reduction in anxiety and less frequent panic attacks. Zoloft works by aiding the restoration of the balance of neurotransmitters (serotonin) in the human brain.

Dosage

You should look at the leaflet available with Zoloft carefully for dosage before you actually begin using it. If you see that your doctor has prescribed a stronger dose than suggested in the leaflet, please consult your doctor. Zoloft is available in the form of tablets and can be taken once every day. Zoloft may bring about different effects in different patients. It may make some more sleepy, and others more alert. Let your physician know of this, and the doctor should suggest you take the medication in the morning or at bed time. The tablet is usually taken after food. Similarly, depending on the reason why you resort to medication, the dosage and when you take it would differ.

To keep the side effects at a minimum, your doctor would put you onto a low dose first, and gradually increase it. So, the first dose you take would not be more than 200 mg. But take care to follow the doctor’s prescription carefully. Do not take an overdose or a dose lesser than prescribed. Also, try and take the medication at the same time every day, and take care not to stop the medication abruptly. This is because some of the disorders get worse when the medication is stopped suddenly. The medicine takes at least a month to show effects. Keep track of how you feel, and consult your physician regularly.

Valium belongs to the family of benzodiazepines. The medicine is manufactured by Roche and brought to market under the following brand names: Valium, Seduxen and Apozepam. Valium can be used as an anxiolytic, and an anticonvulsant. It can help to relax the skeletal muscles. It can also be used as a sedative. Due to these properties Valium is used to treat sleeplessness and anxiety, muscular cramps and even epilepsy. Valium is being increasingly used before medical procedures like endoscopies because of its property to lessen tension. Valium is also used in the treatment of amnesia.

Dosage

Dosage of Valium administered should be based on various factors like the medical state of the patient and the age of the individual. This would ensure providing the maximum efficiency. The dosage of Valium administered to adults for insomnia would be about 30 milligrams a day as tablets. These tablets would be taken just before bed time. At the same time, to treat anxiety or panic attacks, Valium could be taken as tablets or as injective. For children of 12 years or below, the Valium dose is kept at a minimum to start with, based on the child’s body weight. It could also be given in the form of a rectal suppository. But children below six months of age should not use Valium.

Side Effects

The side effects of Valium are not too serious or fatal. Common side effects are drowsiness, muscle pain, lack of coordination, instability, tiredness, depression, and difficulty with reflexes. Most of the benzodiazepines cause similar side effects as these, and they do not require any treatment.

Other side effects like nervousness, irritation, stomach trouble, headache, sexual problems, and violence may also be caused in some patients. If these symptoms occur it means that the Valium dosage might have to be altered. Valium interacts with drugs like barbiturates and antidepressants. So if the patient has been administering any of these drugs the medical practitioner should know of it. Valium is not advised if the patient has an alcoholic history or if he had been on drugs in the past. This is because Valium can effectively aggravate the depressive results of alcohol and other sedatives. As such it could lead to dangerous situations if an alcoholic was to be treated with Valium.

There are a few more medicines and drugs that may interact with Valium, like anti-psychotics, ranitidine, and tobacco. Food stuffs that cause acidity and acidification of the urine might cause quicker absorption of Valium, thus eliminating it. This causes a drop in Valium levels and so the treatment might not be as effective as it should be. Food items that are alkaline could cause also your urine to become alkaline the result of which means that a slower absorption of Valium occurs, and the valium drug levels and effect on the body increases beyond control.

Withdrawal

If Valium is taken for more than six weeks at a time physical dependence could result. This would lead to withdrawal syndrome when Valium is discontinued. To stop Valium medication, the drug is slowly weaned and is not abruptly stopped. It takes two weeks or so to slowly reduce the dosage and come off the drug.

Xanax (Generic name Alprazolam) is a very popular tranquilizer, and has been recently approved to treat several severe anxiety (panic) disorders. Xanax belongs to the Benzodiazepine group of medications. Like all benzodiazepines, Xanax can be used as a substitute to barbiturates in treating anxiety disorders.

How it works

Xanax works on the brain, directly. It improves the effect of the chemical receptors (GABA) that helps in calming the brain. GABA is a chemical that can help to reduce the pace of certain signals from the brain. So, in the presence of Xanax, GABA becomes more effective in soothing the brain cells. Thus it succeeds as a tranquilizer and depressant.

Xanax is generally available in the form of tablets, and can be taken twice a day, or thrice. There are no restrictions on food intake while administering Xanax. For best results, Xanax is to be taken as per prescription. Variances from prescriptions, especially in terms of higher doses may cause serious consequences. The dosage is decided by the medical practitioner based on the medical condition, age of the patient, and other medications of the patient.

Side Effects

Xanax interacts with alcohol and increases its effects. It may cause minor side effects in most patients, and most of these do not require treatment. Drowsiness, tiredness and lack of coordination are the common side effects of Xanax. In some, Xanax may act in a way opposite to how it is intended to be. It might cause irritability, agitation and disturbance. In this case, the doctors ought to be consulted to get the dosage adjusted. Some patients may also experience small sexual problems like erectile dysfunction and orgasm problems. Xanax might cause addiction and the dosage should be monitored and controlled by proper medical practitioners. Xanax may cause severe breathlessness and drowsiness in some patients, and these conditions call for urgent medical help.

Your doctor should know of the following medical conditions that you may have before prescribing Xanax:

●              Glaucoma

●              Use of drugs (in the past or currently)

●              Alcoholism (Xanax can cause serious reactions in the presence of alcohol)

●              Depression

●              Liver diseases

●              Kidney related troubles

●              Lung or breathing issues

●              Allergies of any sort that you may have

Further, Xanax is not advised in pregnant women. It could cause fetal deformities and other troubles, and so it is better to discontinue the use of Xanax during pregnancy, especially during the first three months. Similarly, Xanax might excrete into human breast milk, and cause reactions to the feeding infant. As such it is recommended that breast feeding women do not use the drug. Tell your doctor of any vitamins or supplements that you may be taking.

Controlled Usage

Xanax is considered a controlled substance. This requires special rules, recommendations and regulations to be present regarding the use of the drug. The rules need to be obeyed in prescribing as well as dispensing Xanax. This medication can also cause physical as well as psychological dependence. The risk of dependence is proportional to the period of using Xanax. Stopping Xanax all of a sudden may cause serious withdrawal problems, and as such a slow weaning is recommended. Patients are advised to not stop Xanax without consulting their medical practitioner first.