Mental Health Illness Medications – 3 Points to Raise With Your Doctor Before Taking a New Medicine

The right drug therapy program can really work wonders for you when other options have not fully taken care of the symptoms you feel from your mental health illness. There's no shame in turning to the many medicines out there to help regulate and even elevate the brain's chemistry and lead to a better, more consistent set of moods. For many people dealing with mental health issues, a good prescription can help them regain the pieces of life they've lost in the past. For example, if you're trying to handle depression, there are many anti-depressive medicines that can help you get back to the social activities you used to enjoy before the depression set in. There are a few key points to discuss with your doctor before starting any prescription regimen.

First, be sure to ask about the most common side effects that other patients have experienced on a specific drug being prescribed. While the overall side effects are listed on the side of the medicine bottle, those side effects may not all happen at once. By asking for the most common side effects, you know what to expect.

Next, you want to ask about any possible drug interactions that may arise between what you're being described and what you're already taking. Even if you are not taking any prescription medicine at the moment, you do not want to overlook over the counter medicines you might be taking. Many prescription drugs do have interaction warnings against some over the counter drugs and leaving those out can cause serious health side effects.

At this point, it's important to be completely open and honest about your family history, current mood cycles, and anything else the doctor can use to accurately prescribe something to help with the symptoms you're feeling. Many people just starting out in the mental health arena have some feelings of embarrassment being this open and thorough, but there's no need to have these feelings at all.

Finally, make sure to ask about the proper schedule to take the medicine. There are drugs that affect the body to such a point where taking it an hour or two past schedule can affect the overall effectiveness of the drug. In addition, be sure to ask when or not the medicine needs to be taken with food. Taking a medicine that requires food to go along with it on an empty stomach can create a serious case of nausea that can take a while to go away.

The key point to take away from this is that you do not have to go through the process of handling a mental health issue on your own. You should view your primary physician as a team player in fully taking on the road to better mental health and awareness head on and be willing to share everything you can. Do not forget to follow up with your doctor if anything changes or if your overall condition begins to worsen after the medicine routine has been set up. You deserve the best health possible so do not be afraid to do whatever you have to in order to get it!

Source by Joyce Briggs