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11 Things I Wish I Was Told Before Taking Psych Meds

April 24, 2018

1. What they are and why I’ve been prescribed them. It’s surprising and pretty scary the number of doctors who will flippantly say, “Do you want to try X?” or “I’m putting you on Y,” without telling you what it is or does. In the hospital I’ve been written up for medications without being told I have been, as an outpatient I’ve had doctors think out loud about various drugs that might help without telling me anything about them, and on more than one occasion I’ve gone home, googled my new prescription and have been left puzzled as to why I was put on an antipsychotic or beta blocker for anxiety because no one told me that off-labelling was a thing…

2. Off-labelling is a thing! Basically, drugs do more than they say on the tin, and can be beneficial for other illnesses, as well as the ones they were designed to treat. Quetiapine (an antipsychotic) can be used as a mood stabilizer, Olanzapine (an antipsychotic) can be helpful for anorexia, lithium (a mood stabiliser) can be used in treatment resistant depression, Amitriptyline (an antidepressant) can help with pain, and Propranolol (a beta blocker) can actually help ease symptoms of anxiety. Who knew? So don’t be alarmed or put off by strange names or descriptions on your pill packet — and ask your psychiatrist if you’re not sure why you’ve been prescribed a specific medication.

3. Side effects. Before I was put on lithium, side effects of various mood stabilizers were explained by one psychiatrist, but that was the first time in six years of being on psychiatric drugs that side effects were ever mentioned. I get that sometimes being aware of side effects beforehand can put people off taking certain medications.

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