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Medications play a vital role in treating serious mental and physical illnesses, but your prescriptions must be reviewed regularly to ensure you’re on the safest, most appropriate medications. If you need help with medication management, Sylvia Cartwright, MD, in La Jolla, California, can help at her self-named practice. Dr. Cartwright is a board-certified psychiatrist who offers exceptional telehealth service to her patients. Call today to discuss medication management or request an appointment online.
What is medication management?
Medication management ensures that any prescriptions you have and other medicines you take benefit your health and do not pose an unnecessary risk.
Many people take more than one medication daily, and some take multiple medicines. These are all meant to improve your health or help control unpleasant symptoms, but every drug has the potential to cause disagreeable side effects.
New and better drugs and treatments are coming onto the market all the time, and some might cause fewer side effects or pose a lower risk of reacting with other medications you might be taking.
Reviewing your medicines regularly enables Dr. Cartwright to check that you’re on the best, safest medications and receiving the correct dose.
Why do I need medications for mental health conditions?
Most mental health problems respond best to a combination of medication and talking therapies. CBT and other forms of psychotherapy are vital to recovery from mental illness, and Dr. Cartwright always uses an appropriate form of talking therapy to treat her patients.
However, medications can also be invaluable. Mental health conditions often have links to imbalances in brain chemicals or faulty signals coming from the brain’s neurotransmitters. Medications can help rebalance these chemicals so your brain is functioning more normally.
What kinds of medications might I be taking?
You could take various medicines for physical illnesses, over-the-counter medications, and often herbal and other natural remedies. These all have the potential to interact with one another, sometimes with adverse consequences. Added to this are the medications you might be taking for a mental health disorder, such as:
- SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)
- SNRIs (selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors)
- Bupropion
- Tricyclic and tetracyclic antidepressants
- MAOIs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors)
- Anti-anxiety medications
- Stimulants
- Antipsychotic medications
- Atypical antipsychotics
- Mood stabilizers
- Anticonvulsant drugs
Dr. Cartwright's medication management program ensures that the combination of medicines you’re taking doesn’t pose a risk to your overall health and well-being.
In addition to reviewing all the medications and combinations you’re taking and adjusting them where appropriate, Dr. Cartwright also reviews how well you’re doing with your mental health medications. For instance, if your current type of antidepressant isn’t having a noticeable effect, you might be better off trying an alternative antidepressant.
Call Sylvia Cartwright, MD, today to book a telehealth appointment. You can also request an appointment online to learn more about medication management.