Taking
medication for a mental health issue is very common. Researchers from the Institute
of Safe Medication Practices found that more than 40 million U.S. adults
reported filling one or more mental health prescriptions in 2013, the most
recent year of collected information. In fact, data from the 2014 National
Survey on Drug Use and Health
show that about 18 percent of U.S. adults experienced some form of mental
illness in the past year. Taking a prescription medication to treat a chronic
condition, like a mental health condition, requires more consideration than
taking a drug for an acute condition, like an antibiotic for a sinus infection
(though all drugs need to be used and
stored with care). Here are three keys to taking your medication responsibly:
1. Understand your timeline
and treatment plan
When
your doctor prescribes a new medication for you, it is important to understand
the full treatment timeline. Your treatment timeline includes:
·
When
you should start taking the medication, (e.g. morning or evening, when your
current prescription is complete, at the start of a new week, with or without
meals, etc.)
·
When
you can expect to see an impact, (e.g. will the drug will be effective immediately
or will it take several weeks before you see a change in your symptoms)
·
When
or if side effects may appear and what side effects you may expect
·
When
or if you should call your doctor regarding specific side effects
·
When
or how to stop the medication
Understanding
when to stop a medication is particularly important for the treatment of mental
health conditions. For example, while most treatments for
depression are not addictive, patients may feel withdrawal symptoms if they suddenly stop treatment.
In some situations, it is critically important to work with your doctor to ease
off of a medication over time.
Your
treatment also includes other therapies that are necessary to treat your
illness, such as counseling, individual or group therapy, or laboratory
monitoring. Drugs are only a part of a comprehensive treatment plan for mental
illness.
2. Communicate
clearly
Although
today’s medical record technologies are becoming increasingly comprehensive,
you should never assume that the doctor, nurse, or pharmacist you are speaking
with has a full understanding of your health. Clear, open communication is
critical to avoid dangerous drug interactions or possible side effects that may
be unique to your situation.
It
is important to always provide your doctor and your pharmacist with a complete
list of all the medications you are taking, including prescription medications,
over-the-counter drugs (including pain pills and nutraceuticals), as well as alcohol
and recreational drugs. All can potentially create serious drug interactions
with mental health therapies. In that conversation, make sure to include how
much you take and how often.
Always
speak up if you have any questions about when or how to take a particular
medication and be sure to bring up any surprising side effects. It can be
helpful to keep a small notebook or file of all of your prescriptions and notes
from past appointments, so that the information is safely compiled in one location.
Some patients like to store this information on their smart phone so that they
always have it with them. The FamilyWize website has a Medicine
Cabinet feature that
may be of help.
3. Store safely
Everyone
who takes a prescription medication for any reason should practice safe storage
and disposal habits to lower the risk of dosing errors, accidental poisoning,
and abuse. Luckily, if you are already
following the first two keys to responsible drug use, storing your drugs safely
can be pretty straightforward.
First,
follow all instructions from your pharmacist for your specific medication. Some
medications need to be kept in the refrigerator, or need to be taken at a
specific time of day, etc. Those instructions are to keep you safe and to
ensure that the treatment is as effective as possible. In general, store
medications in a cool, dry place. Bathroom medicine cabinets are not always the
ideal storage spot. Humidity from showers can sometimes adversely affect the
stability of a medication.
Second,
keep all drugs up and away from little hands, with the child safety cap tightly
closed at all times. Only take your medication in a well-lit room (e.g. not in
a dark bathroom in the middle of the night), and keep all drugs in their
original containers. In the rare situation that a child does accidently take your
medication, please call 911 immediately.
Third,
track your doses. This helps to protect you from accidentally taking an extra
dose and it protects your family, in the event that a family member tries to sneak a
dose or self-medicate
from your medicine cabinet.
For
more information about safely storing your medications, check out the our blog post about keeping your family safe
from accidental poisoning.
We
are lucky to live in a world where there are prescription medications that can
help us to manage mental health conditions. Working with your doctor and
pharmacist to take your prescriptions responsibly is an essential step towards
becoming your best self.
Sources:
This post originally ran on the Mental
Health America (MHA) blog on May 8,2017.
