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You came back from your psychiatrist or
psychiatric mental health nurse
practitioner (PMHNP)
with a prescription for your depression.
The prescription will most likely
include the dosage and what time of day
you must take them.
Must
you really take the medication at the
specified time? Does it matter what time
you take antidepressants? The answer to
these two questions is a resounding YES!
The
Rationale Behind the Dosage and Timing
Your
psychiatrist or PMHNP will decide the
most suitable medication for you
including the proper dosage and timing
based on taking your medical
history, lifestyle, test results and the
intensity of the depressive symptoms.
The prescription is, therefore, a result
of a methodical process; it’s carefully
thought and decided upon. Thus, it is
most critical to follow the prescription
to the last detail, including the time
of taking the medications.
The
timing will make sure you achieve
functionality at that time when you need
it most. Certainly, your prescriber will
avoid prescribing sedating
antidepressants during the day when you
are at work or school. Similarly,
antidepressants that will likely cause
you to stay awake will not be prescribed
as a bedtime medicine.
When You Don’t Take the Meds at the
Prescribed Time
If you
will not adhere to the prescription,
there is a risk that you may not achieve
the functionality you need at a
particular time of day. Worse, there can
be adverse effects that you may
experience when you don’t follow the
instructions. The key to making your
medication work for you is your diligent
compliance with the prescription,
including the timing and returning to
the clinic for monitoring.
Report
to your prescriber the observed
responses because these are important in
determining the need for a change in the
medication, dosage and timing. Your
psychiatrist or PMHNP follows a
methodical process and your inputs are
important to get the right prescription
for you.
For Best Results
The
reason you decided to see a psychiatrist
or PMHNP is because you are eager to
feel better and be able to resume a
normal life once more. If you want to
work and interact with people again, you
must know that critical to achieving
functionality is dependent on adhering
to the prescription, including timing.
Remember, the timing of the medications
has been well thought, so there’s a good
reason for it. This makes it important
that you seek help from a practitioner
you can trust, such as
Living Well Behavioral Health in
Knightdale, NC
on
McKnight Dr.
Discussing
the conditions and medications with our
patients is a protocol we continue to
keep. This is how we make sure that
you’ll achieve functionality at the
right time of the day. |
