what is the medication citalopram used to treat?
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Citalopram is a psychiatric drug, an antidepressant. It is also known as Cipramil and Celexa.\n\nFor more information, visit: http://groups.msn.com/psychbusters
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Combination of an anti-depressant medication, and individual/group therapy.
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There's prozac for depression which is what paxil is for. If no physical illness is found, you may be referred to a psychiatrist or psychologist, mental health professionals who are specially trained to diagnose and treat mental illnesses. Treatment for GAD most often includes a combination of medication and cognitive-behavioral therapy.\n\nMedication: Medicines are available to treat GAD and may be especially helpful for people whose anxiety is interfering with daily functioning. The medications most often used to treat GAD are from a class of drugs called benzodiazepines. These medications are sometimes referred to as "tranquilizers," because they leave you feeling calm and relaxed. They work by decreasing the physical symptoms of GAD, such as muscle tension and restlessness. Common benzodiazepines include Xanax, Librium, Valium and Ativan. Another medicine, BuSpar, also may be used to treat chronic anxiety. BuSpar works by affecting the activity of certain neurotransmitters, including serotonin. Unlike the benzodiazepines, BuSpar does not cause sedation (sleepiness) or lead to dependency. Antidepressants, such as Paxil and Effexor, are also being used to treat GAD. Best of Luck to you & God Speed!
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cyclghst is an idiot! That does not answer the question.\n\nStrattera contains the active ingredient atomoxetine hydrochloride, which is a type of medicine called a selective norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitor. It is a non-stimulant medicine.  The reason it is classified as a non-stimulant is that it does not increase activity of the sympathetic nervous system.\n\nAtomoxetine works in the brain, where it increases the levels of a natural chemical called norepinephrine. norepinephrine is involved in passing messages between brain cells.
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You have to understand that not all medications work for all patients. What works for me, may not work for you, and so forth. Also changes to the treatment plan may be needed at various times during the course of bipolar disorder to manage the illness most effectively. A psychiatrist should guide any changes in type or dose of medication. Be sure to tell the psychiatrist about all other prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, or natural supplements you may be taking. This is important because certain medications and supplements taken together may cause adverse reactions. As for the prices, it all varies on he type of insurance you have, or if you quqlify for assistance through the pharmacudical manufactuers. \n\n\n* Lithium, the first mood-stabilizing medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of mania, is often very effective in controlling mania and preventing the recurrence of both manic and depressive episodes.\n\n* Anticonvulsant medications, such as valproate (Depakote®) or carbamazepine (Tegretol®), also can have mood-stabilizing effects and may be especially useful for difficult-to-treat bipolar episodes. Valproate was FDA-approved in 1995 for treatment of mania.\n\n* Newer anticonvulsant medications, including lamotrigine (Lamictal®), gabapentin (Neurontin®), and topiramate (Topamax®), are being studied to determine how well they work in stabilizing mood cycles.\n\nAnticonvulsant medications may be combined with lithium, or with each other, for maximum effect.\n\n*Atypical antipsychotic medications, including clozapine (Clozaril®), olanzapine (Zyprexa®), risperidone (Risperdal®), quetiapine (Seroquel®), and ziprasidone (Geodon®), are being studied as possible treatments for bipolar disorder. Evidence suggests clozapine may be helpful as a mood stabilizer for people who do not respond to lithium or anticonvulsants.\n\n*If insomnia is a problem, a high-potency benzodiazepine medication such as clonazepam (Klonopin®) or lorazepam (Ativan®) may be helpful to promote better sleep. However, since these medications may be habit-forming, they are best prescribed on a short-term basis. Other types of sedative medications, such as zolpidem (Ambien®), are sometimes used instead.
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I was terribly depressed and I found that medication helped me the most.  Depacote, Zoloft or Wellbutrin. They helped me immediately.
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Fluoxetine.  Prozac is Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor.
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Antidepressants are medicines used to treat clinical depression ("clinical" meaning long-term and usually due to a physical or medical cause, as opposed to temporary depression  due to social or circumstantial causes that pretty much everybody experiences from time to time).\n\nThere are many different types of antidepressants and there are more being developed all the time.  All of them require a physicians prescription because they can have very severe physical and mental side-effects if not properly monitored.  The specific type prescribed will depend on the underlying condition and the experiences of the doctor.\n\nOne common type is called a "seratonin re-uptake inhibitor."  This type of medication helps to increase the levels of seratonin (a chemical within the brain which produces a feeling of well-being) by preventing it from being obsorbed by some tissues of the brain which appear to break down the chemical without actually using it for anything.
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LEXOTANIL (Lexotan, bromazepam)\n\nBrief Description:\nManufactured by Roche.\n90 tablets 6mg. \n\nFull Description:\nShort-term treatment of anxiety that is severe or disabling occurring alone or with insomnia. \n\n\nhttp://www.anagen.net/lexot.htm
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This drug is used mainly in the treatment of depression. It is also used to treat other psychological disorders, these include: OCD ( obsessive-compulsive disorder), panic disorder, and antiphobic effects. This drug may also be used in the treatment of bulimia. Fluoxetine is also used to treat premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), symptoms of which occur in the week or two before a woman's menstrual period and commonly include irritability, mood swings, and tension as well as the physical symptoms of bloating and breast tenderness.
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Cogentin (Benztropine mesylate) is used to treat the symptoms of Parkinson's disease and tremors caused by other medical problems or drugs.  Some of the older antipsychotics may have side effects like Tardive dyskinesia, which involves a lot of involuntary movements.  So, some psychiatrists will prescribe cogentin to treat these symptoms.
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Wellbutrin (bupropion hydrochloride) is a multiple reuptake inhibitor used to treat clinical depression.  Wellbutrin is also a popular drug used to counter the side effects of other medications, such as sexual dysfunction, low energy levels and weight gain.\n\nBupropion It is a chemical derivative of diethylpropion, an amphetamine-like substance used to lose weight.\n\nI'm scheduled to start Wellbutrin next week and I've done a pleathora of research on the MRI's and spoke to many people using Effexor and Wellbutrin - and people seem to be very pleased with Wellbutrin and my pDOC has had a lot of success with it with her other patients.\n\nI've heard some real horror stories about trying to get off of Effexor, as it is known to be the hardest antidepressant to get off of with the harshest withdrawal syndrom.  \n\nGood luck and I hope you have a smooth transition.
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As a pharmacy student who also suffers from depression, I have studied the different pharmacological treatments for depression.  \n\nThe list of medications I have tried:\nCelexa (citalopram): titrated up to 60mg/day\nZoloft (sertraline): titrated up to 100mg/day\nImipramine: I dont remember the dose, as I couldnt tolerate it and only lasted about 9 days on it.\nEffexor XR (venlafaxine):  Currently on 150mg/day\n\nLet me offer some advice from personal experience as well as from the perspective of a student pharmacist.  There are many antidepressant therapies out there, Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SRI's), Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI's), Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRI's), Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOI's), Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCA's), Atypical Antipsychotics, and even more investigational agents out there.  As far as effectiveness goes, they are basically equivalent to a point.  The main differences lie in the side effects of the medications.  You will get antidepressant activity from a MAOI, however you will have to limit your diet and risk a severe spike in your blood pressure.  TCA's cause severe dry mouth, urine retention and dizziness.  SSRI's may cause nasuea, diarrhea and insomnia.   Atypical Antipsychotics can cause severe weight gain (talking 50+ lbs of weight gain!)\n\nThe one thing that has been found, proven time after time... the people with the best outcomes undergo counseling at the same time they begin their antidepressant medications.  Counseling+medications is best, but counseling alone is better than medication alone!  Part of the action of these medications is to help you get your brain back on track.  Many health professionals believe depression is caused by a reduction of neurotransmitters (a decreased amount of some combination of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine).  During this time of chemical imbalance, though, you have also been in a negative cycle of thoughts, and just like learning math or a foreign language, practice makes perfect.  If you have strengthened the negative connections adding more neurotransmitters will only help to a point.  You need a health care professionals help to get your brain back on track.\n\nAnother word of caution: If you go on an antidepressant medication, give it an adequate trial.  Unless you are having SEVERE side effects that make you feel like harming yourself or are interfering with your everyday function, stop the medication and call your doctor IMMEDIATELY.  All of the classes of medication I have mentioned above may take up to 4 to 8 weeks before a maximum effect is noticed.  Some of the side effects I mentioned above, however, will start right away.  The good news is this: most of the side effects will go away with time! Therefore dont get discouraged!\n\nAnother point that someone touched on is that these medications work differently in each individual.  Just because you dont feel better after 2 months of one medication, dont give up!  The dose may need to be adjusted or a different medicine may be better for you.  The SSRI's and SNRI's are on a spectrum of effect on neurotransmitters and maybe you need more serotonin influence than your neighbor who needs a little extra norepinephrine.\n\nPersonal experience:  I am happiest on my current regimen of Effexor XR 150mg.  I tried lots of other medications, and this one, for whatever reason is right for me.  I still may need a little bump up in dose, because I may have hit a plateau, but I have only been taking it for about 2 months so far.  I also have been seeing a counselor for about 4 months and i feel tons better after every session.  The first time I went to the counselor I felt like I was being analyzed and that she thought I was falling apart.  After a while, though, I realized that this was something I needed to do to get myself back on track.\n\nGood luck with everything, be patient in your treatment, and take good
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There is a lot of emotion and mixed information on this complicated issue.  Unfortunately there is no 100% concensus on exactly what to do.  There is a general thread of recommendation.  SSRI's are first line recommendations in patients who suffer from moderate to severe psychiatric illness, depression and anxiety due to the adverse consequences of untreated illness.  There do appear to be some minor complications in a few children who have been exposed to SSRI's at the third trimester. (see below) Further there is the concern of passing the medication through breast milk once the child is born.  Some medications are better than others and some simply have not been studied as hard. (like Effexor).  I think if you can tolerate Luvox (and it works for you) then that would be one you could take with relative safety and continue to take it through breast feeding.\n\nCohen LS, et al published in JAMA that pregnancy is not "protective" with respect to risk of relapse of major depression. Women with histories of depression who are euthymic (normal thyroid) in the context of ongoing antidepressant therapy should be aware of the association of depressive relapse during pregnancy with antidepressant discontinuation.\n\nSuppaseemanont asserted that current appropriate treatment for pregnant women with moderate and severe depression is antidepressant medication, although there is no consensus on the best antidepressants for use in pregnancy. Thus, the psychotropic drug must be chosen carefully to minimize negative effects on infants and mothers, for some studies have demonstrated deleterious effects on infants.\n\nSivojelezova A, et. al. studied Celexa.  They concluded that Citalopram (Celexa) use during the period of embryogenesis in pregnancy (early term) is not associated with an apparent major teratogenic risk (birth defect and lost of the baby). Late pregnancy use of citalopram is associated with increased risk of poor neonatal adaptation syndrome, recently described with other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.\n\nThese thoughts are echoed with Kalra S in a article trying to arrive at reasonable advice on the subject. Antidepressant use during the third trimester has been associated occasionally with a transient neonatal withdrawal-like syndrome characterized by jitteriness, self-limiting respiratory difficulties, and problems with feeding. When counseling patients, the risk of these adverse effects must be weighed against the risks associated with untreated depression during late pregnancy. Abrupt discontinuation of psychotropic medications has been associated with both physical (eg, withdrawal) and psychological (eg, suicidal thoughts) symptoms.\n\nBellantuono C, et al published an article recently.  The pregnancy is considered to be relatively high risk period for depressive episodes in women, particularly for those with pre-existing affective disorders. Epidemiological studies indicate that between 10% to 16% of pregnant women fulfil the diagnostic criteria for major depression and on average 20% is affected by an anxiety disorder. Pharmacological treatment of depression during pregnancy, however, brings with it certainties and dilemmas. It has been reported that untreated depression is associated with impaired feto-placental function, premature delivery, miscarriage, low fetal growth and perinatal unwanted effects. On the other hand, the use of antidepressant drugs in pregnancy might be at risk of major malformations (teratogenesis), neonatal toxicity, especially withdrawal symptoms and neuropsychological-behavioural impairment. In addition, the abrupt discontinuation of antidepressants, because of fear for adverse fetal effects, exposes women to serious clinical problems, in particular the disease relapse. A number of reviews indicates that among antidepressant drugs, the older SSRIs (in particular fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram) seem to be avoided of teratogenic risks; for these reasons such drugs
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Considering the following definition I don't need an antidepressant:\n\nAn antidepressant is a medication designed to treat or alleviate the symptoms of clinical depression. Some antidepressants, notably the tricyclics, are commonly used off-label in the treatment of neuropathic pain, whether or not the patient is depressed. Smaller doses are generally used for this purpose, and they often take effect more quickly. Many antidepressants also are used for the treatment of anxiety disorders, and tricyclic antidepressants are used in the treatment of chronic pain disorders such as chronic functional abdominal pain (CFAP), myofascial pain syndrome, and post-herpetic neuralgia.\n\nThe main classes of antidepressants have similar efficacy, but the newer types are generally regarded to have a more benign side-effect profile and less risk of lethality if taken in overdose.\n\nOn efficacy measures, a successful antidepressant trial involves just 50 % or more of the test subjects on the drug responding to the medication. “Response” signifies a mere 50 % or greater reduction in depression symptoms as opposed to “remission,” which indicates a virtual elimination of depression symptoms. A number of different treatment strategies, however, may produce better results:\n\n[edit]\nSwitching\nThe American Psychiatric Association 2000 Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Patients with Major Depressive Disorder advises that where no response is achieved following six to eight weeks of treatment with an antidepressant to switch to an antidepressant in the same class, then to a different class of antidepressant.\n\nA series of open-label studies by Michael Thase MD of the University of Pittsburgh found that more than half the patients who failed on their initial antidepressant achieved a response on their second antidepressant from the same class. (Thase ME et al. "Fluoxetine treatment of patients with major depressive disorder who failed initial treatment with sertraline." J Clin Psychiatry. 1997 Jan;58(1):16-21.)\n\nA 2002 double-blind study by the same author found a positive benefit among treatment-resistant patients switching either from an SSRI to a tricyclic or from a tricyclic to an SSRI. (Thase ME et al. "Double-blind switch study of imipramine or sertraline treatment of antidepressant-resistant chronic depression." Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2002 Mar;59(3):233-9.)\n\n[edit]\nAugmentation and combination\nFor a partial response, the American Psychiatric Association advises augmenting an antidepressant with a different pharmaceutical agent. These agents may include lithium, thyroid supplementation, atypical antipsychotics, and dopamine agonists, among others. Symbyax, a combination olanzapine-fluoxetine (Zyprexa-Prozac) pill, is approved in the US for treating bipolar depression, and is being investigated for other depression indications. In general, however, there are no major augmentation studies to guide psychiatrists.\n\nCombination strategy involves using two or more antidepressants from different classes to target more than one neurotransmitter in order to hopefully achieve a more beneficial result. Again, this is a little-studied area of antidepressant treatment. (See article.)\n\n[edit]\nCombining with psychotherapy\nA 2000 study found that those on nefazadone (Serzone) plus a form of short-term psychotherapy called Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP) fared significantly better (85 % response, 42 % remission) than those on Serzone alone (55 % response, 22 % remission) or CBASP alone (52 % response, 24 % remission). (Keller MB et al. "A comparison of nefazadone, the cognitive behavioral-analysis system of psychotherapy, and their combination for the treatment of chronic depression." N Engl J Med. 2000 May 18;342(20):1462-70.)\n\n[edit]\nPreventing relapse\nA 2003 meta-analysis of 31 placebo-controlled antidepressant trials found that continuing with antidepressants reduc
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So, you're from Australia then... (Lovan's the giveaway)\n\nLovan (fluoxetine, or Prozac to everyone else) is not noted for cognitive impairment, but Epilim (aka Depacon, valproate sodium) certainly is. \n\nI had a similar issue with lamotrigine (I'm also bipolar), and my psychiatrist recommended large doses of B complex vitamins. That has certainly helped me, so it may be worth a try for very little outlay.
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Antidepressant class use was as follows: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, 45.6%; tricyclic antidepressants, 31.9%; trazodone, 18.0%; and other, 4.5%. Generally, the SSRIs were prescribed within the dosage range recommended for depression, but the TCAs and trazodone were prescribed at or below the minimum dose. About half of the residents (51.7%) had taken their current antidepressant for at least five months. The most frequent prescribers of antidepressants were attending physicians (49.5%) and psychiatrists (27.0%). Antidepressant therapy monitoring was documented for 88.1% of residents, with clinical assessment the most frequent method. Selected concurrent illnesses were documented for 89.8% of residents: 155 residents had one concurrent illness and 304 had two to six illnesses. The five most common illnesses were hypertension, dementia, ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular accident, and arthritis. Although 27.6% of residents concurrently received sedative-hypnotics, anxiolytics, or both, use was unrelated to that of the antidepressant class. Of the 264 residents with documented clinical outcomes, about half improved.