Mental Health Medication
The medication listings on this page are for informational purposes only.
Always consult with your doctor first regarding any questions you may have regarding psychotropic medications.
More information can be found at www.nami.org/Learn-More/Treatment/Mental-Health-Medications/Types-of-Medication
Always consult with your doctor first regarding any questions you may have regarding psychotropic medications.
More information can be found at www.nami.org/Learn-More/Treatment/Mental-Health-Medications/Types-of-Medication
Serotonin Syndrome - A Potential Fatal Side Affect
Serotonin syndrome can occur if you are taking medications, particularly antidepressants, that affect the body’s level of serotonin. The greatest risk of serotonin syndrome occurs if you are taking two or more drugs and/or supplements together that influence serotonin. In severe cases, serotonin syndrome can be life-threatening. Some symptoms of severe serotonin syndrome include: high fever, seizures, irregular heartbeat and unconsciousness.
Drugs and supplements that could lead to serotonin syndrome if taken together or in high doses include: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs): antidepressants such as citalopram (Celexa), fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil) and sertraline (Zoloft) ... Street drugs: LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, and amphetamines.
www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/serotonin-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20354758
themighty.com/2019/02/serotonin-syndrome-fatal-side-effect-antidepressants/
Serotonin syndrome can occur if you are taking medications, particularly antidepressants, that affect the body’s level of serotonin. The greatest risk of serotonin syndrome occurs if you are taking two or more drugs and/or supplements together that influence serotonin. In severe cases, serotonin syndrome can be life-threatening. Some symptoms of severe serotonin syndrome include: high fever, seizures, irregular heartbeat and unconsciousness.
Drugs and supplements that could lead to serotonin syndrome if taken together or in high doses include: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs): antidepressants such as citalopram (Celexa), fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil) and sertraline (Zoloft) ... Street drugs: LSD, cocaine, ecstasy, and amphetamines.
www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/serotonin-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20354758
themighty.com/2019/02/serotonin-syndrome-fatal-side-effect-antidepressants/
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New Drug approved for Postpartum Depression
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Zulresso (brexanolone) injection for intravenous (IV) use for the treatment of postpartum depression (PPD) in adult women. This is the first drug approved by the FDA specifically for PPD.
The new drug, brexanolone, which is being marketed by the manufacturer Sage Therapeutics as Zulresso, is unlike other antidepressants.
It is a synthetic version of a compound called allopregnanolone, which is naturally synthesized by the body from the hormone progesterone. And it works relatively fast — women who were given the drug in clinical trials started to feel better as early as 48 hours after starting treatment, and the effects lasted for a month.
Link to CBS News story
FDA Press Release
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Zulresso (brexanolone) injection for intravenous (IV) use for the treatment of postpartum depression (PPD) in adult women. This is the first drug approved by the FDA specifically for PPD.
The new drug, brexanolone, which is being marketed by the manufacturer Sage Therapeutics as Zulresso, is unlike other antidepressants.
It is a synthetic version of a compound called allopregnanolone, which is naturally synthesized by the body from the hormone progesterone. And it works relatively fast — women who were given the drug in clinical trials started to feel better as early as 48 hours after starting treatment, and the effects lasted for a month.
Link to CBS News story
FDA Press Release

When researchers showed in 2006 that the anesthetic ketamine— also known as the club drug Special K—was a rapid and potent antidepressant, big pharmaceutical companies quickly jumped into the game. Extensive efforts to improve on decades-old antidepressants had floundered, but ketamine finally promised a novel mechanism of action and the potential to help treatment- resistant patients.
Because ketamine is an old drug and difficult to commercialize for a new indication, early entrants into this space set out to build ketamine mimetics that could replicate the anesthetic’s effect, ideally without its hallucinatory side effects. A few of these ketamine-inspired drugs are now nearing the finish line. In September, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) filed for FDA approval of a nasal spray containing esketamine—an isomer of ketamine that the company has patented. Despite some lingering questions about its efficacy compared with ketamine, experts in the field expect the drug will be approved, providing the first antidepressant breakthrough in decades. In March 2019 - the drug received FDA approval. Learn more at www.spravato.com
Full Article: scientific_american_mind_–_08 _ 09_2017.pdf
Because ketamine is an old drug and difficult to commercialize for a new indication, early entrants into this space set out to build ketamine mimetics that could replicate the anesthetic’s effect, ideally without its hallucinatory side effects. A few of these ketamine-inspired drugs are now nearing the finish line. In September, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) filed for FDA approval of a nasal spray containing esketamine—an isomer of ketamine that the company has patented. Despite some lingering questions about its efficacy compared with ketamine, experts in the field expect the drug will be approved, providing the first antidepressant breakthrough in decades. In March 2019 - the drug received FDA approval. Learn more at www.spravato.com
Full Article: scientific_american_mind_–_08 _ 09_2017.pdf
Gabapentin for Depression, Mania and Anxiety - Off Label Use
Right now, Gabapentin is approved in the United States to treat seizures. There are not a lot of comprehensive studies that look at Gabapentin as a way to treat anxiety, mood disorders or tardive dyskinesia. Even though there are studies in the works, what experts know about Gabapentin for the purpose of controlling anxiety and mood disorders and tardive dyskinesia mostly comes from faulty case reports.
Read more at www.psycom.net/depression.central.gabapentin.html
Right now, Gabapentin is approved in the United States to treat seizures. There are not a lot of comprehensive studies that look at Gabapentin as a way to treat anxiety, mood disorders or tardive dyskinesia. Even though there are studies in the works, what experts know about Gabapentin for the purpose of controlling anxiety and mood disorders and tardive dyskinesia mostly comes from faulty case reports.
Read more at www.psycom.net/depression.central.gabapentin.html
The First Digital Pill
The first digital pill will carry a price tag of $1,650 per month and soon be rolled out commercially to the first patients: people with mental illness covered by Medicaid, likely in regions including Florida and Virginia.
The pill, sold by the drug maker Otsuka as Abilify MyCite, is embedded with a sensor that can alert a patient’s physician or caregiver after it’s been swallowed. Approved last November by the Food and Drug Administration for patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, it’s a high-tech upgrade to the antipsychotic drug Abilify, which was first approved 16 years ago and has now gone generic. This is the first FDA approved drug-device combination product intended to track the ingestion of medicine.
ABILIFY MYCITE, a drug-device combination product comprised of aripiprazole tablets embedded with an Ingestible Event Marker (IEM) sensor intended to track drug ingestion, is indicated in adults for the:
https://www.otsuka-us.com/discover/articles-1208
The ABILIFY MYCITE® System
The first digital pill will carry a price tag of $1,650 per month and soon be rolled out commercially to the first patients: people with mental illness covered by Medicaid, likely in regions including Florida and Virginia.
The pill, sold by the drug maker Otsuka as Abilify MyCite, is embedded with a sensor that can alert a patient’s physician or caregiver after it’s been swallowed. Approved last November by the Food and Drug Administration for patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, it’s a high-tech upgrade to the antipsychotic drug Abilify, which was first approved 16 years ago and has now gone generic. This is the first FDA approved drug-device combination product intended to track the ingestion of medicine.
ABILIFY MYCITE, a drug-device combination product comprised of aripiprazole tablets embedded with an Ingestible Event Marker (IEM) sensor intended to track drug ingestion, is indicated in adults for the:
- Treatment of schizophrenia
- Treatment of bipolar I disorder as monotherapy and as adjunct to lithium or valproate for: Acute treatment of manic and mixed episodes
- Maintenance treatment
- Adjunctive treatment of major depressive disorder
https://www.otsuka-us.com/discover/articles-1208
The ABILIFY MYCITE® System