Eddy's quick-reference psychology lists and charts: Part III

Eddy Elmer

Please note: This information is just for study purposes. The data and figures in here are not meant to be quoted. This is a continual work in progress, so many sections are only partially complete.

Prescription abbreviations

b.i.d. = twice a day
mitte = supply
p.o. = per os (by mouth)
p.r. = per rectum
p.r.n. = as needed
q. = every
q.d. = daily
q.h. = every hour
q.h.s. = before bedtime
q.i.d. = four times a day
q.o.d. = every other day
t.i.d. = three times a day
USP = meets quality standards of the USP (United States Pharmacopaeia); USP-grade

Anxiolytics, sedatives, and sedative-hypnotics

• anxiolytic: anything that relives anxiety; includes benzodiazepines, sedative-hypnotics (including barbiturates), BuSpar, zolpidem (Ambien), neuroleptics, and other drugs
• sedative: anything that calms and soothes, without causing sleep or sleepiness; includes benzodiazepines and BuSpar
• sedative-hypnotic: anything that makes you sleepy or puts you to sleep (but a sleep you can be awaken from, unlike general anaesthesia); includes barbiturates, certain of the benzodiazepines at high doses, zolpidem (Ambien), and neuroleptics
• minor tranquilisers: old name for anxiolytics and sedatives
• major tranquilisers: old name for neuroleptics (aka anti-psychotics)
• general anaesthetic: anything that produce general anaesthesia, which means a sleep the person cannot wake from, which itself implies complete analgesia (although improper anaesthetic administration can cause sleep from which patient cannot be waken but NO analgesia!)

SEE MY DRUGS CHART FOR SPECIFIC DRUGS.

Side-effect profile spectrum for SSRI's and related drugs

SEDATING
Remeron (mirtazapine) (very sedating, but I don't know how sedating relative to the others; actually geared to those who are depressed and having sleeping problems)
Serzone (nefazodone)
Luvox (fluvoxamine)
Paxil (paroxetine), Celexa (citalopram), Stablon (tianeptine, because has both antidepressant and anxiolytic properties)  MIDRANGE
Wellbutrin (bupoprion)
Zoloft (sertraline)
Effexor (venlafaxine)
Prozac (fluoxetine)
STIMULATING

SSRI and MAO inhibitors are the drugs which cause the most sexual side effects.

FEWER SEXUAL SIDE EFFECTS: Wellbutrin, Serzone, Desyrel, maybe Remeron (because it doesn't work solely on serotonin). and hopefully Cymbalta; Wellbutrin is the least likely of all the SSRI-type drugs to have sexual side effects; in fact, Wellbutrin can actually reverse sexual symptoms associated with depression; Effexor has one of the highest sexual side effect profiles; drugs which act on serotonin are the worst culprits; those which act on dopamine etc don't have the same side effects;

WEIGHT GAIN: Tricyclic antidepressants, MAO inhibitors, and lithium can all induce weight gain. SSRIs do not usually induce weight gain.

SEE MY DRUGS CHART FOR SPECIFIC DRUGS.

Pharmacological approaches to treatment of aggression

Try the following, in this order (as per this excerpt from Gary J. Maier, in Managing the Repetitively Aggressive Patient, in W.H. Sledge and A. Tasman, Clinical Challenges in Psychiatry, 1993, American Psychiatric Press, p. 199-202

1. Benzodiazepines (like oxazepam). Good for "helping patients manage the early stages of irritability and frustration that can escale to anger and then aggressive behavior (Boyle and Tobin 1961; Lion 1979). The mechanism of therapeutic action seems to be through the GABAergic system (Costa et al. 1976). These agents are indicated for the management of the prodromal or preaggressive phase, for acute chemical restraint, for control of a patient who has aggressed, for patients with intermittent explosive disorder, and for patients with a diagnosis of major psychosis in the acute phase (Bick and Hannah 1986; Kalina 1964; Monroe 1975)."
2. Lithium. "The DSM-III-R definition of mania for bipolar disorder includes a description of irritability, which, therefore, is a legitimate precursor feeling of a major affective disorder that could lead to anger and aggression. Accordingly, patients who have an atypical bipolar disorder [ie, bipolar disorder with aggression] or are repetitively aggressive and dysthymic deserve a trial on this medication. Its use should also be considered when a patient presents with an atypical cyclic pattern to aggression (Sheard 1971; Sheard et al. 1976). Lithium works by both decreasing noradrenaline and increasing serotonin in different areas of the central nervous system."
3. Beta-blockers (like propranolol/Inderal). "When one considers the 'fight-flight' response, it makes theoretical sense that some patients, especially those with organic disorders, may have their noradrenergic system hyperstimulated. Beta-blockers are therefore indicated in patients who have organic brain syndromes (Sheard et al. 1976; Yudofsky et al. 1981) and in those selected patients with a major psychosis."
4. Anticonvulsants (like Neurontin, Lamictal, Tegretol, Depakote/Depakene). "These medications are left for last principally because they have the potential for depressing the bone marrow, which is one of the more serious potential side effects. These agents are indicated for aggressive patients who appear to have a seizure variant and have EEG abnormalities [ie, people whose aggression is somehow related to seizures or EEG abs]."

SEE MY DRUGS CHART FOR SPECIFIC DRUGS.

Differences between common over-the-counter analgesics

SEE MY DRUGS CHART FOR SPECIFIC DRUGS.
 

Terminology sometimes forgotten

Good definition of learning: Any change in behaviour, emotion, or thoughts due to experience.

For best dictionary of terms, use Oxford Dictionary of Psychology, by Andrew M. Colman. Also, for psychoanalytic terms, you must have A Critical Dictionary of Psychoanalysis, by Charles Rycroft.

Key prefixes and suffixes

See Eddy's Quick-Reference Psychology Lists and Charts: Part I, Part II