In the post on the case of Fatima Antole, you provide the detailed information regarding the medication and non-medication treatment for the woman who suffers from depression. It is possible to state that the prescription of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) is a reasonable choice for this case because of their safety and minimal side effects (Jakubovski, Varigonda, Freemantle, Taylor, & Bloch, 2015). SSRIs are also proposed as medications to address the depression disorder by the American Psychiatric Association because of their appropriateness for a variety of cases and their high level of efficacy in comparison to serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors or tricyclic antidepressants among other classes of medications to treat depressive disorders. Still, the problem is that one of the side effects typical of SSRIs is insomnia (American Psychiatric Association, 2010). Clinical goals determined by you include regulating a sleep pattern. Therefore, it is also important to monitor the patient’s sleep patterns and discuss them during follow-up visits in order to avoid worsening the problem. Furthermore, changes in weight are also discussed as a side effect of SSRIs (Woo & Wynne, 2012). Since Fatima suffers from weight loss, it is also important to monitor this aspect.
The change of a treatment strategy can be viewed as necessary after analyzing the progress in coping with the disorder, and it will be possible to propose increasing the dosage or changing a medication. The optimization of a dose is appropriate for SSRIs. As it is stated in studies, higher doses produce better effects, and side effects remain minimal (Jakubovski et al., 2015). However, if such side effects as insomnia and weight loss are observed in the case of Fatima, it will be necessary to change the medication. According to the American Psychiatric Association (2010), it is possible to choose another SSRI in this case or try using a serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2010). Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with major depressive disorder. Web.
Jakubovski, E., Varigonda, A. L., Freemantle, N., Taylor, M. J., & Bloch, M. H. (2015). Systematic review and meta-analysis: Dose-response relationship of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in major depressive disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 173(2), 174-183.
Woo, T. M., & Wynne, A. L. (2012). Pharmacotherapeutics for nurse practitioner prescribers (3rd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company.