Product Description
TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN YOUR MENTAL HEALTH

Both easy to use and highly informative, The Complete Guide to Psychiatric Drugs is an indispensable reference for both patients and professionals. Now in a revised and expanded edition, this up-to-date handbook supplies current information on the newest and most commonly used psychiatric drugs as well as the latest details regarding side effects, dosages, and precautions.

Drawing upon his years of experience helping patients understand their illnesses and take charge of their treatments, top expert Dr. Edward Drummond covers vital topics that include:
* Is medication for you?
* What to discuss with your doctor before starting medication
* Do psychiatric drugs pose extra risks for you?
* How to start, monitor, and stop your medication
* Psychiatric syndromes and their treatment

The book also explores non-drug therapies such as dietary treatments, exercise, relaxation techniques, meditation, and self-hypnosis as well as information on how to combine drug, non-drug, and alternative therapies for maximum benefit.

The Complete Guide to Psychiatric Drugs: Straight Talk for Best Results, Revised and Expanded Edition gives you the facts so you can get better, with straight talk on the best new treatments for:
* Anxiety
* Panic Attacks
* Agoraphobia and Phobias
* Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
* Generalized Anxiety Disorder
* Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
* Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
* Bipolar Disorder and Mood Swings
* Depression
* Asperger's Syndrome
* Autism
* Pervasive Developmental Disorder
* Drug Dependence
* Anorexia
* Bulimia
* Binge-Eating Disorder
* Insomnia
* Acute Psychosis
* Schizophrenia
* Schizoaffective Disorder
* Delusional Disorder
* Alzheimer's Disease

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 4 reviews)

The Complete Guide to Psychiatric Drugs: Straight Talk for Best Results

This book is very easy to understand. It is a great resource for clinicians and therapists.
January 04, 2007

Get your questions answered with this book

Psychiatric syndromes like depression, anxiety, and bipolar are explained along with reasons why certain drugs are used instead of others.

About two pages are devoted to each medication. Common, expected side effects are described. For example, Paxil is said to take two to four weeks to cause improvement, even though side effects may appear in one to two days. Fatigue, weakness, and sexual dysfunction are the most common side effects. Your symtoms may return if you stop taking Paxil--even if taper off the medication gradually.

If you want to know how exactly drugs work, Appendix A shows the part of the synapse/neuron that is involved for each of the major classes of psychiatric drugs.

September 29, 2004

simple, comprehensive book (on a SICK SUBJECT)

strong points: i'm a therapist who has many patients taking psychiatric meds, and while i don't prescribe them myself (nor have any desire to), i do need to know at least a thumbnail sketch about most of them. this book does the trick for me. it avoids the irrelevant and obscure detail of the Physician's Desk Reference and hits on the necessary basics (dosages, side effects, dangers, potential "benefits", brand versus generic names - and it has a good index!).

that said: this book, like all others of its ilk, almost completely avoids touching on the notion that medication in most cases can be terribly anti-therapeutic, and is prescribed by doctors for much the same reason drug addicts prescribe themselves the assortment of illicit drugs - symptom relief. these drugs cure no one, just keep people happily numb and in check, and are basically prescribed to help people improve their level of functioning IN THE SHORT TERM. if it were up to me, i'd restructure the whole system and do away with most of these meds entirely.

there's a funny thing i've noticed: when a patient comes to me and wants both therapy and medication (say, Zoloft), i can almost certainly surmise that he or she has less motivation for doing deep inner work (which produces the long-term gain) than someone who wants therapy alone and is resistant to taking medication. doing therapy (learning to know oneself at one's deepest level of being) is a painful process. medication takes away pain. you do the math.

and as for that idea that being on psych meds gives someone a "platform from which to do deep inner work"? as for evidence, i haven't seen it. but i do think it's a great rationalization!
February 10, 2002

Helpful Information

For the person who is contemplating phsychiatric treatment, "medication" can have an intimidating impression especially if it is a foreign subject. The book will help you make you this important decision by giving you updated information on the newest prescription drugs. For those who are uncomfortable, alternatives and non-drug options are discussed as well. A wide range of psychiatric syndromes are covered: Anxiety disorders, ADD, Bipolar, Depression, Developmental disorders, Drug dependence, Eating disorders, Insomnia, Pshychosis, and even Alzheimer's Disease. A wide range is covered..
February 19, 2001

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