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Mental Health Drugs- Nursing Cheat Sheet (DRAFT) by

Common Drugs used in mental health care

This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.

Anxiol­ytics

Benzod­iaz­epines
Enhance effect of GABA. (GABA is low with anxiety
Alpraz­olam, Diazepam, Clonaz­epam, Lorazepam, Temazepam
also approved for tx of insomnia by FDA due to primary hypnotic effect.
 
CNS depres­sants (do not combine with other CNS depres­sants), potential for addiction in 4-6 weeks, Ataxia
Buspirone
MOA: unknown. Not a CNS depressant (patient can tolerate better and is not sleepy)
Condit­ions: Genera­lized Anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Can treat anxiety with antide­pre­ssants (SSRI's and SNRI's) due to neurot­ran­smi­tters and circuit overlap between anxiety and depres­sion.

Ataxia secondary SE due to extra GABA, risk of fall and Fractures in geri popula­tion.
  

Mood Stabil­izers

Lithium
MOA not fully unders­tood. influences electrical conduc­tivity. Can result in adverse effects, toxicity. Complex intera­ction of NA+ and K+ can use fluid shifts.
Therap­eutic Range 0.6-1.2, need routine blood testing.
 
SE: Neuro/MSK: tremors, ataxia, confusion, convul­sions Digestive: N/V/D, Cardiac: Arrhyt­hmias Electr­olytes: Polyuria, Polydi­psia, edema (Hyper­nat­remia) Endocrine: Goiter, hypoth­yro­idism
Conditions Bipolar

Antico­vul­sants can be used to treat bipolar as well in certain cases.
  

ADHD

Psycho­sti­mulants
block reuptake of NE and dopamine, increasing release into synapse,
Methyl­phe­nidate, Dextro­amp­het­amine
SE: agitation, exacer­bation of psychotic thought processes, HTN, growth suppre­ssion, potential abuse. Consid­era­tions Tx for children and increa­singly adults.
Non-st­imu­lants
Atomox­etine
NE reuptake inhibitor, SE: decreased appetite, wt loss, fatigue.
Centrally acting alpha-2 adrenergic agonists
monitor fatigue, tradit­ionally used for HTN.
ADHD includes symptoms of short attention span, impuls­ivity and overac­tivity.
  

Alzhei­mer's

Cholin­est­erase Inhibitors
Slow rate of memory loss and improve memory. memory loss linked to loss/i­nsu­ffi­cient quantity of acetyl­cho­line.
Donepezil, galant­amine, rivast­igmine
Inactivate cholin­est­erase, less destru­ction means higher concen­tra­tions of acetyl­choline there is.
Glutamate
important role in memory function. Can't be taken at the same time as a Cholin­est­erase inhibitor.
Memantine
Too much glutamate can be damaging to the neurons. Used in moderate to severe Alzhei­mers.
is a progre­ssive loss of memory and other higher brain functions. Pharm slows the structural degene­ration and/or mainta­ining normal brain function.

No cure.