There are 3 big rules that most experts
recommend for using psych medications effectively.
- Start low and go slow.
Start low and go slow means to start with a very small
dose of a medication and titrate up slowly to avoid un-necessary side effects.
- Maximize each medication before adding another.
Push doses to the max before discarding it as a failed
med trial. Some people metabolize medications more quickly than others and
even small changes can make a huge difference in weather the med works or not.
- One change at a time.
If you change more than one thing at a time you'll never
be able to tell cause and effect if a med is helping or causing more problems.
Make sure to allow enough time for improvements to manifest themselves. Some
meds can take up to 8 weeks to show improvement and there are case reports of
a first response to Lithium after two years of treatment.
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