{"id":13109,"date":"2021-07-01T10:14:05","date_gmt":"2021-07-01T10:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.blog.hormona.io\/?p=13109"},"modified":"2021-10-26T13:33:25","modified_gmt":"2021-10-26T13:33:25","slug":"psychotropic_polypharmacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.hormona.io\/blog\/psychotropic_polypharmacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Polypharmacy and the risks of a hormonal imbalance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to part three of our series on antidepressants!<\/h2>\n

In this article, I will be discussing what psychotropic polypharmacy is and how it can put you at risk for a hormonal imbalance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you are interested in reading the first two parts of this series, you can find the links here<\/a> and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What is polypharmacy?<\/h2>\n

Polypharmacy is the term for when a patient is on multiple medications at the same time. (In Greek ‘poly<\/em>‘ means multiple, or many). Definitions and dangers can vary depending on age group, illness, and medication type. For this article, we\u2019re going to be looking at psychotropic polypharmacy. It\u2019s not as intimidating as you may be thinking. Another term for mental health disorders is psychiatric disorders. Therefore, when you are on treatment for depression for example, you are on medication for a psychiatric disorder. So, when we talk about psychotropic polypharmacy, it simply means taking multiple medications targeted to help a psychiatric disorder. The most common types<\/a> of psychiatric medications are antidepressants, tranquillisers, sleeping pills, and antipsychotics.<\/p>\n

I can hear you asking, “ok, but what does this have to do with me?”<\/p>\n

Well, because mental health difficulties, or psychiatric disorders, rarely ever occur on their own. A comorbidity is when more than one disorder occurs at the same time. For example, depression and anxiety occur together often, as do eating disorders and depression, bipolar affective disorder and ADHD, and more.<\/p>\n

When we’re being treated for one disorder and then another one crops up, a way to address the distress is through medication. Antidepressants (such as SSRIs) and tranquillisers (such as benzodiazepines) are a common pairing. Another common pairing are antipsychotics and tranquillisers.<\/p>\n

Why can it be risky?<\/h2>\n

Taking more than one type of psychiatric medication can happen for many reasons. Sometimes it can be because of co-occurring disorders, as mentioned above. Other times it can be because the treatment isn’t working as it should. When this is the case, an antipsychotic (also referred to as a mood stabiliser) can sometimes be given in combination with an SSRI. This can help with depression or anxiety that doesn’t seem to be going away. It can also work for folks who experience psychosis but also feel anxious or depressed. Studies show this specific type of combination can be risky because of the side effects. Some of these side effects can include:<\/p>\n