side effects Archives - Gateway Psychiatric

Long Term Effects of Ketamine

Peter Forster — Mon, 02 Oct 2017 18:52:29 +0000

One of my patients asked me what the long term effects of ketamine are. She was particularly interested in long-term adverse effects. The last time I did a review of the literature I noted that there seem to be very little information available. This is not surprising with the psychiatric literature since ketamine and its use for chronic depression are ...

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Lithium Weight Gain

Peter Forster — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 15:06:01 +0000

Does lithium cause weight gain? It is remarkable how difficult it can be to find out the answers to relatively simple questions on the internet. One of my patients asked me about the effect of lithium on weight and, while I was explaining my experience with many hundreds of patients treated with lithium (not a significant cause of weight gain ...

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Weight Loss Medication

Peter Forster — Sat, 04 Apr 2015 19:03:51 +0000

A new pill with the brand name Contrave was recently approved for the treatment of obesity by the FDA. This pill is an extended release, fixed dose, combination of two previously approved medications: bupropion, a commonly used antidepressant which has also been approved as an aid to those were trying to stop smoking, and naltrexone, a medication that blocks the ...

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Antidepressants May Blunt Feelings of Romance

Peter Forster — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 17:29:25 +0000

Antidepressants may blunt feelings of romance when taken long-term according to a recent study, but the way this effect shows up may be quite different in men and women. Researchers presented a study at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) Congress which used a newly developed Sex-Attachment-Love Test (SALT) questionnaire. They looked at almost 200 adults with mild or moderate depression ...

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Weight Gain with Atypical Antipsychotics – A Review of Strategies

Peter Forster — Fri, 05 Sep 2014 03:13:50 +0000

Many antipsychotics, especially some atypical or second generation antipsychotics, like olanzapine (Zyprexa) or quetiapine (Seroquel), cause significant weight gain, as well as insulin resistance (diabetes) and elevated lipids. What to do if the medication is helping (much more than alternatives) but the patient is developing these serious adverse effects? Two recent articles review the literature on strategies for managing these ...

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