Monthly Archives: October 2014

Placebo effects in psychiatric drugs?

Anxiety Disorder, Clinical Case Studies, Issues & Debates

I understand a lot of anti-depressants, anti-anxiety and anti-psychotic drugs that we’re using today have had quite a long history, we’re talking about a few ten years. But is it possible, that what works in some of them, is not the active ingredients in it, but the fact that it’s prescribed and taken, and patient’s belief in the pill(s), so the patient feels better? (If this definition is not clear enough for what placebo effect is, please check google here.)

Recently we have this typical anti-psychotic drugs ran out in the whole of country (i.e. nowhere you can find this drug, unless some expired ones in an old patient’s drawer). So having no choice the psychiatrist has had to replace it with other drugs, drug A, a stimulant that works the same but will be more stimulating (so patients can’t take it at night to avoid sleep disturbances) or drug B, another anti-psychotic that’s more sedative (suitable for patients to take at night).

Most of the patients are fine after the replacement of this old anti-psychotic drug, whether it’s with drug A or B, some with other medicine more applicable and appropriate for their current situations. Except two patients.

They both claimed that after replacing the medicine, they find it difficult to fall asleep (a common symptoms of anxious people: difficulty getting into sleep). When we tried to explain that the old drug is non-sedative (not assisting you to sleep) but also non-stimulating (not making you more awake/alert), and that 95% other patients who’ve had the medicine replaced found no problems, these two patients insisted that they need this old anti-psychotic drug to sleep.

In fact for one of the patients, the psychiatrist has come to realize that she’s no longer present with agitation or any psychotic-related symptoms, and so has replaced it with a tranquiliser, which should in fact be sedative and make her sleep better, as compared to the old anti-psychotic drug. But still, she struggled.

As a psychologist, I’d always observed and noticed the psychological effects of psychiatric drugs. How’d you explain this? Can we start to prescribe some placebo to help patients to sleep better?

Metaphors (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)

Anxiety Disorder, Basic & General, , , , ,

The PDF file below is one of the appendices from the book “Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Psychosis” edited by Eric M. J. Morris, Louise C. Johns and Joseph E. Oliver.

It’s a short story of hopes, combining some metaphors commonly used in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Definitely worth reading, and re-reading to understand more about ACT, and get a feel of the center approach and techniques used in ACT.

Click here: See the wood for the trees (pdf)

 

Related reading on huibee.com:

Thought Challenging or Thought Accepting?

Mindfulness and Acceptance Tasks 

Can we allow a severely depressed patient to make the decision?

Clinical Case Studies, Depression, Issues & Debates

She’s gone, on Tuesday (more about this patient here: Depression & ECT).

As written on my previous post (link above), she underwent a course of six ECT and got much better. During the past year, she did voluntary work, travelled around (to South Africa, Japan etc). Every time she came back for follow up and saw me in the clinic, she had this big wide smile on her face, including the last time I saw her, last week.

Past few weeks she’d been calling me a lot, since her house renovation, which put her under some pressure. Then slowly all her negative thoughts came back. Lacking drives, lying down a lot, negative and suicidal thoughts, all returned, like how she was before the course of ECT last year, despite the increase of her anti-depressants.

She started to ask if she should come for another course of ECT. We kept helping and supporting her, and supporting her extended family to support her. Last week she asked again. And finally the consultant psychiatrist had also agreed that she should undergo ECT. When she was told that she could have it, she became hesitant and indecisive again. So she came for consultation and was told that she could take her time to think about it, and if she wanted it, she could call us and we’d arrange it (of course we also arranged what she should/could continue doing every day).

Few days later she rang me in the clinic, telling me she’s feeling much better, just did voluntary work in the temple. She was feeling quite positive and thought she’d make it. So much relief in me.

Few days passed and I was busy. This morning I heard from her cousin. She was gone, with medicine and half a bottle of herbal liquor. When they found her (the patient lived alone in KL, her family couldn’t reach her on phone all weekend long and came all the way from Malacca to see her), she was still conscious, but with white foam coming out from her mouth. They called the ambulance. But the patient refused to get into the ambulance. The medical staff said it’s against the law to force someone into the ambulance, so they left! The patient went back to sleep later and …”rests in peace”, as the way her cousin put it.

Is it right for us to leave the decision of whether to do ECT with her? Should we be the ones who make the decision for her? Could we be the ones?

Is it right for the ambulance staff to leave, just because the person refused to? Despite knowing that she most probably need a stomach washout, is it right that they let her make the decision herself?

Is she capable to make these decisions? She’s severely depressed, despite the medication, could she judge and reason then decide?

Practically I’ve always been told that we can’t really make any decision for patients, all we can do is to explain the options, treatments and procedures to the patients and family (if applicable). But how if they’re single and suicidal, with not much familial support? Are there exceptions? Can we push them to go for ECT?