question about psych meds

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hello psych nurses!!!!

i have a question about the purpose of meds given to a psych patients. one is seroquel. i looked up in the med book and the indication for this medication is to treat schizophrenia. but i give them to a patient who does not have schizophrenia, but this patient is very agitated. is this med used like desyrel? when my patient take this medicine, he is knocked out. another medication is depakote. i dont understand why this medication is given also. both seroquel and depakote are given at bedtime. are these medications given to induce sleep to these patient? i appreciate your help :D :bow:

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Specializes in ICU, PICC Nurse, Nursing Supervisor.

depakote is given for several reasons. i give it in the alzheimer patients for aggressive behavior but, others ive given it for seizures. seroquel is used in the population i work with (alzheimers,dementia) for agressive behavior as well. truthfully i dont think i ever given seroquel for it intended use,meaning schizophrenia. when we start seroquel ,it is started ususally at 25mg once or twice a day. depakote (sprinkles) is stated at about 125mg twice a day. if your patient is sleeping during the day ,you may need to see about getting the dosage decreased to move the admin times around. these drugs are not meant to work like trazadone, but they can put you to sleep. the goal is to reduce the frequency of the behaviors not knock them out (even though thats what we really want:) ) . trazadone has different uses as well and sleep is one of them . i can take 12.5 mg and ill see you next week. another thing if the patient is getiing several drugs that makes him sleep, you may want to bring this to the doctors attention and see about reducing some of that... hope this helps some :)

hello psych nurses!!!!

i have a question about the purpose of meds given to a psych patients. one is seroquel. i looked up in the med book and the indication for this medication is to treat schizophrenia. but i give them to a patient who does not have schizophrenia, but this patient is very agitated. is this med used like desyrel? when my patient take this medicine, he is knocked out. another medication is depakote. i dont understand why this medication is given also. both seroquel and depakote are given at bedtime. are these medications given to induce sleep to these patient? i appreciate your help :D :bow:

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Specializes in NICU.

I was given Seroquel for a few months (outpatient) about six years ago for cyclothymia. All I can tell you is it zombified me.

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We give depakote to manage agressive behavior, impulsivity & seizures. It is in actuality a seizure medication but has demonstrated efficacy in controling agression & impulsivity. It does require regular bloodwork as there are theraputic levels. It can be sedating to some. Usually we give several doses spread out over the course of the day, not just at night. I see it used frequently on Schiz, Bipolars, Intermittent Explosive Disorder, some Borderlines. Those are just from the top of my head. I do believe it was black boxed however in the PDR for some serious side effects- we tend to not use it quite so much & many patients have been switched to an alternative such as Neurontin.

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Specializes in Psych.

Depakote has been approved by the FDA for treating bipolar disorder for a few years now.

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Hi

For several years now Depakote has been approved for treatment of Bipolar Disorder and is considered a First-line medication for this. It's true that it was originally marketed for treating seizure disorders but research has shown that many of the problems of bipolar disorder also have origins in the same area of the brain that can induce seizures. Incidentally Depakote has also recently been approved for migraine headaches (another "off-label" use). Depakote, Tegretol, Gabitril and other anticonvulsant medications have been used for years in the treatment of bipolar disorder and is equal to lithium in efficacy.

Check with the drug reps sometime and they can give you more information

Will

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We give depakote to manage agressive behavior, impulsivity & seizures. It is in actuality a seizure medication but has demonstrated efficacy in controling agression & impulsivity. It does require regular bloodwork as there are theraputic levels. It can be sedating to some. Usually we give several doses spread out over the course of the day, not just at night. I see it used frequently on Schiz, Bipolars, Intermittent Explosive Disorder, some Borderlines. Those are just from the top of my head. I do believe it was black boxed however in the PDR for some serious side effects- we tend to not use it quite so much & many patients have been switched to an alternative such as Neurontin.

SERZONE (an antidepressant), not SEROQUEL or DEPAKOTE -got a black box warning for potential liver failure.

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hello psych nurses!!!!

i have a question about the purpose of meds given to a psych patients. one is seroquel. i looked up in the med book and the indication for this medication is to treat schizophrenia. but i give them to a patient who does not have schizophrenia, but this patient is very agitated. is this med used like desyrel? when my patient take this medicine, he is knocked out. another medication is depakote. i dont understand why this medication is given also. both seroquel and depakote are given at bedtime. are these medications given to induce sleep to these patient? i appreciate your help :D :bow:

in the outpatient clinic where i work, depakote is ordered to help manage mood swings and agression. seroquel is often ordered in low doses (25-50mg) for sleep in patients without psychosis. it is ordered in higher doses (100-300mg) for patients with schizophrenia. at higher doses spaced out during the day and hs, patients are not as sedated.

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SERZONE (an antidepressant), not SEROQUEL or DEPAKOTE -got a black box warning for potential liver failure.

Liver enzymes (baseline, 2 mos then 6 mos) are one of the labs included in our depakote protocol.

Eye exams, ekg, fasting lipid panel & blood glucose are part of our seroquel protocol.

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SERZONE (an antidepressant), not SEROQUEL or DEPAKOTE -got a black box warning for potential liver failure.

So did Depakote or Valproic Acid. My father who is a Psychatrist got a letter from the drug company stating such & thus he has offered all his patients a medication change if they chose so. I also know that all the psychatrists at the VA where I work recieved the letter. Mind you this was several years ago but the letter did go out...

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So did Depakote or Valproic Acid. My father who is a Psychatrist got a letter from the drug company stating such & thus he has offered all his patients a medication change if they chose so. I also know that all the psychatrists at the VA where I work recieved the letter. Mind you this was several years ago but the letter did go out...

THANKS FOR THE INFO. IN THIS AREA-CT. DEPAKOTE IS USED ALOT FOR SZS., BIPOLAR ILLNESS AND EVEN MIGRAINES. PERSONALLY , I LIKE TOPOMAX. I DID RECEIVE A L ETTER A FEW YRS AGO WARNING ABOUT NOT CONFUSING DEPAKOTE AND DEPAKOTE ER OR THERE COULD BE AN OVERDOSE AND LIVER FAILURE.

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Thanks for the validation, I know there was a letter but yes it was a while ago. I was beginning to think maybe old age was catching up with me & senility was setting in ;)

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