Would every psychiatric drug be right for everybody & at the exact same dosage?

Question

I don't know what everyone thinks, but every person's biology is differen, so how can the same the drug work for one person & expect it to work the same in another's body?
we are all unique, if one is allergic to nuts, doesn't mean another has..

Also, I hate the doctors telling me: this drug will only work at 400g! sorry what a load of b*** how can they, with all their education not see that? The doctor even once put his own foot in it when I argued to him about this, he said if u have a headache & the recommended dose is 200g on the "packaing" you have to take this, if u take 100g then it wouldn't be enough. I told him what if the 100g cured ur headache?
I'm very petite & the amount I can take is not the same as a 6 foot body builder, the amount that would knock such a guy off, would kill me!

Sorry,a lot of psychiatrists are text book robots whose answer to every, I mean every problem is "Take this medication" guaranteed.

Thank you everyone, you all have the intelligence to see this , why don't the doctors have this common sense?
Thank you Sarah W for caring, I'm sure you'll be successful
many doctors just know how to give out prescritions (actually they don't even know how to do that as someone correctly pointed out lol...)
Thank you Clark, you know what people go through with these medications. it's bad enough that these drugs are bad for us & have serious side effects but we have to take inappropriate amounts also. How can something that makes you blow up like a baloon be good for you? or something that gives you Parkinson's disease (sorry I've seen this with my own eyes).
My only wish is one day natural, totally harmless psychiatric drugs become available to the market.

I'm not worried for myself as I don't let them bully me around ot tell me what to d
I'm worried for others, who do what the doctors say, it really messes people up.
It's a question of not caring, I just despise their textbook attitude.

Answer 1

I agree, I have had to deal with mental illness for thirty years as my wife has it. I have just had a major operation which knocked me for six recently, played havoc with my emotions and feelings and gave me a much greater insight into what it is like to be out of synch' with the rest of the planet, The psychiatrists have a tough job, they know almost nothing about being mentally ill (apart from the exeptional one or so) and all they have to go on as to dosage is the reaction from each patient, and weight does not always have much to do with it. I took one of my wifes pills once, many years ago, and it knocked me into space for 24 hours!! And I was much heavier than her and she took several of them every day!! Even though I agree with you about some of them being absolute text book robots, they are hired to do it that way, any deviations from the rule soon lands back at their feet if something goes wrong. Everthiing has it's complications when you get into it.

Answer 2

I've felt the same way because we are all so different. To make your point, I once worked in a hospital and was doing some work in the pharmacy on a project. One of the pharmacists giving the tour explained that they did their patients a great service because they took the time to dose according to weight. That was a starting place. They worked carefully with the docs to get more refined dosages. They were willing to step outside of the usual dosages. If the pills only came in 100 mg or 200 mgs, they would cut them to make sure the pts got the 160 mgs they needed because it was right for them.

I used to work in psychiatry about eleven years ago. The textbook psychiatrists struggled to help their patients. The ones that could relate with people and then use medications to compliement their needs did a fantastic job. Their patients progressed quickly. If you are in a situation to get a second opinion, I recommend it. You will find some good answers. I sense a lot of frustration. It may be hard, and it may be a while, but I truly hope that your answers and solutions come. If life is not beautiful right now, I hope that it gets there soon.

Answer 3

The short answer to this is a firm NO, not everybody will take the same dosage of most medications.

However that answer disregards the sheer complexity of the chemistry involved, particularly with drugs that treat mental diseases.

Some drugs are more likely to have varying effects due to factors such as body mass, time taken, food intake, alcohol intake, etc. Other drugs efficacy will not be as greatly affected by these factors.

The thing to be most aware of is that drug chemistry is VERY complex, and what seems logical in a common sense kind of way doesn't address the actual chemistry of the drugs in question.

For instance, some drugs will actually have reduced efficacy the MORE you take. You would think that the effect of the drug would grow with the amount taken in all cases but it doesn't. There are several psychoactive drugs that have this counter-intuitive nature.

Also, MANY psychoactive drugs like Prozac, Strattera, and others have to saturate your system before you will see benefits. This saturation period is determined by your body chemistry and is why a very generic dosage is used for those particular drugs.

Answer 4

Hello........Firstly let me tell you a "thankyou". Im hoping to start training to become one of them one day and hearing how they make people think and worry even more opens my eyes to how i DONT want to be. I think they are just as bad as our regular doctors. All they want to do is prescribe you with antibiotics, rather than research deeper into your problem. I really hope to be GOOD at my job and i promise i wont turn out like those with have at the moment today.

I work as a head-senior in a home for adults with all different mental health issues and I agree with you that everyone is different. What may work for one person, may not or wont work for another. I guess what they do is in some way use us all as guinniepigs. They give us a drug and wait a few weeks. If it works for us then we get more of it. If it doesnt we then get told, "here, try this drug its highly successful". So we take it and wait another few weeks and even THEN this drug may not work for us, so its another long road of filling our bodies up with another drug and then another until we FINALLY find the right one for us.

But SURELY, With all the technology out there these days, and if that doctor or psychologist really new there patient and really looked into al; the different kinds of drugs available, surely wouldnt they be able to give you and us the right one straight away, instead of using the cheapest first.

Thats what ive discovered through my job, that the doctor would rather prescribe a cheaper drug to begin with rather than the more expensive one which in the long run we would discover always would of been the first best choice.

Answer 5

Your doctor doesn't seem to know what he's talking about as far as meds are concerned. There is such as thing as a theraputic dose or dosage guideline but any good doctor knows that every person is different based on age, sensitivity, metabolism, size, allergies, etc.
I'm on the small side too, plus I have chemical sensitivity so I usually have to take a lot less of a medication than is recommended but my doctor is very receptive and understanding of this.

I think you should really find another doctor because this guy doesn't know what he's talking about.

Take care

Answer 6

Of course not every medication is right for everyone. Some respond well to some drugs whils others may not respond or react madly to the same drug. The same goes for dosages. The meds I take work better at a higher dosage for others I know and better at a lower dose for other friends.
Everybody's body is unique therefore everything you put into it will react differently.
Simple

Answer 7

I worked in the pharma industry, everything is taken into account, age, sex, weight, diet, blood ,all medical history etc etc, sensitivities, allergies, tolerance, etc etc etc, all this is done in trials before general public release. But still you will get some who will react differently and even if it's remote possible adverse event it's outlined in the side-effects leaflet with the medication.

Answer 8

God Almighty is the Great Healer.

In the Beginning God created heavens and earth.
God gives you air to breathe and sunshine to enjoy.
God gives you water to drink and food to eat.
God gives you a wonderful body and sound mind, to live.
God loves you, and you are precious to Him.
Son of God died on the Cross to save us from condemnation.
Jesus’ love is boundless and everlasting.
We have the hope of Heaven through Jesus.
Life therefore has fantastic and glorious future!
(Digestion of above can even prevent depression and suicidal thoughts.)

Answer 9

all meds work different on different people
same goes for the dosage

Answer 10

of course not, that's why it's called 'prescription drugs' a doctor has to prescribe them accordingly