Elavil Drug Uses
Elavil is indicated for the relief of symptoms of depression. Endogenous depression is more likely to be alleviated than are other depressive states.
How Taken
Elavil comes as a tablet to take by mouth. It is usually taken one to four times a day and may be taken with or without food. Take Elavil exactly as directed. Do not take more or less of it or take it more often than prescribed by your doctor. Continue to take Elavil even if you feel well. Do not stop taking Elavil without talking to your doctor, especially if you have taken large doses for a long time. Your doctor probably will want to decrease your dose gradually. This drug must be taken regularly for a few weeks before its full effect is felt.
Elavil Warnings/Precautions
Before taking Elavil, tell your doctor if you have liver disease; kidney disease; asthma; thyroid disease; diabetes; stomach or intestinal problems; high blood pressure or heart disease; had a heart attack in the last 6 weeks; an enlarged prostate or difficulty urinating; or glaucoma.
You may not be able to take Elavil, or you may require a dosage adjustment or special monitoring during treatment if you have any of the conditions listed above.
Elavil may be harmful to an unborn baby. Do not take Elavil without first talking to your doctor if you are pregnant or could become pregnant during treatment.
Elavil passes into breast milk and may affect a nursing baby. Do not take Elavil without first talking to your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.
If you are over 60 years of age, you may be more likely to experience side effects such as drowsiness, dizziness, unsteadiness, feeling uncoordinated and low blood pressure. Your doctor may prescribe a lower dose of this medication.
Elavil Missed Dose
Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for the next regularly scheduled dose, skip the missed dose and take the next one as directed. Do not take a double dose of this medication unless otherwise directed by your doctor.
Elavil Possible Side Effects
Side effects cannot be anticipated. If any develop or change in intensity, inform your doctor as soon as possible. Only your doctor can determine if it is safe for you to continue taking Elavil.
Older adults are especially liable to certain side effects of Elavil, including rapid heartbeat, constipation, dry mouth, blurred vision, sedation, and confusion, and are in greater danger of sustaining a fall. Side effects may include:
Abnormal movements, anxiety, black tongue, blurred vision, breast development in males, breast enlargement, coma, confusion, constipation, delusions, diarrhea, difficult or frequent urination, difficulty in speech, dilation of pupils, disorientation, disturbed concentration, dizziness on getting up, dizziness or light-headedness, drowsiness, dry mouth, excessive or spontaneous flow of milk, excitement, fatigue, fluid retention, hair loss, hallucinations, headache, heart attack, hepatitis, high blood pressure, high fever, high or low blood sugar, hives, impotence, inability to sleep, increased or decreased sex drive, increased perspiration, increased pressure within the eye, inflammation of the mouth, intestinal obstruction, irregular heartbeat, lack or loss of coordination, loss of appetite, low blood pressure, nausea, nightmares, numbness, rapid and/or fast, fluttery heartbeat, rash, red or purple spots on skin, restlessness, ringing in the ears, seizures, sensitivity to light, stomach upset, strange taste, stroke, swelling due to fluid retention in the face and tongue, swelling of testicles, swollen glands, tingling and pins and needles in the arms and legs, tremors, vomiting, weakness, weight gain or loss, yellowed eyes and skin.
Side effects due to rapid decrease or abrupt withdrawal from Elavil include:
Headache, nausea, vague feeling of bodily discomfort
Side effects due to gradual dosage reduction may include:
Dream and sleep disturbances, irritability, and restlessness.
Elavil Storage
Store Elavil tablets in a well-closed container. Avoid storage at temperatures above 30°C (86°F). In addition, Elavil tablets 10 mg must be protected from light and stored in a well-closed, light-resistant container.
Elavil Overdose
Critical manifestations of overdose include: cardiac dysrhythmias, severe hypotension, convulsions, and CNS depression, including coma. Changes in the electrocardiogram, particularly in QRS axis or width, are clinically significant indictors of tricyclic antidepressant toxicity. Other signs of overdose may include: impaired myocardial contractility, confusion, disturbed concentration, transient visual hallucinations, and dilated pupils, disorders of ocular motility, agitation, hyperactive reflexes, stupor, drowsiness, muscle rigidity, vomiting, hypothermia, and hyperpyrexia. Deaths may occur from over dosage with this class of drugs.
More Information
Use caution when driving, operating machinery, or performing other hazardous activities. Elavil may cause drowsiness or dizziness. If you experience drowsiness or dizziness, avoid these activities.
Dizziness is likely to occur when you rise from a sitting or lying position. Rise slowly to prevent dizziness and a possible fall.
Use alcohol cautiously. Alcohol may increase drowsiness and dizziness while you are taking Elavil.
Do not stop taking Elavil suddenly. This could cause symptoms such as nausea, headache, and malaise.
Disclaimer
This drug information is for your information purposes only, it is not intended that this information covers all uses, directions, drug interactions, precautions, or adverse effects of your medication. This is only general information, and should not be relied on for any purpose. It should not be construed as containing specific instructions for any particular patient. We disclaim all responsibility for the accuracy and reliability of this information, and/or any consequences arising from the use of this information, including damage or adverse consequences to persons or property, however such damages or consequences arise. No warranty, either expressed or implied, is made in regards to this information.
All information given to Online-medspharmacy.com will be held in the strictest confidence and will not be sold, rented or traded to any outside entity. Online-medspharmacy.com uses the latest in Internet security and encryption technology. You should have no concerns about your personal information being seen by anyone not directly involved with Online-medspharmacy.com and its operations.
Since about the year 2000, a growing number of Internet pharmacies have been established worldwide. Online-medspharmacy.com is similar to community pharmacies, and in fact, it is actually operated by brick-and-mortar community pharmacies that serve consumers online and those that walk in their door. The primary difference is the method by which Elavil is requested and received. Most customers consider this to be more convenient and private method rather than traveling to a community drugstore where another customer might overhear about the drugs that they take. Online-medspharmacy.com is also recommended to some patients by their physicians if they are homebound.
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A: We are fully dedicated to your privacy and security for all orders and especially for Detrol-la. Please refer to the current privacy policy in the terms & conditions section of our order page. Rest assured that our online order system makes use of the latest Security encryption technology to ensure that your credit card information is submitted safely and with the highest level of protection. All of our computer systems undergo regular security checks to ensure that our ordering system is properly protected.
Second-generation Antidepressants
A recent article in the prestigious British Medical Journal seems to confirm an increased risk for suicidal behavior among adults taking popular antidepressants. This follows evidence that certain selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may have a similar effect among children and adolescents.
As with the controversy over certain painkillers, public policy about the use of Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft and other antidepressants must balance the known benefits with the newly emerging risks. This month's Facts of Life takes an evidence-based second look at second-generation antidepressants.
Their names-Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft-are familiar ones in a country where about one in five people suffer from depression or similar mental disorders. These so-called "second-generation" antidepressant medications have been the treatment of choice since 1985.
Coming In Second
Second-generation antidepressants include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and other similar drugs that work primarily by increasing the amount of time that the hormone serotonin circulates in the connective gap between nerve cells in the brain. Serotonin helps nerve cells communicate with one another, communication that often lags in depressed brains.
SSRIs like Prozac are called second-generation because they are now prescribed more often than earlier-introduced "first generation" tricyclic antidepressants. Tricyclic drugs work in a similar way to SSRIs, but they are toxic at smaller doses and tend to have more serious side effects.
Taking Stock
The new antidepressants are a success story, an effective treatment for millions and a market winner for many drug companies. But researchers are just beginning to examine the 20 years' worth of data available for the drugs to answer some pressing questions about their use. Are all second-generation antidepressants equally effective? How often do serious side effects like suicide occur? And should the medications be used sparingly in certain groups, like children and pregnant women?. A review of the cost effectiveness of depression treatment concluded that there are few studies that compare the cost-effectiveness of behavioral and drug-based therapies for depression.1
The Facts:
* Approximately one in five Americans has a mental disorder such as depression, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder or a similar condition that can be treated with second-generation antidepressant drugs.
* A 2004 meta-analysis of antidepressant medications, including seven SSRI drugs, concluded that the medications had a "modest beneficial effect" on patients with combined depression and substance abuse disorders.
* A new systematic review of studies including 87,650 patients found a twofold increase in suicide attempt rates in SSRI patients compared to those taking a placebo or other therapies than tricyclic antidepressants.
* Second-generation antidepressants may be preferred over older tricyclic drugs as a first line treatment for bipolar depression, according to a 2004 systematic review.
* Most studies of antidepressant treatment for people age 55 and older exclude patients with other serious health problems, making it difficult to conduct medication trials with a large number of study participants.
* Rates of stroke and brain hemorrhage in patients taking SSRI drugs are very low, despite the fact that serotonin can affect blood clotting and blood vessel diameter in the brain.
* The Center for Science in the Public Interest's review of studies on SSRI treatment for children found that industry-funded studies are 50 percent more likely to report positive treatment outcomes than government or university-funded studies.
* A systematic review of unpublished research on SSRI treatments for adolescents suggest that many SSRIs, with exception of Prozac, are more risky to the health of teens than published data would suggest.
* A meta-analysis of studies of antidepressant treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder in children found that the older tricyclic antidepressant clomapramine (Anafranil) was significantly more effective in treating the disorder than four SSRI drugs.
* The "best buys" in second-generation antidepressants, based on safety, effectiveness and cost, are generic fluoxetine (Prozac and Sarafem), citalopram (Celexa) and buproprion (Wellbutrin), according to a 2005 Consumers Union report.
Catching the Problem Early:
In November 2004, the Center for Evidence-based Policy at the Oregon Health and Science University released a report on the effectiveness of "second-generation" antidepressant medications. 12 The report included information on how well Prozac, Wellbutrin, Zoloft, Celexa and similar drugs worked for conditions like major depression, social anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and premenstrual disorders. But the report's authors had a more unusual and potentially controversial goal in mind for their work: which one of these drugs worked the best, in head-to-head competition with the others?
For consumers and physicians alike, their findings might be a little unnerving. Report author Richard Hansen, Ph.D., says the evidence is "fair to good" that these second-generation antidepressants "do not differ substantially" among themselves and seem to be equally effective and tolerable.
Hansen, a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and colleagues found some small differences in how fast the drugs worked and in the prevalence of certain side effects like sleep disturbances and sexual dysfunction. Most of the few head-to-head studies they analyzed looked at treatment for depression. "For most [other] indications, no head-to-head trials have been conducted," Hansen says.
Few of the studies analyzed in the report looked at how well the drugs performed in different racial and ethnic groups and special populations like children and older adults, Hansen and colleagues found.
" Oftentimes companies do not look at subpopulations," says John Santa, M.D., of the Center for Evidence-based Policy. "It's too expensive, ethically risky in children, and let's face it-once the FDA approves the drug (the pharmaceutical companies) can figure out ways to present information regarding various issues to patients and doctors without going through the FDA,"
Santa's group, which reviews the effectiveness of drugs from beta-blockers to Alzheimer's disease medications, commissioned the study of antidepressants in part "because antidepressants represent the second largest drug class for Medicaid drug dollars." Increasing availability of generic versions of the drugs, along with new concerns about higher suicide rates in SSRI users, prompted the review, Santa says.
For the most part, the FDA does not require head-to-head effectiveness comparisons of drugs within a class as part of its determination of whether a new medication should be approved. Without this crucial data, Santa says, drug companies can make claims for their products that justify higher and higher prices.
As systematic reviews like the Oregon report conclude there are few differences between drugs within a class, "it's much more likely that (drug) manufacturers will also have to compete on the basis of price," according to Santa.
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