The effects of mental illness on caregivers
Part 1
1. a ). If I were in Mark’s place, my young brother being diagnosed with mental illness will have a negative effect on me as a caregiver, my life and my studies. The disorder can cause me to be stressed, confusion, anger, fear or even sadness as a result for my young brothers healthy. As a primary caregiver to my small brother, I will feel burden since I will have to provide financial support for his medication. Besides, as a college student, my studies, as well as my goals, will be negatively affected as a result of absenteeism while caring for my brother.
b) While thinking of a time when one of our family members was suffering from mental illness, I needed more support from my friends and also required guidance and counseling as I was stressed and confused. The kind of nursing support that was useful is guidance and counseling; this could have changed my negative moods and motivated me.
2. a). The objective and subjective burden to Sam as a father to Janet is a financial burden as he is required to provide financial support to Janet’s medication. Joan, as a mother to Janet, will also be subjected to the burden of the workload as she will be required to take care of Janet. Sam as a brother and Sarah as a sister to Janet will be subjected to the burden of stress and workload as they will be required to oversee their sister and provide support to her.
b). The diagnosis will mean Janet’s parents; younger siblings and older siblings will undergo a lot of stress, confusion and even fear within the family as a result of Janet’s well-being. The family will require emotional support and counseling for motivation.
3. a). Involvement of family in the treatment of a patient is important in a patient’s recovery. This is because the doctor will provide important information in the initial assessment process and thus the family members will be aware of changes in the client’s condition and be able to take the appropriate action. The family members will be able to play a crucial role in the treatment and recovery of their patient as they can remind the patient about taking drugs, monitoring and reporting the symptoms
b). Family consultation involves the gathering of important information either from records, interviews or from a doctor in order to find out possible diagnosis and best treatment. On the other hand, family therapy is a form of treatment that addresses specific issues affecting the well- being of the family. It involves cognitive therapy, behavior therapy among other types of therapy.
Objective and subjective burdens for family members
c). Some components of a family consultation include the use of questions where the family seeks answers to diagnosis and best ideas of treatment of a certain health crisis in the family.
d). The role of a nurse as a family consultant is to provide important information on the possible diagnosis and management of certain health issue to families. The nurse also provides guidance and counseling to family members in order to motivate them.
4. a) Cognitive, affective and behavioral psychiatric nursing interventions involve nursing assessments of patient’s mood, psychomotor behaviors, appearance among other features that can give nurses with elements of an in-depth patient assessment in relation to the current psychological status and advanced behaviors that can be managed before or after the occurrence. For instance, the patient’s behaviors are assessed by monitoring the patient’s gait, posture or grooming and mood can be assessed by interpreting the patient’s verbal and nonverbal communication.
b) The best measures that nurses can apply to prevent patients from inappropriate behaviors are to prevent these incidences from happening. Examples of such preventive measures include providing a supportive and safe environment and identifying and removing potential triggers to inappropriate behaviors. Other examples may include, encouraging stress and relation techniques, physical exercise, and timely and rapid de-escalation.
Part two
1. a) I will be stressed and have the feeling of fear of my life bearing in mind the dangerous side effects that are associated with antipsychotic drugs.
b) I will advise the client if he or she fails to adhere to the essentials of psychoactive medications he or she will be risking from dangerous side effects that result from many psychoactive drugs.
2. a) I will advise the client not to take the medication if he or she is also taking Tagamet, drugs that contain phosphates such as OsmoPrep, Linezolid or Parnate drugs. I will also advise the patient to never take alcohol while on the tricyclic antidepressant. This is because all these drugs interact with TCAS antidepressant to form a dangerous product that can harm the body. I will also educate the client on some of the common side effects associated with the antidepressant such as dry mouth, urinary retention, and low sex drive and difficulty in achieving an erection among other side effects.
b) I will advise the client not take the drugs if he or she is on other antidepressants drugs, or certain cold and allergy drugs, this is because the MAOIs cause serious reactions when taken with other drugs. I will also advise the client not to take the medication when she is pregnant or breastfeeding because the drug may harm the child. Moreover, I will advise the client to avoid food with high levels of tyramine amino acids like cheeses or cured meats and avoid beverages such as draft beer and alcohol since they can react with MAOIs and result to high blood pressure.
3. a ). I will advise the client not take the drug together with other medications such as herbal products, opioid drugs, and stimulant drugs since Lithium medication can result to a serious condition known as serotonin syndrome when it interacts with other drugs. I will also advise the client to drink extra fluids every day in order to prevent dehydration that is caused by lithium as a side effect. Use of lithium medication can result in side effects that may impair thinking and thus I will also advise the client not to take the medicine while driving.
b). The therapeutic blood level for lithium is 0.6 to 1.2 mmol/L whereas the lithium toxicity level is 1.5 mmol/L and above.
4.
- a) The new drug approval is structured into a framework that includes
- i) Analysis of the target condition and available therapy where FDA reviews and analyze the disorder for which the medicine is intended. The role of the step is to weigh out the medicine’s benefits against its risks.
- ii) Assessment of benefits and risks from clinical data where FDA evaluates the clinical benefits of the drugs and risk information which has been provided by the manufacturer of the drug.
iii) Strategies for managing risks which involve risk management strategies and approval of the medicine.
- b) Psychotropic patient’s outcome can be improved by systematically targeting the adherence to medication. This involves principles such as adjunctive cognitive behavioral therapies among other principles.
- c) Pristiq is classified as selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. The drug is involved with chemicals in the brain and it is used to treat a major depressive disorder.
- d) Pristiq is a potent inhibitor for neuronal serotonin and norepinephrine in CNS. The recommended dosage for the drug is 50 mg once per day and its route of administration is oral. Its side effects include constipation, insomnia, decreased appetite and xerostomia, and its adverse effect is erectile dysfunction. Its contraindications are hypersensitivity and suicidal behavior.
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