As we all know, depression is a very common psychological problem affecting many people from all ages all around the world. When it comes to elderly people, depression shows up easily especially once they get retired, if they are living alone or if they have been sent to a community home. Fortunately, there is treatment available for everyone who is undergoing depression, and it is called antidepressant treatment. Antidepressants for elderly is the topic we are going to talk about today, very important because as we grow old our bodies become more sensitive to certain type of medication, and antidepressants for elder must be used wisely.

Today we will emphasize in the use of antidepressants for elderly people, in a way to inform you guys so you know what they are all about, what type of antidepressants for elderly you should look for according to your doctor’s advice and what negative impacts come across the use of antidepressants for elderly. Antidepressant treatment medication and counseling seem to work better together than either alone as antidepressants for elderly, but unfortunately depressed seniors rarely get the treatment they need and so we have to make sure that this happens, we have to guarantee that the antidepressant treatment that’s been used better fulfills their needs. Apparently, only 3% of elderly people with mental health problems get antidepressants for elderly treatment from a mental health professional, but untreated depression increases an elderly person’s risk of death, according to an investigation performed by a professor of psychiatry at the Wake Forest University. The antidepressants for elderly requires special attention because of the effects it can cause in the body of the patient, and it is not any patient, is someone who needs special medical care to handle ANY health condition.

For example, a depressed person who is also anxious, having sleeping and eating disorders cannot use an antidepressants for elderly like Mirtazapine, which tends to stimulate the appetite, help with sleep, and calm anxiety in younger people but in contrast, older people who lack energy and feel apathetic may have associated vascular changes in the brain and may require other types of antidepressants for elderly medications that affect several different brain chemical, such as Wellbutrin and even Ritalin sometimes. I had the opportunity to speak with a geriatric doctor and he said he always makes sure that patients and their families understand how long it can take for an antidepressants for elderly to respond, and since the drugs take longer to work in older people than younger ones, they usually take 8 to 12 weeks, but the truth is the longer they stay on the medicine, the more progress they are likely to see. Some doctors prescribe SSRIs as an antidepressants for elderly, but they can affect the lining of the stomach, and so these patients have to take the drug in combination with food to prevent nausea.

Studies also recommend that SSRIs can speed bone loss in the elderly, and that is why researchers keep investigating on this for confirmation of this theory to see if SSRIs are good as antidepressant for elderly. To make things more complicated, numerous medications that are used sometimes as antidepressant for elderly, especially heart and blood pressure drugs, can cause mood changes on them, so those are not recommended either. The majority of doctors will pay close attention to all the medications that an elderly person is taking to see if dosages could be reduced or eliminated. A thyroid test is also very helpful to rule out a medical problem that could lead to depression and so then the doctor can diagnose and prescribe the correct antidepressant for elderly treatment accordingly.