Treating Generalized Anxiety Disorder

This piece aims to present the patient’s psychological disorder and discuss which medications are suitable, considering their impact on his physiology. The client has been diagnosed with Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), which is a type of disorder described as a long-term feeling of severe and uncontrollable anxiety (Impey, 2020). To mitigate the excessive stress at work, the patient uses ETOH; besides, he consumes three to four glasses of beer daily.

To complete the interactive media piece, I had to understand the patient’s personal and medical background. Then I analyzed the medical information, his psychological state during the meeting, and, finally, his HAM-A score. This information helped create a diagnosis and appropriate pharmacotherapy afterward.

The main pharmacotherapeutic that he needs to consume is selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). This drug is effective in multiple ways, including treatment on a long- and short-term basis. It is regarded to be the first-line treatment in the case of GAD (Strawn et al., 2018). The duration of this pharmacotherapeutic depends on the person who takes it. The longevity can be between three and six months up to one to two years (Garakani et al., 2021).

The side effects such as nausea, constipation, dry mouth, diarrhea are generally short-lived and insignificant. Impey et al. (2020) point out that sickness can be severe and lead to vomiting; the treatment should be stopped in this scenario. Additionally, sexual dysfunction can arise and should be dealt with by additional medications (Garakani et al., 2021).

In case of SSRI’s intolerance, the patient can use pregabalin. It can reduce a wide range of depression-related symptoms that are mild or moderate (Impey et al., 2020). Compared to SSRI, pregabalin has a relatively early impact on a person’s physiology. The effect can be noticeable three to four hours after the intake. As SSRI, it is well-tolerated among the majority of people.

Overall, the two main recommended drugs are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and pregabalin. They will be efficient in alleviating the patient’s excessive anxiety.

References

Garakani, A., Murrough, J. W., Freire, R. C., Thom, R. P., Larkin, K., Buono, F. D., & Iosifescu, D. V. (2021). Pharmacotherapy of anxiety disorders: current and emerging treatment options. Focus, 19(2), 222-242.

Impey, B., Gordon, R. P., & Baldwin, D. S. (2020). Anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive–compulsive disorder. Medicine.

Strawn, J. R., Geracioti, L., Rajdev, N., Clemenza, K., & Levine, A. (2018). Pharmacotherapy for generalized anxiety disorder in adult and pediatric patients: an evidence-based treatment review. Expert opinion on pharmacotherapy, 19(10), 1057-1070.