Antidepressants - How Is It Taken?

How Is It Taken?

Prescription antidepressants are taken orally, usually once a day, and usually in capsules or tablets. Some are available in liquid form for swallowing. It is very important that patients on antidepressants take their medications exactly as prescribed, even if the drugs do not seem to be working at first. In some cases, three to four weeks of antidepressant use may be needed before the effects of the drug can be observed.

The usual daily dose prescribed of an antidepressant can differ. For the SSRI Prozac, a patient is typically prescribed 20 to 40 milligrams per day. In higher doses, it has been used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)An anxiety disorder that causes people to dwell on unwanted thoughts, act on unusual urges, and perform repetitive rituals such as frequent hand washing. and the eating disorder bulimiaPronounced bull-EEM-eeh-yuh; an eating disorder that involves long periods of bingeing on food, followed by selfinduced vomiting and abuse of laxatives.. In 2002, Prozac became available in a once-a-week capsule-form that contains 90 milligrams of fluoxetine granules that are released over time. The effect of one of these capsules is equivalent to seven daily doses of 20 milligrams of Prozac.

Dosages of Zoloft, another SSRI, typically begin at 50 milligrams per day for adults and may be raised to 100 or 200 milligrams per day. When the SSRI Paxil is prescribed for depression, the initial dose is usually 20 milligrams per day. This dose may be increased to about 40 milligrams per day. Citalopram (Celexa) and escitalopram (Lexapro) are SSRIs that are gaining popularity for two reasons. First, their side effects are said to be minimal. Second, the risk of harmful interactions with other drugs is low. As of 2005, drug

Prozac was the first SSRI approved for use in the treatment of depression. Photo by Stephen Chernin/Getty Images.
Prozac was the first SSRI approved for use in the treatment of depression. Photo by Stephen Chernin/Getty Images.

researchers noted a definite increase in the number of prescriptions being written for these two particular antidepressants.