Please explain the treatment of depression?
Psy: There are various approaches to the treatment but the commonest and simplest so far, for a FP at his clinic remains the antidepressant oral drugs. The most widely prescribed drugs are tricyclics like imipramine, amitriptyline, dothiepin etc. The dosage ranges from 50-200 mg/day. Most of the patients respond to approximately 75-150 mg/day. There may be adverse effects such as dryness of mouth, constipation, mild postural hypertension, tremulousness etc. The antidepressant effect begins after the second week. This fact needs to be explained to the patient and the relatives. Of the newer drugs, fluoxetine is promising. The dosage is 20-60 mg/day. It can be given during the day, as it does not cause sedation. Depressive symptoms should subside after 4-8 weeks but the drug needs to be continued at least for 6 months. This also depends on the individual patient. The entire treatment needs to be supervised by a close relative. Any deterioration should be immediately reported by the relat
