Medication can be a key treatment for many illnesses and conditions.
You can ask any of our staff about medication, its uses and side effects.
Mental Health
Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust also subscribes to a national website to improve access to good quality information about medicines used in mental health, enabling choice and better communication on issues such as side effects.
Information about the types of medicines that might be used for a particular mental health condition can be looked up by selecting the condition from a drop down menu. So for depression for example this gives an overview of the main alternatives to treating depression, including self-help, talking therapies and medicines. It then gives more information about the medicines available; a section on looking at concerns raised about whether antidepressants work; which are most commonly used as the first treatment, more specialised etc, with a link to national guidelines such as NICE. There is also chart comparing medicines used for depression, which can help choice by showing which are most likely to cause drowsiness, weight gain or other aspects that can be a concern. The website tries to be very balanced, so for instance as well as its own chart comparing antidepressants, it also provides a link to the Depression Alliance website, so that you can see what what they say about making choices between treatments.
A news section gives updates on new medicines eg lisdexamfetamine for ADHD, discontinued medicines such as tryptophan and updates such as progress in reducing the use of antipsychotics in dementia.
For each medicine there is also very detailed information covering what it is; the usual dose; how to take it; how long it might take to work; how long to take it for; is it addictive; how to stop it; side effects and how to manage them; interactions with food, alcohol or other medicines; effects of smoking; driving; starting a family and much more. Choice and Medication tries to provide information in a way that people can apply to their individual situation, so in some sections there is also advice about questions that might be useful to ask about your treatment.
The ‘Choice and Medication’ website can be accessed here
Pregnancy
The BUMPS website gives information about the effects of medication on pregnancy.
The site has an A-Z list of leaflets about all sorts of medication, and you can also register your own pregnancy and record your expereinces to help improve the advice given by the UK Teratology Information Service (UKTIS). UKTIS is a not-for-profit organisation funded by Public Health England on behalf of the UK Health Departments.
The information is not intended to replace the individual care and advice of your health care provider. The decision to start, stop, continue or change a medicine before or during pregnancy should be made together with your health care provider. When deciding whether or not to use a medicine in pregnancy you need to weigh up how the medicine might improve your and/or your unborn baby’s health against any possible problems that the drug may cause.
You can also sign up to record your pregnancy, and the effects of any medication, to help women in the future.