Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of psychopharmacological

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Psychopharmacology NURS 520-AP1

 

Module 3 discussion

 

Goal: To analyze and apply critical thinking skills in the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of psychopharmacological agents for patient treatment and health promotion while applying evidence-based research.

 

 

Chapter 11, Case 1 Lotus is a 36-year-old Asian American female who recently started a new executive position with an advertising firm. While she loves her new job and the field of advertising, she admits that the new schedule is grueling and that she often doesn’t get home until quite late. She has noticed that it is difficult for her to relax before getting to bed and her mind often wanders to the many tasks she needs to complete when she returns to work in the morning. These “racing thoughts” result in significant initial insomnia, causing her to be alert for nearly an hour or more before she is able to fall asleep. When questioned about these symptoms, she claims that she has never seen a therapist before, doesn’t consider herself to be anxious or depressed, and has never had a problem with sleeping in the past. There are no worries of money or health-related issues, and she claims to enjoy her job and the people with whom she works. She even does not find these thoughts unpleasant, as she uses the time to plan her next day. She admits that they are just a bit intrusive and that she really needs to wind down and get more rest.
Questions: Remember to answer these questions from your textbooks and clinical guidelines to create your evidence based treatment plan. At all times, explain your answers. 

1.    Summarize the clinical case.

2.    Create a list of the patient’s problems and prioritize them.

3.    Which pharmacological treatment would you prescribe? Include the rationale for this treatment.

4.    Which non-pharmacological treatment would you prescribe?   Include the rationale for this treatment.

5.    Include an assessment of treatment’s appropriateness, cost, effectiveness, safety, and potential for patient adherence.

 

Submission Instructions:

  • Your initial post should be at least 500 words, formatted and cited in current APA style with support from at least 2 academic sources. Your initial post is worth 8 points.
  • You should respond to at least two of your peers by extending, refuting/correcting, or adding additional nuance to their posts. Your reply posts are worth 2 points (1 point per response.)
  • All replies must be constructive and use literature where possible.
  • Please post your initial response by 11:59 PM ET Thursday, and comment on the posts of two classmates by 11:59 PM ET Sunday.

Answer preview

Insomnia can negatively affect a person’s health and quality of life. Despite this, various pharmacological treatments can be used to treat the disorder ((Fernandez-Mendoza & Vgontzas, 2013). Furthermore, when prescribing medications to deal with insomnia, health care professionals should be alive of the adverse side effects they might have on patients’ well-being and health, such as altering their waking patterns (Fernandez-Mendoza &Vgontzas, 2013). In line with this, to help Lotus, I will prescribe Zolpidem 10mg, to be taken orally every day before going to bed and on an empty stomach. Zolpidem is a drug that belongs to a class of medications referred to as sedative-hypnotics and is typically used to treat insomnia (Sateia et al., 2017). It will act on the patient’s brain and generate a calming effect. Due to this, Lotus will fall asleep quicker and get better rest (Sateia et al., 2017).

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pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of psychopharmacological