Sign-in to Ask A Doctor - 24x7
OR
Sign in with Google
Suffering From Depression And Sleep Disorder. Experienced Heaviness In Brain After Medication. Suggest The Right Course Of Treatment
Question: my father is 72 years old and since few months he is suffering from depression and sleep disorder. so recently we visited a psychologist and he prescribed him following medicines:-Nexito 5(Escitalopram),frisium 5(clobazom),Nootropil 800,Evion 400 (Vitamin E), and SOS tablet clonazepam.but after taking the medicine, my father experienced drowsiness, weakness and heaviness in brain. last year also he had similar problem and then the physician suggested him Zoly plus(Etizolam) and as per his MRI scan report (which was also got conducted last year)his brain has shrink due to old age. please suggest the right course of medicine and treatment.
Brief Answer:
Benzodiazepines are responsible.
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Welcome to Healthcare Magic!
Going by your father's age, he needs to be prescribed only those medicines that are absolutely necessary and that too in low dosages. Otherwise, he will be prone to developing side effects.
I do not know why he was prescribed Frisium. Frisium is a long acting benzodiazepine usually used to treat epilepsy. It can cause sedation and the side effects you have described, particularly if he was taking clonazepam as well, which also is a long acting benzodiazepine and can cause a lot of sedation. In view of his age, etizolam would be safer for him as it causes the least sedation among all benzodiazepines. Please discuss this with your doctor and ask him for a change in the prescription.
Zoly Plus contains both escitalopram 5 mg and etizolam 0.5 mg. Of the two, only etizolam should have been discontinued, but escitalopram should have been continued for around a year or more. Probably that was not done and so he has suffered a relapse.
If you have consulted a psychologist, then please find a psychiatrist as a psychologist is neither trained nor licensed to prescribe medicines.
Hope this helps you. Please feel free to ask if you need any clarifications.
Best wishes.
Dr Preeti Parakh
MD Psychiatry
Benzodiazepines are responsible.
Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Welcome to Healthcare Magic!
Going by your father's age, he needs to be prescribed only those medicines that are absolutely necessary and that too in low dosages. Otherwise, he will be prone to developing side effects.
I do not know why he was prescribed Frisium. Frisium is a long acting benzodiazepine usually used to treat epilepsy. It can cause sedation and the side effects you have described, particularly if he was taking clonazepam as well, which also is a long acting benzodiazepine and can cause a lot of sedation. In view of his age, etizolam would be safer for him as it causes the least sedation among all benzodiazepines. Please discuss this with your doctor and ask him for a change in the prescription.
Zoly Plus contains both escitalopram 5 mg and etizolam 0.5 mg. Of the two, only etizolam should have been discontinued, but escitalopram should have been continued for around a year or more. Probably that was not done and so he has suffered a relapse.
If you have consulted a psychologist, then please find a psychiatrist as a psychologist is neither trained nor licensed to prescribe medicines.
Hope this helps you. Please feel free to ask if you need any clarifications.
Best wishes.
Dr Preeti Parakh
MD Psychiatry
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
Get personalised answers from verified doctor in minutes across 80+ specialties
