Texas-based Bryan White of Dallas is a medical professional specializing in elderly and hospice care, and he explains below how antidepressants can be harmful to elderly patients.
For decades, Bryan White Dallas has overseen care at many top-rated medical facilities in Texas where he’s gained a reputation for state-of-the-art procedures and healthcare. Bryan’s developed an extensive understanding of hospice and elderly patient needs, and, below, explains how these patients are at an especially high risk of negative side effects when prescribed overly large doses of antidepressants.
“Elderly patients and those involved in hospice care are likely to face issues with morbidity like never before, and, as a result, often face extreme symptoms of depression as well,” says Bryan White Dallas. “Antidepressants are an effective solution for many, but they’re handled carelessly too often by professionals, which often results in even more negative side effects for the patient.”
Bryan White of Dallas tells us that depression while affecting a startling amount of patients around the world, is especially common in elderly patients who rarely receive proper help and support. While the diagnoses antidepressants for the ones that need it most, he understands that these patients are at a unique risk and responds with tailored dosage plans instead of a one-size-fits-all approach.
Elderly patients don’t have strong immune systems, organ function, or recovery as younger adults, which means that medications like antidepressants can affect their bodies much more strongly. Besides damage to essential organs, antidepressants may cause side effects like diminished cognitive function, delirium, and constipation among others. Each of these, while being harmful to any patient, can be especially detrimental to the progressive health of elderly patients.
“Because of the physiology of aging––decreased cell function and organ performance, namely––geriatric patients are more likely to experience negative side effects of medication,” says Bryan White Dallas. “It’s possible they may experience a reduced liver size or decreased filtration, which can result in permanent damage to the body. It’s because of this that doctors and caregivers must be extra vigilant against incorrect dosages, otherwise, they have the potential to exacerbate pre-existing medical conditions and harm the patient more in the long-run.”
Bryan White Dallas has proposed stronger regulations on antidepressants to wide success at major forums in his state, and he’s instituted a dosage reduction protocol for antidepressant administration for elderly patients, which has proven successful in many medical facilities that provide skilled and long term nursing care.
“These patients need special attention and care, and we can’t overlook the fact that antidepressants and other medications are extremely harmful to them if not administered with patients’ individual care in mind,” says Bryan White Dallas.