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How Can Acute Depression Be Treated?
my husband is on depression medication (tried to commit suicide a year ago), and for the past year has been sleeping almost 24/7 I can't get him up to bath, go outside do chores or even activities I have bought him. Nothing will get him up out of bed. I am at my wits ends & don’t know what to do? His therapist is on vacation and doesn't seem to care about my husband's condition.
Mon, 1 Sep 2014
Hello and welcome to Healthcare Magic. Thanks for your query.
I understand that you are feeling distressed and frustrated about your husband's condition. You have mentioned that he has been diagnosed to have depression and is on antidepressant medication. But he has not shown any major improvement and is sleeping excessively.
Excessive sleep can be either due to the effect of the antidepressant medication or due to the depression which is still not controlled. In such a case, his medication needs to be changed to something with no sedating effects. There are certain antidepressants which do not have any significant sedation effects like Escitalopram, Venlafaxine, Bupropion, etc. Also, a change in antidepressant to a different category could possibly have a better treatment response. So, I would suggest that you discuss with your husband's doctor regarding a change of his anti-depressant medication.
Wish you all the best.
Regards,
Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar
Consultant Psychiatrist
I understand that you are feeling distressed and frustrated about your husband's condition. You have mentioned that he has been diagnosed to have depression and is on antidepressant medication. But he has not shown any major improvement and is sleeping excessively.
Excessive sleep can be either due to the effect of the antidepressant medication or due to the depression which is still not controlled. In such a case, his medication needs to be changed to something with no sedating effects. There are certain antidepressants which do not have any significant sedation effects like Escitalopram, Venlafaxine, Bupropion, etc. Also, a change in antidepressant to a different category could possibly have a better treatment response. So, I would suggest that you discuss with your husband's doctor regarding a change of his anti-depressant medication.
Wish you all the best.
Regards,
Dr. Jonas Sundarakumar
Consultant Psychiatrist
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