Posted by Dr. Kramer on April 2, 2002, at 9:32:51
In reply to Kramer (or anyone) why do side effects start first, posted by BlueJay Bird on April 1, 2002, at 14:43:09
> Dr. Kramer or anyone else with info:
>
> why is it that when starting a psychiatric med, side effects begin immediately, and then it takes several weeks before the med starts to kick in (if it even does)? why do side effects start first, before any benefits of the med? thank you.Great question. Short answer: no one knows for sure. What we do know is that side effects (s/e)tend to be much worse when the amount of drug in the blood is changing as oppssed to steady, so s/e are always going to be worse when you start a new med until the amount you take every day is about the same as the amount your body burns up every day. The big difference with psych meds between s/e and desired effect is that the latter is behaviorally based as well as phyiologically based, while s/e are usually pure physiology. As a result, it takes longer to get an effect because its a downstream phenomenon. In my columns, I've written that it's like playing Pool, only in this case you hit a ball to hit a ball, to hit a ball probably many times over. This takes time.
poster:Dr. Kramer
thread:101317
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020402/msgs/101446.html