The Role of Medication in Treatment

Pharmacotherapy is an essential field in the medical area and help in ensuring that patients get proper treatment that guarantees that they will feel better eventually. The use of medication to treat patients is widespread, and records prove that medicine plays a vital role in treatment. Pharmacotherapy has many advantages and drawbacks. For one to be involved in such field-specific implications apply as either a student or LPN.

Pharmacotherapy plays a great importance in reducing issues of obesity and overweight. Weight problems and obesity are one of the most massive problems that are affecting the public health sector globally. According to WHO, weight-related issues affect research outcomes, about 40% of the population and more than 13% of these cases are linked to obesity, and since the 1980s, the number of people that are affected by weight-related issues has doubled. Weight reduction drugs are essential since weight reduction takes a lot of work that needs one to switch their lifestyle and eating habits something that most people find hard to archive (Mauk, 2017). Weight reduction medication is classified as those that raise satiety with the aid of noradrenergic activities such as mazindol and phentermine amongst others. Those that change food absorption  of the nutrients  such as orlistat, drugs that raise expenditure of energy such as  liraglutide and finally those that shift brain reward component when taking food such as lorcaserin and phentermine/topiramate amongst others (Biederman, Wilens, Mick, Spencer, & Faraone, 2016). According to Thase et al., (2017), noradrenergic medication is not recommended for long-term use however, people still use these drugs, especially in Latin America. Karch (2016) When deciding on medication to treat weight-related issues the patient medical history has to be considered primarily related cardiovascular problems since when using  Noradrenergic medicines on such patients there are records that show effects such as tachycardia high blood pressure, arrhythmias, intracranial bleeding and pulmonary hypertension hence this drug is not advised for long time use( Karch 2016). Orlistat is being used for the long-term in Europe since it works by reversing and inhibiting pancreatic and gastric lipases needed for hydrolysis of lipids. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) plays an important role and is used in replacement of cigarettes after an abrupt smoking cessation or used to reduce the amount of smoke immediately after an attempt to quit smoking (Potter et al., 2014). NRT is also used to treat craving for tobacco and reduce second-hand smoking while still minimize compensation for smoking after avoiding to smoke in no-smoking zones. There are several NRT preparations available in different range and strength and include transdermal patches, an inhalator, lozenges, gums, a nasal spray and sublingual tablets. Pharmacotherapy plays an essential role in the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders (ADHD); this condition was treated initially with stimulants with dosage being administered multiple times in a day (Potter et al., 2015). According to Karch (2016), Data that demonstrated the efficiency of treating of ADHD amongst children have always been recorded since the 1970s amongst children and since then tremendous advancement has been made for the previous 40 years. Potter et al., (2014) suggests that ADHD studies show that stimulants play an essential role in treating ADHD. The report shows that in two out of three people treated with stimulants for ADHD show noticeable changes after 30 minutes of ingestion. Medication is essential in solving and managing sexual dysfunction issues, but of late these medications have been for explaining indications and sexual side effects related to sexual dysfunction. Erectilex disorder tops, the list when looking for medical sexual dysfunction issues (Mauk, 2017).

             Medication has some drawbacks when treating specific conditions. Drugs can play an essential role in the treatment of depression, and even though anti-depressants may be safe, they may have unpleasant side effects they may help in changing one’s mood Potter et al., (2014). Many anti-depressants have many side effects to those using them such as sexual side effects, sedation or increased suicidal thoughts and weight gain. Before one takes an anti-depressant, it is advisable to seek a medical recommendation for the medication with fewer potential side effects (Karch 2016).Some drugs that treat depression may be harmless with effects like mild fatigue and increase in weight while others can affect one’s life dramatically like having sexual side effects. Medication for treating depression may have consequences and if a victim sees that they cannot handle the side effects, they can talk with their doctors to switch dosage or change the medications (Biederman et al., 2016). Medicines that treat depression increase suicidal thoughts and make patients harmful to themselves and if they feel this, they need to talk to their doctor or talk to someone else before harming himself or herself. Drug maintenance or replacement therapy takes advantage of a substance with the same chemical characteristics as those that are contained in a drug but have increased benign effects and is used in heroin addicts to treat them (Thase et al., 2017). The usage of specific medication such as Methadone or Suboxone can never help the patients using them if the dosage used is not used as prescribed by a doctor and if used with alcohol, drugs or pharmaceutical medications cause many risks. Some of this drugs that help to treat patients can end up being used for long since some patient may face difficulties to recover from specific addiction even if they have not been using the drug for long hence drugs such as methadone or Suboxone can be used as replacements due to the relapse that victims face. Mauk, (2017) suggests that  most patients use medications to treat their problems, but few of them have approval for usage example in the US only four drugs namely acamprosate, injectable naltrexone, disulfiram, oral naltrexone have been approved for alcohol dependency while only three approved for opioid addictions namely methadone, injectable naltrexone, buprenorphine. According to Thase et al., (2017), some medications only provide small to medium expected outcomes especially those that treat for drinking problems. The analysis suggests that naltrexone display mixed outcomes when promoting abstinence and somewhat more effective in preventing relapse. Acamprosate mainly demonstrates efficiency in the maintenance abstinence but is less useful when it comes to declining to heavy drinking. Naltrexone is only valid among patients that are already in abstinent. Cases have been reported of drug-related problems especially amongst patients that are suffering from type two diabetes mellitus (T2DM) though few studies have been conducted for patients with dyslipidemia (Biederman et al., 2016). Polypharmacy, poor lipid control, Male gender, renal impairment are some of the factors associated with drug problems amongst people living with diabetic dyslipidemia. Such drugs as lipid-modifying, anti-diabetic agent and Anti-hypertensive are the drugs mainly related to DRPs (Potter et al., 2014).

            Some implications are needed for one to be a nursing student or be a Licensed Practitioner Nurse (LPN).Being a nurse requires that one master correctly time balancing and one should be able to plan of time how to sub-divide time for classes, family, studying among other areas of one’s life (Mauk, 2017). The student should be able also to have enough time to rest. Nursing students require a lot of time to be dedicated on school work ranging from assignments, papers, tests and a student should ensure that every day is allocated enough study time (Biederman et al., 2016). Nursing students need to study smart and avoid cramming since the knowledge gained in school is what will be of great use to a student when in the field since the field requires that nurses make accurate and well thought-out decisions. Good studying habits  can be achieved by a student by efficiently studying, taking enough time to do assignments, taking tests to see if concepts are grasped and avoiding destructions. According to Karch (2016) For a student to excel in nursing one has to ensure that they show they are caring and are empathetic. A good nurse not only performs well in class but also tries to show that they care for the patient and asks the patient how they feel and even at times inquires to know what the patient needs for the patient to feel comforted or have a sense of well-being also to the family (Karch 2016). Great nursing students do not take the harsh feedback from lecturers negatively but instead take them positively to improve in their area of study. Nursing as a field has high stakes hence the advice that is given by the instructor, or the clinical supervisor might be useful in future in saving a patient’s life and should be taken seriously (Mauk, 2017). Dressing professionally is also a critical area to consider for those that want to become nurses since the way one dress gives a great impression of who you are. The hair should always be clean and tied back and clothes pressed, jewelry should be kept to the minimum, the make-up should be simple, and the nails should be short and tidy without nail polish (Mauk, 2017)

            Pharmacotherapy is vital for treating patients. Drugs and medications though they have advantages have certain drawbacks. There are great implications for someone that wants to pursue nursing or for one to be an LPN.

References

Biederman, J., Wilens, T., Mick, E., Spencer, T., & Faraone, S. V. (2016). Pharmacotherapy of Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Reduces Risk for Substance Use Disorder. Pediatrics, 104(2), e20–e20.

Karch, A. M., & Karch. (2016). Focus on nursing pharmacology. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Mauk, K. (2017). Gerontological Nursing: Competencies for Care. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Potter, P. A., Perry, A. G., Stockert, P. A., & Hall, A. M. (2014). Canadian fundamentals of nursing (9th Cdn. ed.)(JC Ross-Kerr, MJ Wood, BJ Astle & W. Duggleby, Cdn. Adapt.).

Thase, M. E., Greenhouse, J. B., Frank, E., Reynolds, C. F., Pilkonis, P. A., Hurley, K., … Kupfer, D. J. (2017). Treatment of Major Depression With Psychotherapy or Psychotherapy-Pharmacotherapy Combinations. Archives of General Psychiatry, 54(11), 1009–1015.