Treatment Resistant Anxiety
Treatment resistant anxiety is very troubling for a patient with anxiety because it seems as if nothing will help. However, there are strategies and approaches that can help assuage treatment resistant anxiety.
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Medication
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It is first necessary to make sure the patient has been on a high enough dose of medication for a long enough period of time. Often treatment resistant simply means that the medication dose has been inadequate.
Substance Abuse
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Next, it is necessary to confirm that the patient is not abusing substances. Substance abuse can undermine the treatment of anxiety completely.
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Depression
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If the patient is suffering from depression, the treatment of anxiety can be undermined. A therapeutic provider can confirm that the patient is not suffering from depression.
Medical Conditions
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It is possible that instead of anxiety, the patient is suffering from a medical condition. It is important to check for and rule out the following conditions: thyroid disorder, arrhythmia and complex partial seizure.
Panic Disorder Patients
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Panic disorder patients who have been unresponsive to other drugs frequently respond to high-potency benzodiazepines, monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors, serotonin reuptake inhibitors or various combinations of these drugs.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
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Patients with generalized anxiety disorder who are unresponsive to benzodiazepines may respond to buspirone or a tricyclic antidepressant.
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