Hey, Where'd all the SSRIs go?

So Sinequan has been "re-labeled" as a sleeping pill. No one would seriously consider mixing Sinequan with, say, Ambien, but they would mix it with Celexa in a minute.

Antipsychotics are now being relabeled as antidepressants. For example, when an antipsychotic is used for depression (or anxiety) it is thought of as an antidepressant, not an antipsychotic. So is Abilify and Seroquel are used together, Abilify is considered the antipsychotic, and Seroquel the anti-anxiety/antidepressant (or sleeper). In this example, it would have been better off to prescribe Ability and an antidepressant, which is both safer and cheaper than prescribing two antipsychotics. Or, if sedation is important, a doctor could simply prescribe enough Seroquel alone to function as both an antipsychotic and an antidepressant or anti-anxiety pill.

I'm not against using medications for multiple effects, but it seems wasteful, if not a little unsafe, to duplicate therapy. Celexa and Sinequan aren't so bad together - they are a relatively safe combination, and Sinequan and Celexa are both generic drugs. The combination of Abilify and Seroquel is, frankly, silly.

If you take more than three medications for depression, or any psychiatric condition, for that matter, ask your doctor specifically what each drug is supposed to be doing. If two drugs are doing the same thing, especially if they are two new drugs, ask whether or not they are both necessary.