A newly diagnosed female patient stopped taking her selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) within 3 days because “they were making me sick.” She is experiencing fatigue, cloudy thinking, and light nausea that is not associated with emesis.
Assignment Guidelines
Respond to the following questions as if you are the patient’s FNP. These prompts accompanied the case study that was provided as ancillary material in your Woo and Wright (2024) textbook.
How do you respond?
The patient responds by questioning why these medications were ordered when the underlying issue is that she typically have the worst problems just prior to her monthly menses. The symptoms improve about three days into her period. What associated diagnosis may be occurring?
The patient explains that, “like clockwork”, the week or so prior to her period she can hardly go to work due to severe cramping, a feeling that she is on edge all the time, mood swings, and strong feelings of anxiety not associated with any one specific thing. She only wants to sleep to avoid other people and how they are “always putting me down.” The feelings are getting worse as she approaches menopause. Does she fit the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (fifth edition; DSM-V) criteria for either anxiety or depression? Why or why not?