Miss Essex
Miss Essex is an obese young diabetic woman with serious mental health problems. She regularly sees both her GP and her psychiatrist.
She is prescribed a diabetic tablet called Metformin which helps reduce blood sugar levels and Enalapril Maleate to lower her blood pressure.
She has also been prescribed a number obesity drugs. Orlistat reduces the absorption of fat from the intestine which can contribute to weight loss especially when combined with an appropriate diet. Fenfluramine is an appetite suppressant which used to be prescribed to obese people but was withdrawn following reports of serious side effects.
Her mental health problems are complex, including both depressive and psychotic illnesses. She has been prescribed a number of antidepressants such as Prozac and Mirtazepine. She has also taken Stelazine, an anti-psychotic drug, and in turn Procyclidine to combat some of the severe side effects of Stelazine.
One of the consequences of her poor mental health is that at times she continues to collect her prescriptions but does not take the drugs. These hoards of pills have been collected from her often months or years after they have been prescribed.
2002