First Line of Medication for Depression

Olivia's Case
Name
Department, Institution Affiliation
Course Code; Course Name
Instructor's Name
Date
Olivia's Case
Depression is a common problem among underage girls caused by different social engagements. Depression is critical and requires a reliable medication that must consider the patient's age and condition. It is a condition of sadness and loss of interest in normal activities and social engagements (Segal et al., 2018). For instance, Olivia has lost interest in key activities such as drama and suffers other effects such as loss of appetite. Therefore, she must have an effective medication to restore her situation. The paper addresses an effective medication to resolve the depressive problem that Olivia undergoes.
First-line Medication
The most appropriate medication for Olivia is fluoxetine. The medication is effective for the severe depression which Olivia undergoes. Besides, fluoxetine is an appropriate medication prescribed by Food and Drug Administration for depressed teens (Micheli et al., 2018). Olivia is a teen and should not take an adult-based antidepressant. There are only two antidepressants for teens, Lexapro, and fluoxetine. However, fluoxetine handles extreme depression, which leads to loss of appetite, as indicated in the case study. The treatment guideline for fluoxetine is consuming 20 to 60mg daily. However, in extreme depression, such as Olivia's case, a maximum of 80mg daily can be used. The medication would restore Olivia's condition since it impacts the mood regardless of the severity of depression. The available evidence for the medication is that a depressed individual would improve energy, sleep, and appetite in 1-2 weeks. Therefore, it is easy to determine whether it is effective.
Mechanism of Action
Fluoxetine has a unique mechanism. However, its mechanism is not easily understandable without Presynaptic serotonin (5HT1A) receptors. The receptors are located...