I’ve Missed a Dose of My Mental Health Medication, What Should I Do
Missing a dose can happen for ordinary reasons: a disrupted routine, travel, work, illness or simply forgetting.
Missing a dose can happen for ordinary reasons: a disrupted routine, travel, work, illness or simply forgetting.
The safest next step depends on the particular medicine and how it has been prescribed. MH360 cannot tell you whether to take a missed dose, skip it or change the timing.
Check the patient information supplied with your medicine and ask a pharmacist, GP or prescribing service if you are unsure.
Why there is no single missed-dose rule
Mental-health medicines differ in how long they remain in the body, how often they are taken and what can happen when a dose is delayed or missed.
Even medicines within the same broad class can have different instructions.
That is why a generic rule such as “always take it when you remember” is not safe enough for a guide covering many medicines.
Do not improvise with the next dose
Do not take extra medication or alter your prescribed schedule because an online discussion says that is what somebody else did.
Use the instructions supplied for your own medicine or obtain advice from a pharmacist or prescriber.
NICE notes that missed antidepressant doses can sometimes produce withdrawal symptoms, which is another reason to use medicine-specific professional guidance.
If you feel different after missing medication
You may notice nothing at all, or you may experience physical or emotional changes.
Do not assume automatically that every symptom is caused by the missed dose.
Tell the pharmacist, GP or prescriber what medicine you take, what happened and what you are experiencing so they can give advice relevant to the actual prescription.
If missed doses are happening regularly
Frequent missed doses are worth mentioning at a medication review.
The issue may be practical rather than medical: shift work, memory, a complicated routine or uncertainty about the medicine.
A pharmacist or prescriber can discuss the problem with you. MH360 does not recommend changing the timing, formulation or treatment yourself.
If you have taken more than prescribed
This is different from simply missing a dose.
Seek medicine-specific advice promptly rather than waiting for symptoms. NHS advice for individual medicines may direct people who have taken more than prescribed to NHS 111, with 999 or A&E appropriate for specified serious symptoms or emergencies.
If there is an immediate danger or life-threatening emergency, call 999 or go to A&E.
Last reviewed
6 September 2026
Important medication and mental health information
This guide provides general information only and is not medical advice. It is not intended to recommend any particular medicine, treatment, dose, change to medication or course of action.
Medicines can affect people differently. The appropriate treatment will depend on your individual circumstances, health, other medicines you take and the reason treatment has been prescribed.
Do not start, stop, reduce, increase, change or switch prescribed medication based on information in this guide. If you have questions or concerns about your medication, side effects, missed doses, withdrawal symptoms or whether treatment is helping, speak to your GP, prescribing clinician, pharmacist or another appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
If you think you may be experiencing a serious reaction to medication, seek urgent medical advice.
If you or somebody else is in immediate danger or there is a life-threatening emergency, call 999 or go to A&E. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis and need urgent help but it is not a life-threatening emergency, contact NHS 111 and select the mental health option, or use your local NHS urgent mental health service.