Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Seratonin levels
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD) , bipolar disorder , dementia , electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) , learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) , panic , personality disorders, phobias , post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , schizophrenia , stress , transitions, and work problems.
Seratonin levels
by NL, Oct 24, 1999 12:00AM
Im going through some health problems right now. Ive had 1 doctor tell me that I have an anxiety disorder that is causing all the tingling, burning, and muscle cramping in my body. He tried me on elavil which greatly increased my heart rate. Ive been on Ativan which has been "ok", but not a real big help. My question is, how can one be certain that a person has an anxiety or depression disorder? How are seratonin levels measured in the body? Thank you
Doctor's Answer
by HFHS.MD-AJ, Oct 27, 1999 12:00AM
NL,
With the limited information provided, it would be impossible for me to give you a diagnosis. Your symptoms of tingling, burning and mucle cramping should be evaluated by your primary care physician, to rule out medical/neurological causes. If no medical/neurological causes are found, your symptoms may be due to an anxiety or somatoform disorder, in which case you may find consultation with a mental health professional helpful. Serotonin levels in the body are usually measured indirectly, by obtaining levels of a serotonin metabolite (5-Hydroxyindoleacetic acid, 5-HIAA) in urine or cerebrospinal fluid samples. It is not standard clinical practice to measure serotonin levels, except in research settings. Please refer to our forum archives for more information on anxiety and depression, and discuss your concerns further with your treating physician.
With the limited information provided, it would be impossible for me to give you a diagnosis. Your symptoms of tingling, burning and mucle cramping should be evaluated by your primary care physician, to rule out medical/neurological causes. If no medical/neurological causes are found, your symptoms may be due to an anxiety or somatoform disorder, in which case you may find consultation with a mental health professional helpful. Serotonin levels in the body are usually measured indirectly, by obtaining levels of a serotonin metabolite (5-Hydroxyindoleacetic acid, 5-HIAA) in urine or cerebrospinal fluid samples. It is not standard clinical practice to measure serotonin levels, except in research settings. Please refer to our forum archives for more information on anxiety and depression, and discuss your concerns further with your treating physician.
