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Mental Health  (Expert Forum)
 | 
a few simple questions....
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
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.

a few simple questions....

by englishlad, Dec 17, 2006 12:00AM
Can anxiety/panic attacks cause any damage to the human body?

Also, i've been reading alot about zoloft lately and i've heard that you cannot drink alcohol while taking it. Is this true? Why do doctors say this? I'm sure one of the reasons is that it will make you even more drowsy, but what is the main biggest reason for not being able to drink alcohol while taking zoloft?

p.s... I've been considering Zoloft for myself, and i also want to just point out that i dont drink much at all. I am a 25 year old male and a light social drinker and 50% of the time, I usually drink red wine... =)

by Roger Gould, M.D., Dec 19, 2006 12:00AM
Anxiety/panic attacks can raise your blood pressure and pulse so if you have an underlying heart problem, that can be a consideration.  Drinking and Zoloft are dangerous because of excessive drowsiness, and also because of potential convulsions if you drink too much.
Member Comments (5)

by sparkeler, Dec 19, 2006 12:00AM
As far as it's been studied, there are no definitive findings regarding the long term physical side effects, or deaths related to anxiety. Anxiety in its severest forms does seem to put a lot of stress on a persons body, but there isn't any absolute studies showing anxiety will cause any particular serious health problems.
Drinking alcohol while on Zoloft isn't recommended b/c it can increase some of the side effects.  However, your not supposed to drink on any medication.  As long as you don't over do it, I don't see the harm on 1 or 2 drinks. I'm on Lexapro and I have a couple now and then.  You have to know yourself and your limit.

by headshrinker, Dec 21, 2006 12:00AM
If it's a manic episode instead of a panic attack, you may be losing brain cells with each bout.  You should seek evaluation, diagnosis and proper treatment to be safe.
-headshrinker MD-

by bri825, Jan 26, 2007 12:00AM
Hi everyone,
I recently have been suffering from anxiety and depression. My questions are since all of this came crashing down all at once is it normal to think the worst of the worst? 2nd i have a great physchologist and i have a lot of trust in them, my thoughts have gone way out of whack, stuff i would never think of has been running through my head and it scares me to the point of panic attacks, will i ever get to the point where i can look back on this and know that i beat it? I just started 25 mg of zoloft and i have a as needed prescription for the panic attacks, i know it's to early to know that it is working, but will this help get my thoughts back in order? thank you so much for any answers.

by neko0127, Feb 04, 2007 12:00AM
ever been to singapore specialists?

http://www.emedihub.com/search_rs.php?mode=2&specialty=37
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