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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
?'s Claritan, light Tx, never answered my posted 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.
?'s Claritan, light Tx, never answered my posted questions
by Nebula, Oct 18, 2001 12:00AM
Dear Dr., I had posted several questions throughout the forum that you never answered. 1st of all - I take 40 mg of Paxil and have for over 2 years, I do Yoga, I cardio workout, and I've taken Stress Management. The questions are 1.) about using Claritan to help with my anxiety disorder, how I've been on Paxil for over 2 years 40mg and it doesn't help me anymore and not one dr. is taking patients in my region of the state, and 2.) my psychiatrist says I'm too young to start switching to other SSRI's to see if they'd work (I'm 24). 3.) Plus my anxiety happens in the fall and winter, so I'm thinking I could possibly have SAD. (I spend much of the summer in the sun doing Aquatic Therapy outdoors) My first Aid teacher told me to go to Office Depot just to try one of their full-spectrum desk lamps to GET AN EXAMPLE if light Tx would help me, but 4.) IS LIGHT THERAPY DANGEROUS WITH ALREADY BEING ON A SSRI- PAXIL 40mg FOR >2 years? My Psychiatrist was too quick to say I do not have SAD(right after I met him), but I'm doing research on SAD in my Mental Health Concepts class and with having Anxiety when I do, I think I may have SAD. My Anxiety has caused me to have a 48 hour Holter Moniter to make sure I wasn't having cardiac problems, along with EKG's and stuff. Please answer my questions. Thank you.
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., Oct 18, 2001 12:00AM
, Oct 18, 2001 12:00AM
Claritin is an antihistamine with ephedrine component, so its the last thing I would take to quiet anxiety, since it tends to have an anxiety raising component, including effect on heart rhthym in some cases.
There is no reason to not experiment with light therapy. It certainly works with many people. You are young, and you should continue to work on understanding your emotional life so you can master the anxiety, rather than having to cope with it through these other methods.
There is no reason to not experiment with light therapy. It certainly works with many people. You are young, and you should continue to work on understanding your emotional life so you can master the anxiety, rather than having to cope with it through these other methods.
Member Comments (2)
by Nebula, Oct 18, 2001 12:00AM
To: Dr. Roger Gould
Thank you - I will stop the Claritin and go to try the full-spectrum bulb. My husband is going to build me a light box, and I suspect it'll be part of my Christmas present. Thank you so much!!! :)
