QUESTION:
Dear Dr. Heller,
I am female and 32 years old. I have been diagnosed with depression of sorts. I also find it difficult to concentrate and can’t shut my brain off from worrying about things I shouldn’t concern myself with in the first place. I have tried Prozac it made me a nervous wreck. On Zoloft I gained 60 pounds and didn’t find it to really help. Effexor killed my stomach and made me nervous and could not sleep. Celexa seemed to be working but I started to gain weight again and got scared so I went off it. Now I am on Paxil for the past 3 weeks and it seemed to be helping (Got through Xmas really good), but the aftermath is not so good and I am starting to get down again on life, money, etc. Any suggestions on what medication might be good for me? Or if I can do it without any meds somehow(?). We don’t have very good doctors in this area so I feel like I am battling this alone – maybe you can suggest a good doctor in this field someplace near me within a few hours. I do visit So. California often as well.
ANSWER:
You clearly have the generalized anxiety disorder in addition to any other problems you have. BuSpar will not only treat it but will allow you to take medications like Zoloft and Prozac without those side effects. Take a good look at my screening test. I go into this phenomenon at length in “Biological Unhappiness”.