I usually ask patients--particularly when they complain of depression and anxiety--if they have had a recent physical exam. I always ask new patients if they are taking any medications, and I've been pondering the possibility of asking patients to bring in a copy of their most recent physical exam results.
Many medical conditions and medications can cause psychiatric symptoms. Such medical conditions include stomach cancer, diabetes, and certain heart defects, among other conditions. Less serious but more common problems such as anemia and hypothyroidism cause sluggishness that mimics depression.
Hormone drugs such as birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy medications can cause depression. Several of my female patients have told me their depression decreased markedly when they stopped taking birth control pills.
Sleep medications and short-acting anti-anxiety medications can cause rebound anxiety. And let's not forget that caffeine is a drug--although it's "over the counter" at Starbucks--and it can cause anxiety and insomnia.
Most persons who go to a doctor complaining of depression, anxiety or insomnia will be prescribed a pill. Sadly, not all doctors evaluate the possible underlying causes of these symptoms--which sometimes can be a pill the same doctor previously prescribed.
Before you start taking pills for anxiety, insomnia or depression, it's important to evaluate any possible role of a current drug or a medical condition.
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