What Causes Depressive Symptoms?

Brief Answer: Could be a depression or depressive symptoms Detailed Answer: Hello, Thanks for choosing health care magic for posting your query. I have gone through your question in detail and I can understand what you are going through. A 26 year old male, when complains of difficulty in his ability to think clearly suggests following 2 possibilities: 1) Attention deficit disorder (ADD) 2) Depression/depressive symptoms ADD is a very common entity. Earlier it was thought that it doesnt progress in adulthood. However now this is considered wrong and there are plenty of adult attention deficit disorder. Such patients are not able to think clearly and are disorganized, forgetful, not able to keep up with commitments etc. Methylphenidate is a good drug for this illness. At 10-20mg there is a tremendous improvement in the symptoms. The other possibility is depression. Depression can occur with regular stress and it can also occur biologically without any stress as well. You need proper treatment for the same. There are various effective therapies for depression like fluoxetine, venlafaxine, bupropion, mirtazapine or escitalopram and they are all very effective and mostly safe. You may also require some benzodiazepines like clonazepam or lorazepam for a short period like 2-3 weeks to reduce the anxiety and help with your sleep. If you are averse to the drug therapies then there is also an option of cognitive behavioural therapy. This therapy is taken by either a psychologist or a psychiatrist in which the therapist identifies impaired cognitions (Thoughts) and try to correct them. They are 15-20 min weekly session and there should be around 8-10 sessions to help you with your illness. Further meditation, especially the mindfullness meditation helps in improving these conditions. Hope I am able to answer your concerns. If you have any further query, I would be glad to help you. If not, you may close the discussion and if possible you may rate the answer for me, so that I get a good feedback. In future if you wish to contact me directly, you can use the below mentioned link: bit.ly/dr-srikanth-reddy Wish you good health, Kind regards Dr. Srikanth Reddy M.D.

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Brief Answer: Problems with law Detailed Answer: Hello As health care magic is an online forum, legally we are not supposed to prescribe medications without physically examining you. Such regulation are primarily meant for the safety of the patients as well as the Doctor. Sincere apologies for the same. Further the medicines are used to treat ADD are stimulants are considered drugs of abuse and hence they wont be available even with a simple doctor prescription. Prescription has to be that of a local doctor and that it should be in duplicate so that the pharmacist retains one copy. Moreover they are available in only 1-2 stores in a city XXXXXXX requires a special license . For my patients I prescribe Tab Addwise OD 18mg in the morning and if necessary increase the dose to 36 and 54 if required. They need to take this atleast for a year and then the decision to discontinue is contemplated. The best way would be to meet your local psychiatrist and get it prescribed through him. Regards Dr. Srikanth Reddy MD

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