AboutPatricia A. Schafer, Ph.D. Expertise I specialize in various forms of depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and also stress, phobias, life changes, grief, women's issues, men's issues, etc. My licenses are: Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor -Supervisor(LPCC-S) and Licensed Professional Chemical Dependency Counselor (LICDC) in the state of Ohio and a National Certified Counselor (NCC).
Experience 12 years experience counseling substance abusers, families of alcoholics/drug addictions, and those with codependency issues. I also specialize in social phobia; stress; anxieties; women`s issues; grief and adjustments to life changes. Some therapeutic techniques used are: CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), DBT (Dialectical Behaviorial Therapy)REBT (Rational Emotive), SFT (Solution Focused) and 12-Step, etc. If you live in the Cleveland area, you can contact me at my office for an appointment at: 440-349-4521. I am on various insurance panels and EAP programs.
Organizations ACA, OCA, NCC, OMHCA
Education/Credentials Ph.D. In counseling
MA In Counseling
BS In Psychology
Question Hi Patricia- I am a 51yo WM 6'0 190 and fit. Faithfull about annual physicals- all normal. Have been on Zocor for 4 months, been divorced for 2 yrs after a 23 yr marriage and just ended a one yr relationship. Experiencing the following (mild to moderate) symptoms:anxious,nervousness,difficulty relaxing,irretible,restless,overthinking,worrying,lack of concentration,lack of energy,lightheaded/spacey,transient feeling of pins and needles in feet and hands. Would like to distinguish between side effects of medication and emotional symptoms.Thank-you for any insight you may have.
Bob
Answer Hi Bob:
Thinking about if your symptoms are a reaction to Zocor - I suggest going to medscape.com web site and look up reactions. Also, does your doctor know you have these reactions. Are they all since you began Zocor?
Or have all the symptoms started since your relationship broke up.
I strongly suggest a complete doctor's physical from your family physician because of the feelings of pins and needles in hands and feet. May be something neurological or have something to do with heart all. Have your blood pressure checked out too.
The other symptoms could be a mixture of depression and anxiety - which go hand in hand in many cases. To educate yourself about depression, anxiety, etc. I suggest type in Dr. Ivan Goldberg and his web site will pop up. He has some self assessments to do on depression, etc. Do some of those and if the results show symptoms of depression, etc. make a copy and take them to the doctors.
Also, there is something going on with middle aged men that depression hits them all of a sudden. There is a book by Terrence Real - "I don't want to talk about it" that is very informative about depression hitting later in life. I think it may be at your local library. It is a great book for men.
