He needs medication for depression

Dear Dr. Gott: After double hernia surgery, my husband’s whole personality changed. He became reclusive, won’t go outside, drive or go camping. He refuses to attend church and appears to be constantly angry. He won’t let me out of his sight. He has given up on his hobbies of gardening and woodworking. What can I do?

Dear Reader: Although I doubt that your husband’s change in behavior is due to his surgery, the facts you elaborate certainly suggest that he is suffering from a major depression.

I urge you to discuss this problem with your and/or his physician, who will supervise a treatment strategy that will probably include a psychiatrist and the use of special medications, such as Zoloft, Prozac and others. As you know, most cases of depression are the result of a chemical imbalance in the brain. Unlike practitioners in the past, modern doctors do not view depression as an “emotional upset.” It is now considered to be a physical ailment for which any one of several antidepressant drugs are useful in treatment.

Don’t delay. The stability of your family is clearly at risk and, in my opinion, your husband desperately needs medical therapy.

Dear Dr. Gott: I am a senior citizen who has suffered from depression for many years. Now I think it is getting to me. I can no longer take each day as it comes. Each day seems insurmountable.

I have tried herbal remedies to no avail. I recently read of a device that is implanted under the skin to send messages to the brain. Should I try it?

Dear Reader: I would advise against using an unproven and untested device to treat depression – until the technique has been shown to be useful and approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

In my view, your greatest chance of success in treating your depression would be to enlist medical assistance and the use of prescription antidepressants.

Because your depression appears to be worsening, I recommend that you don’t delay in getting help. Start with your primary care physician and move on to specialists if such an option is appropriate.

To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report “Mental and Emotional Illness.” Other readers who would like a copy should send a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope and $2 to Newsletter, P.O. Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092. Be sure to mention the title.

Dear Dr. Gott: Do halogen lights in the home cause health problems? We have a halogen floor lamp but I’m afraid to turn it on because long-term exposure is somehow bad.

Dear Reader: To my knowledge, halogen and fluorescent lamps are not harmful to health. Your floor lamp is safe to use.