Did you know that individuals with medical problems can develop depression or anxiety, which can exacerbate the medical problems?  For instance, chronic vascular disease, such as heart disease or stroke can lead to depression.  This in turn can worsen the vascular disease, possibly resulting in more heart attacks, heart failure or strokes.

Conversely, psychiatric illness can be worsened by new medical disorder or symptoms.  Individuals with preexisting depression, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, for example, can have relapse of these when suffering from pain, cancer, diabetes or other medical problems.

 

In both scenarios the reasons for this relationship are likely multifold, and may include actual chemical changes in the body, medication side effects, drug interactions and change in medication compliance (forgetting to take medications, skipping dosages), to name a few.  Dr. Silvertooth is skilled in recognizing and addressing all of these areas.

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