Author: Marlene Beggelman, MD

By Marlene Beggelman, MD Right Care Alliance Years ago, after I suffered a deep personal loss, my doctor prescribed Prozac, and I joined the millions of Americans who have taken an antidepressant. A few weeks later, I had my first panic attack -— heart racing, sweating profusely, gasping for breath —- sensations of terror normally reserved for life-threatening events. Attacks continued every half-hour and were so incapacitating that I could not even leave my house. My doctors were confounded. Perhaps the attacks were related to grieving, they thought. It wasn’t until weeks later when a friend, a mental health nurse,…