Anxiety and nutrition deficiencies?

[mele48]

Hi, there - I'm entering week 4 of a new treatment plan for newly chronic anxiety (zoloft), and am finally starting to see some improvements.  Yay!  Due to the anxiety and the meds, I'm appetite was way off for a while, and I dropped several pounds.  Being a tiny lady (5'4", 115lbs before anxiety), I didn't have the weight to lose.  Now that the anxiety is better, my appetite is returning and I've gained a pound or two back, so progress!

One of my friends suggested I see a certified nutritionist to see if I'm deficient in anything, who could recommend changes in diet and/or supplements to help.  She's realized some significant benefits from it.  Insurance doesn't cover it, so I'd have to pay out of pocket.  Any thoughts on this?

[Paxiled]

A regular doc can tell by a blood test if you're deficient in anything.  A nutritionist is for altering your diet for maximum health, including avoiding foods you might not tolerate well that could influence your anxiety.  If you do see a nutritionist, the only ones who will help you any would be holistic nutritionists, and they are pretty much not covered by insurance.  Regular nutritionists and dieticians are the ones who devise things like hospital and cafeteria menus, which are known by studies to be dangerous to your health, so I would avoid these people.  I'd also consider that doctors don't study nutrition, so they know virtually nothing but generalities about diet, which is a very individual thing.

[reverendbug]

You could just ask your regular doctor about it. If they can't help, they can recommend a specialist. Normally specialists can be covered by your insurance if they're recommended by your regular doctor, although it does depend on the specialist and the reasons for seeing one. In this case, chances are that it will be covered. Glad to hear that you're doing better, and I hope things work out for you. :)