Dr. Jose Apud, MD, PHD

These are the medications that can help with alcohol abuse: Acamprosate (Campral) increases abstinence rates in patients with alcohol use disorder. There is inconsistent evidence supporting the use of disulfiram (Antabuse) to decrease alcohol intake in patients with alcohol use disorder. Naltrexone (Revia) decreases alcohol consumption in patients with alcohol use disorder. Topiramate (Topamax) may decrease alcohol intake in patients with alcohol use disorder.

Yes, there are a number of medications that could be used to treat and prevent panic attacks. You should discuss with your psychiatrist what type of medication would be the best for you.

Unfortunately there is no permanent cure for alcoholism. However, if you do your treatment with the right medication for you and attend AA meetings and individual counseling you have a high probability of remaining sober for the rest of your life. You could be an alcoholist in remission for the rest of your life if you are fully compliant with the treatments. There are a number of medications to treat your alcohol problem and you should discuss with your general physician or psychiatrist which would be the best option for you. But remember, those medications are not going to "cure" your alcoholism but they will help you achieve maybe permanent remission. Unfortunately, many people who have not been drinking for many years can still relapse. One has to be very careful of situations (such as stress, mood problems, etc.) that can lead a person to drink again. Working with a counselor and having a sponsor helps those situations.

- There are a number of treatments for autism (see below) and, when used properly, they improve the person's ability to deal with the day to day. Behavioral management therapy has the most evidence for treating symptoms of autism. The important thing is to find the right therapists with experience in each type of therapy. - - Behavioral management therapy. - Cognitive behavior therapy. - Early intervention. - Educational and school-based therapies. - Joint attention therapy. - Medication treatment. - Nutritional therapy. - Occupational therapy

There are a number of medications that could be used to treat panic attacks. For the acute episodes benzodiazepines such as alprazolam, lorazepam and similars are first choice, but you also need to use SSRIs such a Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro and similar drugs to treat them for a long time. I recommend you consult a psychiatrist for diagnosis and medications and work with a therapist with experience in cognitive behavioral therapy to complement the medication treatment.

It may take from 2 to 4 weeks to get an antidepressant response providing you are already in the right dose of antidepressant

Psychotherapy is not the first intervention you can do in Bipolar disorder. In general, you need first to use mood stabilizing medications to stabilize your mood and, once that stability is achieved, then psychotherapy may be very useful to help you better understand your situation and help to make you more resilient. The most important thing is to have a full initial evaluation by a psychiatrist and do a full work up because, in a limited number of cases, the bipolar disorder could be due to a treatable medical condition.

Alcohol addiction is a very complicated issue. First, to recover, the person with alcohol problems has to be committed to participate in a* substance abuse program*. Depending on how severe the addiction is, the treatment can be done as outpatient or inpatient and it may last for a few months for the first part of the treatment . Full compliance with the treatment is fundamental for a good outcome. Second, the person should attend AA meetings, 90 meetings in 90 days at the beginning and then attend 2-3 meetings a week regularly. Third, the person should at the same time work with a counselor on a weekly basis to address personal issues that may trigger the crave for alcohol. Fourth, the person should find a *sponsor* among the recovered persons from his/her AA group. Fifth, it would help if the person has good psychosocial support from family and friends. If all these steps can be fulfilled, the likelihood of a *recovery *is higher. However, the person with alcoholism should always keep in mind that he/she is an alcoholic for life and that recovery may not be permanent. There is always the possibility of *relapse*, even if the person has not touched alcohol for 20 years or more. Stressful situations may lead to relapse, even after many years of sobriety.

* Some children with Autism may not be able to communicate using speech, and some have very limited speaking skills. Others may have rich vocabularies and be able to talk about specific subjects in great detail. They have problems with the meaning and rhythm of words and sentences. Is important for the children to have a full speech pathology evaluation to determine the extent of the problem and the therapeutic approach to treat them. *

Depending on the level of anxiety, whether it is mild or moderate/severe you can use different approaches. If it is mild, you should start working with a therapist that specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), if it is moderate or severe, other than therapy you should be evaluated by a psychiatrist to find the right antianxiety medication for you.

Yes, it can be used in the elderly but with many precautions and under the care of a geriatric psychiatrist if possible. The so-called tricyclic antidepressants (Imipramine, desipramine, nortriptyline, etc.) *should not be used *in the elderly.

Both a psychiatrist and a psychologist can treat anxiety effectively. The psychologist could use different therapies to help a person with anxiety if it is only mild.. However, if the anxiety is moderate to severe, we recommend a psychiatrist that could prescribe medication and, eventually, also do psychotherapy

CBT can be beneficial in treating ADHD symptoms in adults mostly by improving mental functioning, helping with impulse problems,and decreasing stress. The therapy should be performed by an experienced psychologist or psychiatrist.

Unfortunately it is very difficult to recover from schizophrenia if that is the right diagnosis. The important thing is to be compliant with medications and psychotherapeutic treatments and many patients can function in society if they follow their psychiatrist recommendations. .

I *would not* recommend you giving any medication to your daughter unless it is prescribed by a physician who understands anxiety. Most important is to make a diagnosis first before giving any medication .

There are very good treatments for alcoholism but, unfortunately, once you become a severe alcoholic, you always have to think that you are an alcoholic, even if you didn't drink for the rest of your life, thinking in that way helps you keep sobriety. .Also, the success of the treatment will depend mostly on your compliance with the treatment. Having a sponsor helps.

Yes, alcoholism is a psychiatric disorder. The American Medical Association (AMA) has identified alcoholism as a disease characterized by compulsive decision-making, impulsive behavior and relapse. In the Diagnostic Manual alcoholism is identified as *Alcohol use disorder (AUD).*

You have to be more specific 1) how have you been taking the medication
regularly? ; 2) what is the medication you took earlier?

Hello: I see that you are chasing the tail with Xanax, even though you stated that never even considered abusing your Xanax, Have you ever seen a psychiatrist that specializes in anxiety disorders? There are a number of medications other than Xanax to treat anxiety disorders, these are the so-called SSRIs. At the same time you need to continue your detox and participate fully in their program. If you live close to a university that has a medical school, you can go there to get help or to get a referral.

All behavior problems that last for six months or more could be a sign that a child needs behavioral therapy, especially if they are banging their head, they bite repeatedly or hit or kick. In somewhat older children, at any time or any age, if they threaten self-harm or threaten to
hurt others, the child should be taken immediately for evaluation. In summary, if the child has behavioral problems for more than six months, he/she should be taken for evaluation with a pediatrician or child psychiatrist with training in developmental and behavioral problems and
they will determine whether the child needs behavioral therapy.