Is it normal to have panic disorder and depression in patients with polycythaemia?
Patient: My 21 year old daughter just had a physical and her blood test indicate she has abnormally high red blood count and at risk of polycythemia. She has frequent nosebleeds, her menstrual cycle is regular but only bleeds for a day.  She complains of itching around the face and neck. SHe has been diagnosed with panic disorder and depression and has been taking anti-depressants and sleeping pills for the last 3 years.  Is this common among young women with polycythemia or is it unrelated? Some of her symptoms like dizziness and difficulty breathing overlap with symptoms of panic disorder. Have we been giving her the wrong medication for a completely different disorder? Doctor: Hi,Sorry to hear about your daughter. Although some herbal drugs, androgen derivatives,etc can cause polycythemia, she has to be systematically investigated for the cause of polycythemia by a hematologist. You could also go through her past blood reports to ascertain which started first-  polycythemia or panic disorder. Is she doing any drugs as that could lead to both.