He went from a medical doctor to a psycho-pharmacologist and endured ineffective treatment involving a series of medications. He had to return the light panel he used for research and couldn't find one on the market to replace it, so he set out with an electrical engineer and developed light panels at nights and on the weekends. He quit his day job when his sideline business began supplying seven research centers around the country. Dr. Catherine Ansuini, professor of health and wellness at Buffalo State College, said Western New Yorkers live in a moderate risk zone for SAD symptoms. It's a common malaise in workaholics, who go to work in the dark and come home in the dark, she said.
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Owens said patients with a referral from a doctor can get their light units covered by many insurers. Experts, such as Art Weidman, chief of behavioral services at HealthCarePlan, warn that people suffering from symptoms associated with SAD shouldn't self-diagnose. They could assume their problems are caused by light deprivation and believe they are getting relief from a light unit when conditions such as thyroid disease, reaction to medication or physical conditions go unchecked and worsen, he said. I'm loathe to recommend that people go out and get light boxes. It's a nice and easy answer to what can be a more complicated problem.