Re: [PanicZone] Trigger siI'm bipolar
You make some very good points here. Maybe it is just my perception as I do
not have any actual statistics but when my mother was hospitalized in the 80
s (multiple times) every woman had borderline personality disorder and
bipolar (they tend to go hand in hand statistically) and people kept coming
out of the woodwork saying they have major depression. Now it SEEMS like
everyone you talk to in term s of patients is being treated for some form of
bipolar. I believe it is because the atypical antipsychotics have been
labeled" for use as a antidepressant and also as a mood stabilizer when used
in conjunction with Depakote, Tegretol, or Lithium. It is this through
marketing techniques of the drug companies and trickling down to doctors
that pushes more people into the bipolar camp. I have schizoaffective and
generalized anxiety and social anxiety and it is like I am not allowed to
have a "normal" day. Either I am severely depressed or if I am in a good
mood I am manic. I am not allowed to just "be." Maybe it is just the media,
but but how many famous people are now coming out of the closest with their
stories of bipolar hell from actors and actresses to that one football
player whose name I forget. Even my diagnosis of schizoaffective is
threatened to be reworded in the next DSM as bipolar with psychotic features
rather than schizoaffective. Personally to me its all word play for the
atypical antipsychotics to remarket themselves for the sake of profiteering.
Like I said though you make some very good points and seem very well versed
on the different classes of drugs. In many senses of the word, isn't a
psychotic break" just another way of saying bipolar with psychotic features.
You slip into a psychosis and come out of it only to crash, come out of it
and crash again, basically cycling in the most common denominator of
psychiatric illness. It is a shame we live in a society where the people who
re most trained to diagnose are the ones we see the least of and the ones
who know the least, like a social worker or case worker who is not
adequately trained in psychiatry are the ones that we see the most,
especially in a free/low income clinic situation.
Your friends, David and Tommy-Katz, the other famous orange cat =^..^=
Dear unicorn,
Who decided that you were girly and magical?
Seriously, aren't horns made for impaling?
www.floodsdarkwaters.blogspot.com
-------Original Message-------
From: Christopher J. Walters
Date: 11/22/2011 12:42:04 AM
To: PanicZone@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [PanicZone] Trigger siI'm bipolar
I replied to the OP in another group, but I feel that I should reply to you
here. I have not found that Bipolar is either a "blanket diagnosis" or used
with "a lot of people", nor do I feel that it is "in vogue".
My personal experience has been that there is a strong tendency to diagnose
Major Depression or a form of psychotic episode before any diagnosis of
Bipolar
disorder is made, if one ever is made.
My own history is that I have been diagnosed undergoing a "psychotic break"
when I encountered the mental health profession while manic, and with major
depression, which has, at times turned into some form of psychotic disorder
(especially when the depressive episode is very deep). I finally found a
therapist who saw the patterns of Bipolar I Disorder in my past (this is
rare
since most therapists don't want to talk about the past). This diagnosis
has
been confirmed by two psychiatrists.
Historically, Bipolar Disorders have been greatly Under-diagnosed in
outpatient
settings due to the time constraints on psychiatrists for diagnostic
interviews
in those settings and the focus of psychotherapy being some form of
behavioral
therapy. That form of therapy results from a conclusion that a patient's
past
in not relevant ("unhelpful", in the words of one of my therapists), and
that
the only focus of therapy is to change current behavior (and possibly
thought)
patterns.
For inpatient hospitalizations, there are indeed more diagnoses of Bipolar
Disorders. Lacking reliable statistics, I cannot offer an informed opinion
of
whether these diagnoses are correct or not. I can, however, point out that
psychiatrists and therapists in a hospital setting have both more time to
collect information for a diagnosis and a somewhat different focus. The
different focus is that a person who is hospitalized is there for an acute
problem, and the focus is to diagnose that problem and start treatment. In
outpatient settings, the focus is more on a chronic problem (or set of them)
that the patient seems to be able to deal with without hospital treatment.
My main concern lies in the "wonder drug" mentality. Abilify, and its
cousins
are atypical anti-psychotic drugs and many are still under patent. They
carry
all of the same side effects, long term side effects, and adverse reactions
as
the older phenothiazines and other anti-psychotics (e.g. Thorazine, Mellaril
Haldol, etc.), and additionally are linked to the development of diabetes.
Now
they are being advertised for depression, and marketed to doctors for a host
of
other problems. The interesting thing is that, last time I checked, out the
the atypical anti-psychotic drugs, only Zyprexa was approved by the FDA as a
"mood stabilizer" for Bipolar Disorder, and NONE of them were approved as
antidepressants.
Looking at the history of the "wonder drug" idea, many questions and
problems
can be raised. One of the earlier "wonders" was Valium, a benzodiazepine
that
causes dose tolerance and physical dependence (and a whole host of even more
powerful benzodiazepines were designed and marketed as a "safe" way to deal
with anxiety, sleep problems, and more).
The next major one I will talk about are the Selective Serotonin Reuptake
Inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants, like: Prozac, Paxil, Celexa, Lexapro, and
so
on. There were others developed that worked on norepinephrine as well as
serotonin (aka SSNRI) or that only work on norepinephrine (SNRI). These
"wonder drugs" were supposed to have fewer side effects and be safer than
earlier antidepressants. Many groups have reported otherwise, and many of
the
manufacturers of these drugs have multiple class action lawsuits against
them
for different reasons concerning these drugs.
So, in closing, I am *Not* concerned about a *possible* over-diagnosis of
Bipolar Disorders. I *AM* concerned that every few years to a decade, we
have
a new class of "wonder drug" that is prescribed for a wide range of ailments
(very often, "off label"); that doctors are being rewarded, in many cases
for
prescribing these drugs; that these drugs hit the market without adequate
testing, and in many cases, the drug companies fail to report certain
adverse
reactions (including death).
Chris
On 11/21/2011 11:14 PM, Dave, Walking Escher's Staircase wrote:
> In my opinion, and I am not a doctor or anything like that, bipolar is a
> blanket diagnosis they use with a lot of people. I do not know you,
> obviously, but I have to wonder how your behavior changed from
> prehospitalazation to post hospitalization. Cutting is a way of dealing
with
> pain and that could initiate a major depressive disorder and then if you
> radically stop and perk up mood wise they may call that bipolar. I don't
> know. It seems like everyone has bipolar and especially women have border
> line personality disorder. That is what is in vogue now. I would take a
> serious introspective assessment of your behavior patterns, through a
> cognitive-behavior mood chart or simply a dairy so that you can track
your
> moods and stressors and how you handle them and also just day to day life
> and bring this to your doctor and/or therapist to discuss with them.
---
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The only thing that can happen when I
have a panic attack is that it will pass
whether it passes quickly or slowly
depends whether I drop the idea of it
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
have a panic attack is that it will pass
whether it passes quickly or slowly
depends whether I drop the idea of it
being dangerous or not.
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