Re: [PanicZone] Trigger siI'm bipolar
On 11/22/2011 05:37 AM, Dave, Walking Escher's Staircase wrote:
> 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.
There are differences between Borderline Personality Disorder and Bipolar
Disorder, and there are similarities, but they are different Disorders.
Through my research into both diagnoses, I discovered these differences and
also discovered that it really is actually rather rare for someone to have both
(they are usually used as differential diagnoses of each other).
The diagnosis of both in a person at the same time indicates to me more of a
problem with the doctors first, and the system second. When a person has
symptoms of two different (and some would argue, exclusive) Disorders, and no
clear way to quickly test to rule either out, doctors will often put both on
the diagnostic summary.
http://www.psycheducation.org/depression/meds/moodstabilizers.htm
That link refers to a page that shows a list of the "mood stabilizers", and
provides discussion on the primary (desired) effects as well as some of the
side effects. Note, I said "some".
http://www.mcmanweb.com/mood-stabilizers.html
http://www.mcmanweb.com/antipsychotics.html
These two links go into more detail on the definition of a mood stabilizer and
seem to offer greater critical analysis of the different treatment strategies.
The author is one of the more vocal critics of the atypical anti-psychotics I
have seen.
As for Schizoaffective Disorder, and "Psychotic Breaks" (aka "Brief Psychotic
Episode"), I do not think that either are forms of Bipolar disorder. Bipolar
disorder is a Mood Disorder, where mood cycles are increased in amplitude,
frequency, or both - while there can be "psychotic features", especially in
severe episodes, they are not the primary symptom. The former two require that
psychosis or delusional thinking be the primary symptoms.
As an aside, in the early 1980's, I was hospitalized because my therapist at
the time felt that I was psychotic and "needed Thorazine". I was in grief over
my grandmother's death (I was always very close to my grandparents), under a
large amount of stress, over a move from the house where I grew up to my
grandfather's house (I was 12-13), and felt I didn't fit it with my peer group
(mainly because I had been scapegoated and bullied by them from pre-K-5). I
was initially diagnosed with "Major Depression", then that changed to
"Schizophreniform Disorder", and they finally settled on Schizoaffective
Disorder. At that time, they were still using the DSM-III, and that disorder
was not very clearly defined. Also, in the notes, it stated (I am paraphrasing
here) that the cause was unknown, no standard treatment existed, and that that
Disorder most often resolved itself - with or without treatment - without
explanation. They did not put me on Thorazine (or anything else) due to my
mother's strong objections - with a rather good reason. I already had been
tried on Thorazine (2000 mg per day, IIRC) and had a very bad reaction to it,
by a psychiatrist recommended by my family doctor (not for depression - for
migraine headaches, strangely enough).
That was back during the time when children were the main cash generators for
the mental health profession, since they did not enjoy the same rights as
adults. If the parents caused too many problems, the facility could file to
sever the parental rights, and make the child a ward of the State.
As for me, upon looking at my whole life, I can state, with confidence, that I
had Bipolar I from a very young age - I can recognize the patterns, even prior
to age 10. The problem was, and to a large extent, still is, that at that time
(and even now in the view of many in the field) that children could not/cannot
be diagnosed with any form of Bipolar - the earliest age when such a diagnosis
was thought to be possible was 25 - the same as for schizophrenia (which they
tested me for, using an EEG, anyway).
I could say more, but it seems I have written another novel, so I will cut it
short.
Chris
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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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