Posted by JohnL on February 3, 2001, at 5:57:49
In reply to wrong diagnosis ???, posted by orthius on January 31, 2001, at 22:08:14
> I have been diagnosed with bp although i have never had a manic episode or anything closely resembling one my main symptoms sem to be irritability inability to sleep and no tolerance for other people concentration is also poor and memory seems to be shot can not even remember anything that i have just read and input would be appreciated thanks
Hi,
It's just my observation, but I have often seen that the drug(s) that end up working for someone have no relation to the diagnosis at all. I've seen anxiety patients who were not helped at all by benzos, SSRIs, or antipsychotics, yet experienced complete remedy in less than a week on Lithium. Lithium has no clinical justification for anxiety, yet it worked completely in some people.With me doctors tried over a dozen different antidepressants which were useless in treating my depression. I ended up doing best in the antipsychotic category. Someone diagnosed with depression isn't likely going to be prescribed an antipsychotic. That's too bad, since they are proving very useful in depression.
Zyprexa is an antipsychotic now showing real promise as a mood stabilizer, an antianxiety agent, and an antidepressant. It is a psychiatric drug with a wide spectrum of therapeutic value with little relation to the actual diagnosis.
I take a diagnosis with a grain of salt. I think the best thing to do is to sample 2 or 3 drugs from each class of drugs briefly in an attempt to identify which ones show the most promise. Then one can stay with the favorite, or favorites, for longer term trials. This in the long run is a much more effective way of fixing the problem than is trying to match a drug to whatever diagnosis. Both strategies have their merits however. I've personally just seen too many flaws in the diagnosis strategy to rely on it. It's really not any better than tossing a coin or picking a drug at random.
John
poster:JohnL
thread:53066
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010131/msgs/53228.html