Posted by ratgrrl on October 14, 2003, at 16:54:39
In reply to Re: how can you tell when your psych is over involved?, posted by stjames on October 14, 2003, at 10:13:07
The theory to which stjames refers (that "the cycles get worse the more of them you have") is called the "kindling hypothesis" in the medical literature. I am by no means a dr or a professional but I am doing grad work in a scientific field and know my way around a medical library. In a recent paper on the APA treatment guidelines it was stated that the "kindling hypothesis" is debated, rather than an established fact. Some scientists were presenting evidence, not that bipolar goes away, but that it may not get progressively worse. I'll dig up my references at home tonight and post citations tomorrow.
Despite the fact that the "kindling hypothesis" may be debated, there does seem to be consensus that bipolar is chronic (and thus is most likely to require long term/permanent treatment)
With regard to the original Dr. situation posted by waterfall, keep in mind that it is very easy to go on meds and very hard to go off of them. Thus this isn't necessarily an unexpected conflict. Not knowing your original symptoms and not knowing your dr's point of view it is impossible for me to say whether I personally think it's a good idea or not to go off depakote. However, I think that if you really do decide to do it, try very very hard not to burn the bridge with your doctor. There is a not so small chance that you will run into trouble, either from withdrawal or an unmasking of symptoms that were treated by the depakote. You don't want to be caught high and dry without a doctor when you really need one. Perhaps you could suggest a VERY slow taper (over many many months) so that your doctor could be part of evaluating your functioning every step of the way. This way you will also lessen the risk of relapsing due to going off of the drug quickly.
Just my 2 (or 3 or 4...) cents. Good luck.
ratgrrl
poster:ratgrrl
thread:269101
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031010/msgs/269387.html