Posted by schleprock on November 27, 2012, at 21:02:51
In reply to Re: Lou's response-lytbrgayd, posted by Willful on November 27, 2012, at 16:47:34
> One problem with using other people's experience, to diagnose one's own situation, is precisely that each one is one-off. The limitation of "anecdotal evidence" is that it's just that-- one instance in which something happened, not many instances in which something happened in a way that suggests wide application to other situation.
>
> Why certain things happened when we took certain drugs is our own issue-- only when there's evidence that it's a common, or widespread reaction is it even worth evaluation whether it might happen to A, B, C, D etc.
>
> All of us may have had negative experiences with one or another drugs, or bad reactions, which is different from having long-term, or permanent damage from them. I wouldn't be on the drugs I'm on now if the first-line treatments had worked for me-- obviously. And there are tons of studies showing that various pdrugs work for some people and not others.
>
> That's why I would want to be very very cautious in suggesting that someone else consider that what happened to me might have happened to them-- much less "must have"-- no matter how much it sounds like the same thing. I don't say it's wrong to tell your story or to suggest a parallel-- but when it comes to long-term and rare reactions-- I would be very very very loathe to lay that on someone-- because if nothing else, our fears can sometimes be just as damaging as our hopes.
>
> I'd like to see us be constructive-- and suggesting that I had some horrible reaction to a drug-- which is rare or unique as far as I know-- is just not constructive.
>
> I know you're trying to help schleprock, but why someone has a recurrence of depression is a very difficult thing to know-- we all know these things are often hard to locate, even to experts, even to us ourselves and our pdocs, as much as they can help us.
>
> I'd like to see hansi find something that helps him out of this crisis- but I think intensifying anyone's fears of permanent damage isn't going to help-- especially since it most likely isn't the case--
>
>
>
>Yes, I understand what you're saying. But what I find most objectionable is that 99% (not intended as a statistic) of the responses a case like hansi555's will receive will be assertions like "it's just a coincidence" or "it's some form of unconscious stress" or "this is just simply the natural course of the illness you were already suffering from." Perhaps this percentage never had a bad experience with a medication, or suffered such a severe decline following a med trial, or, most importantly, do not have and\or do not believe in thepossibility that one may suffer from a biological sensitivity that could cause a reaction similar to Abilify (or any drug) as hansi555's. I won't argue that such a condition is extremely rare, but I will argue against the opinion that such conditions shouldn't be recognized or discussed simply because not enough people suffer them. Because most of the discussions regarding negative reactions to medication revolve about situations where either (a.)medications stop working and the patient is back at square one or (b.) one had a bad reaction to a med that cleared up over a short period of time or not long after discontinuation, hansi555's case, in which was presented such a drastic decline in condition as compared to their pre-Abilify period, sticks out.
Statistically, what happened to me and hansi555 should never have occured, but they have. Hiding behind statistics and developing treatments (or in this case merely providing support) according to what is commonly prescribed to the majority will not accomplish anything. Personal experience has embedded me in such a perspective. The psychiatrist I hold responsible (though not in absence of my own guilt) for my present condition (Ronald R.) hid behind statistics (as I assume most psychiatrists do) and to the end subjected a proxy perspective that I was leaving him in no different a condition when I arrived. There is no greater insult than to insist to someone that things aren't as bad as they seem when the fact is that they are worse than you can imagine. hansi555 is going through a very tough time right now, and should be taken more seriously if they have a condition that needs a treatment slightly more adequate than simply a prescription for 1.5 mg of clonazepam and having their case passed off to a clinic.
poster:schleprock
thread:1031808
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20121113/msgs/1032055.html